My Dear Parishioner,

So many of our Parish members including Fr Shiju have been in insolation this week due to being considered close contacts, because of visiting Glenrose Shopping Centre. I hope that those who are in isolation are going well and have interesting chores to keep them busy. The Olympics have been a great enjoyable distraction. Please remember if you need anything, even just to have a chat, contact the Parish Office. As I said last week, each of us in the community, could phone someone in our Parish to find out how they are going and offer support.

When I think of our Parish theme I would like to propose ‘LOVE AND SERVICE’. I believe that these qualities are important and already in action in our Parish and I know that all of us can practice these to the betterment of our whole community.

I hope you are joining us for Mass online each weekend. You would have noticed that Fr Shiju was not there last week, due to his isolation and Brother Tan has returned to the Seminary and we wish him well in his studies this semester. We feel close to the community when we are able to say Mass and know that you will be watching and joining us in prayer, thank you.

Thank you to those parishioners for increasing their contributions to support our Parish. If anyone is still thinking of increasing your contributions please you are most welcome to do so. Jessica, our Parish Secretary and myself are contacting Parishioners during the week by phone and we are hoping to talk to many of you over this time.

Also, please remember due to the COVID restrictions we are unable to visit and care for our people in hospitals and nursing homes. We are permitted to visit only to provide life end service. Also, please when you contact your friends, could you ask them whether they receive our parish "E News" If not, if they are interested could ask them to contact the Parish office and provide their email address.

I am delighted to inform you that we are getting a third priest to our parish to provide us pastoral care. He is from the same Order (OSH) in which Fr. Shiju and I belong. He has been granted his Australian Visa and he will arrive in Sydney on 4 August and will go to quarantine for 14 days. If everything goes well he will join us by the end of August. I will let you know the details later. Please keep him in our prayers.

Let us all pray together for the end of this Pandemic. As it is the Year of St Joseph, let us pray to him with the following prayer:

“Saint Joseph, we come to you with our cares and our worries and confidently invoke your prayer for us. Through the love which bound you to Mary and to Jesus, her divine Son, receive our prayers and be our intercessor, that we might know your patronage and protection in all our needs. Unite our prayers to yours and from heaven assist us in our struggles and difficulties until we shall attain eternal happiness with you. Amen”

God Bless You all,

Fr Satheesh Antony OSH

This week’s gospel reading continues the exploration of John Ch 6 that began last week and will continue for another few weeks. Today’s passage begins the extended discourse on the ‘Bread of Life’ image that runs throughout this chapter. Last week’s reading finished with Jesus virtually fleeing the scene when the crowd wanted to make him king. At the start of today’s reading, the crowd has caught up with him again and appears to be looking for a repeat performance of the miraculous feeding. Jesus accuses them of simply wanting more food and not being alert to the truth of the sign they had witnessed. The crowd asks what they must do to accomplish the works of God and Jesus answers fairly bluntly, Believe in me!

In response, the people demand a sign from Jesus: produce manna from heaven as Moses did during the Exodus. In fact, manna from heaven is one of the signs of the coming of the Messiah that is foretold by the prophets. So, in their own way, the people are asking Jesus to demonstrate to them that he is the Messiah. Jesus, however, explains that it was not Moses who produced the manna, but God. In Jesus, God has already produced the sign – the Bread sent down from heaven. There is no need for Jesus to produce such a sign; the sign has already been produced by God. It is up to the people – and us – to recognise God’s gift of life-sustaining nourishment that is Jesus.

In the symbolic actions of the Eucharist celebration we recognise the presence of Christ, the Bread of Life among us.