MESSAGE ON THE 5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (YR A)
Friday 1st May 2026
My dear people,
On Wednesday, the universal church celebrated St Catherine of Siena, our patron Saint and it was for us a Solemnity, the highest rank of celebration. The celebration of our patron saint is always an opportunity to give thanks for the wonderful parish which we have here in Caroline Springs. It is also a wonderful opportunity to remind ourselves how much of a great example and inspiration our patron saint is. Arguably, her most famous quote, “Be who God wanted you to be and you will set the world ablaze,” part of our Mission Statement and Parish Prayer, reminds us of the need to be devoted disciples of Our Lord to be able to set the world ablaze. To celebrate our Parish Feast Day, we are gathering for lunch on Sunday 3rd May immediately after the 12:30pm Mass. It is not too late to put your name down and bring something with you to share.
Our parish will be hosting a Marian Procession on the afternoon of 23rd May. The Solemnity of Our Lady, Help of Christians is celebrated on 24th May every year. Our Blessed Mother, under this title, is the patroness of Australia. This year, as Pentecost Sunday is on 24th May, the church in Australia will celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lady, Help of Christians on 25th May. Nevertheless, we will hold the Marian Procession on 23rd May. Please keep your diaries free and I look forward to seeing many of you then. We will advertise the start time of the procession next weekend. The path of the procession will be as follows: upon exiting the church, we will turn right on The Parade, left on Lake Street, left on Caroline Springs Boulevard and left on College Street to return to the church.
As mentioned, our parish will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation this month for candidates who attend the three parish primary schools, Christ the Priest, St George Preca and St Marianne Cope. On Wednesday, we were honoured to receive a visit from Bishop Martin Ashe who will confer the sacrament on them. Bishop Martin spoke to the candidates and encouraged them to become the disciples Jesus wants them to be.
It is now just over a year since our parish bingo started. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who regularly attend the bingo to support this fundraising initiative. A reminder that the funds raised from bingo are going towards the church refurbishment and the multi-purpose building in the parish. Please be advised that, to date, we have raised a little over $10,000. I would like to also very warmly thank all of you who have, over the past year, deposited funds into the Parish Fundraising Account, which now has a little over $53,000.
We continue turning to our patron saint and we ask for her intercession.
St Catherine of Siena, Pray for us.
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Fr Richard Rosse PP