Catholic Identity Report – by Liz Tang, REL.

Welcome back to term 3. I hope you had a great break and that you have come back refreshed and well.

On Saturday, July the 16th we celebrate the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid-13th century. They built in the midst of their hermitages a chapel which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. Our Lady of Mount Carmel was adopted in the 19th century as the patron saint of Chile, in South America. Sanctified since early times, Mt. Carmel is mentioned as a “holy mountain” in Egyptian records of the 16th century BC.

Since the 15th century, popular devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel has centred on the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, also known as the Brown Scapular. Traditionally, Mary is said to have given the Scapular to an early Carmelite named Saint Simon Stock (1165-1265). The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the habit of both the Carmelite Order and the Discalced Carmelite Order, both of which have Our Lady of Mount Carmel as their patroness.

Our National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is located at the corner of Richardson and Wright Streets in Middle Park, Victoria, Australia.This Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was begun in 1912 and completed in 1928. It was dedicated as the National Shine in 1944 and has been home to the Carmelite family in Australia since then.Throughout the year special events are held at the Shrine during which we pray for the members of our Carmelite family and their needs.These masses include the

Mass of Healing, celebrated on the Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians
Mothers' Mass, celebrated on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Mass of Love and Hope, celebrated on the Feast of St Therese of Lisieux
Mass of Remembrance, celebrated near to All Souls Day and All Saints Day
Thanksgiving Mass, celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve

The Church contains shrines to:

Our Lady of Mount Carmel
St Therese of Lisieux
St Mary of the Cross Mackillop
The Prophet Elijah
The Sacred Heart

and is open daily from 8.30am - 6.00pm.

On Friday, July the 22nd we celebrate the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene.

On this day, the Church remembers the life of St. Mary Magdalene, the sister of Martha and Lazarus.

What we know of St. Mary Magdalene is that she was a hardened sinner for some time. But, like all sinners can do, her life changed when she saw the brilliance and truth in the teachings and person of Jesus Christ. She repented from all of her sinfulness and resolved to amend her life in service to God.

Because of her faith and repentance, she was privileged to be the first person Jesus appeared to after His Resurrection (John 20:1-18).

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI said, "The story of Mary Magdalene reminds everyone of a fundamental truth: She is a disciple of Christ who, in the experience of human weakness, has had the humility to ask for his help, has been healed by him, and has followed him closely, becoming a witness of the power of his merciful love, which is stronger than sin and death".

Last week, we had our parent information evening for the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion. The children began their small group meetings this week. We wish Chanel, Michaela, Lewis, Oliver, Nash & Archie well as they spend time preparing for these Sacraments.

Our Catholic Identity Focus for the coming week is: to think about the Feast Days of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and of Mary Magdalene. It is also to think about the fact that God is always there and will forgive our mistakes. We can turn to God in our times of need and be healed by him.

Parish News

Bulletin July