Saturday 29 December 2012

Pope Benedict XVI's Message on the Feast of the Holy Family


BENEDICT XVI (December 28,  2011)
 “Our continuing catechesis on prayer leads us, during this Christmas season, to reflect on the place of prayer in the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth. In the home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we learn to contemplate the mystery of God’s presence and to grow as faithful disciples of Christ. The Gospels present Mary as the supreme model of prayerful medition on the mysteries of Christ’s life; in praying the Rosary, in fact, we unite ourselves to her contemplation of those mysteries in faith and hope. Saint Joseph fulfilled his vocation as the father of the Holy Family by teaching Jesus the importance of quiet fidelity to work, prayer and observance of the precepts of the Law. Jesus’ unique relationship with his heavenly Father was reflected in the prayer life of the Holy Family and stands at the heart of all Christian prayer. May the example of the Holy Family inspire all Christian families to be schools of prayer, where parents and children alike come to know that closeness to God which we joyfully celebrate in these days of Christmas.”

The Story of Christmas

Found this cute video produced in New Zealand about children trying to explain how God decided to organized the first Christmas.


Below is the Nativity Story that they performed last year


Hope You all Enjoy & Merry Christmas to all !!!

Saturday 22 December 2012

CCSJ 's Message On Green Living


The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) of St. Joseph/Mt. D’Or Parish, Trinidad has become one of the newest groups in the parish, taking off successfully in 2012. The group is committed to promoting work which addresses social and environmental justice issues. Social justice issues include a focus on welfare and the poor. Work surrounding environmental justice issues is often overlooked and so the CCSJ appreciated the theme for respect for life week as it provided a platform to show just how the CCSJ incorporates environmental justice issues in its mission. This is in keeping with Catholic Social Teaching which encourages us to be stewards of God's creation with love and wisdom. The central message of Catholic Social Teaching on the environment is that mankind was commissioned by God to act as steward for the earth's resources, and guardian of God's "creative work".


The Catholic Church has been communicating its position on environmental conservation through some major global forums and through the work of different groups and organisations in the Church throughout the world. The late Pope John Paul II left us with numerous readings on the subject. He taught that it is man's responsibility to "defend and promote life, to show reverence and love for it is a task which God entrusts to every man, calling him as his living image to share his own lordship over the world ..." (Evangelium Vitae, Section 42 (1995).

The ecological crisis is a moral issue. Environmental and social justice issues cannot be divorced especially in the case of the poor. In the past the Church has taught that "the whole human race suffers as a result of environmental blight, and generations yet unborn will bear the cost for our failure to act today. But in most countries today, including our own, it is the poor and the powerless that most directly bear the burden of current environmental carelessness."

As in the case of the poor "their lands and neighborhoods are more likely to be polluted or to host toxic waste dumps, their water to be undrinkable, their children to be harmed". They are "caught in a spiral of poverty and environmental degradation, poor people suffer acutely from the loss of soil fertility, pollution of rivers and urban streets, and the destruction of forest resources. Overcrowding and unequal land distribution often force them to overwork the soil, clear the forests, or migrate to marginal land. Their efforts to eke out a bare existence add in its own way to environmental degradation and not infrequently to disaster for themselves and others who are equally poor."

(These quotes were taken from the Renewing the Earth article which draws on two other articles: An Invitation to Reflection and Action on Environment in Light of Catholic Social Teaching A Pastoral Statement of the United States Catholic Conference
November 14, 1991
and Pope John Paul II, The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility, nos. 1, 15, December 8, 1989)

Pope John Paul II further added that, man has been called to "till and look after the 
garden of the world (cf. Gen 215) [therefore] man has a specific responsibility towards the environment in which he lives, towards the creation which God has put at the service of his personal dignity, of his life, not only for the present but also for future generations" (Evangelium Vitae, Section 42 (1995).

Whether poor or not, environmental issues affect our health and in turn our life. This is why we found it fitting to have as part of our activities for Respect for Life Week in October 2012, a lecture on diabetes, a lifestyle disease affecting many. We also held a talk on organic planting that also aimed to send home this message. As stewards, we not only care for the environment and all of God's creation, but we should also show appreciation for the gift of life by trying to live healthy lives. Our speaker, Mr. Nicholas Roberts exemplified the life of a true steward of the environment and has proven to be an inspiration to us all through his two projects on organic home farming/gardening and collection of plastics, bottles and more, for reuse and recycling.  He does composting using garden waste from gardeners in his neighborhood and uses it to grow his organic produce. His garden is a model of how material can be reused to serve as vessels for plants.

In the pursuit of environmental justice, this kind of action should be encouraged and supported. Pope John Paul II says it best in his Liturgy of the word celebrated in Zamosc, Poland on June 12, 1999: "Only those who till the land can really testify that the barren earth does not produce fruit, but when cared for lovingly it is a generous provider".



The Catholic Committee for Social Justice, St. Joseph/Mt. D’Or Parish, St. Joseph, Trinidad, would like to share this message to encourage Catholic green living for environmental justice. Please receive this message with and open heart and an open mind and let us pray towards greater environmental justice in the world today.

Writer
Juliana Sherma Foster









Announcements


4thSunday of Advent Year C – December 23, 2012

1.      Contributions for the Archbishop’s Appeal – Cathedral Restoration Fund continues. Persons or families desirous of contributing to the fund on a monthly basisare reminded to use the specially marked envelopes and place in the collection basket.

2.      The collections for Christmas and Easter at all parishes in the Archdiocese of Port of Spain are pooled together in a common fund called ‘Clergy Pool’. It is from this pool priests and administrators serving in the rural, urban and city parishes receive a monthly stipend of 2100 TT. So please use the specially marked envelopes and please give generously.

3.      We invite all who hold the leases for the plots in the Catholic Cemeterys in St. Joseph to present themseves (with said leases and ID documents) in the Parish Office between 14th of January and 17th of May 2013 in order to review the leases and to be informed about policy regarding the upkeep of the parish cemeteries.
The consequence of not applaing with this request is termination of the lease.

4.      The 2013 Catholic Almanacs are on sale at the Catholic News Stand and cost $3.00.

Schedule of Masses For Christmas & New Years


Masses during the Holy Time of Christmas 2012:

24th Dec (Mon.).: Christmas Eve: 6.00 PM – St. Jude Chapel, Mt. D’or.
25th Dec (Tue).: Christmas: 0.00 AM (Midnight Mass) and 8.30 AM – St, Joseph RC Church
26th Dec (Wed.).: St. Stephen (Boxing Day): 7.00 AM – St. Joseph RC Church
27th Dec (Thr.).: St. John: 7.00 AM - St. Joseph RC Church (blessing of the wine)
28th Dec (Fri.).: Holy Innocents: 7.00 AM and 6.00 PM – St. Joseph RC Church (blessing of the children)
29th Dec (Sat.).: Vigil of the Holy Family: 5.00 PM – St. Jude Chapel and 6.30 PM – St. Joseph RC Church
30th Dec (Sun.).: Holy Family: 6.00 AM and 8.30 AM – St. Joseph RC Church
31st Dec.: New Year Eve: 6.00 PM – St. Jude Chapel, Mt. D’or
1st Jan. 2012: New Year’s Day: 0.00 AM and 8.30 AM - St. Joseph RC Church

Monday 10 December 2012

Pope Benedict XVI's Advent Reflection

At his Dec. 5 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged Christians to live out their faith during Advent.


Definition of Advent


The word Advent derives from the Latin word meaning coming. The Lord is coming. We may reflect that every year at this time we celebrate his coming , so that in a sense we can lose the feeling of expectancy and joyful anticipation, because at the end of the season, everything seems to return to pretty much the same routine. If that is the case, then our preparation may have been lacking and we have therefore been robbed of much of the true meaning of this season.
During Advent we recall the history of God's people and reflect on how the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled. This gives us a background for the present. Today we can reflect on the past track record of God and so begin to understand what it means to us now for the sake of what is to come, in our own future and that of our world.
© Liguori Publications Excerpt from Advent - A Quality Storecupboard The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
from Wikipedia
An acolyte lighting Advent candles
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The term is ananglicized version of the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming." It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday. The Eastern churches'equivalent of Advent is called the Nativity Fast, but it differs both in length and observances and does not begin the church year, which starts instead on September 1.[1] At least in theRoman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Moravian, Presbyterianand Methodist calendars, Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25, which is the Sunday from November 27 toDecember 3 inclusive.[2]
Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from two different perspectives. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming.

Traditions

Advent wreaths are used to mark the passage of the season
The theme of readings and teachings during Advent is often to prepare for the Second Coming while commemorating the First Coming of Christ at Christmas. With the view of directing the thoughts of Christians to the first coming of Jesus Christ as savior and to his second coming as judge, special readings are prescribed for each of the four Sundays in Advent.
The usual liturgical colour in Western Christianity for Advent is either purple or blue.[3] The purple color is often used forhangings around the church, on the vestments of the clergy, and often also the tabernacle.
On the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, rose may be used instead, referencing the rose used on Laetare Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Lent.
In some Christian denominations, blue, a colour representing hopefulness, is an alternative liturgical colour for Advent, a custom traced to the usage of the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) and the medievalSarum Rite in England. In addition, the colour blue is also used in the Mozarabic Rite (Catholic and Anglican), which dates to the eighth century. This colour is often referred to as "Sarum blue". TheLutheran Book of Worship lists blue as the preferred colour for Advent while the Methodist Book of Worship identifies purple or blue as being appropriate for Advent. There has been an increasing trend to supplant purple with blue during Advent as it is a hopeful season of preparation that anticipates both Bethlehem and the consummation of history in the second coming of Jesus Christ.[4] Proponents of this new liturgical trend argue that purple is traditionally associated with solemnity and somberness, which is fitting to the repentant character of Lent.
During the Nativity Fast, red is used among the denominations of Eastern Christianity, although gold is an alternative color.[5]
In Advent, the Advent Prose, an antiphonal plainsong, may be sung. The "Late Advent Weekdays",December 17–24, mark the singing of the Great Advent 'O antiphons'.[6] These are the antiphons for theMagnificat at Vespers, or Evening Prayer (in the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches) and Evensongin Anglican churches each day and mark the forthcoming birth of the Messiah. They form the basis for each verse of the popular Advent hymn, "O come, O come, Emmanuel".
A child lighting candles on an Advent wreath in Serbia.
From the 4th century the season was kept as a period of fasting as strict as that of Lent (commencing in some localities on 11 November; this being the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, the fast became known as "St. Martin's Lent", "St. Martin's Fast" or the "forty days of St. Martin"). The feast day was in many countries a time of frolic and heavy eating, since the 40-day fast began the next day. In the Anglican and Lutheran churches this fasting rule was later relaxed, with the Roman Catholic Church doing likewise later, but still keeping Advent as a season of penitence. In addition to fasting, dancing and similar festivities were forbidden in these traditions. The third Sunday in Advent was a Rose Sunday, when the color of the vestments was changed and a relaxation of the fast was permitted. The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches still hold the tradition of fasting for 40 days before the Nativity Feast.
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church [Ed. F.L.Cross, 2nd ed., O.U.P., 1974] states regarding Advent: "The first clear references to the season in the Western Church come from the latter half of the 6th century. In the Gelasian Sacramentary Advent Collects, Epistles, and Gospels are provided for the five Sundays preceding Christmas and for the corresponding Wednesdays and Fridays." (p. 19).
Advent Lanterns
In many countries Advent was long marked by diverse popular observances, some of which still survive. In England, especially in the northern counties, there was a custom (now extinct) for poor women to carry around the "Advent images", two dolls dressed to represent Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. A halfpenny coin was expected from every one to whom these were exhibited and bad luck was thought to menace the household not visited by the doll-bearers before Christmas Eveat the latest.[7]
In Normandy, farmers employed children under twelve to run through the fields and orchards armed with torches, setting fire to bundles of straw, and thus it is believed driving out such vermin as are likely to damage the crops.[8] In Italy, among other Advent celebrations, is the entry into Rome in the last days of Advent of the Calabrian pifferari, or bagpipe players, who play before the shrines of Mary, the mother of Jesus, the Italian tradition being that the shepherds played these pipes when they came to the manger at Bethlehem to pay homage to the infant Jesus.[9]
In recent times the most common observance of Advent outside church circles has been the keeping of an advent calendar or advent candle, with one door being opened in the calendar, or one section of the candle being burned, on each day in December leading up to Christmas Eve. The keeping of an advent wreath is also a common practice, with four or five candles extending from the wreath. The colours associated with the candles are variously interpreted.[10]

End of the liturgical year

Censing during solemn Advent vespers
In Anglican churches the Sunday before Advent is sometimes nicknamed Stir-up Sunday[11] after the opening lines of theBook of Common Prayer collect for that day. In the Roman Catholic Church since 1969, and in most Anglican churches since at least 2000, the final Sunday of the liturgical year before Advent has been celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King. This feast is now also widely observed in many Protestant churches, sometimes as the Reign of Christ. In consequence, the collect for the first Sunday of Advent in the Episcopal Church USA is no longer "stir up". Since the 1979 revision of the Book of Common Prayer that collect is read on the third Sunday of the season.
- Taken from Catholic Online. 

Wednesday 31 October 2012

Announcements


1.      On the Thursday of this coming week we celebrate the beautiful feast of All Saints. Masses will be celebrated in St. Joseph Church at 6 am and in St. Jude Chapel at 6 pm. We would like to invite you to come and celebrate this solemnity. On the 2nd of November we celebrate the All Souls day. Masses will be celebrated in St. Joseph Church at 6 am and 6 pm. Before masses we will recite the rosary for our departed brothers and sisters after theses masses we will go with short and simple procession to our so called ‘private cemetery’. Once again we would like to invite you and pray for the departed members of our community.

2.      We would like to remind you that in comming days you can obtain the indulgence for the souls of those who are dear to you. A partial indulgence can be obtained by devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed, even if the prayer is only mental. One can gain a plenary indulgence visiting a cemetery between November 1 and November 8 and fulfilling ordinary conditions: a.) the faithful must receive the sacrament of confession, either eight days before or after the pious act is performed, b.) receive Holy Communion on that day; c.) and recite prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father (one Our Father and one Hail Mary is the minimum, but any other additional prayers may be added). These indulgences are applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory.

3.      To deepen our experience and understanding during this year of ‘Faith’ you are invited to join the RCIA group as we explore the ALPHA Programme. Alpha can help to dispel our doubts, answer questions about our faith, and help us to live our Christian faith. We meet on Fridays @7pm.

4.       Registration for Infant Baptisms for November 17th & December 15th is ongoing. Parents are asked to register on Monday afternoon’s at the parish office.

5.      The next Mass for the Sick and Shut-ins is November 17th @ 10am at St. Joseph. Eucharistic Ministers who take Holy Communion to the Sick, please make arrangements for these persons to attend this Mass. If transport is needed or if you can assist with transport, please notify Chris Singh.

6.      Envelopes for the Novena of Masses for our Deceased Relatives & Friends are now available. You can place the completed envelopes in the Collection Basket, or give it to Father, Catherine our Sacristan, Mr. Smith or Deacon Jeffrey. We would like to encourage you to offer masses for the dead. We are still together in the same community of the Church and we rely on the help of one another. So let us pray for our departed and help them to reach the heaven.

7.      Please enjoy reading of our parish Newsletter.

8.      From this week the office hours of the Parish Priest are: Thursdays and Fridays, 4 - 5 pm.

Cinema Club Feature Movie - Padre Pio


On Nov 11th, the Cinema will present the film “Padre Pio”. This movie captures Padre Pio's intense faith and devotion, and deep spiritual concern for others, as well as his great compassion for the sick and suffering. 

It reveals the amazing details and events in Padre Pio's life as a boy and throughout his 50 years as a friar, especially his wounds of the stigmata. The movie dramatizes the frequent attacks of the Devil on him, as well as the persecution he suffered at the hands of people, including those in the church.

The movie is 3 and a half hours long and therefore will start promptly at 4pm and have a brief intermission at the end of Part 1. The movie will be followed by a short discussion on how we can follow the saint’s virtues. The movie is open to all over the age of 15. Bring along snacks to share with others. Come and enjoy faith, fellowship and inspiration with your fellow parishoners.

Should Catholics Participate in Halloween Festivities?


If we want to bring Christ’s wandering sheep back into the fold, we need to follow the same pattern of creative evangelization.
by Father John Bartunek, LC | Source: Catholic.net
Question: Some parents at the Catholic school where my child attends want to have a Halloween Party. I am really disturbed by this. To me it seems clearly antithetical to our faith to celebrate a pagan ritual rooted in the idea that sacrifice to demonic spirits would ward off their punishment. Even if the meaning is watered down at this point, the practice still celebrates evil and minimizes its dangers and realities. Am I on target here or do I just need to relax and let this happen?

Answer: Let’s start by making some practical distinctions, and then reflect on the spiritual principle touched on by this question – a principle that comes into play more often than just on Halloween.

If the proposed Halloween party is to take place at the Catholic school, it is perfectly reasonable to be concerned.  If the proposed party is to take place at the family’s house, your indignation should be a bit less strident, I would imagine, and should be mixed with compassion for this couple that may not be as educated as you are in the Catholic faith.  In the second case, your reaction will depend on the quality of your relationship with that couple.  If you know them, you may want to approach them to talk about it – after all, their idea of a Halloween party may have no relationship to demonic sacrifices or celebrating evil.  If you don’t know the couple, you may want to make this an occasion to introduce yourself, or you may want to simply make sure your own children understand your concerns and have clear ideas about Halloween.
In any of the above cases, however, your goal should be to build momentum at the school to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve (an earlier name for “Halloween”) in a Catholic way.  Kids like Halloween.  If you appear to be stomping on their fun for religious reasons, you could easily created the impression that the Catholic faith leaves no room for fun.  Bad (and wrong) idea.


Catholic Halloween?

So, what is the Catholic way to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve?  When the Church’s Solemnity of All Saints was moved to November 1 (back in the ninth century), it gave Catholics a chance to baptize an ancient pagan tradition.  The Celtic peoples used to celebrate their New Year on November 1, and they believed that the spirits of the dead, both good and evil, wandered earth again the night before.  To protect themselves from those spirits, they had ceremonies involving costumes and fire – lighting bonfires to keep the ghouls away, and wearing sacred masks to scare them, for example.  A later Roman tradition (pagan Rome) added trick-or-treating to the Celtic practice, as the Romans celebrated the harvest at the same time.  (More fun facts and a more detailed history can be found at this resource list.)  Baptizing these pagan customs simply involved interacting with the dead from a Christian perspective instead of a non-Christian one.  And so, on November 1 we honor and ask for intercession from the saints – the dead who died in friendship with Christ and are now in heaven – while on November 2 we pray for the souls in purgatory – the dead who died in friendship with Christ but are still being purified from selfishness before they can enjoy the fullness of communion with God.

It isn’t hard to give a Halloween party a Christian spin, when this is understood.  Costumes can be those of saints.  Treats can be related to heaven.  Games can be fun, celebrating the hope for eternal life…


Creative Evangelization

And that brings us to the spiritual principle at work here.  As the Church expanded into pagan lands, Christians had to figure out how to communicate their faith to people with radically different world views.  Almost always, the most fruitful interaction was that in which the Christians were able to find some seeds of truth or beauty in the pagan practices, embrace them, and show their more complete meaning in the Christian context.  In other words, whenever missionaries met the pagans where they were at, the pagans more easily learned to understand and appreciate the Christian faith.  On the other hand, when the Christians met pagan customs only with blanket condemnation, progress was harder to come by.

Let me quote Pope St Gregory the Great’s advice to missionaries in seventh-century England in this regard (just so you don’t think I’m making it up):

Do not destroy the pagan temples, but instead sprinkle them with holy water, set up altars in them, and place relics there.  In the places where it has been the pagan custom to offer sacrifices to their diabolical idols, allow them to celebrate Christian festivals instead, in another form, on the same date.  For example, on the festival of the blessed Martyrs, have the faithful make bowers of branches, and organize love feasts there.  In permitting the converted these external pleasures, the joys of the soul will be more easily acquired.  We cannot wipe the whole post from these savage souls all at once.  A man does not climb a mountain in great bounds, but by taking slow, steady steps. (Letter to Miletus, 601)

Today we are missionaries in a neo-pagan culture, in many ways.  If we want to bring Christ’s wandering sheep back into the fold, we need to follow the same pattern of creative evangelization.  I hope you can do so this upcoming Halloween.


Yours in Christ, Fr John Bartunek, LC, ThD 

Sunday 21 October 2012

Novena to St. Jude

We would like to invite you to give thanks to God with us for St. Jude asking St. Jude to pray with and for us. We gather at St. Jude Chapel, Mt. D’or:
Friday, 19th of October: Novena at 5.30 pm followed by Holy Mass at 6.00 pm.
Saturday, 20th of October: Novena at 4.30 pm followed by Holy Mass at 6.00 pm.
Sunday, 21st October – Wednesday, 24th October: Novena at
5.30 pm

Triduum to St. Jude: The Faith
Saturday, 26th October, the Feast of St. Jude, our Saint Patron: Novena at 4.30 pm followed by Holy Mass at 5.00 pm


Thursday, 25th October and Friday, 26th October: Novena at 5.30 pm followed by Holy Mass and Conference at 6.00 pm



About St. Jude

St. Jude is known as the brother of Saint James the Less. According to tradition, he wrote the epistle bearing his name in the New Testament as well, although this is not as certain.


In his letter he stressed having faith in apostolic teachings in the midst of heresies through fraternal charity, prayer, and loving obedience to God. According to the historian Eusebius he assisted in his brother St. Simeon’s election as Bishop of Jerusalem in 62 A.D.

St. Jude is said to have preached the gospel in such regions as Judea, Samaria, Libya, and Mesopotamia, before suffering martyrdom in Armenia, which was then part of Persia. According to one account, he is said to have cured the King of Edessa’s leprosy in Mesopotamia with an image of Jesus’s face that our Lord had pressed on a cloth.

The king was so impressed he converted to Christianity, along with much of his family and kingdom. Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words! St. Jude converted countless others to the faith as well.

He is often shown in drawings, like the one above, holding an image of Jesus in one hand and a club (a symbol of his martyrdom) in the other. Often the Holy Spirit is seen over his head as a tongue of fire (in remembrance of Pentecost when He came upon the apostles).

- Excerpt taken from Our Catholic Prayers


The Year of Faith 2012 - 2013


Over the last two weeks I'm sure that you've been hearing about the Year of Faith. Either about preparing for it or about its celebration on October 11th 2012. But what is the Year of Faith all about?

One of the primary objectives of the year of Faith is simply about rediscovering the journey of faith in the Catholic church with renewed vigor, love and enthusiasm for the church. During this year we're asked not to just receive the Body and Blood of Christ during the Eucharist but to receive it and allow it to be apart of us as we continue to grow in faith and love for the Holy Catholic Church.  

However, this is only the beginning of what is asked of us. This poster taken from CTS Catholic Compass sums it up nicely.



The Year of Faith also has its own logo.

It is composed of a square, bordered field on which a boat, symbolizing the Church, is represented as sailing on a graphically minimal representation of waves. The main mast of the boat is a cross from which sails are displayed in the form of dynamic signs which compose the trigram of Christ (IHS). The background to the sails is a sun which, associated with the trigram, refers also to the Eucharist.










To read the entire Apostolic Letter entitled "PORTA FIDEI" you can click on this link http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20111011_porta-fidei_en.html

   

So how do you see yourself growing during this Year of Faith. In our parish we encourage you to join one or more of our many groups that will help encourage you to develop your faith. Below is a list of some of our groups within the parish.


Do you have further suggestions or would you like to share how you would like to celebrate this Year of Faith? Then you are encouraged to leave a comment in the below .

God Bless.

Monday 3 September 2012

Women of Sorrows Conference


Respect For Life Week


RESPECT FOR LIFE WEEK 2012 Saturday 6 October – Saturday 13 October, 2012

Official Logo for The Year of Faith: “The logo is composed of a square, bordered field on which a boat, symbolizing the Church, is represented as sailing on a graphically minimal representation of waves. The main mast of the boat is a cross from which sails are displayed in the form of dynamic signs which compose the trigram of Christ (IHS). The background to the sails is a sun which, associated with the trigram, refers also to the Eucharist.” See: http://www.annusfidei.va/content/novaevangelizatio/en.html

Theme: Respect life – Be living witnesses to our Faith
Pope Benedict XVI has called for a Year of Faith from 11 Oct 2012 to 24 Nov 2013.
If we live our Faith we will respect ALL life – God’s gift to us.

For further information, contact: The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) on
290-1635 or 299-8945

Monday 13 August 2012

Goodbye Dominik Jurczak OP

Yesterday the Parish of St. Joseph/ Mt. Dor yesterday wished Fr. Dominik goodbye. 
Although he was only here for 33 days, we the parishioners have welcomed him as part of our family:



We pray for him as he continues his journey into priesthood wish him all success in his endeavours. We also hope that one day he will return to celebrate Holy Mass with us again.    




Fr. Dominik also left a very special message on his blog for all of his St. Joseph / Mt.Dor parishioners:



We also welcome Fr. Karol back from his vacation. I'm sure that he had a great time with his family in Poland!