You are on page 1of 9

Official Newsletter of

St. Peters Charismatic


Prayer Community (KNK)
Vol No 8/April 2016

St. Peter Apostle Mission Parish, Hoppers Crossing, VIC Australia 3029 Ph: 9749 4300
Email: thomage@yahoo.com Helping to build the Body

of Christ Facebook a/c: Katawan N. Kristo

The Lord asks us to be men and women who radiate the


truth, beauty and the life-changing power of the Gospel
- Pope Francis

THE YEAR SO FAR


By Josephine Thomas
We have celebrated
Easter and are basking
in the warmth and love of
the Risen Lord, looking
forward to Pentecost that reminds us of the
power God gives us through his Holy Spirit
- to endure, to proclaim, to love and to
serve and be filled with Christs love,
peace and joy.
2016 for our prayer group began with
celebrating the Healing Mass on 6th
February where the core group were given
a special blessing by Fr Pius,
commissioning us to yet another year of
service. The following week was our first
prayer meeting and on the 20th we were at
the First CCR renewal day for the year at
Our Lady Help of Christians in Brunswick.
A spirit filled day, blessed to hear Fr
Francis Otobo and a joyful surprise to hear
Fr Anthony from Singapore. Being Mercy
Motivated was the topic of the day and Fr
Francis kindled the fire of the Holy Spirit in
every one of our hearts with the love of our
Father and the desire to be mercy

motivated in everything we do. Fr Anthony


spoke to us for an hour filled with
laughter, we were made to reflect on the
power of prayer and the miracle that is in
the mystery of our Lord in the Eucharist.
Lent came around quickly this year and
before we knew it, it was time for our
annual Lenten pilgrimage to Shrine Ta
Pinu in Bacchus Marsh. 12th of March

Our members at the Shrine of Ta Pinu

God blessed us with a beautiful day and


over 80 of us (members of our prayer
group, parishioners, members of Filoz, our
benefactors and others) gathered at the
Shrine to make the Way of the Cross. We
were privileged to walk through the Doors
of Mercy and spend time in adoration. Fr
Carmel Borg and Fr Pius heard

1 KARISMA

confessions for the many that availed of


the sacrament on the day, followed by
Mass celebrated by Fr Pius. We then
gathered for a sumptuous lunch and
enjoyed each others presence in the
company of our Lord.
It has been celebration after celebration
since the start of
this year, hearing
about the Mercy of
God and revelling in
His glory at Easter
and
our
celebrations on the
feast of Divine
Mercy. A few of our
ladies
were
privileged to attend Rev. Christie
Buckingham
the Ladies Day at
the CCR centre on 7th April and enjoyed
listening to Rev Christie Buckingham the
pastor who walked with Mayuran
Sukumaran and Andrew Chan to the
gallows. Christie is - A woman of God
filled with grace and mercy when she
spoke, the joy of the Lord exuded from her
like fine perfume and the room was filled
with laughter. At the end of that day, we
thanked God for the message of mercy
given to us by this woman of grace, whose
life is a continuous act of mercy even when
she was a child.

the Body of Christ here at St Peters. We


pray that the Holy Spirit strengthens us as
we continue to minister to each other and
work towards the building of Gods
Kingdom, Amen.

WHY WAS JESUS CALLED THE LAMB


OF GOD
By Geraldine Fernandez
The Bible is very clear.
Your life is in your
blood. In fact, when
you think about your
blood it is amazing.
Your blood has a
unique foot print. One drop of your blood
will identify you. It may look red and
ordinary and similar to other peoples
blood but it is precious as it transports
oxygen, DNA and so on throughout your
body. Any infection including the venom
of a poisonous snake will spread rapidly in
our blood stream and can lead to death.
Why a Lamb?? Why was Jesus not called
a goat of God? Why was Jesus never
called the boar of God? Why was He
called A Lamb of God?

We have many things to look forward to in


the coming months like the powerful
testimony of Aneel Aranha on the 17th May
in our parish and on the 21st May at the
Renewal Day in Brunswick. We Praise
and Thank God for His blessings that
continue to build us increasing our faith
and helping us become a people of grace
2 KARISMA

If it goes to God in a fight - who will you


pick

out, it bit The Lamb, but The Lamb got


stronger and went down to Egypt.

In Isaiah 53:7 He said; He was led like a


Lamb to be slaughtered and like a sheep
about to be sheared, so He opened not his
mouth, i.e. The silence of the Lamb.

And when The Lamb was led by The Spirit


into the wilderness 3 times the serpent
bit The Lamb, but each time The Lamb got
stronger and said It is written; It is
written; It is written and when He came
down the wilderness, He did not come
tired or defeated but He came out in The
Power of The Spirit and Im telling you all,
that there is nothing that could touch The
Blood of The Lamb. You got Lambs blood
in you. This is our DNA and when The
Lamb was being crucified - 39 times at the
expense of the Romans whip 39 bites of
the serpent and The Lamb got stronger.
One more with the crown of thorns and
The Lamb got stronger, 3 more with the
nails in His hands and His feet and The
Lamb got stronger and then Jesus said It
is finished. He did not say I am finished
but Jesus said It is finished. In the
Gospel of St Luke Chapter 10:19 Listen, I
have given you authority, so that you can
tread upon scorpions and snakes and
overcome all the power of the enemy and
nothing will hurt you. We are not at the
mercy of satan. We are not at the mercy
of the spirit of this world. We are not in the
spirit of anti-christ because we got THE
BLOOD OF THE LAMB IN OUR DNA.

There is also the science of the Lamb. For


many years scientists have explored ways
to develop antidotes for the venom of
snake bite. They literally take venom and
they put it and mix it with the lambs blood.
The blood of the lamb neutralizes the
effect on the venom.
Do you know, why Jesus was called The
Lamb of God. It is because the lamb is the
only four footed animal that would stand
the bite of a venomous serpent. And it is
scientifically the truth that the blood does
not coagulate like it does in other animals.
But, the protein in the blood actually gets

stronger. The more snake venom you put


in it the stronger the Blood of The Lamb
becomes. (say Amen!!) And satan knew
this, that is why he was after The Lamb
from the moment he was born. When He
was born, through Herod The Great, his
attack, he tried to use a knife every male
child in that region the snake reached

The Blood of The Lamb of God is indeed


precious.
It still flows today for the
forgiveness of sins. It will never lose its
power. Thank God for the Blood of Jesus!
Amen!!

3 KARISMA

TESTIMONY OF GODS AMAZING


LOVE
By Margaret Craigie
My name is Margaret
and I would like to tell
you about the love
Jesus has for each one
of us.
I was brought up a strict Catholic by the
Good Shepherd nuns. In 1962 I was
married, due to circumstances my life
changed. From the time I was married I
never attended church. As the years went
by, I never gave it much thought and got
on with my life. I had three children and
gave all my time and love to them.
In 1979 my husband was diagnosed with
cancer and after 1 year he passed away
on 9th February 1980. That night when my
daughter and I were home we had a visit
from the parish priest Fr Fitzgerald. I had
never met this priest or been to church. He
sat with Jenni and I for 5 hours. He asked
me to come to the church and he would
celebrate Mass for Tom. I told him Tom
was not Catholic, he said that does not
matter, God loves us all. I went to
Confession
and
received
Holy
Communion after 18 years. But I never
went again even though I had the chance.
In 2003 my son Tommy was diagnosed
with cancer. He was admitted to the Royal
Melbourne Hospital. On one of my visits,
he was very distressed and told me that a
Christian Minister had been to see him. His
message was nothing but one of doom
and gloom. The Chaplain at the hospital
was a Church of England Minister and had

become a good friend to Tommy. I told him


what had happened, he told me not to
worry and went away. When he came
back, he told Tommy he now belonged to
Church of England, He had put it down on
his form. When Tommy wasnt in the
hospital he would come and visit him.
Tommy passed away on the 11th of June
2004. Steve did the service for him, he was
our best friend. God had intervened again
and made us notice this good man. Thats
twice He was there when I needed him and
made me notice him in this good man. At
the time though, I hadnt realised this.
The third time was in 2011 when my good
friend Norma asked me to give her a lift to
Church for the Easter service. I would
often take her to St Peters church, drop
her off and come back for her. After a while
of doing this, Norma invited me to come in.
Little did I know what God had in store for
me. It was then that I met the Parish Priest
Fr Pius who was to help me through
another sorrow.
I attended St Peters all year. On the 1st of
November 2011, my daughter Jenni was
diagnosed with cancer. When I look back I
am sure God was preparing me for this. I
had got my faith back and had the support
of my two friends without whom I would not
have survived. When Jenni passed away
on Christmas Day 2011 all her family and
friends were there. I rang Fr Pius and he
came and comforted the family.
So friends no matter how far you stray
from the Good Shepherd he always
searches for you till you are back in his
fold. Through his love for me he sent me
four of his people when I needed him most.

4 KARISMA

Thank you Jesus for Fr Fitzgerald, Steve


my Church of England friend, Fr Pius and
Norma Jean, all the people of St Peters
Parish, Hoppers Crossing. May God bless
you and love you.

between the ways of the Father and of the


world. In fact, he said, it could well be
called the Parable of the Merciful Father.
Reflecting on the loving welcome the
father offered his returning son the letter
commented:
All of us need to know how much God
loves us and wants to embrace and forgive
us. In the parable, the father represents
our God who is able not only to satisfy the
sons hunger but also restore his dignity.
The parable, the letter continued, invites
us not only to take the necessary steps to
be reconciled to God in this Year of Mercy,
but also to imitate Gods mercy in our
attitude towards sinners.

GODS MERCY IN ACTION: Cardinal


OMalley writes Pastoral Letter
By Fr John Flynn on April 7, 2016
Article from Zenit, the World seen from
Rome
Contributed by: Lorraine Twentyman
On the occasion of Divine
Mercy Sunday celebrated
last weekend, Bostons
archbishop, Cardinal Sen
OMalley,
published
a
pastoral letter titled, Gods Mercy Runs to
Meet Us.

Indeed, this is why Pope Francis chose the


theme Merciful Like the Father for the
Year of Mercy, Cardinal OMalley
explained.
A merciful Father
Teaching others about God as a merciful
father has been central to Pope Francis
ministry throughout his life, Bostons
archbishop observed. During his papacy
so far the Pope has often visited the sick
and the imprisoned and shown to others
gestures of love and mercy.

The letter started by citing some of the


numerous Gospel episodes that reveal
Gods mercy in the actions of Jesus.
Jesus is the face of the Fathers mercy
and love, the cardinal affirmed right in the
opening words of the letter.
The letter went on to consider the parable
of the prodigal son that, Cardinal OMalley
pointed out, clearly reveals the difference
5 KARISMA

By practicing mercy, Pope Francis


believes we can rediscover the mission of
the Church, Cardinal OMalley said. His
intention is that during this Jubilee we
experience Gods mercy in a profound way
and then share it with others.
With the celebration of Divine Mercy
Sunday the Church is now about one-third
of the way through the Jubilee Year. It is a
time, the letter noted, to overcome any
indifference towards the poor and
suffering and to practice the corporal and
spiritual works of mercy.
When we see with the eyes of mercy, we
open the doors of our hearts. We can no
longer be indifferent and focused only on
our own challenges. We open doors and
serve others who desire to encounter
Gods mercy, the letter added.
Cardinal OMalley dedicated a section of
the letter to explaining how Jesus taught
about mercy in words and deeds. Firstly,
he said that proclaiming the Gospel to the
poor is his priority. Secondly, Jesus
explained that mercy originates from God
the Father. Thirdly, Jesus affirmed that he
is the face of the merciful Father.
As we learn in his first meeting with
Matthew, the tax collector who became
one of the Apostles, Jesus seeks to be
with us who are sinners and helps lead us
back to the Father, the letter said.
Fourthly, Jesus teaches that the true
disciple is one who practices mercy.
Often, we can be so quick to criticize, to
be cynical and to complain. We must
practice mercy with those closest to us and
be people of reconciliation in a world of
such polarization, Cardinal OMalley
urged.
Fifthly, Jesus taught us that the Fathers
mercy and forgiveness are limitless, and
that we should strive to follow this
example. Lastly, Jesus promises us that

we will receive mercy and forgiveness if


we practice it.
These messages of Jesus are of vital
importance in a world in which the
extreme individualism of our culture
isolates people and promotes choices and
options that are self-destructive and
alienating, the letter noted.
Corporal and spiritual works
Another section of the archbishops letter
spoke of the importance of forgiving others
and of performing works of mercy. This
includes not only the corporal works of
mercy that are often well carried out by
individuals and organizations but also the
spiritual works of mercy.
So many of our neighbours here in our
area are starving for spiritual food and are
immersed in the darkness of religious
illiteracy. Our people urgently need faith
formation. They seek longingly for hope
and meaning in their families, their work,
their social and political lives just as the
hungry seek for bread.
Cardinal OMalleys letter included
recommendations specifically for the
diocese in Boston. He mentioned activities
such as taking time to contemplate the
mysteries and messages of God, receiving
Gods mercy in the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, forgiving others, and
helping others to receive mercy.
One challenge the archbishop made was
for people to practice each one of the
works of mercy at least once during the
Jubilee Year.
My prayer is that we will all become more
like Christ during this Jubilee year, that we
will become people of mercy, who reveal
Gods love and mercy to everyone we
meet, the letter concluded.

6 KARISMA

WHEN GOD CALLS, ANSWER


By John Roger Anthony
https://wordignite.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/
when-god-calls-answer/

There are precious


moments in the hours
when light emerges from the darkness,
when the sun dawns upon the earth and
the moon fades into the clouds. Those
moments when these incredible celestial
bodies play see-saw, the whole world is at
the brink of a whole new beginning. Those
who live to see the day break, either
acknowledge or are oblivious of the fact
that God has chosen to be merciful and
loving towards them, and is giving them
another
chance
to
discover
the
awesomeness, extraordinary potential and
unique charisms that He has poured to the
brim in their lives, to bear great fruit.
Thousands and thousands of people all
around the world are seeking to find, to
know and experience the purpose of their
lives. Some want to know what best they
can do to make their life fulfilling. Some
others who realize and live their kingship
with God are yearning to know their call.
Gods children choose to discern their
calling purpose in life. In James 1:5 it
is written If any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask God, who gives generously to all
without reproach, and it will be given him.
Wisdom is the key to discern the will of
God in ones life. It surely is not easy by
mere human intellect or emotions. Gods
grace is the supernatural link to embark on
the journey of discernment as well as to
decode the will of God in ones life, a will
which is holy, perfect and that would bring
great glory to God alone (ref Jeremiah
29:11).
But it is surely not very easy to know
whats in Gods mind for us. His plan for
us has been in His mind even before the
creation of the world. He is a God of

unthinkable,
unspeakable
and
immeasurable omniscience. To come
close to an understanding of such an
implausible design for life, many saints
and mystics have generously and freely
taught by experience of what I call the art
of being collaborators of love. Our life is a
gift of love God. To live life to the fullest
can be possible only when the fruit of that
love is manifested precisely as Love would
expect. The best part however, is that
Love is never forced upon us. So, one
needs to seek, find and fulfil. Among the
many saints, doctors and mystics of
Christs
Church,
many
have
recommended and even designed
systematic ways of discerning ones call in
life. Be it St. Catherine of Sienna, St.
Ignatius of Loyola, St. Paul, St Augustine
and so forth.
One of the most important aspects of
discerning ones calling/vocation in life,
common in all the recommendations of
saints, is to have a heart and mind that is
willing to explore. Cooperation with Gods
grace will do the rest. One common
challenge or rather shortcoming in
discerning vocations is that we fail to see
in and around our own circumstances. We
look for answers or for Gods voice
everywhere, but seldom in the very
present circumstances of our lives. This
angle is as important as every other. It is
clearly and repeatedly evident in the lives
of many of those who responded to Gods
call, mentioned especially in the Holy
Gospels. Jesus entered in to the very now
of peoples lives, spoke to them in the
midst of their day-to-day realities and
called them. Now those who said yes to
His call did not spare time in doing so. By
grace, they let their hearts and minds to
follow the call, to experience the
possibilities and in the end bear fruit that
would be greater than their most
unthinkable imagination.

7 KARISMA

Peter and Andrew were fishermen, and


Jesus entered in the very centre of their
lives and called them to be fishers of men.
The same He did with James and John.
Jesus met Matthew just as he was a tax
collector. Wanted him to experience God
(Himself) in his very own house, and then

at His call of follow me Matthew left


everything and followed Jesus. When
Jesus calls, He expects us to respond and
not procrastinate. Thats because when
He calls, He is also mindful that our
weaknesses, commitments, attachments,
etc, make it impossible for us to follow
Him. This is why He gives us grace, and
longs for us to cooperate with that grace at
the earliest or rather immediately. Failing
which, such grace may not occur again.
When the rich young man asked the Good
Teacher what he must do to inherit eternal
life, Jesus acknowledges that the man
lived his life following the commandments
but yet there was one thing that he had to
do. Jesus did not mince words in letting
him know what that one thing was. Jesus
said, Go and sell all your possessions and
give the money to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven. Then come,
follow me (Mark 10:21). You see how
Jesus spoke to him in a language that the
rich man was accustomed to all his life?
The language of possessions, wealth and
treasure but only now it had a paradigm
shift in meaning. So what did the rich
young man do? Scripture says, his face
fell, and he went away sad, for he had
many possessions.

Dear friends, most of us desire to fulfil


Gods will in our lives, but not all of us have
the same spirit of obedience after God
reveals his plan for us. God surely knows
us better than we do. Holy Scriptures in
Psalm 139:4 says, Even before a word is
on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it
altogether. God speaks to us in our
everyday circumstances. He wants us to
look into ourselves. He speaks to us in
ways that we can surely understand, if and
only if we have the true desire to submit
our will to Him and to cooperate zestfully
with His grace, to a call that will illuminate
His image and likeness, with which He
fearfully and lovingly created us. Search
me, O God, and know my heart! Try me
and know my thoughts! And see if there be
any grievous way in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).
Let us be open, be willing, be courageous
and let ourselves be willed towards
heaven by His grace.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Attached is a flyer giving details of the visit
of Aneel Aranha, a renowned international
preacher and retreat leader. He will be
speaking at St Peters parish on May 17
from 7 9 pm. He will be commissioning
the opening of the discipleship program at
St Peters. Please attend and invite your
family and friends as well. Please
remember this mission in your prayers.

ARISMA
Official Newsletter of St. Peters Charismatic
Prayer Group (
)
Karisma is published on a quarterly basis. It contains reading
materials directed generally but not necessarily limited to its
members. Comments, suggestions and articles for publication
are welcome. The editor has the discretion to edit or not publish
any article submitted based on Karisma guidelines
Contact the Editor at:
Email: anitadsouza@bigpond.com
Ph: 0411 772 320

8 KARISMA

9 KARISMA

You might also like