From the Parish House

Last Tuesday, we celebrated the memorial of St Thomas Aquinas a Saint who is considered to be one of the Catholic Church’s greatest theologians and philosophers.  The first reading for the liturgy of the memorial of St Thomas, is taken from the Book of Wisdom, which features a prayer for understanding and wisdom.  The reading goes: “I prayed, and understanding was given me; I entreated, and the spirit of wisdom came to me, I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones… May God grant me to speak as he would wish and express my thought worthy of his gifts since he himself is the guide of Wisdom.”  As I reflected on this, I was thinking of all the students who returned for the new academic year this week or next.  Our three primary schools will gather together at Our Lady of Victories Basilica for the Opening of School Year Mass on Friday, 7 February.  We wish all of our students and teachers a wonderful year of learning, discovering and growth, not only for academic achievements but also for the opportunities of encountering God who is the guide for wisdom himself as the reading suggests.

As a parish community, we also extend our heartfelt congratulations to Fr Rene Mamirez and Fr Thinh Nguyen, who will be ordained as the two new Auxiliary Bishops of Melbourne this Saturday, 1 February.  In this new chapter of their ministry, we pray that they will be guided by the Holy Spirt, strengthened in wisdom and humility, and filled with the grace to lead with compassion in this wonderful pasture of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.  We will have the opportunity to welcome Bishop Thinh, who will be serving our Eastern region following the ordination.

This week, I would like to inform parishioners of Our Lady of Victories Basilica of the status of the temporary closure of Reserve Road, Camberwell.  The closure was implemented on Friday, 24 January in preparation for the commencement of the new school year.  The Parish submission/objection to the closure was lodged with Boroondara Council on 1 December 2024.

This submission along with the submissions of other affected groups, namely Camberwell Uniting Church, Camberwell Tennis Club and Camberwell Junction Traders Association will be considered by Boroondara Council at its meeting on Monday 24 February.

Over the last three weeks meetings have been held with the Manager of Traffic and Parking at Boroondara Council and with representatives of each of the above groups and it is the agreed position that we await the outcome of the Council meeting before further action is considered.

In our everyday lives of work, home, school and church may we listen to the prompting of God’s Spirit and gracefully live in constant expectation of God adventing in our lives.

By Fr Sang Ho

 

 

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