Hi All
As there are to be no public celebrations of mass, we have set up a new website “fathergreg.online” to enable everyone to have at least some minimal contact with the liturgy of the following Sundays. Please ensure that you type https://fathergreg.online into your address bar (very top of page) and not through google or any other search engine).
Sorry if some of you are doing it tough at this time, whether physically or economically during this commencement of the COVID – 19 period.
Religiously, it is a bit like the mixture of Lent and Christmas. At Christmas we have a waiting period called Advent, which anticipates for 4 weeks the coming of Jesus at Christmas. It is almost all peace and joy when Christmas day does arrive! Likewise, we wait the period of COVID – 19 to finally leave our lives and shores, and then we can all breathe a sigh of relief and experience some greater general joy again.
We set a period of 40 days for Lent in order to try and become more like Christ or better people by the end of the Lenten period as Easter approaches. Well, this COVID – 19 period may last 40 days, or 80 or 160 days but like Lent and Advent we need to know that the period will eventually come to an end and we can experience not only normality but a sense of ‘things are good when they are normal’.
An aspect of a secular society is that it thinks that it can control things, but when it cannot control things it panics! Another aspect of a secular society is that the individual thinks he or she can control their destinies! When they cannot control things who do they turn to? We as mainly Christian parents turn to God as our rock, and our main helper in life. Indeed, as believers we mainly believe in the words of Jesus in John’s Gospel: ‘Trust in God the Father and trust in me.’ (ch14)
As Christians (or people of good will), we can acknowledge that some of our friends will be either physically, psychologically or emotionally challenged at this time. Also, our wealth may be quickly disappearing due to loss of job, or loss of work and either yourself or your friends might need to ring the St. Vincent de Paul ‘Welfare Assistance Line’ on 1800 305 330, especially if they need some vouchers to help them get through this time.
Through this semi crisis time we can ask God to provide true wisdom to us, true discernment of what we should do in particular situations, either small or large.
In the end, it is in God we trust as there is no other greater source, but still God would no doubt expect us to support each other where we can, and that more than most things is a listening ear.
All the best through this time and may we all experience sooner than later ‘the normal good times’ rather than too extended a bad time. We can all live in hope.
Yours "in Christ"
(Fr.) Greg Trythall
Parish Priest
Email: greg.trythall@cam.org.au
Phone: 0400 524 363
