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The Parish of the Holy Cross:
The Parish of the Holy Cross:
he Manga o te Rākau Ora
he Manga o te Rākau Ora
This new Parish unit was created 1 April 2019 by Decree of the Bishop of Hamilton, The Parish of the Holy Cross was brought about by the coming together of two parish communities of St Joseph and St Peter Chanel. Both of these communities were founded in the 1950's as the City Expanded and a general increase in priestly numbers meant that there were spare priests available to establish new parishes. These excess numbers of priests has reversed itself and now it makes sense to bring together the administrative functions under one umbrella: hence the New Parish. The Saints gathered under the shade of the Tree of Life- The Holy Cross.
The Parish of the Holy Cross finds itself in the central and northern parts of Hamilton City, New Zealand. We worship the Lord in two churches, St Peter Chanel and St Joseph. Mass has been celebrated in these parts since 1950.
All of us Christians are “of” the Holy Cross. From it comes our salvation. It is the new Tree of Life. We shelter in its shade, make its sign on our bodies, embrace it in our suffering, wash in its Water, eat its fruit and from it gain Eternal Life. The Parish properly understood is a branch (he manga) of the Tree of Life (o te Rākau Ora).
St Peter Chanel was the Vicar General and is the Proto-Martyr of Oceania. He is the Patron of the Diocese of Hamilton. St Joseph is the Patron Saint of the whole church, Husband of the Mother of God, and Adoptive-Father of our Saviour.
The distinctive geographical feature of Hamilton City is the System of Gullies feeding into the Mighty Waikato River. Each Gully was named by the local iwi (people) Ngati Wairere. Within the boundaries of our parish we have Mangakereru and Mangaiti (which infact is quite big ). In the city itself we have Mangaone, Mangaharakeke, Mangakotukutuku. The māori word 'manga' refers to a branch of a tree or branch of a river or a stream. The streams that formed these gullies have shaped each gully to look like a tree branch. Hence our Subtitle
he Manga o te Rākau Ora: Our parish is a Branch of the Tree of Life
he Manga o te Rākau Ora: Our parish is a Branch of the Tree of Life
The Holy Cross of Christ is the true Tree of Life and this parish is a small branch of Christ's Cross in New Zealand.
The Tree of Life once stood in the Garden of Eden, (Genesis 2.9, 3.22) and it now stands in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 2.7, 22.2). For eons, thanks to Adam's mortal sin, it was impossible humans to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life. However the prophet Ezekiel announced the imminent arrival of the tree of life "its fruit will be food and its leaves for healing" (Ez 47.12) and some 600 years later the tree of life stood for a brief time on this earth and now we can eat of its fruit use its leaves and live forever.
The tree of Life is the Cross of Christ, its Fruit is the Eucharist, its leaves the sacraments by which we are healed and restored to right relationship with God. The Cross of Christ is the instrument of our salvation, healing and Eternal Life. Here on earth we have a foretaste of heaven. That is where the Tree of Life now stands. In the Book of Revelation John tells us "Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Rev 22.2)
Our Patrons:
Our Patrons:
St Joseph: Husband of the Mother of God, Foster Father of our Lord.
St Peter Chanel sm: Priest of the Society of Mary, Missionary, Vicar General of the Vicariate of Western Oceania, Protomartyr of Oceania.
We worship Here (St Joseph Church) 86 Clarkin Rd, Fairfield.
9.30am Sunday + 9am Wednesday & Saturday
And we worship here (St Peter Chanel Church) 5 Vardon Rd, Te Rapa
5.30pm (Vigil) Saturday Night + 9am Tuesday & Friday
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