Parish News

St Bernard's Parish

Contact Information

Parish Priest Fr Leo De Marzi 60 Sheffield Street, East Coburg, VIC 3058

Phone: 9386 1214 Fax: 9386 1495

Email: coburgeast@cam.org.au

Mass Times: Monday-Friday 9.30am

Saturday 8.30am 7.00pm (English)

Sunday 9.00am Italian 10.30am (English)

Project Compassion - Third Sunday of Lent

- 15th March 2020

Barry grew up in a tough environment. With the support of a program from Caritas Australia’s partner, Red Dust Healing, Barry has overcome many of life’s challenges. He is now an inspirational father to his four girls and a leader in his community.

Today thanks to the Red Dust Healing program, Barry is an inspirational father to his four girls and a respected leader in his community. He now facilitates Red Dust Healing workshops and helps others through their healing process. A brighter future for men, women and their families can start today. Let’s Go Further, Together.

Project Compassion - Week 3 - Australia

‘There is no true peace without fairness, truth, justice and solidarity.’….Pope John Paul II

Father of four, Barry, embodies resilience and strength. Growing up in a tough environment, he had to look inside himself to make the right choices for himself and his family.

Barry, a Gamilaroi man originally from western NSW, remembers his early years as a time of enormous hardship. He didn’t have a stable home or support network and was mostly brought up by his Grandparents.

Barry became a father in his late teens and was suddenly faced with responsibilities for which he wasn’t ready. He started drinking heavily, behaviour that he’d witnessed previously.

Barry, and others like him, were able to take part in Red Dust Healing - a cultural healing program, which encourages participants to examine their own personal hurt and allows them to heal from within. The program addresses family and personal relationships, and what may have been lifelong patterns of violence, abuse and neglect.

Red Dust Healing Founder, Tom Powell, is humbled that the program has won numerous awards and helped over 16,000 people like Barry across Australia.

Prayer:

We pray for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and for all Australians:

That we may understand that for us to go further together each of us needs to be valued; and do our part to end marginalisation and injustice.

Third Sunday of Lent - Reflection:

In today’s gospel, we hear about the woman of Samaria who was engaged in a very truthful encounter with Jesus. The Jews despised the Samaritans as having no claim on their God. This nameless woman, an outcast from her own community, chose to visit the well at a time to avoid those who judged her harshly.

It’s important to acknowledge how radical this encounter was. Jesus reaches out to her as he did to outcasts demonstrating that all people are valuable to God. In this way, we too, are called to be radical, to uphold the dignity of all people.

The exchange was so profound, bringing about a change of heart for the Samaritan woman. She then became a witness for Jesus, influencing those around her.

This week we hear the story of Barry, an Indigenous Australian man who through a Caritas Australia supported program, Red Dust Healing, was able to confront destructive patterns in his life. Red Dust Healing is an Indigenous led program in which participants learn culturally appropriate tools to empower them to overcome addiction, mental health, grief, abuse and other challenges. For Barry, it changed his life and helped him to recognise his hurt and anger stemmed primarily from rejection and grief. It provided a safe space to talk and connect with others who’ve supported each other in their healing journey. The program has also helped Barry connect back with his culture, language and stories.

Just as the Samaritan woman went on to share her revelation with others, Barry also shares the richness of his experience. His community is striving forward, facing the challenges of intergenerational trauma, past oppression and colonisation together.

How can we manifest the radical love of Christ in order to break down barriers of injustice?

Information from the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. Vicar General's Office

Updated Advice - 6th March 2020

Additional Pastoral Recommendations - Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

To Clergy, Religious and Lay Faithful

The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne continues to monitor the growing concerns related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and has expanded its response in line with national advice promulgated by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference on 4th March 2020.

The following updated preventative measures should be appropriately communicated to the congregation and the broader Catholic community within the Archdiocese.

Holy Water:

Holy Water should be temporarily removed from stoups at the doors of churches to reduce the possibility of transmission of the virus. Holy Water should continue to be available for people to take home.

Rite of Peace:

When exchanging the Sign of Peace, individuals should avoid shaking hands but encouraged to say "Peace be with you" and offer a smile, wave, nod or bow.

Holy Communion:

All Ministers of Holy Communion should take particular care to wash their hands before and after distribution. Appropriate means should be made available.
Parishes should cease distributing Holy Communion from the Chalice until further notice. The faithful should be reminded that Christ is fully present under either species.
The novel coronavirus is easily spread through saliva. In celebrations of the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite, it is therefore recommended that the Body of Christ only be administered in the hand because of the high risk of transmission if people continue to receive on the tongue.
Ministers should seek to avoid contact with the communicant's hands.

General Prevention:

Individuals should consider their own health, including any potential to infect others with a contagious disease, before attending a public liturgical celebration.
Parishes and other settings where liturgies are celebrated should make alcohol-based gels or rubs (or like products) available near entrances. Similar provisions should be considered for settings used for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Visits to people in care homes or hospitals must follow advice from staff or infection control.

Divine Worship:

Assure the faithful that are too unwell to attend Sunday Mass - whether due to novel coronavirus or some other condition - or are at particular risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus that they can honour their Sunday obligation by participating in a time of prayer within the home, reading the Scriptures or watching Mass online at https://melbournecatholic.org.au/Mass

Intercession:

The Lenten season is a purposeful opportunity in which we seek God and ask him to give us his heart for the suffering people of the world. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus is an invitation to continue our prayers for the healing and support of all affected.

Catholic Education Melbourne (CEM) continues to work closely with the Victorian Department of Education and are jointly actively planning to manage the impact of this virus in our schools and wider school communities.

Additional information and access to daily alerts can be obtained from the Australian Government's Department of Health at https://www.health.gov.au/health.gov.au/health-topics/novel-coronavirus-2019/ncov

The Catholic Archidocese of Melbourne will continue to monitor advice from health authorities and will provide a further updates when required.

Fr Joe Caddy AM