From the Parish House

We are grateful to Bishop Thinh Nguyen, our Regional Bishop for the East, for visiting our parish and offering Masses across our communities on the weekend of 25–26 April.  Bishop Thinh celebrated with us at the Saturday Vigil Mass at 6.00 pm at Our Lady of Victories, on Sunday morning at 8.30 am at All Hallows and 10.30 am at Our Holy Redeemer.  This pastoral visit, though brief, provided opportunities for us to meet him and for him to meet us, helping to strengthen our relationships and connections within our Archdiocese.  His visit and presence brought a sense of unity and communion, highlighting the message of who we are as a Church community.  We are not on our own; we belong to the wider family of the Archdiocese and, indeed, to the wider family of the universal Church.  We are all in communion with Christ, and we are Church precisely because of that very nature.

Fr Ian and I joined Bishop Thinh at these Eucharistic celebrations and had the opportunity to listen to him share about his personal vocation, as well as his encouragement to those discerning their own vocation, as his visit coincided with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  It was even more encouraging to see that at our earliest Mass, the 8.30 am Mass that weekend, there were more children in attendance than usual.  This unexpected and joyful sight prompted me to invite them, together with their parents, to come forward at the end of Mass to receive a blessing from the bishop and to join the procession at the end of Mass.  It reminded me that, at times, change can bring much hope and encouragement.

Last Sunday at the 5.00 pm Mass, we celebrated the First Eucharist Commitment Mass for all the children in our parish preparing to receive Holy Communion for the first time.  Prior to the Mass, there was a workshop for the children and their parents to learn more about and explore the Eucharist together.  The three objectives we set out were:

• To help children understand what the Eucharist is;
• To help parents understand their role in preparing their child;
• To deepen family appreciation of the Eucharist.

Through discussions, conversations, and interactions between parents and children on various aspects of the Eucharist that afternoon, we saw clearly the important role of parents.  They are the first teachers of life and faith to their children, and we wish to emphasise that message to them.  We, as teachers, catechists, and clergy, are there to guide and support them in their process of learning and exploration, but not to take away the primary role of parents.

An initiative that I suggested to Katarina Steele, our Sacramental Coordinator, to foster a better connection with these children, was for each child to create a prayer card with their name on it.  After the children made their commitment, we invited members of the congregation and family members to come forward, to take a card home, and pray personally for that child.  I have done this elsewhere and have seen wonderful fruits of connection through this initiative.  If you did not attend that Mass and did not receive a card, we still encourage you to pray for these children.

On the Friday prior to our Parish Commitment Mass, I joined the Genazzano FCJ College community to celebrate Mass for students who were receiving the Eucharist for the first time.  The little chapel at the college, was filled with a profound sense of reverence, yet also a wonderful sense of joy, as the communicants came forward to receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time.  It was such a special occasion for these children to encounter Jesus in what the Church calls “the source and summit of the Christian life.”  We are indeed grateful to those who work tirelessly, giving so much time and effort to pass on the faith and prepare children to celebrate these important steps in their journey of faith.

This weekend, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, I pray in thanksgiving and express deep gratitude to God for the gift of our mothers – all mothers who are still with us, and all mothers who have gone before us.  There is a beautiful Jewish proverb that I often use when celebrating occasions that honour motherhood: “God could not be everywhere, and therefore He created mothers.”  Indeed, it is in mothers and their unconditional love that we see a clear sign of God’s presence.  Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and to all women who nurture and care for us.

By Fr Sang Ho