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St Matthew's Church, Tuesdays 4.30pm - 5.20pm.

St Matthew's Church, Saturdays 11.30am.

Monday's at 7.00am

St Matthew's, Page on Saturdays  at 11.00am.

St Vincent's, Aranda on Saturdays at 5.00pm.

St Matthew's at 10.00am on the 1st and 3rd Sunday.

Welcoming Mass on th 4th Sunday of the month.

As we enter into Holy Week we become aware of the Passion of Jesus and the way it touches the lives of both believers and unbelievers. This was not just a selective act to save the lucky few, it was a divine act which sought to reconcile the whole of creation. It sought to restore our relationship with God and with each other which can be so easily broken and damaged. Often we wonder could there have been a better way? Yet we know that this causes us to stop, ponder and review what is important in our lives and the impact that this Paschal Mystery has on our whole lives. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus cast-ing our whole life in a new light and seeks to show the depth of God's creative life engaging with our own. Jesus sought to bring life and love to the heart of all our lives by allowing us to enter into his own re-lationship with the Father. Fundamentally, Jesus could not walk away from himself any more than God can walk away from the heart of creation. It is with a heart broken open for the love of the world that we discover a new way of seeing and a new way of living.

Fr John

In recent days two Coptic Christian Churches have been bombed near Cairo. This terror attack killed dozens of people and injured nearly 60 others. It seems that this terror attack was initiated purely for motives of an anti-Christian nature. Pope Francis prayed, “May the Lord convert the hearts of the people who are sowing terror, violence and death, and also the hearts of those who make and traffic weapons.’

 This happened at the start of Holy Week, the principal liturgical week for all Christians. It indicates that the suffering and death of Christians continues in imitation of Jesus two thousand years ago.

 Pope Francis’ prayer goes to the “heart” of the matter. It is only the change of attitudes that ultimately can effect the change of sinful structures in society. Conversion of hearts from hatred to peace is the ultimate prayer of intercession of us all in these precious times. It is the beginning point of our shared hope that the future will bring forth the practical harvest of joy and mutual respect in society.

 Christians believe that in Jesus Christ this journey to peace has already been won yet still not fully realised in our world. The Resurrection of Jesus from the brutality of his death on the Calvary Cross is THE sign of God’s ultimate victory over the terror of the night. It is the cause of our Easter shout of ALLELUIA – Praise the Lord!

 We may be limited in our immediate practical response to the tragedy of this Egyptian terror attack. However, this Easter we can reach out to our families and those we know who are struggling and be people of hope and peace. Let us start by the conversion of our attitudes from selfishness to the planting of the seeds of a generous societal heart.

 Archbishop Christopher Prowse
Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn

April 10, 2017