Parish Priest: Fr Thanh Tran Thanh.Tran@cam.org.au

Parish Secretary

Dominique Hockey Amelia Younane

Parish Office Hours Tuesday - Friday 9am—3pm

Baptisms Please contact the Parish Office.

Weddings By appointment and after

Preparation

Children’s Ministries Kathy Menzies stschpar@bigpond.net.au

St Schols Community Centre

03 9808 1006

info@stscholscc.org.au

www.stscholscc.org.au

St Scholastica’s Primary

School Principal: Jenny Rohan

9808 7279 principal@ssbennettswood.catholic.edu.au

Outside School Hours Care

Camp Australia

1300 105 343

St Scholastica’s Kindergarten 9808 9724

Director: Catherine Findlay st.scholasticas.kin@kindergarten.vic.gov.au

Administrator: Katherine Presley stscholskinderadmin@bigpond.com

348 Burwood Highway, Bennettswood VIC 3125

ABN 95 499 516 268

Phone: 9808 1006

Fax: 9888 7573

Email: stschpar@bigpond.net.au

Website: www.stscholasticaparish.com.au

The 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

6th & 7th October 2018

St Scholastica’s Parish Stewardship Campaign 2018 – Starts Now!!

Welcome to the first weekend of our Stewardship Campaign 2018. The Stewardship Campaign challenges us all as parishioners to reflect on who we are as followers of Christ and what we do as a parish. Throughout this time, you will be encouraged to reflect on what we have achieved as a Parish, why and how we need your support and what we hope to achieve with that support.

The Stewardship Campaign will take place over the next four weeks. Each week will provide a different focus with the intention of offering our parishioners an insight into what they can do to contribute to the parish and in turn helping to achieve our mission of bringing God’s love to others. The process of the Stewardship Campaign will be as follows:

Week 1: Introduction to the Stewardship Campaign Fr John Magri from Sacred Heart and Christ Our Holy Redeemer Parishes will be celebrating all masses this weekend and will give an insight into the importance of being part of the community where you live and worship. This is an opportunity for personal reflection on what you contribute to the Parish where you worship.

Week 2: Distribution of Brochures and Ministries of our Parish Current members of our ministries, who are vital contributors to our parish, will be speaking at all masses this weekend regarding the various ministries and how your assistance could be of great benefit to the parish and beyond. Stewardship brochures and pledge cards will also be distributed which will give you further information on the many opportunities for you to contribute to the our Parish.

Week 3: Finances of our Parish Current members of our Finance Committee will be speaking at all masses on how your Thanksgiving contribution is vital in allowing the parish to support the growing needs of the faith community and upholding the mission of the parish.

Week 4: Making Your Commitment In the final week of the campaign we ask you to return your completed Pledge Cards in a special collection that will be held at all weekend masses. This is your opportunity to offer your commitment to the parish and begin to thank God for the blessings he has bestowed upon you.

We ask you to remember throughout this campaign that no offering is ever too small and all offerings whether it be an hour of your time a month or more are greatly appreciated. We look forward to taking this journey together in renewing our commitment and faith to our parish.

WEEKLY CALENDAR 2018

Monday 8 October 08.00am Communion Service 07.30pm Vinnies Meeting

Tuesday 9 October 08.00am Mass 12.00pm Seniors Lunch - Community Centre 07.30pm Prayer Group - McAndrew Room

Wednesday 10 October 10.00am Exposition 10.30am Rosary 11.00am Mass followed by a cuppa GA 01.00pm Legion of Mary GA 07.10pm Novena

Thursday 11 October 08.00am Mass 07.30pm Liturgy/Music Meeting for Christmas - Presbytery 08.00pm Burwood Discussion Group

Friday 12 October 08:00am Mass

Saturday 13 October - Stewardship Continues 09.00am Mass/Confession 10.00am Rosary Rally - St Schols School Quadrangle 05.30pm Mass

Sunday 14 October - Stewardship Continues 09.00am Mass 11.00am Mass - Confirmation Mass - Monsignor Bennet celebrating 05.30pm Mass

Remembering Our Community Sick Maurita Carlisle, Derek Chesworth, Tony La Sala, Frank Rishworth, Herta Fischer

Anniversaries Magdalena and Flavio Udarbe, Maria Bernadette Vu Tu Anh, Martin Schobben, Jack Kelly, Ralph Wates, Mary Ferdinands, Mrs Griffin, Albert and Mary D’Souza, Gioakim Van Tuc Nguyen, Paul Berto

Recently Deceased Frances Hingston, David Lovall, Dworin D’Souza, Liberato Campanella, Francesco Perrella, George Kaderabek, Joseph Siudut

Rosary Rally - 13th October 10am - St Schols An invitation is offered to all parishioners and friends to participate in The Recitation of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, to celebrate the anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance at Fatima. The Rosary is being offered all day around Australia to celebrate this event. Place: St Scholastica’s School Quadrangle at 10am. We suggest you bring your own chair. A small donation on the day towards to the cost of the banner would be greatly received. Special Collection - Next Weekend Please be aware that next weekend there will be a special collection taken at all Masses that will go towards supporting the people in Indonesia who have been affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami. Confirmation Mass - 11am Sunday 14th October A reminder to all parishioners that next Sunday at the 11am mass our school children and children from the Parish will be making the Sacrament of Confirmation. Monsignor Greg Bennet will be with us to celebrate mass. We wish them all the best as they take this next step in their journey to be closer to God. Guild of St Stephen - Altar Server Camp 2018 Benedict and Rebecca attended the annual Guild Conference which was held at the Don Bosco Camp in Dromana. This year there were more than 40 servers in attendance from all over Melbourne from Sunday 30th Sept - Wed 3 October. We began each day praying the Rosary, had lots of great food, and enjoyed reflective talks from the NET Team and some visiting priests that were there with Fr Dishan. "We were surrounded by kids who have the same faith, growth and understanding towards God and serving at mass. Camp gave us the opportunity to express ourselves as Catholic Teens in an environment where we felt safe and loved by our peers." Rebecca

"I have learnt many new and educational things, and tips that will impact the way I serve. The camp has given me a spiritual understanding of my duty on the altar and has also given me a better knowledge of my relationship with God and Jesus. Throughout the Camp I have been learning a lot and is definitely something to remember. Camp has been a good experience." Benedict

Hannah Rose came on Tuesday and assisted with testing the servers with the Guild team. Thank you so much to Fr Thanh and our parishioners for supporting this ministry and subsidising the fees for us to attend. Hopefully next year we will have more high school servers from St Scholastica's who are able to go with us. It's such a great experience!

ROSTERS

Day Mass Time

2nd Sunday of the Month 13/14 October 2018

Readers Special Ministers

Saturday 5.30 pm Rachel Cordeiro Charlie Mellican Noela Corby John Corby

Sunday 9.00 am Avishka Godakandage

Betty McDonald Murray McCormack Anna Gaetano

11.00 am Bev O’Neill Jill Bartley Tam Pham Anna Marie Ziino

5.30 pm Claire Tumilovics Michael Chan Netty Solomon

ROSTERS

Day Mass Time

1st Sunday of the Month 6/7 October 2018

Readers Special Ministers

Saturday 5.30 pm Paul Borg Mary Ann Borg Christine Wates Dzung Le

Sunday 9.00 am Neil Solomon Rosa Coniglio Margaret Scully Myrna Beven

11.00 am Laurine Shane April Lewis Anna Marie Ziino Stuart Bell

5.30 pm Arden Nelson Marcia Nelson Arden Nelson Netty Solomon

Communion to the sick Do you know anyone who is sick or housebound, who would like to receive a visit from Father Tran? Perhaps the sick/homebound person is feeling isolated from the parish community and would like to receive communion on a regular basis. Please phone the parish office on 9808 1006 Baptism at St Scholastica’s It is a requirement of the parish that a Baptism information night must be attended prior to having your child baptised. Contact the parish office on 9808 1006 to make a booking into one of the monthly sessions. Next session: Thursday 1 November 2018 at 7:30pm in the Gathering Area. Children’s Liturgy - 2nd Sunday of the Month The Children’s Liturgy is held on the 2nd Sunday of each month at the 9am Mass. The next Children’s Liturgy is: Sunday 14th October - 9am Mass. As the Children’s Liturgy

commences with Father giving the children a special blessing at the beginning of Mass, we ask that all children attending are punctual so they don’t miss this important part. We look forward to welcoming all children to our next Children’s Liturgy.

Seniors Social Night Functions We’d love to see you at our next Senior Singles Social Night Functions. The Seniors Single Social Nights are a regular occurrence each month. The October nights out will be held at Blackburn Hotel at 6:30pm. The dates for October are:

Men’s Dinner - Tuesday 16th October

Ladies Dinner - Tuesday 30th October

Please be aware that transport can be arranged so please contact the Parish Office, if you are looking for assistance in getting there. Mark your diary now. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd - Holiday Retreats Tuesday this past week, our Confirmation Children from 2017 were invited to come for a morning of prayer to explore the gifts of the Spirit. We shared how they have used the gifts in high school Yr 7, 8 and 9 this year. We also focussed on using these gifts in service to our community and had a very productive working bee with the children staining wood and doing paper mache for new works in the Atrium. On Wednesday, 7 children from Level II came together for a special time deepening their relationship with Jesus through prayer in the Atrium and also at the 11am Healing Mass. Some of these children are receiving their sacraments overseas in December, and three of the children are preparing to move up to Albury with their family to attend Mary MacKillop College. It was a lovely time together. Thank you for always welcoming the children.

Daylight Savings begins this weekend -

remember to put your clocks forward 1 hour!

Forest Hill Chase “Shop for Your School” Collect shopping points for St Scholastica’s Primary each time you shop at the Chase between October 2 – October 31, 2018. The schools with the most points will receive cash prizes and the participating schools will receive a gift card. Receipts (from any retailer at the shopping centre) can be registered at the Customer Service Desk at Forest Hill Chase or customers and parents alike can register the points online at: www.foresthillchaseschoolrewards.com.au People can register points anonymously if they don’t want to leave their details. We would appreciate your support in this fundraiser for our school.

ORANGE SKY LAUNDRY - What We Do We have a simple formula; we provide a platform for every day Australians to connect through a regular laundry and shower service. The focus is on creating a safe, positive and supportive environment for people who are too often ignored or who feel disconnected from the community. Our volunteers are not social workers or experts on homelessness - they are empathetic listeners and great conversationalists. Event Make a Difference: Trivia Afternoon Location St Faith’s Burwood parish hall, 4 Charles Street, Glen Iris, Date Saturday 13 October 2018 at 4.30pm Tickets from www.trybooking.com and are only $10.00 students and $15.00 adults

The 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B 6th and 7th October 2018 Entrance Antiphon

Within your will, O Lord, all things are established, and there is none that can resist your will. For you have made all things, the heaven and the earth, and all that is held within the circle of heaven; you are the Lord of all. First Reading: Genesis 2:18-24

A reading from the book of Genesis They were two in one flesh. The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them, each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed: ‘This at last is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh! This is to be called woman, for this was taken from man.’ This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God Responsorial Psalm: Ps 18:8. 10. 12-14. R. v.9

R. May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives. O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways! By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper. R.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in the heart of your house; your children like shoots of the olive, around your table. R. Indeed thus shall be blessed the man who fears the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion in a happy Jerusalem all the days of your life! May you see your children’s children. On Israel, peace! R. Second Reading: Hebrews 2:9-11

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews He who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified have one origin. We see in Jesus one who was for a short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all mankind. As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation. For the one who sanctifies, and the ones who are sanctified, are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls them brothers. The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Gospel Acclamation:

Alleluia, alleluia! If we love one another, God will live in us in perfect love. Alleluia! Gospel: Mark 10:2-16

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark What God has joined together, no one must divide.

Some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’ People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Communion Antiphon

The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him.

Readings for 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 14th October 2018

First Reading: Wisdom 7:7-11

Second Reading: Hebrews 4:12-13

Gospel: Mark 10:17-30

Scripture Commentary for The 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The issue of marriage and divorce, which is the common theme between the First Reading and the Gospel today, appears rather intrusively at this point in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus has been instructing his disciples concerning his coming passion. The next issue will be that of the detachment discipleship will require in the matter of wealth. It may be that St Mark has placed these two issues – radical fidelity in married life and radical detachment in the matter of wealth – one after the other at this point as concrete illustrations of the demands of discipleship. That is, both have to do with areas where the following of Jesus takes on a path that runs strongly counter to prevailing customs and standards – something as valid, of course, in our own day as in the time of Jesus. That said, any pastor would be aware that no Sunday Gospel read out through the year will require more sensitive handling than this one. Any congregation today will include a considerable number of people in second marriages or people with family members in that situation. In many, if not most cases, the situation will have come about through circumstances beyond their control or from which they cannot now responsibly free themselves. To simply read out the rulings of Jesus in the Gospel without comment or nuance would be to turn Gospel into Law and simply add to a burden of guilt that may already be oppressive. It does seem clear from the New Testament record that Jesus did rule out divorce and remarriage. This was something that set his community’s standards in the matter clearly apart from what prevailed in the Judaism of his day and in the wider Greco-Roman world. That said, we must take into account that life expectancy in the ancient world was less than half that prevailing in developed Western societies today. Moreover, Jesus and the early community lived in the expectation that the world as presently constituted was soon – perhaps in the very same generation – going to pass away (cf. Mark 9:1). Contemplation of a second marriage in such a situation would have been a very different proposition from what it is in societies where people live much longer and where the sense that the present shape of the world is going to be around indefinitely prevails. Already the ‘exceptive clause’ in the version of Jesus’ rulings on divorce in Matthew’s Gospel (5:32; 19:9) shows some accommodation to new situations in which believers found themselves. Moreover, the reality is that people make mistakes and relationships fail – something which longer life spans and the high premium currently placed upon personal freedom and development make more prevalent. The Church has to find a way to help people grow through failure and find in it an experience of grace and deepened knowledge of God. Jesus’ restoration of lifelong fidelity in marriage reclaims the original design of God expressed in the creation story of Genesis 2-3. The First Reading, Genesis 2:18-24 offers an extract from this to which Jesus makes appeal in the Gospel. What we have in the text is not ‘history’ but an ‘aetiological narrative’: a story cast back in the time of origins to account for what is or what ought to be in the present – here the social institution of marriage. Making no mention of procreation, the text displays a remarkable sense of the companionship, friendship and mutual recognition in love that should surround sexual union. The love expressed in the union of two in one flesh should simply be the most intimate physical expression of a commitment in companionship and intimacy, embracing the totality of life. The Mosaic law did not ‘permit’ divorce. It simply recognised it as a reality in human life and sought, on ‘harm minimisation process’, to reduce the harsh effects it could have upon women. The bill of divorce certified that she was free from any suspicion of having simply abandoned her husband (Deut 24:1-4). Jesus in the Gospel, Mark 10:2-12 (13-16), insists that this provision, which he sees as introduced by Moses because of human ‘hardness of heart,’ must yield before the initial design of the Creator revealed in the creation story standing at the head of the Bible. The Kingdom of God, the onset of which is the background to all his teaching, seeks to reclaim this original design of the Creator or, better, to bring it to realisation for the first time. The community of disciples, as the ‘beachhead’ of the Kingdom in the world, are called to live out and bear witness to this original ideal. In the Second Reading, from Hebrews 2:9-11, the idea of God ‘making perfect through suffering’ may need some nuance; biblical thought does not clearly distinguish consequence (operative here) from intention. © Brendan Byrne SJ