Mary Mother of the Church

Catholic Parish Ivanhoe

 

Fr Len Thomas'  "80-50" Celebrations

Fr Len Thomas is widely known in Melbourne Parishes and the general community, and particularly in the Catholic Parish of Ivanhoe and the preceding Ivanhoe Cluster where he was Priest In Residence  from 1999 - 2010 whilst living at St Bernadette's. During that time and beforehand he was also Chaplain of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne mental health ministry.

Fr Len retired from active parish duties in in 2010 but remained busy in many ways, including as a relief Priest from time to time for various parishes in Melbourne and elsewhere in Australia,  working with Rotary, visiting Gallipoli, maintaining friendships with many, and writing (see below)..

Fr Len celebrated his 80th birthday at  a special Mass on 20 June (see news item for 20 June here and photos here).

 He will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of his Ordination on 4 July as per the notice below. All are warmly invited to share with Len and friends at this second celebratory Mass and function:

• 6.00pm in the Hall before 7pm Mass at St Pius X Church, 419 Waterdale Rd Heidelberg West, followed by supper at 8pm. BYO cold drinks. Free special '80-50' Newspaper at 8pm.
  

Len's writings:

"God loves to hear our stories"

1. Fr Len's special  "80-50 Newspaper"                                                                                                                                         As a 'newspaper man' Len worked for quite some time on this diverse collection of stories and items of interest. A subtitle for Fr Len's "80-50" Newspaper could well be    "All in one USB Stick"  (see below).     This free Newspaper, a gift from Fr Len, may be read or  download  here. 

2. "Free to Be Priest"                                                                                                                                                                         . The title of a "70-40" book he wrote in 2005 to celebrate "seventy years of life forty years as priest on 24th July" was  "Free to be Priest." This free book may now be downloaded  (here).     Here from this 'neo-computer-guru'  is the preface to this book:

"All in one Floppy Disk"
Family, relatives, friends and others have freed me.The events of world and church have helped me to be a priest.This book tells how people have freed me to be something of what God wants.Of course I need much more freeing for the task, as we all do.This book is also a tribute to the wider secular society and its citizens who have shaped me. I enjoy their presence, where the Holy Spirit dwells.This year is also a great time to empty much of life’s accumulated papers, photos, remembrances and facts into one floppy disk, so that this earthly desk is cleared. Finally, great nephews and nieces might want to know how some things came to pass. And who were those uncles and aunts anyway?

Fr Len looks forward to catching up with his friends at the above events, and sharing his writings