Marriage Preparation Course
Date: Tuesday, 15 February to 22 March 2022
Time: 19:30
Contact: Nicholas and Natalie Dyers on 082 572 3068
Note: Couples interested in doing the course must speak with Fr Ivanhoe first. This course is for couples planning on getting married between June and December 2022.
Day 1: 30 Days of Preparation to Celebrate Corpus Christi in the Year of the Eucharist
In this Year of the Eucharist in which we are invited to deepen our appreciation of the Eucharist in the life of the Church, each day for the next 30 days, members of the Archdiocese of Cape Town will offer reflections on aspects of the Eucharist. In this first reflection for Friday, 7 May, Archbishop Stephen Brislin reflects on the Eucharist and Christian Initiation and how the Eucharist was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper.
It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please share these daily reflections on your parish WhatsApp groups.
Archbishop Brislin’s presentation is available here in English and Sesotho.
The link to the first presentation is here: https://adct.org.za/day-1-30-days-of-preparation-to-celebrate-corpus-christi-in-the-year-of-the-eucharist/
Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd, you called your disciples to follow you and be united in love. You sent them to proclaim the Good News to all people in every nation. Now you send and compel us to do Love in Action. In Faith, we say: here we are Lord, we come to do your will. Send us to pray, work and sacrifice for your kingdom of love in our parish, families and country. Mary, our Mother, intercede for us to be like you, an instrument of the Father for Love in Action, to bring Christ to others. Amen.
Novena St Joseph
Dear parishioners and friends in Christ. It’s the Year of St Joseph. As Parish Council of Good Shepherd Catholic Church, we invite you to pray a novena to St Joseph to highlight the life of this great man in the life of Jesus and Mary. It starts on 10th March until 18th March. On 19 March, the Solemnity of St Joseph, we shall give him our novena as a spiritual gift. ( there’s no need to send in numbers). The novena will be prayed every day at the end of Holy Mass and live-streamed. Let’s join together to make this a memorable spiritual experience. A printed copy is available from the office. God bless you.
Friday 19th March at 7pm Archbishop Stephen Bislin will open our Devotions to St Joseph in our Parish, Good Shepherd. Please attend.
Click here for the full Novena St Joseph
Stations of the Cross
Will be every Wednesday at 7pm, starting this Wednesday 24th February 2021
It will be live-streamed but please attend at Church where possible, booking is not required.
Lenten Appeal
Please support the Lenten Appeal. The Archdiocese incurred huge losses. You may either collect envelopes at the office or deposit the money into our parish account, please put Lenten Appeal as a reference.
Ash Wednesday
Dear Parishioners, dear Friends in Christ,
Ash Wednesday is yet again the painful experience of not being able to make full use of our Church celebrations. For the sake of the health and safety of each and every one, we strive to comply with all the regulations of both the government and the Archdiocese of Cape Town. Restricted to only 50 participants at a time, we will have just 150 for Ash Wednesday. This is nowhere near the more than 1 200 we would normally have.
We feel the sense of loss, and some people and parishes have considered original ways of easing the pain and enabling the participation in one way or another. However, the big issue will always be compliance with the regulations of the Archdiocese. Any major deviation from them, which can impact on the safety of people, must be approved by the Archbishop and Bishop. Our main interest is also to maintain the dignity of the liturgical celebration and all measures must be taken to avoid the appearance of some mechanical receiving of “something” for the sake of it.
What can we do?
- The ashes may be distributed also on Thursday and Friday. So do come to Holy Mass without prior booking on those days.
- Ash Wednesday offers the golden opportunity to experience “Church at Home”. Hence the following suggestion
Celebration of Ashes (prayers from the Roman Missal)
What you will need: ashes (burn your palm crosses from last year or collect ashes from Church. Bring your little capsule or glass); Holy Water or ordinary water. This celebration may also be done on either Thursday or Friday.
- Opening Prayer: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
All: Let us pray: Lord, protect us in our struggle against sin and evil. As we begin the discipline of Lent, make this season holy by our self-denial. Amen
- Reading: Matthew 6: 1-6; 16-18
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have had their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you they have had their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. The Gospel of the Lord
Discuss briefly: What can we do as family or individual to make Lent meaningful?
- Psalm 50
Response: Have mercy on me, O God
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
And cleanse me from my sin.
Response: Have mercy on me, O God
My offences truly I know them;
My sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
What is evil in your sight I have done.
Response: Have mercy on me, O God
Indeed you love truth in the heart;
Then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.
Response: Have mercy on me, O God
A pure heart create for me, O God,
Put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
Nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
Response: Have mercy on me, O God
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
Burnt offering from me you would refuse,
My sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
Response: Have mercy on me, O God
- Blessing of Ashes
Leader: Lord, bless us who ask for forgiveness and bless us who receive these ashes. May we keep this Lenten season in preparation for the joy of Easter. WE ask this through Christ our Lord
(Sprinkle holy water over the ashes; or use water to make a paste)
- A family member makes the sign of the Cross with the ashes on the forehead of the others, saying the following words: Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. (Or, if it is one person in the home, he/she makes the sign of the Cross on the forehead)
- Our Father, who art in heaven …
- Conclusion:
All: Father, look upon our weakness and reach out to help us with your loving power. Amen
Marriage Preparation Course
Date: 16 March to 20 April
Time: 19:30
Contact: Nicholas and Natalie Dyers on 0825723068
Note: Couples interested in doing the course must speak with Fr Ivanhoe first. This course is for couples planning on getting married between June and December 2021.
(11 February 2021)
Springfield Convent Grade 8 applications are open (2022)
The Springfield Grade 8 (2022) application process has opened and we would be most appreciative if you could please share the information below with your parishioners.
We would like to extend an invitation to all interested parties to apply for Grade 8 (2022). Below please see information about the application process at Springfield Convent School.
Application forms can be found on our website https://www.
Private tours are available during the course of February should you wish to visit the campus and experience what Springfield has on offer. Please contact admissions@
Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram for weekly updates of the events happening on our campus.
(11 February 2021)