MERRYLANDS DRIVING SCHOOL

LEARN TO DRIVE SAFELY WITH A SENIOR DRIVING INSTRUCTOR

WITH 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE SMALL LATE MODEL AUTO CAR

$50.00 PER HOUR

INSTRUCTOR: VICTOR OLENIK Phone: 9636 6357– Mob:0419 266 479

LESSONS AVAILABLE EVERY DAY Lic No: 11661106

* 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: Reuben Dias

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 : DECEMBER Universal – The Very Young That every country resolutely commits to taking the necessary measures to make the future of

the very young, especially those who suffer, a priority.

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

THIS WEEK: 15 December 2019 Counting: Group G Church Cleaning: C Altar & general cleaning– Nada & Volunteers NEXT WEEK: 22 December 2019 Counting: Group H Church Cleaning: D Altar & general cleaning– Nada & Volunteers

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

6:00pm Friday: 9:00am & 7:00pm

Saturday: 8:30am

15th DECEMBER

2019

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near.

FIRST READING Is 35:1-6, 10

A reading from the prophet Isaiah Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom, let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil, let it rejoice and sing for joy. The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, the splen-dour of our God. Strengthen all weary hands, steady all trembling knees and say to all faint hearts, ‘Courage! Do not be afraid. ‘Look, your God is coming, vengeance is coming, the retribution of God; he is coming to save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a deer and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy, for those the Lord has ran-somed shall return. They will come to Zion shouting for joy, everlast-ing joy on their faces; joy and gladness will go with them and sorrow and lament be ended.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

(R.) Lord, come and save us. 1. It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,

who is just to those who are oppressed. It is he who gives bread to the hungry, the Lord, who sets prisoners free. (R.)

2. It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up those who are bowed down, the Lord, who protects the stranger and upholds the widow and orphan. (R.)

3. It is the Lord who loves the just but thwarts the path of the wicked. The Lord will reign for ever, Zion’s God, from age to age. (R.)

SECOND READING Jas 5:7-10

A reading from the letter of St James

Be patient, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. Think of a farmer: how patiently he waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has had the autumn rains and the spring rains! You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord’s coming will be soon. Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. For your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Alleluia, alleluia! The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he sent me to bring Good News to the poor. Alleluia!

GOSPEL Mt 11:2-11

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?’ Jesus answered, ‘Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lep-ers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.’

As the messengers were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: he is the one of whom scripture says: Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way before you. I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Say to the faint of heart: Be strong and do not fear. Behold, our God will come, and he will save us.

MEDITATION:

Why did Jesus praise John the Baptist as the greatest person born of a woman and then in the same breath say that those who enter God's kingdom will be greater than John (Matthew 11:11)? John is the last and greatest of the prophets of the old covenant. He fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets - to be fingers pointing to Jesus Christ, God's Anointed Son and Messiah. John prepared the way for the Messiah and he pointed others to Jesus the Messiah at the River Jordan when he exclaimed, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) John saw from a distant what Jesus would accomplish through his death on the cross - our redemption from bondage to sin and death and our adoption as sons and daugh-ters of God and citizens of the kingdom of heaven. When King Herod tried to silence John by throwing him into prison, John sent his disci-ples to Jesus after John had heard the reports about Jesus perform-ing signs and wonders and speaking to people about the coming of God's kingdom. John wanted his disciples to hear and see firsthand what Jesus was doing to bring the kingdom of God to those who were receptive and ready to receive his message.

Please remember to switch off your mobile phone

1st Friday adoration will commence from approx. 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.

2ND RITE OF RECONCILIATION Wednesday 18 DECEMBER 2019

After 7:00pm Mass

The 2nd rite of Reconciliation will be held at St Margaret Mary’s parish on Wednesday, 18th December following the 7pm Mass.

There will be community prayers to prepare for reconciliation, followed by the opportunity for individual confessions.

We are encouraged to take advantage of this great opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation as we prepare for Christmas and avoid the Christmas week Confession rush.

AT ST. MARGARET MARY’S

PARISH

Commencing Sunday, 15 December 2019 and every 3rd Sunday of the Month, there will be a Children’s Liturgy during the 10:30am Mass. ALL children are welcome to attend

PRAYER REQUESTS

Peter Newman

Tony Ostojic

Shelly Barnes

Shirley Forno

Fiona Khoury

Annie Ingram

Teresa Saad

Doreen Dias

George & Mary Spiteri

Christopher Oldham

Simon Khoury

Gervais

Sonia & Pierre Abi–Rached

Therese Nicolas

Luca Jerkovic

Susan Pace

Branko Soric

Theresa Durand

Joanna Essey

Desfosses

Adam Borcuik

Rose Abdo

Jocelyn Santos

Willie & Tereza Cutajar

Giovanna Prestipino

Alice Said

Peter Van Tilburg

Nicole Ratnakumar

Sakaria Frank Mausio

Diab Baysari

Mario & Tereza Cutajar

Mary Essey

Greg Stephen

Gretta Charbel

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

NEXT WEEK’S READINGS

22 DECEMBER 2019

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Year A: Is 7:10-14; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24

Little Philip was walking home in the rain with his mother after Sunday mass. It finally stopped raining, where to their surprise and delight appeared a vivid double rainbow in the sky. “Doesn’t it look like an artist painted this rainbow?” his mother exclaimed. “I bet God painted this just for you!” “Yes,” replied Philip, “God did it, and he did it left handed.” Confused, his mother asked him, “What makes you say God did this with his left hand?” “Well,” said Philip, “we learned in Sunday School that Jesus sits on God’s right hand.”

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 adoration, 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

SCRIPTURE STUDY—THURSDAY EVENINGS You are invited to experience the joy of “the Word of God” in a weekly discussion/study meeting at 7pm at St. Margaret Mary’s Pastoral Centre. For further queries, please contact Gwen on 9632 9097.

Feast of

PARISH MORNING TEA

There will be NO Parish morning tea Until FEBRUARY 2020

CHRISTMAS CARDS & CALENDARS

St Margaret Mary’s Parish will be selling Christmas cards and calendars after all Sunday Masses.

Christmas Cards (Pkt of 8) : $5.00

Calendars : $6.00 Available whilst stocks last

Christmas is a season for sharing and caring. It is a time to remember those who are less fortunate than us and to give generously to the members of our community. This year St. Margaret Mary’s Parish welcomes all our needy Parishioners to come to our Parish Office (during office hours) and help yourself to some Christmas goodies.

CHRISTMAS EVE :

TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER 2019

6:00 pm - Family Mass (children are welcome to come dressed

as angels, shepherds or kings)

11:30pm - Christmas Carols

Midnight Mass

CHRISTMAS MASS 2019

CHRISTMAS DAY:

WEDNESDAY 25 DECEMBER 2019

7:30 am

9:00 am

10:30 am

There will be NO EVENING MASS

Parish Movie Night Saturday 21 December 2019

Come join us in the Pastoral Center to watch a film every 3rd Saturday of the Month after the 6pm evening Mass. The film for December is "The Christmas Can-

dle". Rated G. Film will be followed by a short talk/discussion.

CHRISTMAS NOVENA MONDAY 16 DECEMBER 2019

As we prepare for the coming of our Saviour, com-mencing from 16th December, we will be reflecting on the Christmas Story and the Blessed Virgin

Mary by reciting the Christmas Novena during our Morning Masses . All are welcome

A PRAYER FOR RAIN

God of compassion, we wait and watch for your gift of rain to water the soil and make the barren land come alive again. We remember all those on farms and in rural areas deprived of

harvests and livestock due to the drought. We pray to send abundant rain to water the earth and help for those in need. Teach us to be better stewards of all the blessings you provide, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

PRAYER FOR END OF BUSHFIRES

Almighty and eternal God, we ask Your protection against destroying bushfires, for those who have been affected and that the firefighters continue to be courageous in their efforts and those who have lost property be consoled by the God of life. Lord hear our prayer.

We hope you can join us as we celebrate the joy of Christmas together !