August 2020

LITURGICAL EVENTS UPDATE

 Dear friends of the Divine Mercy and Our Lady,

As you are all aware, this decade has started on a very eventful note. The coronavirus pandemic has interrupted the normal routine of just about everyone on the planet including us.

The draconian lockdown has impacted heavily on our prayer life. With the closure of churches, the Sacramental life of the Church has virtually come to a standstill. Sadly, we have had to cancel the devotional program for the whole year. But at least our private prayers, the Rosary, the Chaplet of Mercy, etc. cannot be shut down. So, as a matter of pressing importance I urge you to keep up your prayers in the privacy of your homes even if you are unable to access a church.

IMPORTANT NOTICE re 1^st Sunday Divine Mercy monthly devotions

For the record we first started the devotions in St. Augustine’s in February 1988, so from 1988 to March 2020, that would make it 33 years at St. Augustine’s (the time Our Lord walked upon this earth). At the Sacred Heart in Carlton it started in August 1986 and ending in January 1988 due to the unavailability of the Church. So, in Melbourne it has been going for more than 35 years, a remarkable achievement.

When or will they resume at St. Augustine’s?

It is up in the air, but indications are that they may not resume at all. Due to age, illnesses and death a fair number of attendees dropped out last year, so numbers wise it may no longer be feasible to hold it there. This pandemic may continue well into next year if the Spanish Flu of a hundred years ago is any guide. I would not expect many to attend even if it were possible to restart it, but you could let me know your thoughts.

Be that as it may, I hope to be able to continue organizing the Feast of Mercy celebration at St. Mary’s in West Melbourne, and the other feasts: St. Peregrine in May, Our Lady of Sorrows in September, and also, St. Faustina and Our Lady of Fatima in October.

Mamma Carmela’s Writings update:

In the original Italian editions there have been published 6 volumes on the ‘THOUGHTS AND REFLECTION’ Series, 10 volumes on the ‘JESUS OUR TEACHER’ Series, and 25 volumes on the ‘MARY MOTHER AND TEACHER’ Series, plus one volume of ‘PILGRIMAGES AND SPIRITUAL EXERCISES’, and one volume of “THE SAINTS OUR INTERCESSORS’.

The translations of all those above volumes are nearly complete. Translation of Volume 23 of Mary Mother and Teacher has just been completed and has been uploaded onto the website in PDF format. You can view the contents by clicking on the image.

There are two more volumes on the ‘Mary Mother and Teacher’ series on the way and we hope to hope to have them both done and uploaded in the next few months.

THE WEBSITE:

The ‘JESUS OUR TEACHER’ website which I did not finish setting up a couple of years ago has been taken down due to costs. I am thinking of merging that site with our main site. But that is for the future.

The “DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE’ website is still a long way from completion. In fact, I have not uploaded a fraction of the contents I would like. The contents will be strictly Catholic with a traditional bias. However, I am slow but eventually it will get done. I may change the name of this site to ‘JESUS OUR TEACHER’ once I figure out how to do it, that is.

DONATIONS are welcome but not required. We receive freely and we give freely. We rely totally on Divine Providence for our apostolate. And I leave you with this thought: remember to keep the Holy Faith and the Sacred Traditions handed down to us from the age of the Apostles.

God bless you all,

Bob Messina

Anno Domini MMXX

Divine Mercy Monthly Devotions

St. Augustine's Church
631 Bourke Street, Melbourne 3000

Starting at 2.00pm on the First Sunday of the month

FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTIONS

Holy Child Church
227 Blair Street, Dallas VIC 3047

Starting at 1.30pm on the First Saturday of the month

Holy Rosary

Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour

Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Solemn Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

Divine Mercy Prayers

Solemn Benediction

Blessing and Veneration of the Relic of St. Faustina