Acts 15:1-2;22-29; Apoc. 21:10-14,22-23; Jn. 14:23-29
Today’s readings are about the effect of the abiding presence of God in His Church and of His indwelling in each one of us in the third person of Trinity Holy Spirit. The first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, tells us how the Holy Spirit indwelling in the Church helped the apostles to solve a major doctrinal problem of circumcision with newly converted pagans, which shook the very foundation of the early Church. The second reading from the Book of Revelations describes the Church as the Heavenly Jerusalem, a city united in love, with the victorious Jesus residing in it and in each of its members, replacing the holy presence of God in the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem. The Gospel passage tells us how the Holy Spirit, abiding within us, is our teacher and the source of all peace. The passage offers a vision of hope. Jesus promises his followers that the Holy Spirit will come and instruct them in everything they need to know. Peace is the second parting gift of Jesus after the Holy Spirit. It is a unique and lasting gift. It is not necessarily the absence of war and violence but the interior peace that every human being long for. Real peace is not won by avoiding or denying conflict. Conflict may be necessary to achieve peace. That's why Jesus Christ fought and defeated the Enemy of our souls, freeing us to live at peace with God. We can, however, rob ourselves of the peace that Christ offers. That's why we are commanded to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. How? By replacing anxiety with prayer and thankfulness. As the recipients of this gift Jesus wants us to be messengers of peace with whom we live or come into contact in our daily lives in our homes, institutions, Churches, and work places. Let the Prince of peace reign in our hearts. Fr Paul Holy Trinity Parish Vision We are a prayerful and diverse Catholic community in the Eastern suburbs of Wellington, drawing strength from one another to grow and become fully alive as missionary disciples. Fr Matthew’s final Mass – St Patrick’s Church 1 June 5.30pm Vigil. Fr Matthew will be returning to Ireland permanently in July and we are grateful he is able to celebrate a final Mass at St Patrick’s with us. There will be a light supper in the Parish Centre directly after Mass. Everyone is asked to please bring a plate of food to share. If you would like to make a donation, please put an envelope in the collection. Holy Trinity Parish Pastoral Council Nominations Your pastoral council is seeking nominations for the council. The Archdiocese requires our parish to have a pastoral council in order for the parish to develop and to meet the spiritual, liturgical, pastoral and social needs of the parish. The parish council is responsible for the “big picture” of the parish by ensuring that the parish plan is up to date and that it is followed and evaluated on a regular basis. The parish council should be representative of all of our parishioners and we warmly invite especially younger people and the various ethnic communities to join the council and help us to be more inclusive. We seek parishioners who can attend a monthly meeting and carry out assigned tasks; who have access to email (as most communications between meetings are by email), and most of all have a willingness to represent the needs of fellow parishioners. We ask you to prayerfully give consideration to helping your catholic community at Holy Trinity parish. Come join us for a commitment of 3 years on the council with a possibility of a nomination for a further 3 years. If you are prepared to consider a position on the pastoral council please advise Marianne in the parish office. Email holytrinity.wgtn.xtra.co.nz or phone 388-6953 and a no obligation meeting will be arranged to further discuss the role and duties of a council member. The first milestone is achieved as we move to meet Cardinal John’s directive that Holy Trinity becomes a missionary parish Our Parish Pastoral Council and Finance Committee have reached an important milestone as we move toward providing Cardinal John with a detailed plan for the future of the Holy Trinity parish. This particular milestone is to describe very simply how we see our parish being structured in order to become an active and outgoing missionary church. Taking all known data into account, we see Holy Trinity as ultimately having one priest, one church to accommodate perhaps up to 450 people, and with spaces suitable for the mission given to us as a parish by Pope Francis and Cardinal John. Having said this, it is immediately important to add that NO decisions have been made as to the location of this church and its associated facilities. There are aspects we do see as very important - having a single building as a unifying and focal point for our parish, having spaces that are flexible and which meet the needs of our various groups, communities and cultures, and which enable us to link more closely with our schools. What we have to do to realise this new profile is not going to happen in the immediate future - it will take some time to work through the options, consult the parish and realise the optimum solution. The Council believes we should plan for having 1 priest (to be assisted by lay pastoral leaders). The truth is that our priests are aging, becoming unable to work or are dying at a much faster rate than new priests are becoming available. This situation is accelerating – in 15 years we will have a fraction of those who are available now. Cardinal John has also reminded us that, while we have had assistance from international priests in the past, we cannot rely on this in the future. With regard to buildings, those that we have are becoming more and more burdensome – maintenance and insurance costs are exorbitant and are not repaid by the use they are put to. Neither are these buildings necessarily in configurations that are suitable for use as the missionary church our pope and cardinal are urging us to be. Our Finance Committee will now consider a number of options and develop a preferred proposal so that we can consult together as a parish. This needs to happen before any decisions can be made with regard to selling, upgrading or building anew. Once we have settled on a preferred option, we will confirm our recommendation to Cardinal John by his deadline of 31 October this year. Parishioners will be kept updated as we move ahead. If you have concerns of any kind at this moment (even though so much is as yet undecided), please don’t hesitate to contact Gerard Birss, parish manager, at [email protected] or on 021 619 610. Holy Trinity Pastoral Council and Finance Committee Holy Trinity Confirmation - 9th June at 10am St Patrick’s Church Please continue to pray for our children as they prepare to receive the sacrament of Confirmation We ask that parishioners bring a plate of food to share for the cup of tea after Confirmation in St Patrick’s Church Hall Please help our new refugee family of 7 We are very pleased to say we have a refugee family expected to arrive in their new home on 21 June. Holy Trinity Parish has committed to raising $1500 so that we can help ready their home with the essentials required. Can you help with a donation? At the moment, strict privacy rules are in place – we do know there are 7 in the family, but their names, ages, their religion or where they have come from we don’t know. We know that their journey to New Zealand will have been arduous and long, and they will have spent some months living institutionally in Auckland. Quite likely, the house they are to move into will be the first they will have slept in, alone and as a family, for years – something most of us have always taken for granted. $1500 is what we need to make the house a warm and welcoming home - and your donation, whatever the amount, will help buy the essentials and fill the cupboards. But this is not simply about providing goods for a home - it is, in fact, defining NZ as a place where refugees can come to us and belong. Many have not been able to keep up the commitment, but Holy Trinity has been there since the beginning and continues to respond to each call for help. Refugees rely on it once again. This giving is also about the mission which Pope Francis and Cardinal John have given to us – to reach out to the peripheries, to be missionary, to embrace the disadvantaged as sisters and brothers. This appeal will continue for 4 weeks. We ask you to do what you can to welcome this family into their new home. As usual, every little helps, no matter how small your donation. You can make a donation directly to our bank account: Holy Trinity 02-0536-0185031-00 REF: REFUGEE or you can use one of the envelopes marked “Refugees” at the back of the church, and place in the collection basket, or else into the box marked “Refugees” at the back of the church. Holy Trinity Parish Catholic Book Club – Sunday 26th May: Explore the Truth, Beauty, and Goodness of the Catholic faith through its great books! At Holy Cross Church Parish Centre, 6-7pm. Light supper will be provided. Connect with fellow passionate Catholics for like-minded discussion. For enquiries, contact 3882-840 or [email protected] HOLY CROSS SCHOOL OPEN MORNING. Tuesday 28th May - 9 – 11am. See our school in action. 9am liturgy in the hall, then find out about our authentic learning programmes including: * Garden to Table * Bikes in Schools * Think-Talk-Create (Intensive Oral Language) * Sponsored Music opportunities. All enquiries welcome. Ph 388-7189 or email [email protected] People in Need? St Vincent de Paul Society Seatoun & Miramar Conference welcomes parishioners to let us know confidentially if you or someone needs assistance in the Miramar/Seatoun/Strathmore area. Our group visits people who are in hardship, sickness, loneliness or housebound, in order to share God’s love and compassion and see if we can assist in any way, even as simple as having a coffee and chat (Contacts: any of our members listed in the Church foyers). 66B Falkirk Avenue, Seatoun. $390.00pw. 1 bedroom unit with 1 bathroom. LPG hot water, electric hob/oven and heater. Very sunny, freshly painted and carpeted. Underfloor/ceiling insulation. Semi detached. Partially furnished....Fridge, Microwave, Washing machine, Clothes dryer. Suitable for up to 2 tenants. Street parking. No pets or smokers. Trademe listing ref #GGX844 Celebrating 100 years since the first school building on St Catherine’s College site. High Tea 22 June 2019 from 1.00pm – 4.45pm Mercy Hall, SCC. $15. Registration required. Contact Sister Stephanie [email protected] or 0272458859 St Mary's College Open Day. June 13th 2019, 9am. Go you are sent to build community (12) People, people, people-being the face of Christ in our parishes, not just at the end of emails! Candlelight Mass for people in Sri Lanka Please join Cardinal John and the Otari community in a candlelight Vigil Mass offered in memory of all the lives lost and badly injured during the Sri Lankan Easter tragedy. Saturday 5.30pm, 1 June St. Teresa’s Pro-Cathedral, 301 Karori Road, Karori. If you would like to make a donation, please copy this link https://missio.nz/rebuilding-churches-in-sri-lanka-after-easter-bombings/ Stewardship Breakfast with the Cardinal: Sat June 29th. Venue: Connolly Hall in Hill St, Thorndon, Wellington. Time: 7.00am-9.00am. Please mark it on your calendar. More details to follow. Pa Maria Winter Film Series: The Life Which Beats in Things: - A Spirituality for Living in Today’s World. Mondays 10, 17, 24 June & 1, 8 July OR Thursdays 15, 22, 29 August & 5, 12 September. 7.00pm - 9.30pm each evening. For further information and/or to register contact Brian Cummings SM ( 021 703 580; email [email protected]) Peace… is a challenge that demands to be taken up ever anew. It entails a conversion of heart and soul; it is both interior and communal; and it has three inseparable aspects: - peace with oneself, rejecting inflexibility, anger and impatience; in the words of Saint Francis de Sales, showing “a bit of sweetness towards oneself” in order to offer “a bit of sweetness to others”; - peace with others: family members, friends, strangers, the poor and the suffering, being unafraid to encounter them and listen to what they have to say; - peace with all creation, rediscovering the grandeur of God’s gift and our individual and shared responsibility as inhabitants of this world, citizens and builders of the future. Pope Francis: Message for the World Day of Peace 2019 Parish Council Meeting – Wednesday 5th June 7.30pm Holy Cross Parish Centre Finance Committee Meeting – Tuesday 11th June 7.30pm Holy Cross Parish Centre We pray for the members of our Parish families who have died recently Leone Aiono, Yvette Sood and James Leach and those whose anniversaries occur around this time including Gerard Cook, John Richardson, Wyn Kean, Faileaso Tuilaepa and Francsco Sevilla. Our prayers are also with those who are unwell especially John Rogers, John Cairns-Cowan and Graeme Adams and for the wonderful people who are caring for the everyday needs of the sick in our Community.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
If you want to find out whats going on Contact the office at: Archives
October 2020
Categories |