Ministry Coordinator's News

Hello, and blessings for another newsletter.

November 1st and 2nd saw the church celebrate the solemnity of both All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day respectfully. These days were days of holy obligation and St Joseph’s Catholic College honoured these special days with Year 11 students joining a ceremony on All Saints' Day with our Aberdeen Parish Community.

Please keep in your prayers any school community members who maybe experiencing hardship at this time due to the loss of loved ones.

As we edge closer to the season of Advent we are constantly reminded of the violence and senseless loss of life the world is witnessing. Let’s work together towards a more loving and peaceful world.

Please read the following article from:

Seeking Peace in a Violent World

• by Peter Arndt 24/10/24

On the first anniversary of the horrifying Hamas attack on Israeli kibbutzim, Pope Francis issued a letter to Catholics of the Middle East. In the letter, he insisted that violence never brings peace. He acknowledged that much blood and many tears have been shed in the last year, particularly in Gaza. He expressed his solidarity with the people of Gaza at a time when they suffer in so many ways. The full text of the letter may be read here.

The Pope’s announcement that the Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Mykola Bychok, whose eparchy is based in Melbourne, would be made a Cardinal in December also reminds us of the great suffering and loss by both sides since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Along with the many other conflicts around the world, these wars re-emphasise our call to be witnesses and agents of peace in our violent world as Australia’s Bishops wrote in their 2024 – 2025 Social Justice Statement, Truth and Peace: A Gospel Word in a Violent World.

You can still download the Statement or purchase printed copies of the Statement and its associated prayer card. A variety of resources are also available to help you engage with the Statement including a spoken word version of the Statement, a video of its launch, and the text of the launch speeches of Bishop Vincent Long and Assoc. Prof. Joel Hodge. All these resources are available here.

John 10:11-16

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Gospel of the Lord.

Please continue to keep in mind our Year12 students as they finish their HSC Examinations this week. Students will come together on Friday to have their last meal as a cohort at their formal. We pray for them in their future endeavours.

Vincent Cooper 

Ministry Coordinator