Catholic Life @ MMCC – Mrs Flanagan

All Saints Day – 1st November

All Saints’ Day is a day the Catholic Church celebrates annually on November 1. The day is dedicated to the saints of the Church, the “great multitude which no man could number” ( Rev 7:9) of saints in heaven, including saints who are recognised by the Church and those who are not. The feast also serves as a reminder that all the baptised are called to the fulness of love and holiness.

The feast of All Saints Day has a long history starting in the early Church.The first saints to be honoured liturgically were the martyrs, including of course the apostles. At the beginning of the fourth century the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each one, so the Church established a common feast day for all the martyrs who had no proper celebration. In Antioch this feast was celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost. At the end of the fourth century, both St Ephrem and St John Chrysostom mention the feast.

In the West too, St Maximus of Turin in the fifth century preached in honour of all the martyrs on the Sunday after Pentecost. At first only martyrs and St John the Baptist, whose sanctity was proven, were honoured by special feast days. But then other saints were gradually added.

The first mention of a feast to honour all the saints on November 1 seems to have come during the pontificate of Pope Gregory III (731-741). In 732 he consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St Peter dedicated to ”all the apostles, martyrs, confessors, and all the just and perfect who are at rest throughout the whole world” and fixed the anniversary for November 1.

A century later Pope Gregory IV (827 844) extended the celebration on November 1 to the universal Church. The feast was so important that from the beginning it was celebrated with a vigil and, from the time of Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84), with an octave. The vigil, or liturgical celebration on the day before the feast, came to be known popularly as Hallowe’en, hallowed evening, until 1955 when both were suppressed.

The feast of All Saints Day has a long history, from the eighth century to the present day, in response to the desire of the Church to commemorate all the saints, especially those who have no proper feast day of their own.

Extracts from https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/when-did-we-start-celebrating-all-saints-day/

November – The Month dedicated to all Souls

All Souls’ Day is a day for the commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptised Christians. In the West, the tradition of setting aside a day of prayer and commemoration for the dead dates back to St. Odilo of Cluny, who established it at his abbey in France in the 10th century. From there, the practice spread until it was officially adopted in the 14th century.

Traditions associated with the feast include placing the names of those to be remembered on the altar at Mass, and visiting the cemeteries where dead loved ones lie.

The month of November is dedicated to the Souls in Purgatory, whose feast is celebrated on November 2. The entire Month of November in the last portion of the liturgical year represents a time of pilgrimage to heaven during which one hopes for reward. During the month of November it is good to hold those who have gone before both as objects of mercy and of reverence. To mourn as a Christian is to hold both the fullness of loss and the promise of restoration at once. And the promise will be fulfilled: “Blessed are those who mourn,” says Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, “for they shall be comforted.”

Daily Prayer For The Holy Souls

Immortal God, holy Lord, Father and Protector of all You have created,

we raise our hearts to You today for those who have passed out of this mortal life.

In Your loving mercy, Father of all, be pleased to receive them in Your heavenly company,

and forgive the failings and faults they may have done from human frailty.

Your only Son, Christ, our Saviour, suffered so cruelly that

He might deliver them from the second death.

By his merits may they share in the glory

of His victory over sin and death.

For all the faithful who have died we pray, but in particular for those dear to us,

parents, relatives and friends. nor do we forget all who did good to us while on earth,

who helped us by their prayers, sacrifice and example.

We pray also for any who may have done us harm,

and stand in special need of Your forgiveness.

May the merits and prayers of our Virgin Mother,

Mary, and those of all the Angels and Saints,

speak for us and assist them now.

This we ask in Christ’s name.

Amen.

Sunday Mass

St Gertrude’s, Smithfield https://www.stgertrude.org.au/

6pm Vigil Mass- Saturday Night
9am Italian Mass- Sunday Morning
10:30am English – Mass Sunday Morning
6pm English Mass- Sunday Night

Sacred Heart, Cabramatta http://www.sacredheartcabramatta.org.au/

6pm Vigil Mass- Saturday Night
7:30pm Vietnamese Vigil Mass- Saturday Night
6am Vietnamese Mass- Sunday Morning
8:30am English Mass- Sunday Morning
10am English Mass- Sunday Morning
11:30am Polish Mass- Sunday Morning
4pm Vietnamese Mass- Sunday Afternoon
6pm English Mass- Sunday Evening
7:30pm Vietnamese Mass- Sunday Evening

Our Lady of the Rosary, Fairfield https://www.olrfairfield.org.au/

7:30am Polish Mass – Sunday Morning
9am English Mass- Sunday Morning
10:30am English – Mass Sunday Morning
4:30pm Vietnamese – Mass Sunday Afternoon

Syriac Catholic Church https://www.syriac-catholic-church.org.au/

Please register via the wbsite for the following masses
9:30am – Sunday Morning Mass @ Our Lady of Mercy Church, Concord
6:30pm – Sunday Evening Mass @ St. Therese Church Fairfield Heights
12:00pm – Sunday Midday Mass@ St Anthony Church Austral

St Thomas the Apostle, Bossley Park https://www.stthomaschaldean.org.au/

8:30am Chaldean Mass – Sunday Morning (Raza Rabba)
11:00 Arabic Mass – Sunday Morning
11:00 English Mass -Sunday Morning (Hall)

Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney – Sunday Mass and Daily Masses, live streamed https://www.sydneycatholic.org/live-masses/

The Catholic TV Network – Sunday Mass and Daily Masses, live streamed The Catholic TV Network

Weekly Reading & Reflection My Catholic Life: Daily Reflection on the Readings of the Day

The Catholic Weekly https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/

Catholic News https://cathnews.com/cathnews

St Vincent De Paul & Sisters Of St Joseph

Utilise your children’s Creative Kids Voucher to help those in need.

Support children in our local area (SVDP) and through the House of Welcome (SOSJ) with resources to develop their creativity or provide essential items needed for school.

If you have access to the Creative Kids Voucher for your own children and do not plan to use the voucher this year, consider claiming the voucher to purchase art, science, drawing or journaling packs that can be distributed to children in need through SVDP and SOSJ. By claiming the voucher through services NSW and utilising the voucher to purchase items (suggestions below) you can bring joy to a child and help a family in need. All donations can be left with Mrs Flanagan (Leader of Religious education) at school, these will then be passed onto SVDP with the Christmas Hampers and the Sisters of St Joseph.

Important Links