Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 
Saint Paul the First Hermit, Patriarch of the Pauline Order
Solemnity of St. Paul the First Hermit
January 17

Saint Paul the First Hermit or Paul of Thebes is the Patriarch of the Pauline Order.

As a parish Community we will celebrate this important Solemnity of the Pauline Fathers on Sunday 17th January at the 10.30am Mass, using the Votive Mass of St. Paul the First Hermit and readings of the day.

Blessing of Children:
As is the custom for the Pauline Order, there will be a special blessing for children on the Solemnity.

Blessing of Fruits:
We will also have the customary blessing of Palm Fruit (dates) at Mass.

Novena to St. Paul the First Hermit:
In preparation for the celebration of the Solemnity of St. Paul the First Hermit, the Litany to St. Paul will be prayed after all Masses from the 7th of January. A copy of the Litany for you to pray at home can be downloaded here.

 

Upcoming Celebrations

Feast of Blessed Eusebius of Esztergom

January 20th is the Feast of Bl. Eusebius of Esztergom who is the founding father of the Pauline Order. Eusebius founded the first Hungarian order in 1250 which later became the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit.  He and his companion hermits erected their first monastery in honour of the Holy Cross. In the 1256 National Council of Esztergom, Eusebius wrote his name as the First Provincial of the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit. In 1262 he went to Rome with his companions to meet Pope Urban IV to ask him for approval for founding his own order. He had the support of Thomas Aquinas and Stephen I Báncsa. The Pope first refused to give Eusebius his permission because of financial conditions and asked Paul Balog, the Bishop of Veszprém to examine the monasteries. Papal legate Cardinal Gentilis de Monte Florido gave the order the Rule of St Augustine, and it received approval with the decree ‘Qui saecularia’, issued in Buda on 13th December 1308. During Eusebius’ life, there were 16 monasteries of his order. Later this number reached 150. Eusebius served for 20 years as provincial. As he felt that his death is near, he gathered his companions around him, blessed them and calmly died on the 20th January 1270.

This also brings to a close the Jubilee Year of Bl. Eusebius which commemorated the 750th Anniversary of the death of Bl. Eusebius.

Unfortunately, our planned celebrations and activities were interrupted by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Thursday 21st January
Happy Name’s Day Fr. Jarek

On Thursday 21st January, Fr. Jarek Zan our Parish Priest will celebrate his Name’s Day.

As a Parish community we extend to Fr. Jarek our prayers and best wishes for this day.

May our Heavenly Father pour out upon you many graces and blessings.

May our Heavenly Mother protect and intercede for you always.

 

Australia Day January 26th

Tuesday 26th January is Australia Day.

As this is a public holiday, Masses will be celebrated:

8:00 am at St. Therese’s Church

10:30 am St. Benedict’s Shrine

Please join with us as we pray for our country.