Gospel Reflection 2019
 Easter 5C
Today's Gospel again comes from the Gospel of John. Like last week, today we hear words spoken by Jesus before his death and Resurrection. Jesus is teaching at the Last Supper.

John's Gospel does not include an institution of the Eucharist narrative; instead, Jesus washes his disciples' feet. Immediately after, Jesus predicts his betrayal by Judas. Today's Gospel follows that prediction. It can be read as a continuing explanation of Jesus' act of washing his disciples' feet. It begins with the announcement that this is the moment when the Son of Man will be glorified. This theme continues throughout John's Passion. Jesus will be glorified in his death on the cross and in his Resurrection, and the disciples will glorify Jesus in the love they show.

John's Gospel does not present a sentimental view of love. This is a type of love that is shown in service and sacrifice. It is difficult to choose to love when faced with hatred and anger. Jesus tells the disciples that all will know that they are his disciples because of the love they show for one another. This description of the early Christian community will be repeated in the Acts of the Apostles: “See how they love one another.” Christian love is the hallmark of Christianity. We see it lived in the witness of the martyrs. We see it in the example of the lives of the saints. We see it in the holy women and men who live and love daily, making small and large sacrifices for others.

   [Updated May 18]

Weekday masses
Fr Martin will be at the Salesian Chapter meeting all
next week, so will not be available for Mass or consultation.
Therefore the only Masses celebrated at St
Joseph’s will be on Wednesday and Friday with Fr
Anthony and Fr Frank will be celebrating Mass at St
John’s on Tuesday and Thursday, as per usual.

Fr Martin’s Installation
Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of the Southern Cross.
It is with much appreciation that I once again say a
BIG ‘Thank You’ for your presence at my installation
last Sunday. It was wonderful to see all the many
parts of the parish represented. Thanks for not only
supporting me but also supporting each other. It was
great to have Bishop Terry Curtain, the other priests
and religious there supporting the parish. My heartfelt
thanks goes out to ALL those who helped with the
preparations including; the church environment, the
booklet, the flowers, the music, the setting up and
cleaning of the hall, the tasty food, especially that
beautiful cake, and the Mother’s Day gifts. I feel very
much at home here in the parish and look forward to
continue building up our church and school communities
together. Fr Martin

Homelessness—What can we do?
On Saturday 8 June, 2019, with the onset of Winter,
Catholic Social Services Victoria will host a forum
“Homelessness What can Parishes do?” at Cardinal
Knox Centre, 383 Albert Street, East Melbourne, from
9.30am-1.00pm. Come and hear what the Australian
Bishops have to say about making a home for everyone
in our land, what the Christian community is
already doing to assist, and join in discussions about
how you and your parish can help. Cost: $20, includes
lunch. Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/
BBQOR; enquiries to Lucia Brick at lucia.brick@css.
org.au, tel 03 9287 5566.

Chaplaincy Sunday
The Archbishop’s Charitable Fund is conducting its
annual Chaplaincy Sunday Appeal to support the vital
work of chaplains in our community today (Sunday).
The presence of Catholic chaplains in all the health,
aged care, and justice systems across Melbourne is a
crucial witness to our faith, a crucial dimension of our
service of love, and a vital testimony to the value of
life in all its stages.
The focus for 2019 is healthcare Chaplaincy. Healthcare
chaplains offer emotional, spiritual and sacramental
support to patients and their families in Melbourne’s
major public hospitals, as well as hospitals
in regional Victoria. Parishioners are encouraged to
offer prayers and a financial donation to help provide
continued spiritual and emotional comfort to families
facing illness, pain, grief and death. Envelopes available.

Healing Mass at St John's
Our first healing Mass of the year offered us a time
for quiet reflection and the opportunity to receive the
beautiful gift of anointing of the sick.
We are very fortunate to have this ministry of healing
in our parish. We enjoyed a small morning tea after
the healing Mass, which is always a great time to
come and have a good laugh together. This is also
part of the healing process.
We hope to see many more people attending our next
Healing Mass on June 22nd at St. Joseph's Church.
Come and join us at 10 am, with Vietnamese (and
English) refreshments afterward.

A very warm welcome
As you know, Fr Martin Tanti has just recently become
our new Parish Priest at Our Lady of Southern
Cross in Collingwood and Clifton Hill. His formal
installation was last Sunday. He has been with us only
a few months but I know he will gain the love and
respect of our parish family. He is a warm and
friendly person with a deep love of God. I’m sure he
will bring his own special qualities and ideas that we
are eager to embrace.
Our Lady of Southern Cross, especially the Vietnamese
Community of the Parish, has always been
blessed with outstanding Priests, and I have no doubt
that Fr Martin will become one of them. We pray that
his stay with us will be blessed with much happiness.
We look forward to travelling with him as he leads us
on the road to strengthening our Catholic faith.
Truc Nguyen

St John's Bush Dance
St John’s Parent’s and Friends invite everyone in the OLSC Parish to our annual Bush Dance on Saturday 18 May from 6.30pm. This promises to be a wonderful, lively event with much fun and dancing to Paddy’s Wombat Bush Band. It is a rare opportunity to enjoy a live band and we would love the whole community to join us! There will be delicious country style food available for purchase, including pork and lamb sliders, snacks and drinks. BYO alcohol. We will be having a spinning wheel and mystery prizes, so please come along. This is truly a night for everyone.
This event will be held at St Joseph’s Hall which means the show can go on no matter what the weather does. Tickets are $12 per person or $35 a family. We encourage everyone to bring their family and friends to enjoy this fun-filled evening out. Contact Julia (0407 343637) or Gina in the St John’s school office for tickets or more information.

Reflection
What does Church mean? We may often associate the word ‘church’ to be a building - a place of worship. However, for me as a person of faith, it means a lot more. It is about the community, the people who come for prayer and be nourished by communion. It’s being part of a wider group of people; those people who have a similar faith, a similar outlook on life, who seek something that is greater than themselves. As a priest, my ministry only makes sense if the church (the building) is a church for the people.
Have a good week. Fr Martin.

Winter Warmers Drive
OLSC parish is collecting socks, gloves, hats and scarves which are badly needed items and can make a huge difference to keeping warm in the cold.
On the next rainy boring day clean out those drawers, cupboards and ward-robes that house the clothing that hasn’t seen daylight for some time. Bring your unwanted (clean) clothing items to Mass and leave them at the back of the church.

Youth Conference
Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed,
for the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9
The Chosen Conference is a national conference for youth and young adults between 18 - 30 years old, organised by Jesus Youth, an International Catholic Association with a focus on evangelising young peo-ple and nurturing their missionary initiatives.
We invite you to join us from the 4th - 7th July 2019 at Sacred Heart Girl's College Melbourne for 4 power-packed days of youth rallies, up-lifting talks, work-shops, theatre, Eucharistic celebrations, vocation & mission expo and live music.
For registrations please visit www.chosenconference. org.au. For further information, queries or group registration please contact info@chosenconference. org.au or call us at 0491 002 081.

Fr Martin to be Installed
Put this date in your diaries now !!
Fr Martin Tanti is to be formally installed as Parish Priest on Sunday, May 12th at St Joseph’s Church in Collingwood.

Priestly Ordination of Fr Martin Tanti sdb - 28 Aug 2010 Brunswick

Salesian Mission News - May 2019

Cagliero - May 2019       Prayer Intention - May 2019