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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. Zechariah 9:9-10; Romans 8:9, 11-13; Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30 “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Dear sisters and brothers, this short passage is said by many to be the most beautiful words that Jesus speaks. And the irony is he is speaking it to people who will not listen to him. But instead of being upset and annoyed, he turns back again and he says to them, “You know, the things that have been done here, if they were done in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have come back and repented and turned their lives around and come back to the Lord.” And he looks at them. And I suppose they all look back at him and say in their hearts, “Show me that you’re very special.” But then Jesus never lets them go. Why? Because the thing that makes him hook up with everyone — the ones who deny him, the ones who maligned him, the ones that say he’s a fraud, all the ones who want this and the ones who want that, and the ones more interested in many things, but none of them seem to be interested in him, in him and the one thing that marks the Messiah — the Messiah is in love. The Son of God is in love. And he loves them all: the nice ones, the ones who listen, the ones who gather around him and make him feel welcome. But he, also, deep down inside, his feeling is of great love for the ones who walk away, the ones who even curse him and, ultimately, the ones who crucify him. It is Jesus’ love that makes all life possible. He looks up at his Father and what does he say? “Destroy them”? No. He says, “Father, you must forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.” He even gives an excuse: it’s not their own fault, they’re just kind of lost and wandering in the darkness, they don’t know where to turn, they have their own little agendas inside them and, no matter how often they fail, they still think that surrendering to you, Almighty Father, to surrender to you is a mistake, it must be something else. And so it is that Jesus shows us how to love. You can’t love and take back. And what does Jesus do? He gives. He gives and he gives and he gives. People reject him and he doesn’t care, he still loves them. And he gives and he gives and he never takes back. We can be very cruel and nasty. And the worst of us are probably the ones who think they never sin, because they hold back the love of God that is waiting for them to say, “Lord, I’m sorry.” These are the magic words. Not that God hasn’t forgiven long before you even ask for it, because He’s God. God loves. He can’t delay this kind of thing. But the words, “I am sorry,” He knows is we opening the gates of our own heart so He can finally walk in. Dear sisters and brothers, if you want to touch God and feel the reality of God’s life and this wonderful world He has created for all of us, you’ve got to learn how to give. And the more you give, the more you’ll understand. And the more you understand, the more you realise how much we need forgiveness. Because when you go in that direction, all your little faults, all your little problems, seem to increase. But so does this great feeling that you are with a God who is carrying you through all the difficulties of life. And at times you feel that you are dropped, but He always catches you in time. At times you feel frustrated, but He’s always been there to smile at you. As long as you keep the flame of gift in your heart, He knows that you two, He and you, will walk home into eternal life, together. Fr Ephrem Let us pray for all those who are unwell especially Hazel Kingston, Nesi Tan, Warren Stevenson, Eddie Wilkins, John Cairns-Cowan and Graeme Adams and for the wonderful people who are caring for the everyday needs of the sick in our Community. We also pray for the members of our Parish families who have died recently especially Desmond (Des) Becker and those whose anniversaries occur around this time; Garry Martin, Mark O’Connor, Dennis (Hugh) Manley, Sophia Athenassiou and Frank Folan . Des Becker’s funeral will be Tuesday 7th July at 11am in St Patrick’s Church. 9.30am Mass on that day has been cancelled. A Memorial Mass for Rae Dawson will be held at Holy Cross Church 9.30am Friday 24th July. All welcome Parish Property Project: A Future Full of Hope On the 24th June 2020 Cardinal John Dew responded to our Parish Property review submitted at the end of October 2019. The letter was addressed to Fr. Ephrem, Parish Council and Finance Committee Chairs. I have met with both chairs and with the parish council and finance committee. We will now come together to have a joint meeting this weekend. After these discussions, we will inform the parish of Cardinal John’s response. It is a time of prayerful reflection and discernment for all of us. May I request you to continue to pray at this time of change as we move forward together. Fr Ephrem The following measures will remain till further notice:
Covid 19 - St Vincent de Paul Holy Trinity Parish . In our local eastern suburbs communities, many families are now experiencing ongoing hardship from COVID-19, such as going short of food, losing their job, cut backs in hours of work, digging into savings, debt, and difficulty clothing and equipping kids back at school. Do please continue to keep the sick, lonely, poor and marginalised in your prayers. Your SVDP Conference in Holy Trinity Parish is helping people in strict confidence if we hear who needs help, " following Jesus present amongst those who suffer or may be excluded from society" . Should you know of any households in need of emergency food, winter bedding, clothing items or simple friendly support, do please arrange contact with Tina Quidilla, local SVDP Conference, ph 021 159 2412, email: cquidilla@xtra.co.nz Also, if you wish to donate to your local Holy Trinity St Vincent de Paul group to purchase groceries, living essentials and student uniforms and items for families suffering hardship in the Eastern Suburbs, please pay online to: " St Vincent de Paul Society, Seatoun & Miramar Conference, BNZ Kilbirnie, Account No. 02 - 0576 - 0017817 - 06", or contact Maria Pene, our local SVDP Treasurer, ph 022 428 0427, email: mpene20@gmail.co.nz Please remember that while those of us who were in NZ during Lockdown are “Covid free” (not including the majority of those returning home in recent weeks!!) the MoH, Government and our Bishops still encourage us in safe practices.
At Church
Alert Level 1 - means the risk of COVID-19 is being managed.https://uniteforrecovery.govt.nz/covid-19/ Enjoy our environment and buy local to support locals There is currently a big push encouraging us to value all NZ has to offer, locally sourced and produced goods and services, places to visit and have fun, and to make time to enjoy our natural environment. With school holidays coming up some of us will have extra time to take advantage of these local (and slightly further afield opportunities). A few things to consider:
Food Bank Each of our churches has a box or basket either in the foyer or just inside the body of the church as a collection point for you to donate food items to be distributed via St V de Paul or the Food Bank to those who are currently in need. Communication with Parishioners Being able to communicate efficiently with parishioners is important for our community. Our Church App and newsletter are two effective methods. Please request to receive our newsletter by email (and save some paper too). Planned Giving and Donations – one ongoing way to help support your parish Unfortunately the banking procedures for depositing parish money have been changed due to bank requirements and we are encouraging those of you who can, to change to Automatic Payments. If you are willing and able to do this, please phone or email Marianne at the Parish office or follow the following instruction: Holy Trinity Parish BNZ Bank account number 02-0536-0185031-000. Use your planned giving number (or your name) as your reference so the payment can be allocated correctly. You will receive a tax receipt at the end of each financial year. A memorial Mass will be celebrated for Father Michael O’Dea in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of Sacred Heart Cathedral on Tuesday 7 July at 5.30pm with a time of remembering after in the foyer of the Cathedral. Michael died in the early hours of the morning on Sunday 17 May. A requiem Mass was celebrated on 20 May (Level 2 of lockdown) and he was buried at the Hawera Cemetery on Thursday 21 May. All are welcome to attend this Mass. Please RSVP to Tania Halliday t.halliday@wn.catholic.org.nz your attendance for catering purposes. We are looking for volunteers who can help us collect for the Mary Potter Hospice Street Collection on the 18h and 19th September. All the money raised at the Appeal will be used to help us keep our services free-of-charge for anyone that may need us. It is because of all our amazing volunteers (and the support we receive from the community) that come back year after year to support us, that we are able to continue to provide the great service that we do. If you can help us by volunteering at this year’s street collection, please register your support on our website https://marypotter.org.nz/events/street-appeal/ Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Stella Maris – Sea Sunday 12 July If you feel compassionate for seafarers and fishers and would like to help in the work of Stella Maris, Please pray for us on Sea Sunday. As well, you may wish to call the Sella maris National Director on 027 492 0250 to discuss how you can help. Or you may like to support us with a small donation to ANZ 06 0582 0083650 00 (account name Apostleship of the Sea Inc) with your name as reference. Please make sure to email jeffdrane@zos.org.nz or call the above number so we can send you a receipt. Engaged Encounter is a weekend experience for couples intending to be married. Remaining weekends for 2020 are 18 & 19 July and 14 & 15 November. Venue is Otari Parish presbytery, 301 Karori Road, Karori, Wellington. Registrations close 2 weeks before. For more details go to the website http://www.cee-wellington.co.nz/ Phone Kate and Simon Olson. 04 801 6192 or email simonolsen@gmail.com Healing Service Fr John Rea sm will conduct a Healing Service at St Bernadette`s Church, 194 Naenae Rd, Naenae on Wednesday 8 July beginning at 7.30 pm. Please invite all who need Jesus` healing. All are welcome. Enquiries Ph 8198323. The Coast to Coast Rosary for Life and Faith will be held this year on Saturday 15th August at 3 pm. Please help lead or join a group in your parish or community. For more information, please go to www.coasttocoastrosary.co.nz or phone Clare 022 1912 886 SACRED HEART SCHOOL 125th CELEBRATIONS Sacred Heart School opened 125 years in North East Valley in October this year. A variety of functions have been put together to encourage past pupils, teachers and friends of the school to attend and celebrate this milestone at Labour Weekend 2020.If you’ve been associated with Sacred Heart School, you are invited to email your committee at reunion125@sacredheartdn.school.nz or phone the school on 03 473 8362. A Registration Form will be available for you to download soon. Sunday Coordinator. Working for the Catholic Parish of Christchurch West We need leaders who have energy, vision and creativity that want to work as a member of our Parish Senior Leadership Team to help all to live with and in the Spirit, for the Father. To apply, one must have an education in Catholic Theology, ability to plan or vision, desire to Evangelise, experience with a parish and/or diocese. It is a full time position. To apply for one of the vacancies (contact Christchurch West parish for further details), please send us your: • CV • a response to the Job Description (three – page limit) • a statement about your personal approach to ministry Applications can be sent to priest@stteresas.org.nz Please turn in all applications before July 11th, 2020 JOSHUA FELLOWSHIP Come and join other men for a cuppa, prayer and a talk on Thursday 16th July 2020 at 7:30pm (Note: fellowship from 7:00pm for 7:30pm start) In CONNOLLY HALL, Guildford Terrace, Thorndon (behind the Sacred Heart Cathedral). Speaker: Jack Ponting, our Joshua Newsletter Editor on “Gift of JOY, pure and simple” Want to know more? Ring Steve Ready 027-356-9555 or email: joshua.wgtn@gmail.com Below is a link to selected pages from the latest issue of NZ Catholic. Most of these pages have been chosen as they might be of interest to younger readers. They also remind people in parishes that NZ Catholic is still on sale in their churches. https://indd.adobe.com/view/aba01a89-256a-4c62-9274-47fc73e642d4 The July 2020 edition of WelCom, is being distributed to parishes and schools this week for Sunday 5 July. Content for July WelCom includes: *Fr Trung Nguyen, newly ordained priest for Palmerston North Diocese. *Cathedral of the Holy Spirit – feature. * ‘Restore all things in Christ’ – Cardinal John Dew. * SVDP – national recovery appeal. * Sacred Heart Cathedral – restoration update. *Solidarity: Lockdowns and Black Lives Matters – opinions by Mons Gerard Burns and Bishop Peter Cullinane. * Returning to school after lockdown – Catholic primary school principals. * Accompanying families with love , respect and guidance – reflection by Sharron Cole. * World Day against Trafficking in Persons – 30 July. * Local and international news and views. July WelCom is also available on our website as a single-page download at this link: https://www.wn.catholic.org.nz/adw_welcom/welcom-july-2020-issue-384/ This is the message that the Church gives us today: which Jesus says so firmly: ‘New wine in new wineskins!’… May the Lord give us the grace of an open heart, of a heart open to the voice of the Holy Spirit, which can discern what must not change because it is fundamental from what has to change in order to be able to receive the newness of the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis: Morning meditation 18 January 2016
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