Ascension Sunday —Year A 23/24 May 2020

St Brigid’s Marrickville In the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, Australia

One Family, Alive in Christ Est 1886. Under the Pastoral Care of the Passionists since 1887

392 Marrickville Rd (PO Box 237), Marrickville NSW 2204 Tel: 02 8577 5670 Fax: 02 8577 5679

Email: parish@stbrigid.org.au Web: www.stbrigid.org.au FaceBook: St Brigid’s Marrickville

Administrator: Fr Erick Niyiragira CP (pp@stbrigid.org.au)

Sr Elena Daton CP (elena@stbrigid.org.au) Sr Elenita Flores CP (elenita@stbrigid.org.au),

Fr Thomas Nguyen CP (thomas.thanh@stbrigid.org.au Fr Dominic Samamba CP (dominic@stbrigid.org.au)

Deacon Christopher Roehrig (christopher@stbrigid.org.au) Sue King (SRE Co-ordinator/Safeguarding) catechetics@stbrigid.org.au

Jenny Solo youthministry@stbrigid.org.au Parish Secretary: Ms Terrey Trethowan (9.30am - 4pm)

We stand at the Crossroads of life for many people

stands in between the times, secure in what we have, confident of what we will be given. © Dianne Bergant CSA Where is the Body? Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ could have continued to appear to groups of followers, century after century – until now! But, he didn’t, because the disci-ples had to be weaned of his Risen-mode of appearance among them lest they think that the victory over Death is meant for human beings alone. But, as St Paul says, the Risen Lord is the One who ‘fills all creation’ with His power radiating out from his Risen Humanity. However, dis-appearance is not the same as absence. We believe that Our Risen Lord is present in many modes, including as St Paul says ‘ … the Church which is His Body’. That is why the figures in white rebuke the disciples: ‘Why do you stand looking into Heaven?’ The Disciples had, rather, to ready themselves to be the Spirit-filled body of Jesus Christ in their own time and place. As we do. We might pause for a moment to stop staring into Heaven, to ready ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit as at Pentecost in order to be ‘The Church which is His Body.’ © Fr Michael Tate; mtate@bigpond.com

REFLECTIONS The feast of the Ascension is re-ally a kind of liminal moment in the Easter season. It is a time between times, a moment when we have left one place in our journey but have not yet arrived at a second. The glo-ry of the Risen Christ has already been revealed in us, but not yet to-tally. The feast itself celebrates the exaltation of Jesus. Today we stand awestruck, watching Jesus ascend into the clouds of heaven, there to be enthroned at the right hand of God. Today we are overwhelmed by the reality of the divinity of the one whom we have known in his hu-manity. Like the conquering creator-god, he has overcome his enemy (death) and now reigns over his new creation (the church). Christ who ascended into heav-en in his body carries on what he began on earth through his new body, the church. He teaches through its apostles and evange-lists. He ministers through its prophets and pastors. In and through the church, Jesus continues to heal and to comfort; to forgive and to include. We have not been left alone; we have his power, the same power with which he per-formed marvels when he walked the earth. We have not been left alone; we have each other. Together we make up the new body of Christ. To-gether we await the fullness of this body. It is this new body that

FAMILY PRAYER

For Sacred Space: Lighted Candle Bible Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. All: Amen. Leader: Lord Jesus, you are the way to the Father: Lord, have mercy. All: Lord, have mercy. Leader: Christ Jesus, you clothe us with power from on high : Christ have mercy. All: Christ, have mercy. Leader: Lord Jesus, your message goes out to all nations: Lord, have mercy. All: Lord, have mercy. Leader: Jesus said: “know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’ Let us now listen to the Word of God. Reader: A reading from the holy Gospel ac-cording to Matthew The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had ar-ranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Ho-ly Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commandments I gave to you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’ © The scriptural quotations are taken from the Jerusalem Bible For Family Sharing/Discussion In what way have we felt Jesus’

presence during the pandemic? How are you able to witness to

what you believe in your every-day activities?

What are some of the actions of being a witness that might

speak louder than words? Intercessions: We pray for the world-wide church,

our local diocese and our parish Let's pray that our families will

show other people the way Jesus’ loves.

For communities and nations expe-

riencing suffering due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For those who are suffering financial

hardship because of the pandemic. For scientists, working to develop

vaccines for Covid-19 and other dis-eases.

OUR FATHER….. All: Lord Jesus Christ, right before your Ascension into heaven you told your apostles to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth upon receiving the Holy Spirit. May we be similarly inspired to spread your Gospel message in word and deed, according to your will for us. And may we do so prudently and joyful-ly, with your help, your guidance, and your grace! And remembering this glori-ous event, help us to seek what is above, Heaven, where you are seated at the right hand of God the Father!

Cyber Safety Survey On behalf of the Safeguarding and Ministerial Integrity Office are re-questing you to take an anony-mous 5 minute CyberSafety Survey. Adults, young people and children can participate and you don't have to have children in order to take the survey. The results of the Survey will help the Safeguarding Office to de-velop resources that will provide adults, young people and children with the knowledge and skills to help keep them safe online. The link to the survey is at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TC7CYQ3 ++++++++++++ "The Safeguarding and Ministerial Integrity Office has put some Fact Sheets on their website that provide children, young people, parents and guardians with information and skills on how to safely engage in online communication. These can be downloaded at https://www.sydneycatholic.org/safeguarding-and-child-protection/safeguarding-resources/ ".

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A message from the Archdiocese of Sydney

Child sexual abuse is a crime. The appropriate people to deal with crimes are the police. If you—or any-one you know– have been abused, please contact the police. Alterna-tively, you can contact the Safe-guarding and Ministerial Integrity Office on Safeguarding enquiries @ sydneycatholic.org OR 9390 5810. You may also want to speak to your Parish Priest who will be able to pro-vide support and guidance. The Archdiocese has a legal obligation to report crimes to the police.

From the Safeguarding and Min-isterial Integrity Office

Due to a restructure at St Brig-id's Parish, our new Catechist Coordinator is Sr Elenita Flores CP, and our new Parish Safe-guarding Support Officer (PSSO) is Mr Jim Yeo. This will take effect on Tues-day, 2 June, 2020. Clarification on last week’s first aAnnouncement, 2nd paragraph There may have been some misunderstanding from the last week's newsletter. You might remember that I mentioned something about the parish being disorganised. Please note that I did not wish to imply that it was Sue King who was disorganised. It was actually the parish employment process. As I mentioned earlier, Sue has been exceptional in accomplishing a lot of work under very difficult circumstances. We could never be grateful enough. With Peace, Erick

PRAYER INTENTIONS Recently deceased Francis Dunlea Val Hill For the Sick Wenifreda Jauco Peter Ling Geoffrey Leask Mary Harte Ken & Maureen Mc Rae And all those infected with

Corona-Virus Death Anniversaries Janet Schembri Carmelo Schembri Janette Tarabay Stephen Westaway Yvonne Testa Thelma Lowe Margaret Barker Bruno Nadile Renae Governor Aileen Bennett Fr Stanislaus Cross CP Helen Pereira Brian Turner Amy Alice Cloran Theresa Mary Harte Lucilia Da Costa Helwe Onillon Anna Hoang Thi Ngan Annie Collins William Edwards Deolinda Simoes John Bell Maria Nesci Br Jeff Daly C.P __________________________ If you wish to donate to the Parish you are welcome at any time via the St Brigid’s website portal @https://stbrigid.org.au/ OR

Special announcement

Bank Account Details For Electronic transfer only Acc Name: Marrickville Parish Bank: Commonwealth BSB: 062784 Acc No 6445001 Description: Parish Donation