The Catholic Parish of Frenchs Forest.
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 Shiju, or myself, or browse our website.
We want you to feel at home with us. - Fr Satheesh
Prayer, Service and Witness
Sacraments and Sacramental
Program
Program
Fifth Sunday of Lent
26th March 2023
Searching for Life
Prayer:
Loving and gracious God, Here I am, searching for the new life that You offer to me.
I believe that You have defeated death through the Resurrection of Christ, and that death no longer has the last word. Give me the courage to stand firm in this foundational Christian truth, and let it be the basis from which I live out every aspect of my life, especially the most difficult. I pray that I may understand the Resurrection more deeply this Lent, and that this will bind me more closely to my sisters and brothers in Christ.
As I reflect on Your word today, may Your Holy Spirit reveal to me the saving power of the life, death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ. May my relationship with Him be renewed; my trust in Him deepened; and my joy increased.
Amen
source: Diocesan of Broken Bay Lenten Program 2023
to download a copy click here or go to bbcatholic.org.au
from Fr Satheesh
26th March 2023
My Dear Parishioner,
On this Fifth weekend of lent, in the gospel we recall how Jesus was told of the death of his friend Lazarus and how he restored him to life. In this we have a ‘trailer’ of the whole message of Christian life: to believe in Jesus Christ is to be brought out of the tomb of death, freed from what binds us, and offered eternal life. A wonderful hopeful lesson for us all as we come to the end of our Lenten journey.
A hearty congratulations and my gratitude to our wonderful Youth group who organised such a beautiful St Patrick’s Day dinner and trivia night. Everyone who attended said what a great celebration it was and that it was so well organised. It was truly amazing. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful Youth Group in our Parish. Also, my deep appreciation to all who organised, participated, and supported the Rice Night on 23 March to raise funds for the work of Caritas through Project Compassion.
Next week we have the Parish Reconciliation on Thursday 30th at 7.30 pm to 8.30pm in OLGC Church. All are welcome to come and feel the forgiveness and grace that God gives us in this wonderful Sacrament.
In this week’s bulletin you can see the schedule for our Parish’s Holy week celebrations. We have many beautiful services held in our different communities. Beginning with the Chrism Mass which is held at the Cathedral on Tuesday 4th April at 7.30pm. A very powerful Mass where the priests of the Diocese renew their vows and the Oils for all the Parishes are blessed and sent back to each Church.
We have tried to alternate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday every year and this year it is being held at St Anthony’s Church, Terrey Hills. Please support all our Holy week Liturgies to help make Easter a very meaningful celebration. I encourage you to participate in all our Holy week celebrations with your family.
I am planning my annual holiday and will be leaving on Monday 10th April and return on Friday 12th May. More about this in next week’s bulletin.
Thank you to all those who are helping with the Holy Week and Easter ceremonies. I am so grateful to Fr. Shiju, and our wonderful parish staff. I appreciate all your support in my ministry as the Parish Administrator.
May God Bless you all,
Fr. Satheesh Antony OSH
Reflection (26/03/23)
This Gospel tells us that Our Lord was moved with compassion in an almost violent way, raging against the seeming finality of death. The raising of Lazarus was a demonstration of his power to rob death of its supposed supremacy.
But, Our Lord did not set Lazarus completely free! You may think that to be raised from the dead was not a bad start, but Lazarus was still shuffling: bound, constrained, constricted by the past. To those gathered around the tomb Jesus issued the command: ‘Set him free, unbind him.’ It was the collective effort of others which enabled Lazarus to walk as a liberated son of God.
You may find yourself commanded by the Lord to help unbind a person who has had a deadening experience which has drained them of life. We get the courage to respond because it is the command of the One who definitively conquered death.
We could pause for a moment to resolve to help liberate others already helped by the grace of Him whom we believe to be the Resurrection and the Life.
HOLY WEEK 2023
at Frenchs Forest Catholic Parish
Palm Sunday: 1st & 2nd April
5:30pm – Vigil Mass at OLGC and St Anthony’s
8:30am & 6:00pm - Mass at St Martin’s Davidson
9:00am - Mass at St Anthony’s Terrey Hills
10:00am - Mass at OLGC Forestville
Chrism Mass: Tuesday 4th April
7:30pm Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral Waitara
Holy Thursday: 6th April
7:30pm - Mass of the Lord’s Supper – St Anthony’s Terrey Hills
Good Friday: 7th April
10:00am - Stations of the Cross - OLGC Forestville (Traditional)
10:00am - Stations of the Cross - St Martins Davidson (Enactment by Youth Group)
10:00am - Stations of the Cross - St Anthony’s Terrey Hills
3:00pm - Passion of Our Lord - OLGC Forestville
3:00pm - Passion of Our Lord - St Martins Davidson
3:00pm - Passion of Our Lord - St Anthony’s Terrey Hills
8:00pm - Taize Prayer around the Cross at St Martins Davidson
Holy Saturday: 8th April
9:00am - Morning Prayer - OLGC Forestville
7:00pm - Easter Vigil - OLGC Forestville
Easter Sunday: 9th April
8:30am - Mass at St Martin’s Davidson
9:00am - Mass at St Anthony’s Terrey Hills
10:00am - Mass at OLGC Forestville
There will be no evening Mass on Easter Sunday
New Old Organ
For those who are wondering why we have a strange construction in OLGC church, it is the parish's new/old pipe organ. Parts of the organ date back to the 1800 so it is super old. As we put the history and story together, we will let you know.
What you see is the facade, which covers the internals and the 385 pipes which make up the organ.
If you have heard it play, you will have noticed the clean sound with a full tone, that can only come from pipes.
Listen to some of the muic being played on the organ in the chruch my clicking on link belo
Parish Announcements and News Blog
full blog can be found at Parish News Blog
please note - to be able to follow a link in news articles below, please click on READ MORE to open the article.
Where possible, the parish news blog will be updated daily Mon-Friday.