News and Announcements

24th March 2024

Palm Sunday



Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,

As we enter into this Holiest week of the Church’s year, let us be inspired by the words of our Patron, St John Henry Newman, on the Mystery of the Cross:

“It is the death of the Eternal Word of God made flesh, which is our great lesson how to think and how to speak of this world. His Cross has put its due value upon everything which we see, upon all fortunes, all advantages, all ranks, all dignities, all pleasures; upon the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It has set a price upon the excitements, the rivalries, the hopes, the fears, the desires, the efforts, the triumphs of mortal man. It has given a meaning to the various, shifting course, the trials, the temptations, the sufferings, of his earthly state. It has brought together and made consistent all that seemed discordant and aimless. It has taught us how to live, how to use this world, what to expect, what to desire, what to hope. It is the tone into which all the strains of this world's music are ultimately to be resolved.

“In the Cross, and Him who hung upon it, all things meet; all things subserve it, all things need it. It is their centre and their interpretation. For He was lifted up upon it, that He might draw all men and all things unto Him.

“Let us not trust [the world]; let us not give our hearts to it; let us not begin with it. Let us begin with faith; let us begin with Christ; let us begin with His Cross and the humiliation to which it leads. Let us first be drawn to Him who is lifted up, that so He may, with Himself, freely give us all things. Let us ‘seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness’, and then all those things of this world ‘will be added to us’. They alone are able truly to enjoy this world, who begin with the world unseen. They alone enjoy it, who have first abstained from it. They alone can truly feast, who have first fasted; they alone are able to use the world, who have learned not to abuse it; they alone inherit it, who take it as a shadow of the world to come, and who for that world to come relinquish it.” (St John Henry Newman, The Cross of Christ the Measure of the World).

Fr Glen Tattersall PP


The Liturgy of Holy Week

Palm Sunday is a day that celebrates the Kingship of Christ in His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, while it also initiates us into the Passion of Our Lord. Following the Passion according to St Matthew, on Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week we will hear the Passion according to Sts Mark and Luke. These are completed by St John’s moving account of the Passion on Good Friday.

On Spy Wednesday evening, we will have the first celebration of Tenebrae, the anticipation of the Offices of Matins and Lauds of the following day. We will celebrate this again on Holy Thursday and Good Friday evening. These Offices are deeply moving meditations on the Passion and Death of the Lord.

On Holy Thursday, the Church recalls the institution by Our Lord of the ministerial priesthood and of the Holy Eucharist. After Holy Mass, and following the stripping of the Altars, we are invited to remain in a prolonged communion of Eucharistic Adoration at the Place of Repose, which will continue until 10 pm, before giving way to Tenebrae. We are privileged to keep vigil with the Lord, and to enter into the spirit of Gethsemane.

On Good Friday, at the very hour of the Lord’s Passion and Death, we offer Solemn Intercessions for all the needs of the Church, and for the salvation of souls, before venerating the Holy Cross, the instrument of our Redemption, and concluding with the so-called Mass of the Presanctified, in which the Host taken to the Place of Repose on Holy Thursday night is solemnly returned to the High Altar, and consumed by the Celebrant.

Holy Saturday is a “non-liturgical” day when the Church silently mourns Her Lord in the tomb, awaiting the Resurrection. Then, in the darkness of Holy Saturday night, the Light of the Risen Lord shines out from the Paschal Candle, taken from the Trident that has been lit from the Paschal fire. The Church’s lyrical proclamation of the Resurrection in the “Exultet” is followed by a vigil of twelve Old Testament lessons, beginning with Creation and detailing God’s the promise of Redemption after the Fall. The Paschal water is then blessed in the Baptistry, and any catechumens are baptised. Following the Litany of the Saints, the Solemn Mass of the Paschal Vigil is celebrated. In the Resurrection, which we will continue to celebrate through the days of the Octave, and to Pentecost, we will rejoice in the perfect and permanent victory of Christ our Lord over Satan, sin and death.

Easter Sunday and all the days of the Easter Octave are truly blessed and joyous days in which the Church – without interruption – gives forth continuous thanks and praise for Her deliverance through the Victory of Our Crucified and Risen Lord. If possible, let us continue to attend daily Mass during the Easter Octave, reaping the graces from prayers and penance sewn in Passiontide and Holy Week.

Upheld by God’s grace, and worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth, let us now enter into Holy Week and finally the Easter Octave, with due devotion of heart, mind and soul.


Confessions during Holy Week will be as follows:

Monday – Wednesday: following each of the morning Masses.
Maundy Thursday: after the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, during Adoration at the place of Repose.
Good Friday: 10 am – 12.30 pm, & 2.30 pm - 5.00 pm
Holy Saturday: 10 am – 10.30 am
Easter Sunday: before & during each Mass (as usual)

Please note there is NO Mass at St Paul’s Kealba on Holy Saturday (30th March).

Holy Week Missals, containing all of the ancient (pre-1955) Holy Week liturgical texts (with commentary), are available from St John Henry’s book room for $50 each.

Holy Week booklets: for those who neither own nor wish to purchase a Missal, booklets will be provided for each major ceremony of Holy Week. These booklets are not for sale, and are the property of the Newman Parish. Please be sure to return these booklets to the vestibule or to a Porter after the ceremony. We will also be providing QR codes for those who prefer to follow the ceremonies on a device.

I remind you that all of the Offices of Tenebrae, and much of the Paschal Vigil, are celebrated in darkness. We will not be providing candles this year for any of these ceremonies. Those attending are welcome to bring a book light or candle, or to use their telephone light. If bringing a candle, please ensure that it is in a holder that will catch wax.

Good Friday collection: the usual special collection will be taken up at the 3 pm ceremony on Good Friday, for the support of the Holy Places. Alternatively, offerings for this purpose may be placed in the Good Friday collection envelopes and left in the Sunday second collection, up until 7th April.

Children’s catechism: Sunday school will resume after Easter.

Adult doctrinal catechism: this will resume in Eastertide, on a date to be announced.

Confirmation: the Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred by Bishop Elliott on Saturday, 27th July. Parents are now invited to register their children by contacting the Secretary. The usual age for Confirmation is 10-13. Any adults who have not been confirmed are also invited to register.

Bible Study: a Bible study led by Father Murphy will be commencing soon on evenings of the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month in Saint Aloysius’ school hall at 6:00pm – 7:30pm. There will be an hour of Bible study, plus time for a cup of tea and discussion. The first 4 sessions will be on the Gospel of Saint Matthew. The first session will take place on Tuesday 26th March. To register and be on the mailing list for updates, please email Father Murphy.

Easter offering envelopes: these are now available in the vestibule and in the pews. Your offerings are for the support of the priests who serve you in the Parish of St John Henry Newman. Envelopes may be placed in either collection. Thank you for your generosity.

Visit of Superior General of Institute of the Good Shepherd: Father Luis Gabriel Barrero, Superior General of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, to which Father Murphy belongs, will be visiting Australia in May. He will be accompanied by Father Matteusz Markievicz, the Secretary General of the same Institute, and a friend of the Parish. The intention of the visit is a pastoral visit to Father Murphy as well as building on connections across Australia. Father Barrero will celebrate the Solemn Mass on Sunday, 12th May. We look forward to receiving him, and to welcoming back Father Markiewicz.


Sunday 1st Collection - Support for our priests

Sunday 2nd Collection - Support for the Parish and its works



The Parish of St John Henry Newman

Mass and Confession Times

Masses & the Sacred Triduum at St Aloysius’: 24th – 31st March

Date

Mass Times

Feast

Sunday

  • 8.00 am
  • 10.00 am Solemn Mass with Blessing of Palms and Procession
  • 4.00 pm Vespers
  • 5.00 pm
  • Palm Sunday

    Monday

  • 7.00 am
  • 8.00 am
  • 10.00 am
  • Monday in Holy Week

    Tuesday

  • 7.00 am
  • 8.00 am
  • 10.00 am
  • Tuesday in Holy Week

    Wednesday

  • 7.00 am
  • 8.00 am
  • 10.00 am
  • 8.00 pm Tenebrae of Maundy Thursday
  • Spy Wednesday

    Thursday

  • 7.00 pm Solemn Mass of the Lord’s Supper, with Adoration at the Place of Repose
  • 10.00 pm Tenebrae of Good Friday
  • Maundy Thursday

    Friday

  • 11.00am Stations of the Cross
  • 3.00 pm Mass of the Pre-Sanctified
  • 8.00 pm Tenebrae of Holy Saturday
  • Good Friday

    Saturday

  • 6.00 pm Paschal Vigil and Solemn Vigil Mass
  • Holy Saturday

    Sunday

  • 8.00 am Low Mass
  • 10.30 am Solemn Mass of Easter
  • 5.00 pm Low Mass
  • Next Mass at St Joseph’s Iona – Sunday, 7th April
  • Easter Sunday

    Confessions: Weekdays & Saturday mornings after each Mass; Sunday before and during each Mass.

    The Parish of St John Henry Newman

    Events/Diary

    Holy Week (24th-31st March)