Karisma April 2016

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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 Christ’s love,

peace and joy.

2016 for our prayer group began with

celebrating the Healing Mass on 6 th

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 atthe 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 inthe 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 –

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

St. Peter Apostle Mission Parish, Hoppers Crossing, VIC Australia 3029 Ph: 9749 4300

Email: [email protected] Helping to build the ody o f hrist Facebook a/c: Katawan N. Kristo

The Lord asks us to be men and women who radiate thetruth, beauty and the life-changing power of the Gospel

- Pope Francis

Official Newsletter of

St. Peter’s Charismatic

Prayer Community (KNK) Vol No 8/April 2016

Our members at the Shrine of Ta Pinu

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://knkprayercommunity.multiply.com/http://knkprayercommunity.multiply.com/http://knkprayercommunity.multiply.com/mailto:[email protected]


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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 other’s 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 thefeast of Divine

Mercy. A few of our

ladies were

privileged to attend

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 thegallows. 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.

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 faithand helping us become a people of grace

– 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 God’s

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 yourblood 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 people’s

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?

Rev. Christie

Buckingham


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

pick…

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.

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 lamb’s 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

out, it bit The Lamb, but The Lamb got

stronger and went down to Egypt.

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 I’m telling you all,

that there is nothing that could touch The

Blood of The Lamb. You got Lamb’s blood

in you. This is our DNA and when The

Lamb was being crucified - 39 times at theexpense 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, Ihave 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.

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!!


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TESTIMONY OF GOD’S AMAZING

LOVE

By Margaret Craigie

My name is Margaret

and I would like to tell

you about the loveJesus 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 hadnever 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 was’nt in the

hospital he would come and visit him.

Tommy passed away on the 11 th 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. That’s

twice He was there when I needed him and

made me notice him in this good man. At

the time though, I had’nt 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 throughanother 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 mefour of his people when I needed him most.


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Thank you Jesus for Fr Fitzgerald, Steve

my Church of England friend, Fr Pius and

Norma Jean, all the people of St Peter’s

Parish, Hoppers Crossing. May God bless

you and love you.

GOD’S MERCY IN ACTION: CardinalO’Malley writes Pastoral Letter

By Fr John Flynn on Apri l 7, 2016

Artic le f rom Zeni t, the Wor ld seen fromRome

Contributed by: Lorraine Twentyman

On the occasion of Divine

Mercy Sunday celebrated

last weekend, Boston’s

archbishop, Cardinal Seán

O’Malley, published a

pastoral letter titled, “God’s Mercy Runs to

Meet Us.”

The letter started by citing some of the

numerous Gospel episodes that reveal

God’s mercy in the actions of Jesus.

“Jesus is the face of the Father’s 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 O’Malley

pointed out, clearly reveals the difference

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

son’s 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 God’s mercy in our

attitude towards sinners.

Indeed, this is why Pope Francis chose the

theme “Merciful Like the Father” for the

Year of Mercy, Cardinal O’Malley

explained.

A merc iful Father

Teaching others about God as a mercifulfather has been central to Pope Francis’

ministry throughout his life, Boston’s

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.


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“By practicing mercy, Pope Francis

believes we can rediscover the mission of

the Church,” Cardinal O’Malley said. His

intention is that during this Jubilee we

experience God’s mercy in a profound way

and then share it with others.

With the celebration of Divine MercySunday 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 onour own challenges. We open doors and

serve others who desire to encounter

God’s mercy,” the letter added.

Cardinal O’Malley 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 Godthe 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 O’Malley

urged.

Fifthly, Jesus taught us that the Father’s

mercy and forgiveness are limitless, and

that we should strive to follow thisexample. 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 andalienating,” the letter noted.

Corporal and spiri tual works

Another section of the archbishop’s 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 O’Malley’s 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

God’s 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

God’s love and mercy to everyone we

meet,” the letter concluded.


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WHEN GOD CALLS, ANSWER

By John Roger Anthonyhttps://wordignite.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/

when-god-calls-answer/

There are precious

moments in the hourswhen 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 themanother 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. Someothers who realize and live their kingship

with God – are yearning to know their call.

God’s 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 one’s life. It surely is not easy by

mere human intellect or emotions. God’s

grace is the supernatural link to embark on

the journey of discernment as well as to

decode the will of God in one’s 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

what’s in God’s 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 fullestcan 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

Christ’s Church, many have

recommended and even designed

systematic ways of discerning one’s 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 one’s 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 God’s

grace will do the rest. One common

challenge or rather shortcoming indiscerning vocations is that we fail to see

in and around our own circumstances. We

look for answers or for God’s 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 God’s

call, mentioned especially in the Holy

Gospels. Jesus entered in to the very now

of people’s 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.

https://wordignite.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/when-god-calls-answer/https://wordignite.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/when-god-calls-answer/https://wordignite.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/when-god-calls-answer/https://wordignite.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/when-god-calls-answer/https://wordignite.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/when-god-calls-answer/


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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. That’s 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. Failingwhich, 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 willhave 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

God’s 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 oureveryday 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 beany 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 Peter’s 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. Peter’s Charismatic

Prayer Group ( )

Karisma is published on a quarterly basis. I t 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: [email protected]

Ph: 0411 772 320


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Karisma April 2016