The Catholic Parish
of Frenchs Forest
to Love and Serve
Our Parish is made up of three vibrant communities:
If you’re a visitor or new to our parish, we extend a very warm welcome to you.
If you have any questions, please chat with Fr Biju, Fr Shiju, or myself, or browse our website.
We want you to feel at home with us. - Fr Satheesh
REFLECTION FOR 6th Sunday of Easter
In today's Gospel, Jesus says that as a result of our love for him and fidelity to hisword, the Father will come and make a home with us.
The image of God as homemaker is, sadly, not very developed in Christian spirituality, maybe because too many undomesticated men have had too much of the say for far too long! But this is an image that holds a lot for how and where we meet God.
The best homes are places where we relax because we are ourselves, we are known and we know the others with whom we live. It's a common experience, for example, that when we have been out from our homes, as soon as we enter our front door we want to go to the loo. There is something intimate and familiar about our home that enables us to relax on many levels as we turn the key. Home is an earthy place where we don't get away with much and our vulnerability can be on display.
Christian homes are particularly hospitable places, where Christ dwells in them to the degree that dignity, love and forgiveness are present. A home, however, is more than a house in which people live. Homes need work and attention. A friend of mine says memories rarely just happen, they need to be created. That's the sort of attention to a family's life that turns a house into a home. And this is the world in which God enters our lives. God wants us to be relaxed and vulnerable in God’s presence. We don't need to put on a show or say what we think God wants to hear, that's a theatre where we perform, not a home where we know
each other. Easter faith is about being comfortable and intimate, about being who we are, rather than the persona we would prefer God to see.
As with most of our homes, being at home with God has its ups and downs, days when we think we cannot bear to stay one more moment, other days where we could never imagine being anywhere else and then most days where we are neither up nor down and we just get on with the routine of our lives. God the homemaker remains faithful through it all, offering the gift of Easter peace, sending us out to proclaim Christ's Kingdom, welcoming us home eager to learn how everything went and reassuring us always that while God is at home with us our hearts should never be troubled and we are not to be afraid.
For Christians, nostalgia is not about living in the past, it is about yearning for the sort of home where our heart truly is.
(Extract from Homily by Richard Leonard SJ)
Voice of the People - May 19 2022
Euthanasia legalised in NSW
Bishop Anthony said it is an extremely disappointing situation when we accept the sanction of the State to determine who lives and who dies.
“Assisted suicide is a completely unacceptable solution to the problem of suffering,” Bishop Randazzo said.
“A genuinely human society is not how we decide to eliminate those who suffer, but how we care for them.
“While deeply moved by many comments aired during the years of this debate, it is clear the social mood and the narrative has evolved in a way that the language of personal rights now dominates over our concern for the common good.
“We should be considering and caring for the rights of all citizens to be well, to have the care they need, and not lost to the margins.
“We now have to consider what this means to our health care and aged care, the vulnerable and confused.”.........click here to read full article
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“While the legalisation of euthanasia is a disappointing development, legislative change does not alter the good news of Jesus Christ that every life is sacred,” said Emma Baker, team leader for Life, Marriage & Family at Evangelisation Broken Bay.
“Fear, economics and access to healthcare should not determine how we respond to the end-of-life process.
“As we transition to a society in which assisted suicide is an option, we give thanks for the religious healthcare providers who continue to oppose this process and invest in the highest quality medical care for patients who are terminally ill,” said Ms Baker.
“Let’s ensure members of our family, friends, those who are alone, the vulnerable in our community know and understand that they are loved, that we will be with them in their journey, and that they are not a burden.”.......... click here to read full article.
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