Dear parishioners, visitors & friends,

The book of Wisdom starts off in the first reading “You are merciful to all, because you can do all things and overlook men’s sins so that they can repent”. (Wisdom 11:22-12:22) This is a very beautiful truth and it is worthy of knowing within the depths of our hearts. Why? Because it reminds us of how merciful God is. We can be so engrossed in our sins and weaknesses that we often forget that God is merciful. This experience can really lead our souls into a dark reality filled with shame and regret. This sense of unworthiness and fear can steal us away from the truth about God who is merciful to all. The book of Wisdom is a beautiful piece of writing which reveals to us exactly these divine attributes of God. God is love, God is righteous and God is merciful. There exists a mystical relationship where we can learn who God really is. Even though the human person can be a complicated being, God will never abandon his love for each person that he has created. He is capable of overlooking our flaws because in his eyes and heart he values the true beauty of every person he loves. The first reading lays a foundation for our understanding of the Gospel of Luke. We have here the situation where Jesus is confronted by a massive crowd of people. Many people had come from all around the countryside of Israel just to witness his fame and glory. Jesus grew in popularity way faster than the ordinary social media of today. He performed great miracles and challenged many respected and highly honoured Jewish masters of the faith. But this time was different. Jesus used this opportunity to do something totally different which was totally unexpected of the ordinary norms of the Jewish society. He decides to have dinner with a tax collector. Jesus, under the attention and scrutiny of the public, decides to say out loud “Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today … Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of man has come to seek out and save what was lost”. (Luke 19:1-10) And the people’s response was this “He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house”. Jesus understood perfectly the reaction of the people. The reason why he chose the tax collector from among the other faithful followers of the Jewish faith was not because he wanted to provoke public opinion about himself. Jesus wanted to break down the judgment barrier of social discrimination between tax collectors and religious people. His action was to present to us that all people are children of God and all are called to be with him. The dangers of public criticism can really cause harm to the innocent people who are put under the spotlight. Let us not fall into these traps but rather follow the example of the Lord who overlooked the exteriority of the sins and weaknesses of the human person. Guided by wisdom, let us look into the hearts of others with true goodness and love for one another no matter how different we are. God bless you all. Fr. Jeremy Santoso, OSPPE Associate Pastor

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS 2016

All  events and holy mass  will be held at the St. Mary’s Worship Center, Upper Coomera

Saturday, 24th December (CHRISTMAS EVE)

4.30pm –  Carol Singing   | 5:00  – Holy Mass 

9.30pm –  Carol Singing  | 10:00 pm –  Holy Mass 

Sunday 25th December 2016 (CHRISTMAS DAY)

7.30am Holy Mass

9.30am Holy Mass

Saturday, 31st December (NEW YEAR’S EVE)

6pm – Holy Mass 

Sunday 1st January 2017 (NEW YEAR’S DAY)

7.30am Mass  |  9am Mass | 5pm Mass