* General Painting

* Wallpaper * All repairs: Timber, gyprock, render & tiles (prior to painting)

www.gebranpainting.com.au

0414 268 603

ST . MARGARET MARY ’S PARISH MERRYLANDS

PARISH INFORMATION

PARISH OFFICE: 1-5 Chetwynd Rd, MERRYLANDS NSW 2160 Postal Address: PO Box 757, Merrylands. Tuesday - Friday: 9:30am - 3:30pm

Phone: 9637 2526 9637 2014 Fax: 9637 2442 Email: parish@stmm.org.au Website: stmm.org.au

PARISH GROUPS CO-ORDINATORS: Secretary: Denise Fernandes

Finance Committee: TBA

Parish Council:

Chair: Bella Reyes - 0419 228 160 Fr Janusz Pawlicha, OSPPE

Secretary: Cheryl Fortini Fundraising Committee:

Mike Jacobson - 0438 590 136

Catechists: Sonia Abi-Rached

Music : Kerry van der Linden - 0406 973 350

Sacraments: TBA

Acolytes / RCIA : Peter Carroll - 0414 070 082

Readers: Gwen D’Silva

Youth group: Pauline Teen: Fr Joseph / Rita Jacobson

Legion of Mary: Merwyn D’Souza – 0478 109 569

Playgroup: Nicole Gadd – 0402 350 170

St Vincent de Paul: 88619757

Bus to Berrima: Giovanna - 9682 1008

Our Parish is under the Pastoral Care of the Order of St Paul the First Hermit (known as the Pauline Fathers) who for more than 630 years are renowned

Custodians of the Miraculous Icon of Our Lady of Jasna Gora, Poland.

Parish Priest Fr Janusz Pawlicha

Assistant Priest

Fr Joseph Maria Buckley

Prayer: Holy Father-Pope Francis’ monthly intention : SEPTEMBER Universal Prayer Intention - Respect for the Planet’s Resources We pray that the planet’s resources will not be plundered, but shared in a just and respectful manner.

First Friday:

11am: Maltese Mass 7.00pm: Holy Mass, Stations of the Cross followed by Exposition

Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament: Thursdays-Eucharistic Adoration: 9.30 am-2.30pm 4th Sunday of the month: 1.00pm - 1.30pm– Divine Mercy Devotions 1st Friday of the month: approx. 8.30pm– midnight

Vespers– Sunday Evenings 5.15 pm - 5.45pm

RCIA sessions– Sunday mornings 9am Mass followed by Session 10 am –11am

Devotions:

Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Tuesday: after morning Mass Wednesday: 6:30pm before 7:00pm Mass

Veneration of the Holy Face of Jesus:

Tuesday: 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Divine Mercy Devotions 4th Sunday of the month: 1.00pm - 3.00pm, 3.00pm - Holy Mass

Baptisms: 1st & 3rd Sundays of the month

Reconciliation: Tues - Fri 8.30 - 8.55am Sat - 9am - 9.30am and 4.30pm-5.30pm (or by appointment)

Marriages: By appointment only (6 months required)

Sick Calls: 9637 2526– option 3 or 0412 625 187 - any time

WEEKEND MASSES: WEEKDAY MASSES:

Saturday: 6:00pm Vigil

Monday: 9:15am

Sunday: 7:30am Tuesday: 9:00am & 7:00pm

9:00am Wednesday: 9:00am & 7:00pm

10:30am Thursday: 9:00am

12:00 noon Friday: 9:00am & 7:00pm

6:00pm Saturday: 8:30am

06th september

2020

Solemnity of

30th August 2020

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON You are just, O Lord, and your judgement is right; treat your servant in accord with your merciful love.

FIRST READING Ez 33:7-9

A reading from the prophet Ezekiel

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, warn them in my name. If I say to a wicked man: Wicked wretch, you are to die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, however, you do warn a wicked man to renounce his ways and repent, and he does not repent, then he shall die for his sin, but you yourself will have saved your life.’

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

(R.) O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts.

1. Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the rock who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks, with songs let us hail the Lord. (R.)

2. Come in; let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us for he is our God and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand. (R.)

3. O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the desert when your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my work.’ (R.)

SECOND READING Rom 13:8-10

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans

Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the com-mandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Alleluia, alleluia! God was in Christ, to reconcile the world to himself; and the Good News of reconciliation he has entrusted to us. Alleluia!

GOSPEL Mt 18:15-20

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the communi-ty, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector. ‘I tell you solemnly, what-ever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatev-er you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven. ‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God; my soul is thirsting for God, the living God.

MEDITATION: What's the best way to repair a damaged relationship?

Jesus offers his disciples spiritual freedom and power for restoring broken or injured relationships. When you are offended, are you willing to put aside your own

grievance and injury in order to help your brother's wound? The Lord Jesus wants to set us free from re-sentment, ill-will, and an unwillingness to forgive. The

love of Christ both purifies and sets us free to do good to all - even those who cause us grief. The call to ac-

countability for what we have done and have failed to do is inevitable

and we can't escape it, both in this life and at the day of judgment when the Lord Jesus will return. But while we have the opportunity today, we must not give up on praying for those who cause us of-

fense. With God's help we must seek to make every effort to win them with the grace and power of God's healing love and wisdom. Do you tolerate broken relationships or do you seek to repair them as

God gives you the opportunity to mend and restore what is broken?

Please remember to switch off your mobile phone

Please remember to switch off your mobile phone

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION GROUP 2 CELEBRATION

SUNDAY 06 SEPTEMBER 2020 @10:30AM MASS Dear Parishioners

With the current limitation of 100 people allowed inside the Church, First Holy Communion Mass will be RESERVED ONLY for the Communicants and their families. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Blessed are You, Lord and Father of all life, who has given to us the gift fathers for our families. Today, we honour them and we thank You for the numerous good things that are ours because of them. Their love for us has been a sign of Your divine affection and a sharing in Your holy love. Their continuous concern for our needs and welfare is a mirror of Your holy providence. And so, as we honour them we also praise

You, Father of all peoples. May we, as members of their families, assist them in their holy duties as a parent with our respect, our obedience and our deep affection. Bless all our fathers, Lord, with happiness and good health, with peace and with good fortune. We ask for Your strength and Holy Power that they may continue to be a sign of You, our God. Amen

CONGRATULATIONS

TO ALL OUR FIRST HOLY COMMUNICANTS

Congratulations to all the children and their families who re-ceived First Holy Communion on 30 August & 06 September. May you always be nourished by the Eucharist. As we conclude the Eucharist celebration this weekend, we sin-cerely thank all those involved in making this Holy Sacrament so meaningful and memorable. This would not have been possible without Fr. Joseph Maria Buckley and Monique Kairouz. They enthusiasm, dedication and efforts with preparing the children were com-mendable and ensured everything was well organised for the Mass. Our gratitude to Nada & volunteers for deco-rating our Church, Tommy for the beautiful flowers, Acolytes, Altar servers and all those who helped with the preparations.

Thank you and God Bless You.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Tony Ostojic

Shelly Barnes

Teresa Saad

Christopher Oldham

Simon Khoury

Sonia & Pierre Abi–Rached

Therese Nicolas

Luca Jerkovic

Susan Pace

Branko Soric

Gloria Lavitoria

Jocelyn Santos

Joanna Essey

Rose Abdo

Giovanna Prestipino

Ireneo Vicencio

Alice Said

Diab Baysari

Mario & Tereza Cutajar

Mary Essey

Katrina & Maria Smith

Carolina Morante

Alex Habis

Ramona Sassine

Laura Anisse

NEXT WEEK’S READINGS 13 SEPTEMBER 2020

24th Sunday in ORDINARY TIME

Sir 27:30-28:7; Rom 14:7-9; Mt 18:21-35

TABLE TENNIS Every Tuesday evening in the Pastoral Centre from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Three tables will be operational and refreshments available as well. All are welcome to enjoy a social evening of Table Tennis.

1st Friday adoration will commence from 8:30pm - midnight

Every Friday (except 1st Friday of the month)

Alliance of 2 Hearts will hosts the

Adoration Service after 7:00pm Mass until 10:00pm

All are welcome.

Father, pour out Your Spirit upon the people of this parish so

that inspired by Your word, nourished at Your table and

graced by Your empowering love, our lives may be devoted to

the service of our brothers and sisters and the building up of

Your Kingdom. May our parish community truly be, for this

place and time, the Body of Christ Your Son, through whom

we make this prayer. Amen

SUPPORT We request our generous Parishioners, if possible to kindly con-tinue to financially support our Parish by contributing towards their Planned giving, Sunday Collections or donations to the Church. Payment options are: Cash (Parish Office during office hours) Credit Card (Parish Office during office hours) Cheques payable to:

St Margaret Mary’s Parish –Merrylands PO Box 757, Merrylands NSW 2160

Direct Debit: BSB: 067 950 Account Number: 00438 Account Name: Merrylands Catholic Church (Please specify details of your contribution i.e. Envelope Number or First Collection or Second Collection).

Thank you and God Bless You.

NSW Health has revised the COVID-19 compli-ance measures for places of worship, effective 24 July 2020. We understand that the latest restrictions have meant we, as a Catholic community, have had to make significant changes. This is also true of many areas of the wider community.

We’ve witnessed how easily the virus can spread at churches, and recognise the government needed to place restrictions in response. There is a cap of 100 people at religious services, weddings and funerals held at places of worship. The four-square meter rule and 1.5m physical distancing requirements will continue to apply. Parishioners are not required to book to attend Mass as it will go by “a first come, first serve basis”, therefore we will only allow the first 100 people to enter the church for each of our Mass services. In this current time, we should avoid gatherings after Mass and we need to disperse from the grounds as quickly as possible. Our Parish is adhering to the COVID-19 safety compliance and will ensure that physical distance, hygiene and cleanliness is maintained. We request every individual who is unwell, should not come to the Church and to please stay at home. Catholics from the Diocese of Parramatta continue to be dis-pensed from their Sunday Mass obligation until further notice. As per the NSW Government requirement, every individual enter-ing the Church needs to sign in with their full name and contact details. This brings about responsibilities such as having a safety plan we need to follow, which can be inspected at any time. Restricting attendance, recording all Mass attendees’ contact details, sanitising our hands, avoiding congregational singing, only offering Communion on the hand and sitting in the marked positions in our pews are part of this plan. We are grateful for the understanding of our parishioners. Being a COVID-Safe Parish is a co-operative effort by all members of the parish community. If any of this information changes, we will advise parishioners accordingly. If you have any further queries, please do not hesi-tate to contact the parish office. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUOUS PRAYERS AND SUPPORT!

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THURSDAYS 9.30am to 2.30pm

The Lord invites us to take some time out of our busy lives to spend some time with Him in quiet ado-ration, prayer and reflection. If you can spare 1/2 hour or more, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed after morning Mass every Thursday until 2.30pm.

ALL ARE WELCOME

St. Margaret Mary’s Parish Library The Legion of Mary will be available in room 2 of the Pastoral Centre after the 10:30am Mass on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month, to allow parishioners to borrow books for reading. We encourage you to take this opportunity to read good Christian material.

The Feast of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary will be celebrated on Tuesday,08 September at 9:00 am Mass. To commemorate the Birthday of Our Blessed Mother, after Mass there will a short devotion prayer.