Latest News and Information
1 Oct 2017 Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
24 Sep 2017 Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
2014-15 Sacramental Preparation Process
Information on the 2104-15 Sacramental Preparation Process has now been uploaded to the Parish website, and can be found on the Sacramental Preparation page.
read morePapal Prayer Intentions for October 2014
For the month of OCTOBER, 2014 the Papal prayer intentions are: Universal Intention: That the Lord may grant peace to those parts of the world most battered by war and violence. Evangelization Intention: That World Mission Day may rekindle in every believer zeal for carrying the Gospel into all the world.
read moreIn Preparation for Social Justice Sunday
Sunday 28th September is Social Justice Sunday, and the Australian Catholic Bishops Social Justice Statement is entitled A Crown for Australia: striving for the best in our sporting nation. Our own Bishop Bill is interviewed by Helene O’Neill in the days prior to Social Justice Sunday.
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 21st September 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 21st September, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 14th September 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 14th September, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 7th September 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 7th September, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read morePapal Prayer Intentions for September 2014
For the month of SEPTEMBER, 2014 the Papal prayer intentions are: Universal Intention: That the mentally disabled may receive the love and help they need for a dignified life. Evangelization Intention: That Christians, inspired by the Word of God, may serve the poor and suffering.
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 31st August 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 31st August, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 24th August 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 24th August, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read moreWhy We Do What We Do No. 2
During Benediction, why does the priest don a cloak then use it to hold the monstrance for the actual Benediction blessing, but at all other times he, and a member of the laity, holds the monstrance in bare hands? The cloak that the questioner speaks of is known formally as the humeral veil, a piece of cloth that is worn by a priest or deacon in certain liturgical rites associated with the Blessed Sacrament. During Benediction the humeral veil is worn by the priest or deacon only during the actual blessing with the Blessed Sacrament, and the veil is used here so that it is very clear that the blessing comes from the Blessed Sacrament present in the monstrance and not from the priest or deacon. That’s also why the veil is not worn by the minister who exposes or reposes the Blessed Sacrament before or after the actual...
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 17th August 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 17th August, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read moreChurch Is Not A Convenience Store
The article below, written by Elizabeth Harrington, Education Officer for Liturgy Brisbane, appeared in The Catholic Leader on Sunday 10th August 2014 in their regular Liturgy Lines column. A couple of months ago I wrote about my concern that a consumer mentality is impacting on our worship practice and the Church is sometimes treated like a convenience store and the liturgy as a product. I offered as evidence parishioners who expect Mass to be over and done with as quickly as possible, who want everything to be to their liking, and who leave all the work involved in preparing for, celebrating and clearing up after liturgy to others. Hence the headline “Hopes says Mass has become consumerised” in the latest edition of The Tablet from London caught my eye. The article reports on a lecture by chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales Committee on Liturgy Bishop Alan Hopes in which he expressed concern that some Catholics seem to expect that Mass should be available whenever and wherever it suits them and appear to have developed a sense of entitlement about receiving Holy Communion every time they are at Mass. “The Mass has become the most prevalent service, but we have a rich liturgy and this is something we should look into,” he said. Later Bishop Hopes asked people to consider other forms of worship as well as Mass, such as the Liturgy of the Hours, lectio divina and the Rosary. “We need to encourage people,” he said. “I was taken by surprise in East Anglia to find that people will come together very early for Morning Prayer. “We expect Communion at every Mass. People seem to have the attitude ‘What do I get out of this?’ We have shifted to a practice where everybody gets up for Communion which makes it awkward for those who can’t go to Communion.” A few years ago I assisted a parish in a more remote part of this diocese to prepare for celebrating Morning Prayer one day a week and Evening Prayer on another day of the week because weekday Mass was available to them only once a week and parishioners wanted to come together more regularly for liturgical prayer. There was a group of parishioners who happily took up this opportunity to celebrate the Prayer of the Church with the community during the week. There were some however who refused to join in because Holy Communion was not part of the service. One lady actually said to me “I won’t be coming if I can’t get Jesus”. If that’s not a consumerist mentality, I don’t know what is. Why is it inappropriate to include the distribution of Holy Communion at Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, celebrations of the Word and other such liturgies when some people expect – even demand – it? When Communion is distributed outside Mass, the “holy exchange” of giving and receiving and our participation through the action of the Spirit in the ongoing sacrifice of Christ is not enacted. We receive Communion but we do not make Eucharist. Distributing Communion outside the context of the Mass contributes to an incomplete understanding of Eucharist. A eucharistic community is one which gathers to give thanks, not just to receive Communion. Eucharist is an activity we do, not just...
read moreWhy We Do What We Do No. 1
A number of questions have been received that focus on the “Offertory Prayers” and why those prayers are not said aloud by the priest celebrant. The answer to this questions is essentially a combination of a) because the rules don’t permit it, and b) because it doesn’t make much sense ritually to do so. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal which is found at the beginning of the Roman Missal has this to say: 141. The Priest accepts the paten with the bread at the altar, holds it slightly raised above the altar with both hands and says quietly, “Benedictus es, Domine” (“Blessed are you, Lord God”). Then he places the paten with the bread on the corporal. 142. After this, as the minister presents the cruets, the Priest stands at the side of the altar and pours wine and a little water in the chalice, saying quietly, “Per huius aquae” (“By the mystery of this water”). He returns to the middle of the altar and with both hands raises the chalice a little, and says quietly, “Benedictus es, Domine” (“Blessed are you, Lord God”). Then he places the chalice on the corporal and, if appropriate, covers it with a pall. If, however, there is no Offertory Chant and the organ is not played, in the presentation of the bread and wine the Priest may say the formulas of blessing aloud and the people acclaim, “Blessed be God for ever”. The assumption of the rubrics (the liturgical rules) is that the two prayers of blessing over bread and wine would be said quietly by the priest celebrant while the community is singing an appropriate hymn. Only if there is no music is it permissible for the priest celebrant to say those blessing prayers aloud, thus enabling the community to respond with “Blessed be God forever”. In our own context this would effectively prohibit these two prayers of blessing being said aloud at the Saturday evening Mass and 9am Sunday morning Mass because there is a hymn being sung during this action. The only Sunday Mass in our Parish where this would be a possibility would be the 7am Sunday morning Mass. I have heard from some parishioners who have visited other places that these prayers are always said, even when a hymn is sung during the procession of the gifts. It would be my contention that such a practice is contrary to the rubrics and thus to be avoided. The preparation of the gifts is, ritually speaking, a minor aspect of the entire liturgy that is the Mass. While it is possible for the prayer of blessing over bread and wine to be said aloud, the highlighting of this relatively minor aspect of Mass would draw attention away from what comes immediately before and immediately after this action. The focus of this part of the Mass is the offering of the gifts of bread and wine (and other gifts where appropriate) during the procession, and then the offering of those same gifts to God beginning with the Prayer over the Offering. The preparation of the bread and wine is, largely, a practical element that needs to take place. It should be remembered that the praying of these prayers of blessing over bread and wine quietly is not designed...
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 10th August 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 10th August, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read moreSTOP PRESS: Cancellation of Franciscan Retreat
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Franciscan Parish Retreat scheduled for Saturday 9th August has had to be cancelled. Please let everyone know. Fr Andrew
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 3rd August 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 3rd August, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read morePapal Prayer Intentions for August 2014
For the month of AUGUST, 2014 the Papal prayer intentions are: Universal Intention: That refugees, forced by violence to abandon their homes, may find a generous welcome and the protection of their rights. Evangelization Intention: That Christians in Oceania may joyfully announce the faith to all the people of that region.
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 27th July 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 27th July, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read moreBridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 20th July 2014
The edition of the Bridgeside Bulletin for Sunday 20th July, 2014 is now available, and can be read below or...
read moreSunday Mass Times
Saturday evening
Holy Name of Jesus Church, Forster - 6:00pm
Sunday morning
Holy Name of Jesus Church, Forster - 7:00am
Holy Name of Jesus Church, Forster - 9:00am