If your child is baptised, and you believe that you and your child are ready to prepare for, and participate in their celebration of the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Communion or Confirmation this year, then you are invited to enrol in this process.
Further easing of COVID-19 restrictions took effect on 18 February. This means that Masses and other parish activities may return to pre-COVID arrangements in large part, and that Service NSW Check In is no longer required. If you have stayed at home since the last lockdown, we are ready to welcome you back to church.
If, however, you are displaying COVID symptoms, please stay at home until you have recovered. We ask this to ensure the safety of you and our whole community.
The wearing of face masks at church remains mandatory for another week. From Friday 25 February, the wearing of face masks is encouraged (especially when physical distancing is not possible) but no longer mandatory.
We understand that some people may still need to celebrate Sunday at home (for example, people who are sick or whose health makes them vulnerable). We will continue to share resources for praying at home on our website from The Carmelites of Australia and Timor-Leste, Mass for You at Home, and our diocesan cathedral.
In 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions were first put in place, Bishop Vincent Long temporarily suspended the obligation of Catholics in the Diocese of Parramatta to participate in Sunday Mass. Since attendance limits were lifted in New South Wales in December, the Sunday Mass obligation has been restored. You at not required, however, to participate in Mass if you are unwell, and Communion can be brought to those who are sick or housebound. Contact us if you require this support.
Yesterday, the NSW Government reinstated requirements for face masks to be worn in indoor venues. As such, everyone must wear a mask while in the church and parish centre. All other requirements for places of worship, including mandatory check in on arrival, remain in place.
Further easing of COVID-19 restrictions took effect on 15 December.
Last year, when COVID-19 restrictions were first put in place, Bishop Vincent Long temporarily suspended the obligation of Catholics in the Diocese of Parramatta to participate in Sunday Mass. Now that all attendance limits have been lifted in New South Wales, the Sunday Mass obligation has been restored.
Recent changes to the COVID roadmap by the NSW Government mean that additional easing of restrictions for places of worship took effect from Monday 8 November.
As places of worship need to comply with government regulations, anyone coming to Mass will need to abide by the following:
Attendance at weddings and funerals where attendees are fully vaccinated is now limited to 1 person per 2 square metres. Strict limits still apply if there are unvaccinated attendees.
From 15 December, or when 95% vaccination rate is reaches (whichever comes first), all members of the assembly may sing.
We look forward to seeing parishioners back at Mass when they are ready to return.
As the 80% vaccination rate in New South Wales has been reached earlier than anticipated, the next easing of COVID restrictions will take effect from tomorrow, Monday 18 October.
As places of worship need to comply with government regulations, anyone coming to Mass will need to abide by the following:
Restrictions will ease further on 1 December, allowing increased capacity and singing.
We look forward to seeing parishioners back at Mass when they are ready to return.
Recently the NSW Government announced its “roadmap” for the easing of restrictions. These are expected to begin during the course of this month, once 70% of people in NSW aged 16 and over have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Further easing of restrictions will take place when the double-dose vaccination rate reaches 80%, and again at 90%.
At the 80% rate, Masses can resume for all who wish to attend (in keeping with capacity limits). So that no one is excluded from participating in Mass if they so wish, the church will remain closed for Masses until that point, which is expected to occur by November.
This is in keeping with today’s request by Bishop Vincent Long. The Archdiocese of Sydney, the Diocese of Broken Bay and the Diocese of Wollongong (which, along with our diocese, cover all the parishes in Greater Metropolitan Sydney) will also resume the celebration of Mass at that time. The Bishops of NSW are concerned that any earlier resumption of Masses, while permissible, would exclude those who are not fully vaccinated at that time.
We thank you for your continued patience and support, and we look forward to being able to welcome you back to the church soon.
In the meantime, if you have not received a COVID-19 vaccination, we strongly recommend that you do so as soon as possible. Our Carmelite Community and our parish office staff are fully vaccinated, and recommend that everyone does the same for the protection of themselves, their loved ones, and our whole community.
Information current as at 28 July 2021
Today, the NSW Government has announced a further extension to stay-at-home orders for the whole for the Greater Sydney area. The lockdown now remains in effect until 12:01 am on Saturday 28 August.
As such, all Masses are still cancelled, and the church remains closed.
Funerals may be celebrated, but under specific restrictions. Please contact the parish office should you need to discuss the options that are possible.
Provided these restrictions do not change, Mass will resume again on Saturday 28 August.
Thank you for your cooperation with these government requirements.
As parishioners cannot attend Mass, we have returned to providing our Celebration of the Word for God for use at home in its original, Sunday-specific format while stay-at-home orders are in place. Masses are being live streamed from St Patrick’s Cathedral via the Diocesan YouTube Channel and St Patrick’s Cathedral Facebook page. Mass for You At Home can be viewed on Channel 10 (Sunday 6:00 am), or on demand via 10play, YouTube, or the Mass for You at Home website.
While restrictions remain in place, Bishop Vincent’s dispensation from the obligation to participate in Sunday Mass remains in place in the Diocese of Parramatta.
from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middle Park, Melbourne
offered each year by the Carmelite Province of Australia and Timor Leste for all mothers
Dear Parishioners
Lockdown greetings. The current COVID situation means we cannot celebrate our parish feast day this Sunday. The actual feast day is 16th July but, in the parish, we normally mark it on the Sunday closest to the date. However, you might like to join the livestream of the Mothers’ Mass at 10:30am from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Middle Park in Melbourne. This is an annual celebration and will be an excellent Mass with music etc. The livestream location details are as follows but when we get the actual link, we will publish it on the parish website so you can just click on the link and join:
The Carmelites also publish an excellent prayer service for homes for the feast day which you can find on our parish website. We will also make copies available outside the church and priory if you would like to pick one up.
Hopefully life will free up again. When it does, we will have a combined celebration of 75 years of the parish along with the feast day at the Sunday Masses on a weekend to be determined. In the meantime, on behalf of the Carmelite community at Wentworthville I wish you every peace and joy for the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Please stay safe and well as we continue to live with the reality of the coronavirus.
Denis Andrew OCarm
Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelites. The first Carmelites were hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early 13th century. In the midst of their little cells or hermitages they built a chapel which they dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Eventually many of the Carmelite hermits left the Holy Land and spread throughout Europe. As well as seeing Mary as “The Lady of the Place” their devotion to Mary broadened. The Carmelites came to see Mary in various roles such as a Woman of Prayer, Mary the Contemplative, Mary: Queen and Beauty of Carmel, Mary: Mother and Sister. It was in the late 14th century in England that the actual feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel first came to be celebrated on 16 July.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Wentworthville 