Visiting Your Church at The Entrance

A holiday should bring refreshment to body and soul. The Catholic people of The Entrance feel that you should be offered a tranquil atmosphere for Sunday Mass and for your quiet conversation with God as you visit His church; for “this is the house of God and the gate of heaven”.
A direction has been given that “The church edifice today is intended for the people of our times. Hence it must be fashioned in such a way that the people of our times may recognise and feel that it is addressed to them”.
“The most significant and most worthy needs of modern mankind here find their fulfilment; the urge toward community life, the desire for what is true and genuine, the wish to advance from what is peripheral to what is central and essential, the demand for clarity, lucidity,  intelligibility, the longing for quiet and peace, for a sense of warmth and security”.
We hope that you find all these things and God’s abiding Presence as you enter and kneel to offer your prayer to Him. Whatever religion you may be,
do not leave without saying some prayer. For those who find it hard to express their thoughts, we suggest that you might find time to speak to God in words
like these:

PRAYER
“Dear God, I ask only to be myself; that I make up in perseverance what I lack in skill’; that I be resigned to your Will; that I pay all that I owe; that I live simply and plainly; that I may always be truthful and think clearly; that I be willing to change my opinion in the light of true facts; that I injure no one wilfully, either by word or deed; and finally that my heart be so filled with the love of God that it will have no room left for hate. Amen”.

Church Design

The Sanctuary and Altar

The Altar is the focal point in every Catholic Church. Instructions were given to the architects that their design must use every device to draw the worshipper to the Altar. This they have achieved by allowing the sculpted white Gosford sandstone of the Altar to be displayed in its simple lines. The radiating beams of the ceiling, the graceful curve of the apse, and the fins of silver ash make the Altar the centre of attention.
The Jewish people had an expression, “SHEKINAH”, as a phrase that told them of God’s abiding Presence. The Presence of God is symbolised by the Baldachino, the canopy over the Altar. The woven design represents the Crown of Thorns and the Nails of the Crucifixion. They remind us that our Redemption was brought with suffering. This, too, is the purpose of the carved wooden Crucifix, the work of Heinrich Woolf, of Forestville. The words in bronze lettering on the Baldachino are Christ’s words spoken at the Last Supper: ‘THIS IS MY BODY, GIVEN FOR YOU” Lk 22:19. An Altar and all the things about it are for the offering of Mass which is a re-offering of the Sacrifice of Calvary.

“His enemies saw Him only as a victim, and knew nothing of the priest. We know, of course, about the priest. But we are in danger of SEEING only the victim, to such a point do His sufferings afflict us. We miss too much of the meaning of passion and death if we do not realise that it was as celebrating Priest that Our Lord carried the cross, hung on the cross, died on the cross”. (To Know Christ Jesus – FJ Sheed).

The Saw-Tooth Walls

As you enter the church you will not be conscious of any windows on the southern side. It is only when you are half-way down the building and turn that you will see the light streaming from the windows of the saw tooth wall. Light that comes from behind is free of glare, it floods the Altar, it is restful and devotional.

The Side Gallery

The side gallery may be classed as a special need of a church in a holiday district. Together with the large gallery it brings  accommodation with comfort to the Catholics who visit the district during the summer months.

“I am the vine; you are its branches”.

Your best position for seeing this window is from near the sanctuary as you look
back. It is seen in all the fullness of its colours in the early morning light,
or as the evening light is fading.

The Great Window in Beton Glass

In the ages when the printed word was rare, people were taught by the images and pictures of the churches. Glass was used in all the great churches of Europe.
Much of the fine work of craftsmen in this medium has survived. The glory of Chartres Cathedral shows the work of eleventh and twelfth century artists in an art that was thought to be lost.
Modern glassworkers have techniques that rival men of other days. Since the early 1930’s they have tried to make their glass become part of the structure. This they have  been able to do by using abstract designs setting thick slabs of glass in concrete and achieving such a variety of glowing colours that the result is gem-like in appearance.
This glass is called Beton (from the French for ‘concrete’, or some call it, chunk or Loire glass). It is a medium that does not lend itself to figurative designs, but is suited to grand designs that show the glow of the beautiful Belgian glass which in our window is the material chosen to bring God’s colours into His church.
If you seek a meaning is this design, you may say that it is based on Our Lord’s words: “I am the vine; you are its branches”.
You see the CHRISTOS symbol that tells you that you must stay part of the vine.
“If a man lives on in Me, and I in him, then he will yield abundant fruit”. By His grace gained through His death on the Cross (in top portion of window), we will attain our place in heaven.

Stations of the Cross

The Way of the Cross goes back to the days when pilgrims journeyed to the Holy Land to follow the sorrowful way of Our Lord’s Passion on the steps He took to Calvary. When visits to Palestine were impossible, the devout took to placing scenes of the Passion in the fields. They would lighten the burdens of the day’s work by thinking of the suffering Saviour.
Gradually these scenes found their way into the churches. The practice of thinking prayerfully about the Passion of Christ was blessed by the Church. From this has evolved what Catholics speak of as “making the Stations of the Cross”.
It was felt that the fourteen scenes from the Passion would play an important part in the final design of the church.
Much thought was given to their selection. A young Tasmanian artist, Alan Gleston, was approached and given the commission after he exhibited three paintings in the 1962 Blake Prize for Religious Art. Alan Gelston has been successful because his faith has helped his art. Before he began his work, he read and studied the Gospel story of the Passion, and prayerfully went to work.
He knew that if his art was to be a medium to help the prayer of others, he must paint with a knowledge of his subject.
Two other commissions were given to Alan Gelston: He was asked to prepare sketches for the sand blasted designs on the doors of the Narthex, and the painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour came from his brush.
Alan died in his middle thirties leaving his wife, Carmelita to bravely face the future with her young children.

Two further commissions for the Church were given to Alan Gelston:
Alan supplied sketches for the sand blasted designs on the doors of the Narthex, and the painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour (left) came from his brush.
Alan died in his middle thirties leaving behind his wife, Carmelita and their young children.

The Shrine of the Sacred Heart and the font for Baptism

 “I will bless the home where the image of My Heart is venerated”.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is that worship which we pay to the person of
Christ Our Lord with our thought focused on His love. the basis for the devotion is found in every page of the Gospels. In the eighteenth century Our Lord appeared to St Margaret Mary, and spoke to her of his wish that Christians should practise devotion to his heart as a source of love. Our shrine places particular emphasis on devotion to the Sacred Heart in the home. Our Lord speaks to any family. It could be your family.

The sculpted group was created from a drawing by Stephen Moore by Mr Yancko.

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour

For some years a novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour was prayed by the people of The Entrance. A place for a shrine to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour had to be found in the new church. The picture that is the central figure of the shrine is an exact copy of the one that is found in the Church of St Alphonsus on the Via Merulana in Rome. It is painted in the style of an icon and came from Crete to Rome about 300 years ago. During the troubled times of the Napoleonic invasion it was lost for about 70 years.
It is a fitting picture for Our Lady of the Rosary Church, for it is a Rosary picture. On the right hand is Gabriel the angel of the Annunciation and there is Mary with Jesus, the Child of her joys. The Mother of Sorrow looks out with sad eyes upon the world, begging men not to hurt her child; while the Little One clings to her in fear, as He sees in a vision Michael and Gabriel with the instruments of His Passion.
“The golden background shows us the heaven of the Glorious Mysteries, God’s angels are there; Jesus wears His crown as King, and Mary is crowned as heaven’s Queen”. (Redemptorist Novena Booklet).  Steven Moor came up with his framework of wrought iron and copper with bronze motifs inspired by honorific titles of Our Lady; The Fleur de lis, the lily of Her purity, the Moon of the Apocalypse, The Morning Star, the Fountain of Life (grace); the anchor and shaped waves symbolise peace and good hope. At the summit is the Crown of Our Lady of Universal Queenship. The painting is on hardboard in oils by Alan Gelston, of Hobart.

Symbolism

Symbolism is the investing of outward things or actions with an inner meaning, more especially for expression or religious ideas. All our knowledge comes through our senses. When we speak to God, we need the help of external things to keep our minds from wandering. In the Catacombs, the early Christians drew the crude pictures that had to tell them more than they told their persecutors. the first letters in Greek of the name of Christ become the CHI-RHO sign which was used in many ways.
As this church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, a large mosaic framed in the window of the church tells of the rosary theme: The Holy Spirit (the Dove of the Gospels) appears as the Sanctifier Who gives life to the prayer of the Rosary shown in symbol first as an unfolding flower – the Joyful period of Our Lord’s life. His Passion and Sufferings are shown in the Cross and Winding Sheet. The Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary are represented by M for the name of Mary, crowned as Queen of Heaven.
The symbols that are like jewel spots in the southern side windows relate to the Mass: We see the Fish (a catacomb symbol of Christ) and the Loaves of the Eucharist; the Holy Spirit and a Chasuble; A Chalice and Host.
The windows of the upper gallery on the northern side also have Eucharistic meaning. The Vine and Grapes, the Ciborium, the Fish, the Basket of Loaves, the Sheaf of Wheat, and the three nearest the altar show the Palm and Crown of Martyrdom, the initials that stand for the Holy Name and the office of Our Lord, and the Lamb of the Apocalypse (Christ in victory).
Under the side gallery we see the Instruments of the Passion: The Cross and the Winding Sheet; the Sponge and Spear; the Nails; the Hammer; and the Scourge.
The gateway to the stairs from the Narthex(porch) has the Palms of victory that is achieved in glory through the Cross. On the gateway to the side gallery, the Palms of victory are repeated with glory coming through the sanctifying power of the Blessed Trinity (Three stars). All this work is in beaten brass and was executed by Peter Managazzo, of Wollongong.
The Narthex doors of the church have sandblasted designs of : Our Lord in the arms of His Mother at the foot of the Cross; the Holy Family at Nazareth; the Visitation; the Annunciation; Our Lady of Fatima; and St Dominic receiving the rosary from Our Lady.