OUR PARISH IS ALIVE

Our Lady of Grace Website - Our community never closes but we need your input!

Dear Parishioners

Today our local conference of the Society of St Vincent de Paul is collecting donated gifts of food and clothing for needy families. The Society functions in many parishes, and not only does it function, it functions very effectively. The Society makes a huge contribution to promoting human dignity and justice through personal contact with those in need. It is probably impossible to measure the amount of good that this organisation does. It is an organisation that is well worth supporting and I encourage you to do this whenever you can.

The Catholic Church comes in for a lot of criticism these days; some of it is justified and some of it is not. I wish that our critics would be as loud in their praise for the good work that is carried out in the name of the Church, as they are in their criticism. The members of the Society of St Vincent de Paul are not interested in praise being heaped upon them, however it needs to be acknowledged that its members are responsible for a great deal of the good work that is carried out by the Church.

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to all our parishioners who make a special effort to care for those in need. They are modern day prophets because their actions remind us that our riches are to be shared.

Sincerely, Fr David

Reflecting on Lent

Lent is a time in which we either prepare for, or recall our baptism. It is a time in which we are once again reminded that we are the People of God. We are also reminded that such a great privilege carries with it its own set of responsibilities. In the season of Lent we come face to face with our own human weakness - we are sinners. In the early days of the Church, sinners were made to dress in sackcloth and be covered in ashes. This is the significance of the ashes we received on Ash Wednesday. Yes, we are sinners but we must never lose sight of the fact that this is only part of the story. The second part is played out at Easter - Jesus has the last word on sin!

Year of the Priest
Father, you have appointed your son Jesus Christ eternal High Priest. Guide those he has chosen to be ministers of Word and Sacrament and help them to be faithful in fulfilling the ministry they have received. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Today we pray for:
Fr Paul O’Connor aa - Our Lady of Fatima, Tawa
Msgr Patrick O’Connor - Tokelau
Fr Michael O’Dea - St Anthony’s Parish, Seatoun
Fr Kevin O’Donoghue sm - Marist Centre, Hobson Street

DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE LATEST PARISH NEWSLETTER

Download Previous Parish Newsletters

IN THIS ISSUE:
Presentation of the Creed
St Vincent de Paul meeting
Priesthood today
Finance Committee meeting
Anointing Masses meeting
Lenten Reflection Group
Dove Catholic Fellowship for Women
Communal Rite of Reconciliation

Presentation of the Creed - Sunday 7 March at 10:00 am
Ruth Lloyd (with her sponsors at Our Lady of Grace) has been reflecting on the Catholic Faith with a view to being initiated fully into the Church at Easter. Ruth will be presented with a copy of the Creed at the 10am Mass next Sunday. Please pray for Ruth and continue to show her the hospitality that parishioners of Our Lady of Grace are well known for.

St Vincent de Paul meeting
Tuesday 9 March, 7:00 pm

Priesthood Today
If your son showed an interest in becoming a priest, would you encourage him? Why or why not? What is it about ordained priesthood that you find life-giving? What worries you about it? Where does it succeed and fail today in your view? In this Year of the Priest, come and join in an interactive forum led by Fr James Lyons, Fr John Greally, Mrs Lorraine McArthur and Mr Chris Duthie-Jung. Tuesday 9 March, 7:00 - 9:00 pm at SS Peter and Paul Parish Hall, Lower Hutt.

Finance Committee meeting
Wednesday 10 March, 7:30 pm in the Parish Office. We wish to thank Greg Kelly for his years of service on the Finance Committee. Greg has resigned due to pressure of work.

Anointing Masses meeting
Two long serving members of the group who facilitate the Anointing Mass have resigned. They are Mary Fouhy, one of the originators of the function, and Pauline Lockyer. We thank these two ladies for their work. In order to ensure that all areas are covered, all who help in any way are asked to meet in the church after the 9:00 am Mass this Wednesday 10 March for a brief run over ‘who does what’. If you are unable to attend, would you please phone Patricia Byrne on 972-8043 and explain what help you are prepared to give. There are various jobs such as setting up and cleaning up, organising the luncheon, and transport of those who need it. Thank you.

Lenten Reflection Group
Thursday 11 March, 10:00 am.

Dove Catholic Fellowship for Women
Meet Saturday 20 March, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm at Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace (off Hill St), Thorndon. Note venue change for March. Speaker: Ruth Clarke from Tauranga. All Women welcome to join us for praise, worship, teaching and fellowship. Enquiries: Sandra 475-5541 www.dove.org.nz

Communal Rite of Reconciliation
The Communal Rite of Reconciliation (Rite II) will be held at Our Lady of Grace on Sunday 28 March at 4:00 pm (Palm Sunday). This is an opportunity for us to come together and reflect on our baptismal call to build our parish community and to acknowledge our own personal frailty in the presence of each other. Reconciliation is about coming home. It's about recognising and responding to the love God has for us. In spite of our failings, God accepts us - and longs for us to acknowledge our wrong-doing, to turn back to God and to love as we are loved by God.

GENERAL NOTICES

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMME for Reconciliation, Confirmation and First Communion
Do you have a child Y4 or older who is interested in being a part of the sacramental programme for 2010? There is a letter and form in the church foyer for you to take home to read and complete. We also ask that you write your name and phone number on the clip board provided. If you have any queries regarding the programme please call Helen Carson on 526-7644.

OPEN HOME FOUNDATION
a Christian organisation supporting families in New Zealand. They are looking for a loving home for a young girl 7½ years of age. She has a moderate degree of global development delay and has been diagnosed with ADHD for which she takes medication. Since being on medication she is more settled and calmer. She responds to firm boundaries and structure. Despite her challenges she is an engaging, friendly young girl. If you or a family you know could help, please contact Conli Swanepoel on 566-3990.

PARISH EMAIL DATABASE
With so much moving toward faster and better communication email has become an increasing common way to get messages rapidly around our parish. If you have an email address and would like to add it to our database please use the Contact tab at the top right of this page to advise. Urgent notices, eg funerals, could easily be distributed; as well we would like to develop a regular contact e-letter. NB - If you entered this information on the parish survey forms in October you do not need to resend your details (unless your email address has changed).

PRAYER FOR OUR SEMINARIANS
Please pray for Doug Shepherd, Andrew Kim and Marlouie Ugalde. These men are at the national seminary in Auckland, discerning the call to serve as priests in the Archdiocese of Wellington.

PRAYER CARDS FROM THE ROSARY CLUB
Please feel free to pick up some prayer cards from the window sill in the church foyer, which the children from St Brendan's have made whilst praying for your intentions. We will be making more cards next Friday as the children have been at Day's Bay this week - a lovely place for praying but not for making cards!

LET US REMEMBER IN PRAYER
Let us remember in prayer all who are sick (lionel O'Neill), lonely and worried and for all those who have died recently and whose anniversaries occur about this time.

MASS AT ST PATRICK'S COLLEGE SILVERSTREAM
7:00 pm at St Patrick’s College (term time only).

This Mass is for the boys who board at the college so liturgies are directed to them in particular. Parishioners are more than welcome to attend, but please remember this Mass is only held during school term.

WORLD YOUTH DAY 2011 IN SPAIN
The Wellington Archdiocese is joining with the Palmerston North diocese for this pilgrimage. Potential pilgrims are encouraged to start saving now as the cost will be between $5500-$10,000. Pilgrims interested in joining the diocesan group will need to be 18+ at date of travel. If you know of potential pilgrims or are interested yourself, please let Fr David know.

More notices on the board in the church foyer

WELCOME

READINGS

EVENTS

HUMOUR

CONTACT

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church

OUR PARISH IS ALIVE

GENERAL NOTICES

More notices on the board in the church foyer