First Reading Jer 20:10-13 A reading from the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah said:

‘I hear so many disparaging me,

“Terror from every side!

Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”

All those who used to be my friends

watched for my downfall,

“Perhaps he will be seduced into error.

Then we will master him

and take our revenge!”

But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero;

my opponents will stumble, mastered,

confounded by their failure;

everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be

theirs.

But you, Lord of Hosts, you who probe

with justice,

who scrutinise the loins and heart,

let me see the vengeance you will take on

them,

for I have committed my cause to you.

Sing to the Lord,

praise the Lord,

for he has delivered the soul of the needy

from the hands of evil men.’

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 68:8-10. 14. 17. 33-35. R. v.14

(R.) Lord, in your great love, answer me.

It is for you that I suffer taunts,

that shame covers my face,

that I have become a stranger to my

brothers,

an alien to my own mother's sons.

I burn with zeal for your house

and taunts against you fall on me. (R.)

This is my prayer to you,

my prayer for your favour.

In your great love, answer me, O God,

with your help that never fails:

Lord, answer, for your love is kind;

in your compassion, turn towards me. (R.)

The poor when they see it will be glad

and God-seeking hearts will revive;

for the Lord listens to the needy

and does not spurn his servants in their

chains.

Let the heavens and the earth give him

praise,

the sea and all its living creatures. (R.)

Second Reading Rom 5:12-15 A reading from the letter of St Paul to the

Romans.

Sin entered the world through one man,

and through sin death, and thus death

has spread through the whole human

race because everyone has sinned. Sin

existed in the world long before the Law

was given. There was no law and so no

one could be accused of the sin of ‘law-

breaking’, yet death reigned over all from

Adam to Moses, even though their sin,

unlike that of Adam, was not a matter of

breaking a law.

Adam prefigured the One to come, but the

gift itself considerably outweighed the fall.

If it is certain that through one man’s fall

so many died, it is even more certain that

divine grace, coming through the one

man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an

abundant free gift.

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation Jn 15:26, 27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Spirit of Truth will bear witness to

me, says the Lord,

and you also will be my witnesses.

Alleluia!

Gospel Mt 10:26-33 The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according

to Matthew.

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows:

‘Do not be afraid. For everything that is

now covered will be uncovered, and

everything now hidden will be made clear.

What I say to you in the dark, tell in the

daylight; what you hear in whispers,

proclaim from the house-tops.

‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the

body but cannot kill the soul; fear him

rather who can destroy both body and

soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows

for a penny? And yet not one falls to the

ground without your Father knowing. Why,

every hair on your head has been

counted. So there is no need to be afraid;

you are worth more than hundreds of

sparrows.

‘So if anyone declares himself for me in

the presence of men, I will declare myself

for him in the presence of my Father in

heaven. But the one who disowns me in

the presence of men, I will disown in the

presence of my Father in heaven.’

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

R E F L E C T I O N B Y M I C H A E L T A T E

House-tops and Sparrows

Our Gospel reads: ‘… not one [sparrow]

falls to the ground without your Father

knowing.’

But that is a bad translation. The Greek

simply says ‘not one [sparrow] will fall to

the ground without your Father.’ Full stop!

Our Heavenly Father accompanies a dying

sparrow as it dies! That is the measure of

the Creator’s love for all creatures. God

wants to – does – enter into the moment

of death, our moment of death.

Now, that would be consoling if I were

facing what Jesus was foreseeing for his

disciples in the first century.

One of the first Christian groups to hear

this Gospel was that set around the Tigris

River running through Baghdad in modern

day Iraq. Now they face terrible

persecution from fanatical Muslims. We

can barely imagine hearing today’s Gospel

amongst the remnant, left in Baghdad

today. How does ‘Do not be afraid’ really

sound to them?

So, we could pause for a moment to pray

for those for whom today’s Gospel is a

challenge beyond our imagining.

© Fr Michael Tate; mtate@bigpond.com

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

The psalm responses are from the English Translation of the

Lectionary for the Mass ©1981 International Committee on

English in the Liturgy Inc.(ICEL). All rights reserved. The psalm

texts, from The Psalms, A New Translation, ©1963 by The Grail,

England and used by permission of the publishers. The

scriptural quotations are taken from the Jerusalem Bible,

published and copyright 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton

Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Co Inc, and used by

permission of the publishers. © 2017 Creative Ministry

Resources Pty Ltd All use must be in accordance with your user

licensing agreement.

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A 14 June 2020

St Patrick’s, Singleton St Brigid’s, Branxton St Catherine’s, Greta

Immaculate Conception, Broke St Paul’s, Glendon Brook

The Catholic Parishes of Branxton & Singleton are part of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle

NEXT WEEK’S SCRIPTURES Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

1st Reading: 2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16

2nd Reading: Rom 6:3-4, 8-11

Gospel: Mt 10:37-42

Parish Contacts Parish Priest Fr Thomas Chirackal Presbytery: 6578 9651

Email: Thomas.chirackal@mn.catholic.org.au

Assistant Priest Fr Anthony Coloma Presbytery: 6578 9650 Email: anthony.coloma@mn.catholic.org.au

Parish Secretary Mrs Erica Janssen Parish Office: 02 5507 4048 (Tues-Fri, 9am-3pm) Unit 5, 16 Cambridge St, Singleton

Email: singleton.branxton@mn.catholic.org.au Web: www.singletoncatholicparish.org.au

Facebook Catholic Parishes of Singleton and Branxton YouTube Twitter

singletonbranxton @parish_sb

St Patrick’s Parish PLEASE PHONE THE PARISH OFFICE FOR BOOKINGS OF PARISH CHURCHES (5507 4048)

Singleton St Patrick’s Church Queen Street Singleton 2330 Contact: 02 5507 4048 Broke Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Wollombi Street, Broke Contact: 0407 488 872 or 0458 626 299 Glendon Brook St. Paul’s Catholic Church 874 Glendonbrook Road, Glendon Brook Contact: 6577 6168

St Brigid’s Parish PLEASE PHONE THE PARISH OFFICE FOR BOOKINGS OF PARISH CHURCHES (5507 4048)

Branxton St Brigid's Catholic Church Station St, Branxton 2335 Contact: 0407 381 525

Greta St Catherine’s Catholic Church Branxton Street, Greta 2334 Contact: 0428 485 025

Schools in our Parishes St. Catherine’s Catholic College Principal: Mrs Niamh Marzol K-12 Office: 02 6578 9600 Email: admin@singleton.catholic.edu.au

Rosary Park Catholic School Principal: Miss Sallyanne Stanbridge K-6 Office: 02 4938 1541 Email: admin@branxton.mn.catholic.edu.au St Nicholas Early Education Singleton Director: Ms Saleena Rosee Office: 02 4015 2860 Email: singleton@stnicholasmn.org.au

St Nicholas Early Education Branxton Director: Ms Trudy McGovern Office: 02 4931 1220 Email: branxton@stnicholasmn.org.au

Weekly Mass Diary Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

22 June St John Fisher &

Thomas More

23 June St Paulinus of Nola

24 June THE NATIVITY OF ST

JOHN THE BAPTIST

25 June

26 June

27 June St Cyril of Alexandria

28 June 13TH SUNDAY IN

ORDINARY TIME

8.00am

Mass

St Patrick’s

Singleton

5.00pm

Mass

St Patrick’s

Singleton

9.20am

Mass

St Patrick’s

Singleton

5.00pm

Mass

St Patrick’s

Singleton

9.20am

Mass

St Patrick’s

Singleton

9.00am Novena

9.20am Mass

9.45am

Reconciliation

St Patrick’s

Singleton

7.00am Mass

10.00am Mass

5.00pm Mass

St Patrick’s

Singleton

9.20am

Mass

St Catherine’s

Greta

9.20am

Mass

St Brigid’s

Branxton

5.30pm

Reconciliation

6.00pm

Mass

St Brigid’s

Branxton

8.00am

Mass

St Catherine’s

Greta

St Brigid , St Catherine, St Patrick and St Paul, and– pray for us

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON:

The Lord is the strength of his people,

a saving refuge for the one he has anointed.

Save your people, Lord, and bless your

heritage, and govern them for ever.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON:

The eyes of all look to you, Lord,

and you give them their food in due season.

Prayer Requests Sick: Marie Burrell, Bernadette Coffey, Helen Conlin, Victoria Diputado, Peter

Ernst, Bridgid Field, Janice Haines, Pat Holz, Willie McGilligan, Charlie Nichols,

Clare Quade, Anne Standing, Lorraine Winter and Sharon Wood. Bring healing,

comfort and peace to their bodies. Send strength to their carers.

Recently Deceased: Betty Frost. May they rest in peace and light perpetual shine

upon them.

Anniversaries: Carmel Dunn. Having returned to the Father, may they rest in

peace.

Mass Roster Sunday 28 June 2020

Branxton

Saturday 6pm

Greta

Sunday 8am

Singleton

Sunday 7am

Singleton

Sunday 10am

Singleton

Sunday 5pm Counters

Welcomer D & J Clarke J Walker C Crow

L & P Boyce J Brackenrig

Commentator L Gorczyca G Cattermole H Rapp

Readers M Young M Porter

D Clarke

M Ingold

E Thomas

J TIndale

R James

J Bray

H Rapp

C Brackenrig

O Brackenrig

Prayers L Gorczyca J Cox M Dagg K Stuart 2 Welcomers are

required each week.

ONLY ONE Minister

of Communion is

required.

Gifts N Bendeich N Ernst M Peters

J Walker

H Standing

M Petrie

Extraordinary

Ministers of

Communion

C Trunk

J Partridge

G Jacobs

L Harrison

T Dagg J Dunn

T Cochrane

A Cochrane

Faithful and compassionate God, your Spirit guides the Church and makes it holy; hear the prayers we offer, that in the particular ministry to which you have

called us, may we serve you faithfully, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.

mailto:anthony.coloma@mn.catholic.org.aumailto:singleton.branxton@mn.catholic.org.aumailto:singleton.branxton@mn.catholic.org.aumailto:admin@sgtn.mn.catholic.edu.aumailto:admin@brxtn.mn.catholic.edu.aumailto:singleton@stnicholasmn.org.aumailto:branxton@stnicholasmn.org.au

WELCOME TO OUR PARISH

We welcome visitors from all faith communities to our Mass.

If you are new to our Parish we ask that you take a Welcome Pack

from the back of the church, complete and return the Member

forms and one of our welcoming team will contact you.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians who have walked upon and cared for this land for thousands of years. We acknowledge the

continued deep spiritual attachment and relationship of Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander peoples to this country and commit

ourselves to the ongoing journey of Reconciliation.

Registering for Mass

The Parish Office will be operating at normal hours Tuesday to

Friday, 9am-3pm each day. Please phone or email your name

and contact phone number to register for Mass by 12pm Friday

if you have not ticked that you are attending next week on the

registration sheet at Mass.

Planned Giving Envelopes

Letters have been sent out to planned givers asking if you

require a Tax Receipt for your 2019-20 Planned Giving

contributions to Singleton or Branxton Parish. Please complete

the forms and return to the Parish Office ASAP. No tax receipts

can be issued after 30 June 2020 and requests do not carry

over from year to year. You can also request a Contribution

Receipt if you do not need a receipt for taxation purposes.

Those who have requested Envelopes can collect them from

the Church from 5 July. You will not AUTOMATICALLY be given

envelopes for the new year. Please inform the office if you wish

to have a set of envelopes.

Keeping Sunday Holy – What Can We Do?

Due to the limit in the number of people able to attend any

particular Mass, all members of the Church of the Diocese of

Maitland-Newcastle, except priests, continue to be dispensed

from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Those who are

unable to attend Sunday Mass are encouraged to keep Sunday

holy through the use of the resources previously made

available.

Mass Live-Streamed from St Patrick’s Church, Singleton

For the benefit of the homebound, weekday Mass will be

streamed on Facebook Live each day from the St Patrick’s

Church Masses as per the Mass Roster and Sunday Mass will

be live streamed from the 7am Mass at St Patrick’s Church.

You can view Mass on:

a. Parish Facebook page - Catholic Parishes of Singleton and Branxton (@SingletonBranxtonCatholicParish)

b. Parish website (www.singletoncatholicparish.org.au)

Resources from LiturgyHelp

This is the time to use LiturgyHelp to its fullest capacity.

Everyone in the diocese – individuals and families – can access

a range of resources being made available through a special

login. Parishioners should go to

www.liturgyhelp.com/aus/mn/generalaccess and enter their

name and email address. This is for all people in communities

connected to the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.

Communion in Your Home

Our Parish Priests will provide

communion in the home of those who

are unable to come to Mass. Please call

the Parish Office to make arrangements

on 5507 4048.

Parish Website Update

Go online and check out our re-vamped parish website

https://www.singletoncatholicparish.org.au We have been

working with kurl web in Maitland to bring our website up-to-

date with a modern look and easy to use features. You can

access the Mass Calendar and Bulletins easily from the top of

the page; Latest News shows on the home page; Parish Forms

are now online; and a new Gallery page will show baptisms and

other parish events.

2021 ENROLMENTS

NOW OPEN

Our Parish Schools of

Rosary Park Catholic School Branxton (K-6) and

St Catherine’s Catholic College Singleton (K-12)

are now taking enrolments for 2021.

Please contact the schools for an enrolment pack.

Rosary Park Catholic School – 4938 1541

St Catherine’s Catholic College – 6578 9600

Rosary Park Winter Appeal

For the month of June, Rosary Park Catholic School in Branxton

will be providing resources for Jodie’s Place, a Refuge for

women and children in crisis in the Branxton area. We invite

our students to donate non-perishable goods, that is, food

items that can be kept in the cupboard for a while. You are

welcome to drop your donations to the school in Station Street,

Branxton and give what you can in these categories: toiletries,

including shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste; drinks

including tea, coffee, cup-of-soup, poppers of juice, long-life

milk; canned goods; cereal; biscuits, either sweet or savoury.

Paula Mudd, the Director of Jodie’s Place will come to the

school to receive the goods at the end of June.

Online Information Session: Relationships Matter

Are you single, dating, engaged, in a committed relationship,

preparing for your first child or married? If so, this Zoom

information session will benefit you! Robyn Donnelly is an

experienced facilitator and coordinator of Marriage &

Relationship Education programs and will be sharing with

participants the research around: I to We concept (from Me to

We) and its benefits to your relationship, two dimensions of

Commitment – Personal Dedication Vs Constraint Commitment.

The session will run online on Wednesday 17 June 2020 from

7:00pm to 8:30pm RSVP by Tuesday 16 June 2020.

To book use the Eventbrite link

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/relationships-matter-tickets-

106740902914?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch or for more

information email marriageeducation@mn.catholic.org.au or

call 49791370.

Have you downloaded the COVIDSafe App?

The COVIDSafe app speeds up contacting people exposed to

coronavirus (COVID-19). This helps support and protect you,

your family, your friends and the community.

Weekly Notices

http://www.singletoncatholicparish.org.au/http://www.liturgyhelp.com/aus/mn/generalaccesshttps://www.singletoncatholicparish.org.au/https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/relationships-matter-tickets-106740902914?aff=ebdssbonlinesearchhttps://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/relationships-matter-tickets-106740902914?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

RESUMPTION OF PUBLIC MASS IN OUR PARISH CHURCHES In accordance with the Public Health Order No.3 2020, the celebration of Public Mass is able to resume from 1 June 2020 with 50 people in attendance in St Patrick’s Church, Singleton and St Brigid’s Church, Branxton and 36 people in attendance in St Catherine’s Church, Greta.

The following instructions have been derived from the directive from the Office of Bishop and will be in place to allow Public Mass to be celebrated in our Parishes. We thank you for your assistance in complying with these conditions and in turn keeping our community safe and free from the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

REGISTERING TO ATTEND MASS 1. To avoid overcrowding at the entrance of the church before Mass, each person wishing to attend will need to

register EACH WEEK with the Parish Office by 12pm on the Friday before the Mass by phoning 02 5507 4048 or email to singleton.branxton@mn.catholic.org.au.

2. Those who are unable to register early can sign-in at the entrance of the church. 3. As a legal requirement of registering you will need to provide your FULL NAME and PHONE NUMBER. 4. As part of your registration to attend Mass you agree that

a. you are well (not suffering from sore throat, temperature or other cold-like symptoms) and b. you are not required to self-isolate due to your travel history and c. That in the past 14 days have you have not had or you are not aware of any close contact with someone who

has been diagnosed with or suspected of having COVID-19 and d. That you do not have any reason to suspect that you have or may have COVID-19.

CHANGES WHEN ATTENDING MASS 1. Welcomers will dispense sanitizer when each person arrives at the door. 2. Welcomers will mark off those attending as per the list provided by the Parish Office. Any additional attendees will

need to have their details recorded by the Welcomer. You will not be allowed into the church if you do not provide your details.

3. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to the number of attendees permitted. Anyone arriving after the limit is reached will NOT be permitted entry.

4. Attendees are asked to wear their name badge or their name written on paper to reduce wait time at the door. 5. Welcomers will direct attendees to seating as per the map. This may mean you have to give up your favourite seats. 6. Attendees of the same household are permitted to sit together in the one pew keeping physical distance from other

attendees. 7. Each attendee will collect their own Bulletin (and hymn sheet) and take it from the church with them. 8. No hymn books or Mass cards will be distributed except at Greta and Singleton 7am where they will be sanitized on

Tuesdays ready for the next use. 9. Collection boxes will be provided at the back of the church to place 1st and 2nd Collections in before Mass. 10. The door to the church will be closed once Mass has commenced. Attendees are asked to arrive 10-15 minutes

early. No late comers will be admitted. 11. The Lectionary/Book of the Gospels will NOT be carried in during the Entrance Procession. 12. The Lectionary will ONLY be used by the Celebrant. 13. Altar servers will not hold the Missal for the Celebrant. 14. Readers will use their own copy of the Bulletin for the readings of the day. 15. The offertory procession will bring forward the 1st and 2nd Collection baskets only. No Bread or Wine will be brought

forward. 16. The altar will be prepared for the offertory by the Celebrant alone. 17. Only ONE Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion is needed and they are asked to sanitize their hands when

arriving at the Sanctuary. 18. Communion will be given in one species only. 19. You are asked to maintain 1.5m distancing when queueing for Communion. 20. No shaking hands during the exchange of peace. 21. Cleaning/sanitizing will be conducted after each Mass. 22. The church will ONLY be open for church services. 23. The Mass will continue to be live-streamed at 7am Sunday for the benefit of the homebound. 24. Because of the limit in the number of people who may be able to attend any particular Mass, all members of the

Church of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, except priests, continue to be dispensed from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. Those who are unable to attend Sunday Mass are encouraged to keep Sunday holy through the use of the resources previously made available (and which are still available on the Diocese website – www.mn.catholic.org.au/news-events/covid-19-update).

I understand that it is difficult to have to go through all these processes to attend Mass but it will help us to come back to the normal way of attending mass sooner. We are happy to be sharing Mass with you again. God Bless, Fr Thomas.

mailto:singleton.branxton@mn.catholic.org.auhttp://www.mn.catholic.org.au/news-events/covid-19-update