Staying awake!

Just a few thoughts

ü Voting No is not a solution. It simply restates the injustice of the past. Voting Yes represents a willingness to change and create a better future for everyone. -- Prof Jocelyn Chey

ü "In the end, it's not what you do for your children but what you've taught them to do for themselves." -- Ann Landers

ü We pray for the people whose homelands are becoming barren and uninhabitable. May the crisis they face spur us all to take effective action to halt global warming.

Reflections

ü Do not worry about tomorrow……….

ü God the Creator is the rich man, leaving the universe in our human hands to love and cherish, respect and care for, increase and multiply.

ü But Not Yet? – Next Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø The choice is ours, and so are its outcomes

Ø Giving Up On Fear

Musical Reflection

¯  Servant Song

¯  Blowing in the Wind

How people are in their heart

Just a few thoughts

·       "Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn't mean he lacks vision." -- Stevie Wonder

·       "Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress." -- Alfred A. Montapert

·       Listen, Learn, Love - with and for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. May we renew our engagement with each other by respectful listening, learning and loving.

Reflections

ü The Pharisees have always been sitting ducks for Christian preachers.

ü Jesus asks us to be authentic

ü The rock of foundation versus the stumbling block – Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø We are proud to endorse the referendum for an enshrined and protected Voice to Parliament -- Josephite Justice Network

Ø The Voice: walking with the Australian people for a better future

Musical Reflection

¯  Come and Follow Me

¯  Speak To Me

Be courageous in the face of evil

Just a few thoughts

·       "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." -- John F. Kennedy

·       The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. – Socrates

·       We pray for all who have suffered from the misuse of church authority, that they will not lose faith in the saving love of Jesus.

Reflections

ü Does anyone care?

ü Do we speak up for those who are oppressed?

ü Will the Servants of the Lord Please Stand Up? – Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Vinnies calls for reform of taxation system

Ø A ‘Statement From The Heart’ should always be cherished

Musical Reflection

¯  Change Our Hearts

¯  Dream Baby Dream

St Augustine

Just a few thoughts

·       “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.” – St Augustine

·       Contemplation is the practice of being fully present — in heart, mind, and body — to what is in a way that allows you to creatively respond and work toward what could be. -- Richard Rohr

·       May we seek the wisdom and knowledge of the mind of God as we long to create of kinder, more truthful and united nation where respect for each other is real and active.

Reflections

ü The really important things: justice, mercy and love.

ü It Takes Two – Sunday reflection

ü Awesome faith – Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø “Yes” on the Voice is a vote for a better future

Ø The Width of Our Ecclesial Embrace

Musical Reflection

¯  Canticle of the Sun

¯  Together

 

Who do you say that I am?

Just a few thoughts

·       "You are where you are because of your choices. There is nothing to gain by regretting things. Review your past decisions for lessons and make a new decision to change. Take Action Today." -- Craig Ballantyne

·       July was the hottest month ever recorded by humans

·       May the words, Listen, Learn, Love, shape a new relationship with our First Nation Peoples in this year of the referendum vote, so that we can, as the Bishops say, “walk together in this year of great possibility”.

Reflections

ü Australian Women Preach

ü The Rock on which the Church is built

ü We cannot know the mind of God, but…..

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Truth and Reconciliation

Ø Faith Refreshed Online Retreat Week 2

Musical Reflection

¯  Instrument of Peace

¯  All of Your Ways are Peace

¯  You're The Voice

Jesus talks of burdens

Just a few thoughts

·       "Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." -- Albert Einstein

·       In a world where so much is vying for my attention each day: work, family, advertisements, notifications etc. I was reminded that I also need to be aware of those things that aren’t necessarily “beeping”, “pinging” or “vibrating” for my attention. The language of consolation is more often tenderness and gentleness. -- Isaac Demase SJ

·       May those who teach in the name of Jesus strive to practice what they preach.

Reflections

ü Whoever humbles himself will be exalted

ü None of these things, says Jesus, makes a person great.

ü Authority – Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø New podcast series gives students a voice

Ø Final act of mercy brings dignity to Sydney four who died in poverty

Ø Oneness with Everyone

Musical Reflection

¯  New Creation

¯  Spirit And Grace

The heart of the matter

Just a few thoughts

·       Planned Unemployment
We are being told continuously by our governments that the most important thing for our well-being is to have a job. We need to all be at work; no unemployment and all our lives will be wonderful.
We are also told by our economic managers that in order to keep our cost of living down we must raise interest rates, so that at least 4 or 5% of our people need to be unemployed, so that the rest of us can have a reasonable life.
And guess what - the most unemployed people in Australia are its First Peoples!
There must be a better way.
Change is essential.

·       "Every heart that has beat strongly and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world, and bettered the tradition of mankind." -- Robert Louis Stevenson

·       May Christians, above all else, be known for their love of neighbour, especially those who are needy and poor.

Reflections

ü Love one another as I have loved you

ü The Essence of the Gospel

ü Opening the Truth – This Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Australia is home to the oldest living culture in the world. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been caring for Country for at least 65,000 years. The Voice is a key reform in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which asks all Australians to recognise the rightful place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in their own country by establishing a First Nations Voice in the Constitution. Through the Voice Referendum, Australians will have the chance to decide whether Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a say on matters that affect their community. – Solar Citizens

Ø The Real and Holy Presence

Musical Reflection

¯  All Who Hunger Gather Gladly

¯  Great Southern Land

St Bartholomew

Just a few thoughts

·       "Take care to distinguish between things you can control and things you can't so that you will no longer worry about the things you can't control and will instead focus your attention on the things you can control." -- William B. Irvine

·       "Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do." -- Pope John XXIII

·       We pray for the whole human family as earth’s temperatures reach record levels. May all of us exercise responsible stewardship of our vital water resources.

Reflections

ü A place to sit and be quiet

ü Come and See

ü A story about the miracle of faith – Last Sunday reflection

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Workers’ rights are human rights: Vinnies

Ø Divine Love Restores

Musical Reflection

¯  In This Place

¯  You’re The Voice

God relates to us on the basis of what we need rather than what we deserve.

Just a few thoughts

·       "Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

·       I’m reminded of the power of the prophetic path to create solidarity where it least seems possible, and to enhance compassion for the suffering of others and the suffering of the world. But what are we to do about the troubles of the world? ... to discern the signs of the times, and to be an ever-present balm in a troubled world.…  -- Barbara A. Holmes

·       This land is Aboriginal land and was never ceded.
Australia is the only former colonial land that does not recognise the original owners of the land in its constitution
This is a unique opportunity to correct this injustice – Prof Jocelyn Chey

Reflections

ü Paying a ‘family wage’

ü The genuine needs of all should be met.

ü The Anti-Mendicancy Law.

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Last week the Australian Catholic Bishops released their annual Social Justice Statement.
Each year it explores a topic of social justice significance. It provides information and guidelines for consideration by all people, not just Christians.
Sadly it did not receive a mention in our parish. There was a time when these very important statements were strongly promoted and made available in the parish church.
Here is the Front Cover. It links to the Statement.

Musical Reflection

¯  Uluru Statement from the Heart

¯  You’re The Voice

What about us?

Just a few thoughts

·       "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better." -- Samuel Beckett

·       "Ordinary people believe only in the possible. Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the impossible, they begin to see it as possible." -- Cherie Carter-Scott

·       May nations work to advance the cause of peace everywhere.

Reflections

ü Food for Dogs?

ü Paradoxes always matter

ü In the world of Jesus, everyone gets because everyone gives; because everyone gives, everyone receives.

ü Embracing the richness of God’s prescence

The Signs Of The Times

Ø Bishops’ ‘new engagement’ with First Nations people more important than ever: Vinnies

Ø The Tyranny of Program

Musical Reflection

¯  O God, You search Me and You Know Me

¯  The Eyes and Hands of Christ