We pray for those who have died recently: Panfilo Olarte, Alvin Ignacio And those whose anniversaries occur at this time: We pray for those who are ill in our community: Eduardo Santos, Leng Villaroman We pray for those who are welcomed into our community with Christ this weekend:

Nazareth Centre (St Joseph’s Primary School)

44 Mernda Village Drive Mernda 3754

Weekend Masses: Nazareth Centre: Sat. 5:30 pm Sun. 8 am Sunday 10:30 am

Children’s Liturgy each Sunday 10.30am

St Mary’s

2-20 Fir Street Whittlesea 3757

Weekday Mass: Tuesday &Thursday 9:15 am Weekend Mass: Sunday 10 am

Children’s Liturgy each Sunday 10am

St Mary’s

124 Whittlesea-KinglakeRd Kinglake 3763 Weekend Mass Sunday 8:30 am

St Joseph’s

1490 Plenty Rd Mernda 3754 Weekday Mass: Wednesday & Friday 9:15 am

Parish Priest: Rev Martin Ashe Assistant Priest: Rev Shymon Thekkekalathungal Parish Secretary: Margaret Stanford [Tues, Thur 9am-12:30pm & Fri: 9am – 4pm]

Pastoral Associate: Sandy Starbuck Tue, Wed, Fri [9401 6322] Baptisms: Christine Hall [Mon & Tues] Sacraments: Contact Parish Office [9412 8493] Finance/Admin: Monique Heckmann Tue, Wed, Thur [9412 8493] Parish Office: 48 Mernda Village Drive, Mernda 3754 Postal address: P.O. Box 221, Mernda 3754 Phone Number: 9412 8493 Email: merndawhittlesea@cam.org.au Website: www.christthelightparish.org.au

2nd Sunday Easter. Year A

19 April 2020

Entrance Antiphon: Like newborn infants, you must long for the pure, spiritual milk, that in him you may grow to salvation, alleluia. First Reading: Acts 2:42-47

Responsorial Psalm: Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting. Second Reading: St Peter 1:3-9

Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia! You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me; happy those who have not seen me, but still believe! Alleluia! Gospel: John 20:19-31 Next week: 3rd Sunday Easter Year A

First: Acts 2:14,22-33 Second: St Peter 1:17-21 Gospel: Luke 24:13-35

Gospel Reflection

Because the focus of this week’s gospel passage is usually placed on poor old doubting Thomas, we sometimes overlook the way the passage begins. The disciples are huddled in a room, ‘for fear of the Jews’. Just a couple of weeks earlier they had been on top of the world. Jesus was enormously popular with the people, and the disciples, by association, were caught up in that affection. Their man, the one they had chosen to follow, was making waves and stirring the authorities – thumbing his nose at the rules. This, of course, made the disciples feel good to be around Jesus. However, in the space of just a few short days, their world had turned upside down. They’d gone from riding the crest of a wave to being utterly dumped! They were cowering in a closed up room, afraid for their lives in case those who handed Jesus over for death came for them as well. They’d already had an experience of the resurrected Jesus yet they were still hiding and afraid. Into this fear and uncertainty steps Jesus who says, ‘Peace be with you’. It is a reminder of Jesus calming the storm out on the lake – in the midst of turmoil and anxiety he brings peace and calm.

Greg Sunter.

PARISH WEBSITE: www.christthelightparish.org.au

LIVE STREAM SUNDAY 10:30AM MASS Can be accessed at the Home Page of our website. It will be an opportunity for all of us to join in the Eucharist, allowing us to be united to Christ and to one another as our community of Christ the Light. Physically, we may not be present to one another but spiritually we do join one another across the parish as the one community so that our faith in Jesus Christ can be a source of strength and hope for us all. DAILY MASS. Can be accessed at the Home Page of our website. It is streamed from St Patrick ’s Cathedral, Melbourne at 1pm.

We are a Child Safe Parish. We hold the care, safety and well-being of children, young people and vulnerable adults as a central and fundamental responsibility of our community.

MELBOURNE CATHOLIC. If you would like to follow up on other news in our Catholic community, please visit the website

www.melbournecatholic.org.au

Caritas Australia would like to THANK YOU for supporting Project Compassion 2020. Through your generosity you will be empowering the world’s most vulnerable communities to grow stronger and share their strengths with their communities to lift themselves out of poverty. We know that many of you may not be able to hand in your Project Compassion boxes, envelopes or cash, to parishes or schools at this time. Here are some options to assist you:

Remittance online Please count the cash you have in your boxes and envelopes and go online at “lent.caritas.org.au” and securely donate with your credit card.

Send a cheque Alternatively, you can send a cheque for the amount of cash you have counted to; Caritas Australia, GPO Box 9830, Sydney NSW 2001

Bank your cash You can securely bank you cash via online transfer, or at a branch using the following bank account details Please call us 1800 024 413 on the below number and we can assist with our bank account number. BSB – 062 217 A/C NO. 1007 2446 A/C Name – Caritas Australia Ref. DonorIDPC Please include your Donor ID with “PC” in the reference. If you don’t know your Donor ID, please use your last name. Can’t leave home? Call us. If you have cash in Project Compassion Boxes, or envelopes, and are unable to leave your residence, and are unable to access online banking or donation, please call the friendly team at Caritas Australia on 1800 024 413 and let us know. “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things, with great love.” Saint Teresa of Calcutta. WHITTLESEA COMMUNITY. SAYING GOODBYE TO MARGARET ARDLEY. At this time, as we are unable to gather to celebrate our Sunday Mass at St Mary’s, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Margaret Ardley for her wonderful contribution to the life of the St Mary’s community and indeed her overall contribution to our Parish of Christ the Light. She is about to leave Whittlesea and move to Echuca to be closer to her family. We will miss her and we wish her every blessing into the future. THE PEACE OF THE RISEN LORD. We find the disciples in today’s Gospel with the doors locked behind them because of their fear of people who are hostile to their belief and their following of Jesus. Then into the midst of their fears, the Risen Lord appears and gifts them with his Peace. This Peace banishes their fears and gives them deep joy. This joy comes from the One who has been raised from the dead and is now truly alive and present for them in a new way. This Peace is not only for themselves, it is to be shared with others. They are sent to proclaim that the Lord is truly risen and that his reconciling and redeeming love is for all. We are only too well aware that the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting our own lives individually, as families and our work situations, all of which can make us fearful and uncertain about the future. The resurrection of Jesus and the power of his risen presence makes known to us that we are not alone, that the Risen Lord who has destroyed the power of death and evil, is with us, to accompany us. He offers us the gift of his Peace, that he is there with us in the midst of all that we are enduring. The Peace of the Risen Lord gives us his strength and courage to journey through this difficult time. May we entrust our lives to the One who has conquered death and whose risen presence permeates our world and our own lives. The Risen Lord is the true source of peace during these times. May we be channels of this Peace as we reach out creatively to those around us. Fr Martin Ashe. Christ the Light Parish PP