Events
The Archdiocese has entrusted the Parish of Smithfield to the Monks of St Paul, from Penrose Park, Berrima.
Parish Priest: Fr Albert
The Order of St Paul the First Hermit promotes Marian devotion through the Marian Shrines and parishes that it conducts.
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Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy
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| FATIMA DAY - On the 13th of each month | ||
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| 9:30 am | Confessions | |
| 10:00 am | Exposition & Rosary | |
| 11:00 am | Holy Mass | |
| 12:30 am | Lunch | |
| 1:30 pm | Procession to Grotto | |
| 2:00 pm | Devotions at Grotto | |
| 3:00 pm | Conclusion | |
A bus to Berrima leaves Smithfield at 8.00 am and Fairfield West at 8.15 am on the 13th of each month. Contact the presbytery to book.
DIVINE MERCY DEVOTION
Every third Sunday of the month
| 11:00 am | Holy Mass | |
| 1:30 pm | Devotions including Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Spiritual talk, chaplet, benediction and veneration of relic of St Faustina. |
FIRST SATURDAY AND NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF MERCY
Every first Saturday of the month
| 10:00 am | Confessions | |
| 10:30 am | Polish Mass | |
| 11:30 am | Rosary | |
| 12:00 pm | English Mass (after Mass Lunch) | |
| 2:00 pm | Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Novena to Our Lady of Mercy & Rosary. Procession in different languages. | |
| 3:00 pm | Conclusion |
Feast of St Paul the First Hermit 15th January
From the Life of St Paul the First Hermit by St Jerome, Priest (Chps 2.: 4a; 9-16; 18) Under the persecutors, Decius and Valerian, a savage tempest ravaged many churches in Egypt and Thebes. At the time that these outrages were being perpetrated in the lower Thebaid, Paul, at about the age of 16, upon the death of his parents, came into the rich inheritance. His sister was already married. He was highly educated not only in Greek but also in Egyptian culture and a gentle lad who loved God exceedingly. Until the storm of persecution ceased thundering, he lived in seclusion in a more distant villa. But, alas, "to what dost thou not drive the hearts of men, O accursed hunger of gold!". His own brother-in-law, instead of hiding him, plotted to betray the boy. When the prudent young man realized what was happening, he fled into the recesses of the mountains, where, awaiting the end of the persecution, he made a virtue of necessity. After careful examination of his surroundings, he found a rocky ridge, at the foot of which there was a cave, its opening shut off by a movable stone. Eagerly, removing the stone he came upon a large chamber, open to the sky. The spreading branches of an ancient palm tree protected the area. He discovered too, a clear spring. There in this humble dwelling which he grew to love (just as if God Himself had given it to him), he passed the rest of his life in prayer and solitude. The palm tree supplied his few needs of food and clothing.
When Blessed Paul, already 113 years old, was leading a heavenly life on earth, and Anthony, a nonagenarian, was tarrying in another solitude, the thought occurred to Anthony that no other monk had gone to live in the desert. It was revealed to him in sleep, however, that another person more worthy than himself, dwelt in the deeper recesses of the desert and that it was his duty to seek him out. At the break of dawn, the venerable old man set out on his quest not knowing which way to go. He discerned not far away a wolf, panting with burning thirst. He followed it with his eyes and, when the beast had disappeared from view, he approached closer to the spot and tried to peer within the cave which he had entered. Blessed Paul firmly barred the entrance to his retreat.
After the holy kiss, Paul seated himself beside Anthony and spoke thus: Behold, the one whom you have sought with so much fatigue; tangled grey hair covers an old man with wasted limbs. Behold, you see a man soon to return to dust. Tell me, I beg of you, how is man faring in the world? Are there still some who are ensnared by the horror of demons? While they were discussing such matters, they noticed a fleet raven deposited a whole loaf of bread between them. "Ah," said Paul, "God ahs sent us our dinner. For sixty years now, I have received a piece of bread every noon. Today, in honour of your arrival, Christ has doubled the rations of his disciples."
When day again returned, Blessed Paul spoke thus to Anthony: "For a long time now, brother, I have known that you dwelled in these regions; for a long time, God had promised you to me as a companion. Since my hour of eternal sleep has arrived, and because I have always desired to be dissolved and to be with Christ; having finished the course a crown of justice remains for me. You have been sent by God to bury my miserable body, rather, to return earth to earth. I beg of you, hasten, if it is not too much to ask, and bring back the cloak which Athanasius the bishop gave you, to wrap about my wretched body." Anthony was amazed and returned to is monastery, his dwelling place. He brought out the cloak from his cell, and set out again on the same road by which he had returned. When another day had dawned, he saw Paul, shining in snowy whiteness, ascend into heaven amid a host of angels and the choirs of Prophets and Apostles. When he entered the cave, he found Paul kneeling, his head erect and his hands raised towards heaven, his body lifeless. At first, thinking that he was still alive, he began to pray with him. He realized, however, that even the lifeless body of the saint rendered homage to God unto whom all creatures life. Thereupon, Anthony wrapped up the body and carried it out beyond the entrance, chanting hymns and psalms in the Christian manner. He grieved that he did not have an implement to dig a grave. Behold, here came two lions. They dropped down at his feet. Then, not far from the corpse, they began to scratch the ground with their paws. On the next day, Anthony claimed for himself the tunic which the holy man had woven for himself from the leaves of the palm; he always wore Paul's tunic on the solemn feasts of Easter and Pentecost.
I beg of you, whoever reads this, that you remember the sinner Jerome, who, if God should grant him his greatest desire, would much rather choose the tunic of Paul with his merits than the purple of kings with their kingdoms.
History of the Order of St Paul the First Hermit
The Monastic Order of St Paul the First Hermit was founded in 1215 in Hungary. The founder was Blessed Eusebius of Ezstergom. It was through his inspiration and efforts that many hermits of Hungary were brought together to live a community life in a monastery rather than a hermit's life of isolation. Eusebius had a vision of many small tongues of flame scattered through the forests of Hungary coming together to form a large bright fire. He understood this vision as a call for him to gather the hermits from the hills into a monastic way of life. The monks of this new Order took St Paul the First Hermit, the patron saint of Hermits, as the Order's patron and spiritual Father.
The Order spread rapidly throughout Hungary and then into Croatia, Germany, Poland, Austria and Bohemia. A highlight in the Order's history took place in 1382 when it became the custodians of the miraculous picture of Our Lady, believed by the people to have been painted by St Luke the Evangelist. The Icon was brought to Poland by Prince Ladislaus from a castle in Belz, Ukraine. The Paulines established a Shrine for the venerable image of the Blessed Mother in the small town of Czestochowa. Today the Shrine is the Mother House and largest Monastery of the Order with over 100 Fathers and Brothers living and working there.
More than 5 million pilgrims visit this holy place each year from all over the world.
Benedictine Monks
The Benedictine Monks, who have looked after this parish since 1949 left this parish at the end of December 2003.