Sunday 14 August 2016 Season of Pentecost www.olol.org.au the assumption The Epistle The Gospel of the virgin And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold and my spirit rejoices in God my fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in Saviour, for he has looked with favour on showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from in Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your now on all generations will call me blessed; hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in for the Mighty One has done great things prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, extend hospitality to strangers. for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to Bless those who persecute you; bless and generation. He has shown strength with his do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. arm; he has scattered the proud in the Next Sunday’s Readings Rom 12: 9-15 thoughts of their hearts. He has brought Fifteenth Sunday blessed Feast of the Assumption down the powerful from their thrones, and of Pentecost 1Thess 1: 1-10 On behalf of our Bishop, lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry Lk 7: 36-50 with good things, and sent the rich away His Excellency Antoine-Charbel, empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in From Mary our Dean Father Tony, all the priests, subdeacon, remembrance of his mercy, according to we learn to staff and committees, the promise he made to our ancestors, to surrender to we would like to wish you all a Abraham and to his descendants forever.” God's Will in Blessed Feast of the Assumption. Lk 1: 46-55 all things. May the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Prayer of the week From Mary Assumption, always inspire us to O most powerful Lady of Lebanon, we learn to follow her example, and with her who has soared like the trust even be icons of the Father’s Mercy. cedars of Lebanon, you are the Icon of the Father's Mercy. when all hope We ask you, on the feast of your seems gone. Assumption into heaven From Mary we to grant us victory in times learn to love of challenge, protect our children Christ her Son from trouble, empower them to defend their faith and grant us and the Son light and strength. of God! Amen! Saint John Paul II SUNDAY HOLY LITURGIES (Masses) OLOL Co -Cathedral, Harris Park 8am (Arabic), 9:30am (English Family), 11am (Ar/Eng), 5pm (Ar/Eng), 7pm (English Youth) Mass Centre - St Patrick’s, Guildford 6pm (Ar/Eng) WEEKDAY HOLY LITURGIES (Masses) Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 7am, 8.45am & 6pm. Wed 7am, 8.45am & 5:30pm; 7pm (English Youth) Sat 7:30am & 6pm (Ar/Eng) CONFESSIONS Before and during Saturday 6pm and Sunday Masses or by appointment on weekdays WEEKDAY DEVOTIONS Rosary: Mon & Tues 8pm, Wed 6:30pm, Thurs 7:30pm Sun 6:30pm Divine Mercy followed by Rosary Fri 7:30pm Adoration Hour: Thursdays 8pm – 9pm 42 Hour Adoration: Every first Friday of the month from 9:30am - Saturday 7:30am Parish Contacts : Office: 9689 2899 Fax: 9689 2068. (Email: [email protected]). Fr Tony Sarkis (Dean): 0433 211 248 A.P’s: Fr Youwakim Noujaim 0406 060 445. Fr Raphael Abboud 0401 627 777. Fr Pierre Khoury 0411 735 258. Fr Youhanna Khalife 0403 715 105. Fr Antoun Bou Antoun 9689 2899. Fr Paul Joubeir 0414 900 016. Fr Bernard Assi 0411 811 807. Fr Yuhanna Azize 0435 764 824. Subdeacon Danny Nouh 0477 008 787. Light from the word Mary of Nazareth On the lips of a woman are placed revolutionary words that proclaim the greatness of God. That woman is Mary of Nazareth, the very woman we celebrate on the Feast of the Assumption, the Patroness of our Parish. Who is this woman that generations after generations have made Queen of their hearts? Mary of Nazareth is only mentioned a number of times in the Gospels, taking a prominent role in the events leading up to the birth of Jesus. She appears again when Jesus is twelve and she makes a significant decision at the Wedding of Cana (Jn 2:1-12). For the most part we don’t hear or see much of Mary during Jesus’ ministry, but once again at the Crucifixion she is there, and continues to support the disciples in prayer, after the Ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:14). These passages on Mary maybe few and far between, but they speak volumes about this woman. We know she was the only person who was with Jesus from his birth to his death on the Cross. She said yes to God’s plan with her response, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word’ (Lk 1:38). Thus she became the first disciple, the first chosen by God. She was a woman who anticipated much from God’s mercy and was instrumental in revealing God’s power and wonder as heard in the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55) and the wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-12). Mary was receptive to the Spirit of God working in her life as we read, ‘Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart’ (Lk 2:19 and Lk 2:51). Mary of Nazareth, a woman of prayer, commitment and discipleship to the very end of your days, we pray that you bless us and draw us closer to Christ. Amen Sr Margaret Ghosn MSHF The Servant’s Word “His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation” Brothers and Sisters, After months of preparation and anticipation, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary has dawned upon us bringing with it the graces of community and holiness. Our journey began last Friday with our Opening Mass and a beautiful procession in the streets of Harris Park in honour of Our Lady. On Saturday night we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord and the sense of community was transfigured in our parish through the Souk Festival night. Our youth on Sunday night celebrated the feast in prayer and celebration and on Monday night we paid tribute to the Sodality of the Immaculate Conception on their 40th Anniversary through a beautiful Mass which was celebrated by His Excellency Antoine-Charbel followed by dinner in the Cathedral Hall. On Tuesday night we were absolutely enthralled by the music and reflections of the children of our parish who truly captivated us with the “My Church” concert. On Wednesday night, Bishop Bosco Puthur inspired us with his talk on the devotion to Our Lady in the Syro-Malabar tradition. Thursday we worshiped and adored Our Lord in the blessed sacrament of the Eucharist as we prepared for his Mother’s Feast. Throughout Feast Week we have been praying the Rosary and Novena of Our Lady of Lebanon for all your intentions. And ofcourse we continue our festivities with the Parish BBQ and the pinnacle of our celebrations through the Solemn Divine Liturgy on the day of the Feast. From generation to generation Feast week continues to grow in our parish bringing together the different generations in both prayer and community. The parish has truly been buzzing with activity with all the priests, subdeacon, sisters, over 22 committees and groups and all our volunteers working together in a spirit of love and unity for over three months to ensure its success. We have prayed together, worked together, sung together, clapped and laughed together and at times we have cried together. Through all of this, we have tried to be icons of the Father’s Mercy, in the same way that Mary teaches us. This is what the Feast of the Assumption is all about! Mary’s example is the key that will open the door of mercy, the door that is our Lord Jesus Christ. Mary who is the Mother of mercy, the Mother of prayer and the Mother of hope is the radiant icon that is sculpted in love and humility. Mary praises and magnifies the Merciful Father through her work and example in the history of salvation. Through our work as a community, we also praise and magnify the Lord through her example. On behalf of my brother priests and subdeacon and all our committees, I would like to thank you all for celebrating this glorious feast with us. Thank you to all the sponsors, volunteers, all the hard working men and women who have worked tirelessly cooking, cleaning, organising and preparing. In the words of Mary, his mercy is for YOU, each one of YOU, who fear him from generation to generation. Fr Tony Sarkis Article of the Week distractions in our every day lives I want you to reflect on something, what would you do if you were stranded on an island with no phone, no tablet, and no T.V, no video games, no computer, no radio, no books, no magazines, pretty much no media? That’s a pretty comprehensive list of things that can be possible distractions in our everyday life, and I probably haven’t even scratched the surface, of things that can be distracting. In reality these things that I have mentioned are not bad; on the contrary they are good things which enrich our daily lives.