Liturgy

This Sunday's Good News

A reflection for the Third Sunday in Advent by Rev. Prof. Thomas Scirghi SJ. Some parents and students will remember Fr Thomas from his first semester visit, as St Thomas More Chair of Jesuit Studies. This reflection is published the journal, Pastoral Liturgy, edited by Fr Russell Hardiman. We are grateful for permission to reprint here.

Artwork: ©Dorothy Woodward rsj, Emmaus Productions

YOU WILL BE CROWNED WITH EVERLASTING JOY!

The theme of joy runs through today's liturgy. The third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete, or 'joyful' Sunday. It is expressed clearly in the Entrance Antiphon taken from the Letter to the Philippians, "Rejoice in the Lord, always; again I say rejoice. Indeed the Lord is near." (The rose coloured vestments, a change from the violet, signal something different for this Sunday in Advent.)

The prophet Isaiah promises a joyful future for Israel when the desert will bloom with flowers and the air will be filled with joyful song. He sees a day when Israel will be made whole again: the sick will be healed and those in exile will be ransomed by the Lord and return home, singing with everlasting joy. This note of ransom reminds us that, as the saying goes, "freedom is not free." A price must be paid, a sacrifice endured in order for freedom to reign. This ransom brings about our redemption. It is expressed well in today's preface to the Eucharistic Prayer, "He assumed the lowliness of human flesh ... and opened for us the way to eternal salvation." By the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, and his glorious resurrection, we have been "redeemed," literally, "bought back" from slavery in a sinful world, to freedom, crowned with everlasting joy.

However, before we head to the celebration, James advises us to prepare ourselves through patience. In his words, "Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord." Practice patience like the farmer who plants his seed and waits for the precious fruit to emerge. To hear Jesus tell it, that precious fruit is already beginning to emerge. Listen to his litany of good news, which echoes Isaiah's prophecy: the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the dead receive new life. Can we find the healing presence of the Lord in our midst today? How is the Lord restoring us to wholeness?

So we wait with patient anticipation. Isaiah paints a vibrant scene of anticipation, a longing for the world to be restored, with its vivid description of bountiful harvest and social harmony. To be sure, the prophet does not merely engage in wishful thinking - a flight of fancy. Rather, it has been said that a principle of Judeo-Christian belief is that the world should not be the way it is. While we participate in much good and beauty, we also recognize the evil and ugliness around us. We would be naïve not to notice. From the news reports and the stories heard on the street, we are reminded regularly that something is not right. From the tales of oppression and poverty, the idea emerges that the world should not be the way it is. This is not the lament of a pessimist, but the prayer of a realist rooted in faith, the faith of the prophet and the apostles, the faith in God who promised Abraham and Sarah a great nation with many descendants, the faith in Jesus Christ who proclaims good news to the poor.

Nevertheless, we may grow weary while waiting. Sometimes we may find ourselves wondering like John the Baptist. Try to picture him locked in a prison cell. He worries that he may spend the rest of his life in jail, and he wonders if Jesus is the true messiah, or merely a prophet. After all, the good news of Jesus' ministry is not the message which John proclaimed in the desert. John warned of the coming wrath when the one who is to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He will carry a winnowing fan, separating the wheat from the chaff. The wheat- those who have borne good fruit in the field of the Lord - will be gathered into the kingdom of God. The chaff- those who have not produced good fruit - will be bundled and burned. John was left to wonder about Jesus. Soon he would be executed by King Herod, decapitated and his head served on a platter to placate a nefarious queen. Perhaps this is the point of Jesus's statement that while there is no one greater than John the Baptist, still "the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." John did not live to see the fulfillment of Jesus' mission through his death and resurrection. However, those who follow him through the Church - the Body of Christ- know the answer to John's question. Indeed, Jesus is the true messiah, the one to fulfill the prophecy of old. Because of him, we have been ransomed and will be crowned with everlasting joy.

Thomas Scirghi SJ

Source: Pastoral Liturgy, Volume 44, No. 1, December 12013 - March 2014, edited by Fr Russell Hardiman.

Community Mass

Community Mass resumes Friday 7th February 2014. Thank you to all who make this a joyful celebration each week: Gospel Choir; altar servers, all who take on ministries of Reading or Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion; and especially our College Chaplain, Fr Wilson Donizzetti Martins.

Day: Fridays in term time

Time: 8:00

Venue: Chapel

Parish Life

Sacraments

This week Year 3 students celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Once again it was a good experience for the children to have some of our local parish priests available. Thank you to Fr Joseph Sobb SJ from Nedlands, Fr James D'Souza from Cottesloe/Mosman Park and Fr Richard Smith from North Beach. We were also glad to have former colleague, Fr Jamie Calder SJ. (Fr Jamie will be presiding at the children's Christmas Vigil Mass in Holy Rosary, Nedlands). And of course, as always we are grateful to own College chaplain, Fr Wilson Donizettii (also from Cottesloe/Mosman Park Parish).

Do you have a child in Years 2, 3 or 5?

Enquire in your local parish regarding their 2014 Sacramental Program.

What does Family-focused, Parish-based, Catholic School-supported mean?

CATHOLIC SCHOOL SUPPORTED

Does my child need to enrol in the parish catechetical program for sacramental preparation?

Children at John XXIII College complete the classroom component of the Sacramental Programs for Reconciliation (Year3), Communion (Year 4) or Confirmation (Year 6) at the College. (This is the 'School Support' aspect of the program). The parish classes are held for children who attend non-Catholic schools.

PARISH-BASED

What if my regular parish is not my closest?

Children celebrate their First Reconciliation, First Communion or Confirmation within their parish community. 'Parish-based' implies the parish where families gather most frequently or have a sense of belonging.

FAMILY-FOCUSED

Parents, as first educators in the Faith, enrol their children in the sacramental program in their home parish sacramental program.

What should I do?

  • Check your home parish. Many parishes have published their sacramental programs for 2014 and will hold enrolment days early in 2014. Some parishes are enrolling now (City Beach: enrol immediately; Floreat/Wembley: enrolments close 9th February).
  • Alternatively, go to your parish webpage via the PerthCatholic website:

http://www.perthcatholic.org.au/parishes-priests/index.cfm?loadref=16

  • Details of sacramental program from parishes close to John XXIII College are on the College website, and are updated regularly.

Any further queries please contact Mary-Anne Lumley: lumley.mary-anne@johnxxiii.edu.au

ADVENT & CHRISTMAS LITURGIES

Christmas and Advent is the time that many families are drawn to church celbrations. For families in local parishes, see information below, although we recognise that as we are a regional school, many families live outside these boundaries. For Christmas liturgies and events not listed here, enquire at your local parish or find the information on the archdiocesan website: Perthcatholic. http://www.perthcatholic.org.au/parishes-priests/index.cfm?loadref=16

For any assistance in locating your nearest parish, contact Mary-Anne Lumley (as above).

St Thomas the Apostle, Claremont

TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER

5:30pm Children's Mass

7:15pm Christmas Carols

8:00pm Family Mass

WEDNESDAY 25 DECEMBER

7:30am Family Mass

9:30am Family Mass

St Mary Star of the Sea, Cottesloe - Corpus Christi, Mosman Park

TUESDAY 24th DECEMBER Eve Masses

5:30pm

Mosman Park - Corpus Christi Church

English

6:00pm

Cottesloe - Star of the Sea Church

English

7:00pm

Mosman Park - Corpus Christi Church

Spanish

11:30am

Cottesloe - Star of the Sea Church -Carols &Mass

English

WEDNESDAY 25th DECEMBER

8:30am

Mosman Park - Corpus Christi Church

English

10:00 am

Cottesloe - Star of the Sea Church

English

St Cecilia's, Floreat - Our Lady of Victories, Wembley

TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER

6:00pm Family Mass with children's nativity ST CECILIA'S

8:00pm OUR LADY OF VICTORIES

WEDNESDAY 25 DECEMBER

7:30am OUR LADY OF VICTORIES

9:30am ST CECILIA'S

Holy Rosary Nedlands - St Thomas More Collegiate Chapel, Crawley

TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER

6:30pm Family Mass with Fr Jamie Calder SJ - HOLY ROSARY

10:00pm Mass ST THOMAS MORE (Carols at 9:30)

Midnight Mass HOLY ROSARY

St Joseph's, Subiaco

SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER

Carols on the Piazza 7:00pm. (Bring a rug and your Christmas cheer.)

TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER

6:00pm Children's Vigil Mass

9:00pm Vigil Mass

11:15pm Carol Service

12:00pm Midnight Mass

WEDNESDAY 25 DECEMBER

Christmas Morning Mass

Holy Spirit, City Beach

TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER

6:00pm Children's Mass

8:00pm Vigil Mass (followed by supper in the Parish Centre)

NO Midnight Mass

WEDNESDAY 25 DECEMBER

8:00am Mass

9:30am Mass