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Author: Kathy Horan We have now moved into the season of Lent, a time of renewal where we consciously set our hearts and minds on the liberating message of the gospel that we are called to have life to the full.
We do this in the context of a believing community, and for all of us, this season of Lent is another invitation to see Jesus more clearly, to love Jesus more dearly and to take Jesus’ message of care and concern more seriously. The process of conversion involves the whole community, no matter how long we have been part of it or if we are seeking to find a place to call home within the community. Each year we are graced with this time of personal reflection on our lives in the light of the gospel and we are reminded of our role in the mission of Jesus, to bring good news to the poor.
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Author: Dr Jenny O'Brien Can you imagine a world without words? I do not mean being unable to hear or voluntarily living in silence, but that words do not actually exist. For human beings life would be mere ‘existence.’ There could be no exchange of ideas, no community living, not even a name for each individual person. Communication would be only in its most basic form. Language is at the heart of who we are, how we form relationships, how we understand our world.
This is why Jesus’ title, ‘Word of God’ is so fundamental, so all-encompassing and so powerful. We remember from the Genesis story of creation that ‘God said…. and so it came to be’. The point of the story was to show the dynamic power of God’s word: the mere utterance of the word brought it into being. Jesus, as the Word of God, is the humanised expression of who and what God is. This is a most extraordinary reality, and just how wonderful a gift this is bears thinking about often. Author: Kathy Horan As we approach the end of the year, a challenging one at that, there is a sense of rounding out the year liturgically as well as with our everyday calendar of events.
For Catholics, our daily lives are caught up in the rhythm of journeying with and being animated by the life and mission of Jesus throughout the various celebrations of the liturgical seasons, while at the same time living in a secular world that also has its customs and traditions that cross our horizons. At the beginning of November, we celebrate two important feast days: All Saints and All Souls. Both of these feast days relate to our belief in the ‘Communion of Saints’, which is a way of describing the whole of God’s family, living and dead. The saints are those people of great faith down through the ages who have borne witness to Jesus and often given their lives for their faith in him. They are ordinary people who lived their lives showing extraordinary courage, generosity of mind and heart in being of service to others, caring for the poor and marginalised, advocating for those without a voice, providing food, clothing, shelter and education for those lacking resources, while allowing the Spirit of Jesus to lead them and guide them. In this lies their greatness: their unshakeable faith in the Lord and their openness to share their faith with others. In the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass, we name these people as ‘those who have died in your friendship’ and who are ‘marked with the sign of faith’. Author: Dr Jenny O'Brien Perhaps the three most important words that children can learn are ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’, but the attitudes behind these words – respect, gratitude and forgiveness – only develop when they are lived out in the family, in the school, in the parish, and in society at large.
Pope Francis never ceases to remind us of the abundant love that God has for each one of us. ‘God never tires of forgiving,’ he tells us. ‘The door of the Father’s house always remains open.’ No matter how many times we might fall short of the mark in living our Christian life, God is always there to welcome us back, to give us another chance, to heal our wounded spirits, to renew our hope. In a recent Sunday gospel we heard Peter asking Jesus how many times he ought to forgive. (Peter thought that he was being very generous in suggesting seven times because the Jewish law only required that a person be forgiven three times.) Imagine Peter’s surprise when Jesus suggested ‘seventy times seven’ as the appropriate number! Author: Kathy Horan This year we acknowledge the fifth anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ encyclical on ecology and climate.We celebrate World Day of Prayer for Creation on September 1 and the four weeks of September are dedicated to prayer and reflection during the Season of Creation.
In his encyclical letter, Pope Francis draws inspiration from the life and spirituality of St Francis, his namesake, and presents us with a wonderful approach to life and to our role in creation; he also highlights our need for conversion of mind and heart to restore the imbalances caused by our actions, where creation has been abused and suffers the impact of human destruction and misuse of nature. Author: Kathy Horan Many years ago now, our very own Fr Denis Edwards wrote a book entitled Called to be Church in Australia, describing an approach that could bring about a renewal of life and faith in our local churches. In this book, he suggested that as an Australian Church we need to learn from and approach Aboriginal experience of the land as ‘apprentices in faith’
In doing this, he acknowledges that for the Indigenous Peoples of our land, the Spirit has been present, creative and hovering over all of creation in our land for many thousands of years, and that the Aboriginal peoples have always cherished and reflected on their relationship with the land and this creative spirit through their Dreaming stories and their relationships with one another. Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr is an Aboriginal Elder and wisdom figure who lives in the top end of the Northern Territory. She speaks about what she sees as a gift that she would like to share with all Australians. This gift is called ‘Dadirri’ and it means a deep listening: to creation, to one another, to the Dreaming or sacred family stories, to the needs of others, to the traumas and difficulties experienced over many years by Aboriginal Peoples, to the cries for justice and for finding a voice. Author: Dr Jenny O'Brien So how does an Archbishop differ from a Bishop? Basically, it is because he heads a ‘team’ of bishops in a particular geographical area or province. In our case, Adelaide, Port Pirie and Darwin form such a province. Because Adelaide is the chief diocese, the bishop of this diocese is given the title ‘Metropolitan Archbishop’ and Bishops O’Kelly (Port Pirie Diocese) and Gauci (Darwin Diocese) are known as ‘suffragan bishops’ (while still retaining full authority in their respective dioceses.)
In the Catholic Church there are three ‘levels’ of ordination within the sacrament of Holy Orders: deacon, priest and bishop. The Second Vatican Council spoke of the bishop as having ‘the fullness of the sacrament of Orders’ and dedicated an entire decree to the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church. So, as we welcome our new Archbishop, Patrick O’Regan, into the Archdiocese of Adelaide we might be wondering exactly what a bishop is, and how an archbishop differs from an ‘ordinary’ bishop. The primary role of any bishop is to ensure that the work of Christ is carried on at the local level by caring for all the faithful entrusted to him in his particular diocese. Often the bishop is referred to as the Chief Shepherd, since his ministry is modelled on that of Christ, the Good Shepherd. Immediately we can see that the role of the bishop is not simply that of ‘governing’ a local Church, but of caring for it and nurturing it and enabling it to grow and flourish. The role of the bishop is that of guardian, teacher and preacher. Author: Kathy Horan During our current extraordinary time of social distancing, health consciousness and concerns, and attempting to deal with many unknowns related to the present health pandemic, our most significant celebration of Easter has taken place.
Under normal circumstances, we would have celebrated together the ceremonies of the triduum, welcomed our RCIA candidates and renewed our own commitment in faith to the risen Lord. Those sacred days – Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday – have still been observed and we have participated, but differently, from our own homes. |
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