The Catholic Parish of Frenchs Forest.


 to Love and Serve

 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 Joseph or myself, or browse our website.

We want you to feel at home with us. - Fr Satheesh

Holy Week Celebrations

at Frenchs Forest Catholic Parish

Palm Sunday: 24 March, 2024 

Chrism Mass: Tuesday 26 March,2024 

Holy Thursday: 28 March, 2024

Good Friday: 29 March, 2024

Holy Saturday 30 March, 2024.

Easter Sunday 31 March, 2024

from Fr Satheesh

My dear Parishioners,

This is the Fourth Sunday of Lent, and we remember and reflect on God loved the world so much he gave his only Son, that all who believe in him may have eternal life. The central theme of today’s readings is that our salvation is the free gift of a merciful God, given to us through Jesus, His Son. The readings stress God’s mercy and compassion and remind us of the great love, kindness, and grace extended to us in Christ.  

Lent is not merely a time of external observance but a period for deep self-examination and spiritual growth. Saint John Vianney, known for his holiness and devotion to the sacrament of Penance, exemplifies the importance of personal holiness and the sacramental life.  He once said, “Private prayer is like straw scattered here and there: If you set it on fire, it makes a lot of little flames.  But gather these straws into a bundle and light them, and you get a mighty fire, rising like a column into the sky; public prayer is like that.”

I would like to take this opportunity, once again, to encourage each of you to make the most of this Lenten season for your own personal growth in holiness.  Take time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, allowing these disciplines to cultivate a deeper relationship with our Lord.  Might we follow the example of Saint John Vianney by embracing the sacrament of Penance in our personal lives. Our priests are happy to help with this any time before or after Mass. Make sure you let them know.

We express our hearty congratulations to all children who have completed the program of preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I also express my sincere thanks to the parents who helped them to prepare for this Sacrament. My deep gratitude to Susanne Bragge our Sacramental Coordinator for making this event possible to our dear children.

This weekend we launch our Parish Pastoral plan. I encourage everyone to have a look at the five main areas of focus and to consider ways that you can assist in even one area of focus to help bring the pastoral plan alive.

I invite and encourage all of you to join in 12 hours Adoration on Friday 15 at OLGC from 7.30 am to 7.30 pm. We will conclude the Adoration at 7.30 pm with a Benediction followed by Stations of the cross.

I encourage you all to join the St. Patrick’s day Trivia on Saturday 16 March and the Stations and Rise night on Thursday 21. This weekend we welcome our school community to celebrate the Family Mass at OLGC on Sunday at 10 am.

God Bless you
Fr Satheesh Antony OSH

Reflection - 4th Sunday Lent (10th March 2024)

Each reading provides us with an example of divine mercy. God’s use of Cyrus to deliver the Israelites, even though he was not a believer, shows that every circumstance and any person can demonstrate the scope of God’s love. In fact, it is often the situation or the individual that we least expect that has been chosen to manifest God’s mercy to us. This same mercy is seen as God brings us to life with Christ even when we were dead in sin. 

Mercy means that strict justice is set aside in favour of compassion. Dispossessed people are raised out of defeat and given another chance. Sinners condemned to severe punishment are raised out of despair and offered a reprieve. The whole world is raised up out of darkness when God’s own Son is sent into that world as saviour rather than as judge. God’s mercy raises us out of loss and hopelessness, out of darkness and sin, so that we might enjoy the blessings of life.

We too have been raised up so that we might live in truth and might become the visible sign of God’s mercy in the world. We have been made a new people, free from the restraints of the past. Joined with Christ we become God’s handiwork, creations that bear the seal of the great creator. We are the very sacrament of God’s mercy. The forgiveness that we have experienced and the new life within us shine forth as witness to the mercy of God. 

© Dianne Bergant CSA

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