Just a reminder that Holy Week liturgies will be at these times and venues:
Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper followed by Stations of the Cross
5:45 p.m.
Thursday, 6th April 2023
Meeting Room, Phil Renkin Recreation Centre, TWO ROCKS
Good Friday The Lord’s Passion
3:00 p.m.
Friday, 7th April 2023
Meeting Room, Phil Renkin Recreation Centre, TWO ROCKS
Easter Vigil
6:00 p.m.
Saturday 8th April 2023
School Hall Yanchep Beach Primary School, off Treeside Place YANCHEP
I would like to wish everyone a blessed and prayerful Triduum, and closeness to Christ as we reflect on his passion, death and resurrection this long weekend.
Buhl altarpiece, followers of Martin Schongauer (1495-1500), oil on panel, Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Buhl, Haut-Rhin.
Extract from “Far North on Track”, Lucy Jarvis, North Coast Times, 25 July 2017.
Not that we didn’t have one already. As Christians know, the Church is the term we use for the people, and not just the building. Catholics have worshipped in Yanchep-Two Rocks since the seventies – first at the marina, then in the YDHS library, then in the old sheep-shearing shed converted by the Anglican Church into St James’s Church, and when that was removed (I heard a rumour it was taken to the wheatbelt town of Southern Cross, but that may be apocryphal), at the Yanchep Community Centre, where we currently celebrate Mass.
But it’s wonderful news that the Archdiocese has committed to investing in land in the Yanchep-Two Rocks area. This week, Nick Perrignon, Principal of Acumen Development Solutions, announced that a Catholic Church would be built on the hill overlooking Beachside Parade in Capricorn Estate.
Even more wonderful is the fact that we will have a Church building before a school, because that puts our priorities in the right order. Everything we have is from God, and to him we should first and foremost give right praise. If we get that first commandment right – to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength (Mk 12:30), the rest will follow (or it will if we’re loving God correctly – note to the community: “We’re not all paedophiles”)! What I mean by ‘the rest’, is loving our neighbour, which includes building schools and reaching out to the sick, the lonely, and those in need.
But having a Church building enables us to do and be so much more. It means we can have a permanent place to honour God in the Holy Eucharist. It means we can have a much more visible presence in the Community and (we hope) serve the Community better. Already we are involved in visiting the frail and aged at Bethanie Beachside (which is run by our friends, the Church of Christ), and we have also had a bread distribution programme going for many years (courtesy of Bakers Delight). But it would be nice to hear from members of the Yanchep Two Rocks Community about other areas of need, especially your prayer requests.
If the life of our Church is like a recapitulation of Scripture, having our own church building will be like the difference between the Israelites wandering around in the desert for years on end and finally building the Temple under Solomon. Or that’s how it feels, because we’ve been praying for this for so very long.
I will endeavour to keep you posted about the actual timeline of the building. So far, all discussions have been in commercial confidence and therefore we have to wait until an official announcement from the Archdiocese. Or as we could say …
On the idea of ‘Church’, here are some snippets from the Catechism …
751 The word “Church” (Latin ecclesia, from the Greek ek-ka-lein, to “call out of”) means a convocation or an assembly. It designates the assemblies of the people, usually for a religious purpose. 139 Ekklesia is used frequently in the Greek Old Testament for the assembly of the Chosen People before God, above all for their assembly on Mount Sinai where Israel received the Law and was established by God as his holy people. By calling itself “Church,” the first community of Christian believers recognized itself as heir to that assembly. In the Church, God is “calling together” his people from all the ends of the earth. the equivalent Greek term Kyriake, from which the English word Church and the German Kirche are derived, means “what belongs to the Lord.”
752 In Christian usage, the word “church” designates the liturgical assembly, but also the local community or the whole universal community of believers. These three meanings are inseparable. “The Church” is the People that God gathers in the whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical, above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so herself becomes Christ’s Body.
The Catholic Church. The Catechism Of The Catholic Church (Kindle Locations 3771-3776). . Kindle Edition.
Thank you to everyone who attended the Yanchep Church BBQ last Sunday! It was a great way to get to know each other better and farewell Fr Demetri who had been helping us out while Fr Augustine was on holiday. Thanks especially to Cathy who hosted this at Seatrees Bed & Breakfast!
No. 17, Scenes from the Life of Christ – Nativity: Birth of Jesus, Giotto di Bondone (1304-1306), Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Veneto, Italy.
Wishing all of my online followers (especially those in Yanchep-Two Rocks) a most blessed, peaceful and joyful Christmas! God became flesh out of love for us – so that, attaching ourselves to Him, we might come to share in his glory. I pray for all of you, that Christ will make himself increasingly known to you, that you can share more and more in his divine life and love.
At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word, that is, the Word and substantial Image of the Father, became incarnate; without losing his divine nature he has assumed human nature. (CCC 479)
It was so beautiful to be able to celebrate the birth of Christ our Saviour with a large crowd at the Yanchep Community Centre last night! As Fr Augustine said, there was no room in Bethlehem for the Saviour, and there was little room to sit down in the Community Centre. Please pray that we will be able to find a permanent, larger venue for our Church, and please pray that we can finally have a Pastoral Council to raise funds to do so! Thank you to all those who joined us for Mass!
I have to go and cook a turkey now, so if you would like some extra reflections on Christmas, I will leave you with these links:
The Yanchep Christmas Mass will be at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve, 24th December at the Yanchep Community Centre in Lagoon Drive. The next closest Mass venue is at St Andrew’s Clarkson and their Mass times are here.
Guilderton Christmas Mass will be at the usual 8 a.m.
If you know anyone in our local area who doesn’t look forward to Christmas because it reminds them of their sadness, let them know that they can join us for lunch! Perhaps they have lost a loved one. Perhaps their family isn’t speaking to them. Or perhaps they are far away from their friends and relations.
Whatever the reason is for their loneliness, they need to know that God loves them with a tender love and wants to reach out to them to share his abundant joy.
All you need to bring is a plate of salad or dessert, and a “Secret Santa” to the value of no more than $10. Call 0400 660 337 to book a place!
The Catholic Church of Yanchep will be holding a prayer vigil and Mass today, 22 October, with the special intention of praying for the deceased children, Andreas (3) and Lily Headland (5) and for their parents and extended family. We will commence a vigil at 5.30 today in the carpark of the Yanchep Community Centre, followed by our usual Mass at 6 p.m. in the Community Centre’s Activity Room for anyone who would like to stay on and pray with us. Let us pray that the Light of Christ will draw us together in solidarity, mutual support and community spirit to fight Satan and his forces of darkness.
At times like this we often ask why God permits such evil. Why does he allow children to suffer?
The answer is that God has given us free will and he asks us to use it to choose the good. He doesn’t prevent us from experiencing the consequences of our evil actions. Satan seeks to entrap us in fear, in depression, in darkness and despair. Satan seeks to attack, divide and destroy families. The Light of Christ, on the other hand, brings hope, joy and love. We need to pray that the Light of Christ envelops our community and that we in Yanchep Two Rocks become a community of care for one another, a community that prays together, a community that calls down the power of the Holy Spirit upon us and that banishes sin and evil.
Watch this video from Bishop Robert Barron on why God allows suffering:
If you know anyone in our local area who doesn’t look forward to Christmas because it reminds them of their sadness, let them know that they can join us for lunch! Perhaps they have lost a loved one. Perhaps their family isn’t speaking to them. Or perhaps they are far away from their friends and relations.
The Catholic Church of Yanchep will be holding a prayer vigil and Mass today, 22 October, with the special intention of praying for the 
Catholic in Yanchep 