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Enquiries to the Parish Office

4868 1931

PLEASE TAKE YOUR BULLETIN HOME

Please consider supporting those who support our Parish

Mass is Suspended for the

foreseeable future.

Please go to www.dow.org.au to view

the updated parish/diocesan directives

as stated by Bishop Brian Mascord as

a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19)

All churches in St Paul’s Parish are

closed. For local updates please visit

www.stpaulsmossvale.org

Appointments Only

Please ring parish office to make

an appointment.

If you need to speak to Father ur-

gently, please ring the office on

4868 1931 and select option 4.

one parish - Six churches - many needs - working together

Parish Priest Fr Richard Green, osppe

Presbytery: 24 Garrett St. Moss Vale

OFFICE HOURS By Appointment Only Parish Mobile: 0423 722 627

Phone: 4868 1931 Email: mossvale@dow.org.au Website: www.stpaulsmossvale.org.au Pauline Fathers: 4878 9192

We pray for our Parish

Benefactors: Those who so generously donate their time and resources towards projects in our Parish: that God will richly bless them for their generosity. Sick: Elizabeth, Margaret, Leonne Kirton, Charles Bullock, Alwyn Kelly, Sr. June, Gerard, Tricia, Margaret, Catherine, , Cathy, Tracy Gammel, Dorothy O’Halloran, Nora Waugh, Desmond, Kevin, Kaye, Phil, Kylie, Emily, Harley, Elaine, Marilyn, Anthony, Julia, Catherine, Anne, Stuart, Mike, Nicole, Brian, Peter, Elizabeth, Bridget, Paula, and all on the Intercessory Prayer List. Deceased: Margaret Dibnah, Celeste Marzine, Charles Bullock, Dr John Roche, Daphne Hughes, Margaret Konneely, Barbara Taranto, Anthony Burke, Beatrice Cooper, Brian Gammel, Sonia Akrigg, Noel Tilden, Gwen Marshall, Shirley Wilkes, Douglas Warner, Kevin Norris, Len Wallder, Ron Scott, Eileen & Cath Burke, Eileen Cummins, Kathleen Astill, John Hinder, Guy Atwell & Laurie Grimson, Tim Fischer, Helen Hall, Jason Bugner, Francis Wan, Rachel Neville, Marilyn Evers, Lorna, John Akrigg, Kevin Simpson, Viktoria Grady, Steve MacDonald, Elaine Kellond, Josephine Smith, Dennis Lambourne, Iris & Harry Clout, Colin McCue, Keith Williams; Dromgold, Hyde, Tilden, Conroy, Poidevin, Murphy, Dwyer, Halls, Lawler, Allport & Saker families and All Holy Souls. Recently Deceased: Mrs Joy Cullen (Fr Sean’s mother), Martin Higgins

May they rest in peace. Amen

St. Paul’s Parish

ST. PAUL, PRAY FOR US

Good Shepherd Sunday This Sunday—the fourth Sunday of Easter—is “Good Shepherd Sunday” and the 57th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Fr Duane Fernandez, vocations director for our diocese, has provided a video message for this weekend which can be watched from Thursday evening onwards on the diocesan website at dow.sh/VocationsMessage2020. A written copy of the message is now available at the same link. Let us pray for each other as we seek to follow the Good Shepherd more closely in our respective vocations, and let us pray especially for those still discerning their vocation, that they may hear, and trust, the voice of Jesus calling them to fullness of life. For support in discerning whether you are called to marriage, single life, consecrated life, or ordained ministry, please contact Fr Duane at vocations@dow.org.au

The Month of May Within the cycle of a year, the Church unfolds the whole of the mystery of Christ, from his incarnation and birth until his ascension, the day of Pentecost, and the expectation of blessed hope and of the Lord’s return… In celebrating this annual cycle of Christ’s mysteries, the Church honours with spe-cial love Mary, the Mother of God, who is joined by an inseparable bond to the saving work of her Son. In her the Church holds up and admires the most excellent effect of the redemption and joyfully contemplates, as in a flawless image, that which the Church itself de-sires and hopes wholly to be.

SC 102,103

Good News

On 23 April the members of Moss Vale Conference appointed Brian Wilson our new President. Massive thanks were ex-tended to our former President, Tony Ward, for his many years of dedicated personal service to the poor in our local community. Tony will continue to work for our poor and needy as a member of our

Conference. If you need assistance, please ring 0437 509 449 and someone will be there to help; or leave a message and we will return your call.

Office Hours

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 virus the parish office will be reducing the hours of operation as follows:

MONDAY 10am-1pm WEDNESDAY 10am-1pm

In line with the Governments ruling on movements, we will expect that there will be less face to face contact, therefore we

ask as many parishioners to contact the office via email where possible. If you need to speak with Fr Richard urgently, please ring the office and select option 4 to speak to the Priest. We also expect that this will restrict many from dropping off their planned giving en-velopes to the office. We encourage you to do the following four options: 1. Direct debit (through the Catholic

Development Fund). Please phone Cathy in the office on Mondays or Wednesdays during the new office hours and she can post or email a form to you.

2. EFTPOS machine in the office for donations.

3. Taking parish bank details and do-nating online. (Please ring or email for bank account details).

4. Cheque or cash can be dropped off in the mail box slot next to Father’s door at the parish office or during office hours.

We ask parishioners who are currently on planned giving envelopes or those who have supported the parish by placing cash on the second collection plate to consider changing to direct debit. We envisage that as Masses have been suspended for the foresee-able future that our income will decrease substantially. It is vital that wherever possible that parishioners continue to support the parish as we still need to pay our rates, expenses, insur-ances and general maintenance. If you have not sent an email to the office in the last year or so, now is the time for you to send us your current one, we can then update our records. When you are speaking with fellow parishioners please let them know of these changes. Thank you and best regards Fr Richard

Pray with Pope Francis

Pope Francis has asked Catholics to make a special effort in May to pray the Rosary, knowing that by doing so they would be united with believers around the world asking for Mary’s intercession in stopping the coronavirus pandemic. Pope Francis has written two prayers that can be recited at the end of the rosary, pray-ers he said he would be reciting “in spir-itual union with all of you.” Prayer to recite at the end of the rosary: O Mary, You shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who, at the foot of the cross, were united with Jesus’ suffering, and perse-vered in your faith. “Protectress of the Roman people”, you know our needs, and we know that you will provide, so that, as at Cana in Galilee, joy and celebration

Parish News ..... may return after this time of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform our-selves to the will of the Father and to do what Jesus tells us. For he took upon himself our suffering, and burdened him-self with our sorrows to bring us, through the cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen. We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God; Do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from every danger, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.

Mass Online and Other

Spiritual Resources During this period of time where Masses in the diocese are suspended, it is im-portant to know that you have not been abandoned by the Church. Members of the faithful are urged to keep holy the Lord’s Day by making an act of Spiritual Communion, a well-established devo-tional practice of uniting one’s self in prayer with Christ’s sacrifice when cir-cumstances prevent one from receiving holy Communion.

At 8.00am Father Richard will be say-ing daily Mass online available at

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL9F08CA4ayKjhG-3ke-2rQ/live

Subscribe to the channel and watch your parish priest say daily Mass, provide spiritual guidance and lead you in pray-ers.

The following resources are also availa-ble on the diocesan website to assist parishioners with their home worship:

• Liturgy and prayer resources from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

• Daily Mass reading.

• Act of Spiritual Communion prayer card.

• Journey Catholic Radio is a Dioce-san weekly podcast. It includes music, a weekly Gospel reflection, interviews and a variety of weekly inputs from some of the best Cath-olic presenters.

Always Connected While CatholicCare office is closed, our dedicated Client Services Officer Marion is still here to take your calls and emails. Marion and the

CatholicCare team are working on practi-cal and innovative new ways to support our clients through COVID-19. Please email or call us if you have any questions – we’re here to help. Phone: 4227 1122 or email enquir-ies@catholiccare.dow.org.au

Fourth Sunday of Easter, YEAR A 3rd May 2020

© Excerpts from the Roman Missal © 2010, International Commis-

sion on English in the Liturgy (ICEL)” and “Excerpts

from the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, ICEL” All rights reserved.

First Reading Acts 2:14. 36-41

On the day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed the crowd with a loud voice: 'The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.' Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, 'What must we do, brothers?' 'You must repent,' Peter answered 'and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.' He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, 'Save yourselves from this perverse generation.' They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number. The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want: 1 The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit. (R) 2 He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name. If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort. (R) 3 You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing. (R) 4 Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever and ever. (R)

Second Reading 1 Peter 2:20-25

The merit, in the sight of God, is in bearing punishment patiently when you are punished after doing your duty. This, in fact, is what you were called to do, because Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow the way he took. He had not done anything wrong, and there had been no perjury in his mouth. He was insulted and did not retaliate with insults; when he was tortured he made no threats but he put his trust in the righteous judge. He was bearing our faults in his own body on the cross, so that we might die to our faults and live for holiness; through his wounds you have been healed. You had gone astray like sheep but now you have come back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. The word of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia! I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me. Alleluia!

Gospel

John 10: 1-10

Jesus said: 'I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.' Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them. So Jesus spoke to them again: 'I tell you most solemnly, I am the

gate of the sheepfold. All others who have come are thieves and brigands; but the sheep took no notice of them. I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe: he will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full." The Gospel of the Lord.

Act of Spiritual Communion

At your feet, O my Jesus, I prostrate myself and I offer You the repentance of my contrite heart, which is humbled in its nothingness and in Your holy presence. I adore You in the Sacrament of Your love, the ineffable Eucharist. I desire to receive You into the poor dwelling that my heart offers You. While waiting for the happiness of sacramental Communion, I wish to possess You in spirit. Come to me, O my Jesus, since I, for my part, am coming to You! May Your love embrace my whole being in life and in death. I believe in You, I hope in You, I love You. Amen.