December 1, 2011 Issue 22

Padua News

Padua News Committee Dolores Turcsan Edwina La Rose Lorraine Tellis Kim Barton Godwin Barton Anne Consiglio Doris Bonello If you are interested in being part of the Padua News Com-mittee, please contact any one of the committee members or email: paduanews@yahoo.com.au

Thank you.

Padua News is the official quarterly Newsletter of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Cnr Exford & Wilson Roads Melton South, VIC 3338 Tel: 03 9747 9692 Fax: 03 9746 0422 Email: MeltonSouth@cam.org.au Parish Priest: Father Fabian Smith Pastoral Associate: Sr. Patricia Stone rsj

This issue of Padua News is also published on the Parish Website http://stanthonysmeltonsouth.wordpress.com/padua-news/

Message from Father Fabian

In four weeks we will be celebrat-ing Christmas, the birth of Our Lord and Saviour; the day that be-gins a season of great joy. This festive season lasts for forty days, beginning on the 25th of Decem-ber and concluding on the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, on the 2nd of February. Advent is the season of prepara-tion for Christmas and its forty days of celebration. For so grand a season, we have only just four weeks to prepare. Often this scarce time we have seems to be occupied with decorating the Christmas tree, putting up lights around the house, writing Christ-mas cards, shopping for presents, etc. These customary things are very important. However these things must not be a cause of frus-tration and chaos in leading up to Christmas, but rather ways in which we prepare for the coming of our Lord into our hearts and homes and to those of our families and friends. As you decorate your Christmas tree this year, may it remind you of the Tree of knowledge in the Gar-

den of Paradise. In the Middle-Ages, a play was performed on the Eve of Christmas to commemo-rate the highly popular episode of the Tree of Paradise; Adam and Eve would tower on the stage to-gether with the devil, disguised as a serpent, Eve picking an apple and Adam eating it. Original sin was symbolized on the night of the 24th of December and was expi-ated by Jesus birth on the 25th. Even when the religious tableaux were abandoned, the Tree of Para-dise continued to be associated with Christmas in many people's minds.

Continued on next page As you drive through the streets

Padua News Issue 22 Page 2

St. Anthony’s Bingo 25th Anniversary - October 14, 2011

St Anthony’s Bingo has been operating for 25 years. The bingo volun-teers had their celebrations on Friday evening, the 14th October, with din-ner provided in the school hall. Being such a momentous occasion, every-one who attended received a lucky door prize plus the volunteers received their customary block of chocolate. We played 15 games of Bingo with free prizes. All who attended had a great time. A little bit about Bingo: We operate on a Tuesday evening with the doors opening at 6:30pm: eyes down at 7:30pm. We offer great value for money with 41 games costing just $12. This includes the Mr. Jackpot game where prizes of $30,000+ are possible. Two and a half hours of entertainment, finishing at approximately 10:00pm. More details on games are available on the Parish website. Bingo is the lifeblood of the Parish and we would not be able to operate without this source of in-come. Over the past 25 years, the Parish has received approximately $1.5 million from Bingo activi-ties. Bingo has only been able to operate with the help of many Parish volunteers. Some of our vol-unteers are non-parishioners and we must thank them for their charitable efforts. Without their assis-tance, I am sure Bingo would have closed down years ago. Currently, there are 69 volunteers on the roster. Anyone who would like to assist as a volunteer need only contact the Parish Office (9747 9692) or Sam Chiles (Bingo Supervisor: 9743 5820).

Submitted by: Sam Chiles

Father Fabian’s message (continued from previous page)

and walk through malls and see lights and wreaths, may it remind you of the Christian symbols used to call to mind the coming of the Messiah. The Wreath itself means “victory” as

Christ’s victory over sin so He can save us. The circle symbol-izes Christ’s eternity. As a circle has no beginning and

has no end, it is a symbol for God, who is eternal and thus without be-ginning or end. The evergreens mean He is “ever with us,” and they are usually pine branches or holly that are used as a base that represents anticipation, newness, renewal and His everlastingness. The red berries of the holly represent the shedding of Christ’s blood. The Advent wreath consists of a cir-

cular support of green branches, without flowers, on which four can-dles are placed. Four candles repre-sent the four weeks of Advent. A tradition is that each week represents one thousand years, which add up to 4,000 years from Adam and Eve un-til the Birth of the Savior. Three can-dles are purple and one is rose. The purple candles in particular symbol-ize the prayer, penance, and prepara-tory sacrifices and good works un-dertaken at this time. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, when the priest also wears rose vestments at Mass; Gaudete Sunday is the Sunday of rejoicing, because the faithful have arrived at the midpoint of Advent, when their preparation is now half over and they are close to Christmas. The progres-sive lighting of the candles symbol-izes the expectation and hope sur-rounding our Lord’s first coming into the world and the anticipation of His second coming to judge the liv-

ing and the dead. There is a fifth can-dle which is white and is placed in the middle of the wreath, which represents Christ and is lit on Christ-mas Eve. Everywhere you go this Advent you will see something of Christmas, be it the nativity scene, Christmas trees all decorated, wreaths, lights; hear Christmas carols and get to feast on the best fruit cakes, short-breads and fruit pies, etc. May all that you see, hear, taste and share this Advent sea-son prepare you to welcome Jesus into your hearts anew on Christmas Day. I wish you all happy preparations during Advent and a very Holy and Joyful Christmas. All forty days of it! Father Fabian Smith, Parish Priest

Padua News Issue 22 Page 3

World Youth Day at St. Anthony’s

World Youth Day (WYD) was initi-ated by Blessed Pope John Paul II in 1985. It is a week-long youth-orientated event held every 2-3 years in a different country around the world (Sydney hosted WYD in 2008). WYD 2011 was held in Ma-drid, Spain and attended by approxi-mately 2 million people from coun-tries all over the world. As St. An-thony’s Youth Group is still quite new, we were unable to travel to Ma-drid this year, but we wanted to cele-brate the day together and in our own way. Sunday the 21st of August was the day of the WYD Closing Ceremony and Mass so we decided this would be our celebration day. We started by participating in the 10.30am Mass, with youth group members doing readings, being altar servers, taking up the collections and bringing up the gifts. At the conclusion of the Mass, Karina and Irene presented a computer presentation about the his-

tory of WYD and its significance. Following Mass we held a gathering in Padua Hall and started as our meetings always do; by praying that our faith and friendships would grow and that we would enjoy our time together. We then enjoyed a meal that was generously donated by some of our Youth Group families. After lunch, Joseph led a discussion about the meaning, presence and

importance of faith in our lives. He also educated us about some Spanish Saints, namely Blessed Mi-guel Pro, who would wear disguises in order to celebrate Mass in secret at a time of religious persecution in Mexico during the 1920’s. In addition to religious reflection and prayer, we had time for fun and games too! We formed teams and played Span-ish Bingo (bingo, but using Span-ish words), basketball and celebrity heads.

We also sang songs, played music and lis-tened to some original songs by some of the Youth Group members. We watched vid-eos about pre-vious WYD events; images and clips were projected in the hall on the

big screen throughout the day.

In the evening we gathered in the School Staff Room and crossed our fingers as we waited for the webcast to connect. Thanks to the technologically gifted in our group, we were soon watching live as the Closing Ceremony and Mass were being celebrated in Ma-drid, Spain. We all took joy in seeing the crowd flying their nation’s flags. Each of us gave a little cheer each time we saw flags that were special to us, such as the Samoan, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Spanish and of course Australian flag, to name a few. It was amazing to think that about 2

million people from around the world had gathered in Spain to listen to

Continued on next page Pope Benedict XVI cele-brate Mass, plus all the others around the world who were watching on TV or over the internet, and our little group in

Padua News Issue 22 Page 4

Melton South was watching too. The fact that most of the Mass was spoken in Spanish didn’t worry us at all because we were lucky enough to have a couple of interpreters in the group. So with their help we did our best to follow and participate in the Mass, kneeling and praying at the appropriate times. We had a great turnout of 20 people who participated throughout the day and it was great to see everyone join-ing in the activities that the leaders had organised. Spending the whole day together meant we all had the chance to get to know each other a little bit better and this event has served to give our group a look into the possibilities of the future, such as travelling as a group to a future

WYD event. We are also deciding on an official Youth Group name and training some more leaders to take our group into the fu-ture. So look out for some exciting things to come from the St. An-thony’s Youth Group! There are many people that helped in bringing such an event into fruition and we would like to take the time to thank them all. Firstly, to the Parish and School, thank you for the use of your facilities and assistance. Thanks must also go to the various families for donating a meal to help us celebrate this day. Last but not least, thank you to Father

Fabian and our leaders Mark & Karina Dunne and Brad & Hayley Tellis, for taking the time to organise this wonderful event. There are many more upcoming events and opportunities to partici-pate in our growing Youth Group so please feel free to come speak to us after Mass and get involved!

Submitted by: St Anthony’s Youth Group

World Youth Day at St. Anthony’s (Continued from previous page)

Reflections of World Youth Day 2011-Madrid

Upon reflection, the WYD2011 in Madrid, Spain was very different in many ways compared to WYD2008 in Sydney which I was fortunate enough to attend with my parents. This time around, not only was I the youngest pilgrim from a total of over 450pilgrims from the Neocatecu-menal Communities of Australia, this was also my first overseas trip! Soon after leaving Melbourne on the 12th of August and flying for over 22 hours, we finally touched down at Heathrow airport, London the fol-lowing afternoon. We boarded our

coaches and drove another 4 hours to Chedworth where we spent the next three days. We carried out “Popular missions”- (singing and announcing the Gospel in public areas) in Bath & Bristol-where recent riots took place. The Bishop of Cliffton celebrated a Eucharist with the Aussie pilgrims on the last day. We then boarded a flight for Madrid early the next morning. My group arrived in Madrid at 7:00 am

Continued on next page and immediately boarded a coach to

Aussie Pilgrims

Padua News Issue 22 Page 5

Reflections of World Youth Day 2011-Madrid (Continued from previous page)

go to the meeting with all the Austra-lian pilgrims and bishops of Austra-lia. At the meeting there were 4000 Aussie pilgrims, 22 bishops and Car-dinal Pell. I managed to speak to Cardinal Pell who was very happy to meet up with a St. Patrick’s student! After the meeting, we left for our hotel in Salamanca. We went to the town of Alba de Tor-mes for a mass in the Sepulcher of St. Teresa of Avila. After lunch we returned to Salamanca where we had some down time. We went to Sego-via for a Eucharist in St. Joseph’s Monastery. After that we visited Parrel’s Monastery and returned to Salamanca. We also visited Avila (the home town of St. Teresa of Avila) where we went to Saint Joseph’s Convent which was the first convent founded by St. Teresa. Then we went to the Monastry of the Incarnation where St. Teresa first became a nun and then we returned to Salamanca. A number of nuns shared their call to the religious life which was quite moving. Now I understand better what nuns do behind closed walls. They pray a lot for each of us! After Morning Prayer the next day, all nine coaches headed to Madrid for the Vigil with Pope Benedict. Meeting with Pope Benedict

Popular missions on the streets of Bristol (England)

After taking 3 trains and walking 3 kilometers in 40 degree heat, we ar-rived in Cuatro Vientos. Unfortu-nately, the weather was not kind to us and the vigil was interrupted by a big thunderstorm. Strangely enough, the storm held off till the consecra-tion was over. During the Exposition of the Holy Eucharist, there was such a silence from the over 1.5million youths that could not be explained. After spending the night on the bar-ren landscape at Cuatro Vitentos air-

field, we celebrated Mass with the Holy Father. The Holy Father en-couraged the young people to stay firm in their faith. The following day, was the Voca-tional meeting organized by the Neo-catecumenal Way. More than 100,000 youths from the Way at-tended this meeting. Kiko Arguello – the initiator of the Way gave a strong catechesis encouraging the young people to think seriously about religious vocations. More than 4,000 young men stood up for the priesthood and 3,000 girls for religious life. Each young person received a blessing from the many bishops and cardinals present. Out of this number, 27 young people were from Australia!

For the next 3 days, we had home stay visits with Spanish families where we experienced the Spanish lifestyle. On August 26th, we boarded our long flight back to Melbourne. Brazil 2013 here I come!

Submitted by: Jonathan Antony

Padua News Issue 22 Page 6

Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary as the Lamb of God in the New Testament. This sacrifice is now carried on at Holy Mass. The five days were well attended by our parishioners and those from nearby parishes. The final day of the Mission concluded with Holy Mass, Benediction and a heart warming get together afterwards. A lasting impression of the Mission in Fr George’s words is that we can all be Saints. We have the exemplary lives of Saints and Holy people throughout history and we have the greatest life ever lived, Jesus Christ. So let us arm ourselves with the fruits of the Mission and shine our lights so others will follow. In the words of the English poet, H. W. Longfellow: “….. Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime And departing leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time…..”

Submitted by James Tellis

Parish Mission in May 2011 (REPRINT - originally printed in Padua News Issue 21)

Our Parish held a five day Mission from May 1, 2011 to May 5, 2011. This year’s Mission was conducted by Fr George McInnis from the Mercy Fathers of Kentucky, USA. We are grateful to Fr Fabian for making this happen. The Mission consisted of daily homilies or “conferences” as Fr George called them. What is a Mission? It is akin to a ‘tune up’ or ‘firing up’ of our faith as Fr George so aptly put it. On intro-ducing himself, Fr George told us a nice anecdote of how his family, be-ing originally Protestant, visited a Catholic Church in Kentucky, which was largely a Protestant state. They were seeking something more and deeper in their lives. On attending the Catholic services they were im-pressed, and wanted to join up.

They met with the Parish Priest to make further enquiries and the family did join later and over the years, grew in their Catholic faith . Fr George, their only son, later became a Catholic Priest. Their story is a good example for Catholics, who often take our faith for granted. The first day of the Mission coincided with the Feast of Divine Mercy. Fr George explained the meaning of the Lord’s Mercy and complete Trust in Him. During the five days we were ‘fired up’ by Fr George’s enlightening and inspiring homilies. Fr George spoke of various topics: Truth, Trust in God, Christ’s eternal presence in the Tabernacle, The mysteries of the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Trinity and the Ten Commandments. Fr George devoted his last homily to God’s gift of the Blessed Virgin Mary to be our Holy Mother. In Fr George’s elaboration on the Holy Eucharist he made an illuminat-ing comparison of the various sacri-fices of mankind throughout history - Abraham’s obedience to God in of-fering his only son and the sacrifice of the lamb in the Old Testament to

Father George with some of our parishioners.

The Padua News Editorial Com-mittee would like to apologise for a mistake in the extract from Eng-lish poet H.W. Longfellow in this article published in Padua News

Issue 21

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Submissions for next newsletter All Parishioners are welcome to give their suggestions. If you have any article of inter-est for the next newsletter, please submit them to the Parish Office or email to: paduanews@yahoo.com.au by January 1, 2011

Editorial Policy The Padua News is approved by Father Fabian Smith prior to printing. The editors and Father Fabian reserve the right to edit all articles sub-mitted. Articles may be re-produced with permission from the writer and editor.

Father Fabian and his helpers

The 2-piece band!

The table centerpiece!

Hey, don’t finish the food!!!!

Dancing the night away!

Performance on the night

Some of our parishioners trying out the Bamboo dance!

Checking out the Filipino cuisine!

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Issue 22 Page 8 Padua News