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Author: Dr Jenny O'Brien In the Catholic Church there are three ‘levels’ 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 prepare to 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.
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Author: Dr Jenny O'Brien Hot cross buns and chocolate eggs are enjoyed by many over the Easter period, but not everyone understands their true significance. Behind those simple ‘treats’ stand the most profound events of human history. The cross on the yeast buns represents the crucifixion when Jesus, the Son of God died out of love for us. The egg represents the resurrection, when Jesus was raised to new life and lives for ever as the resurrected Christ. On Easter morning we hear the proclamation, “Christ is risen!” and our response is, “He is risen indeed, Alleluia!”
Author: Dr Jenny O'Brien It is striking how often Pope Francis refers to the family in his writings and homilies. In the week after Christmas we celebrated the feast of the Holy Family, and now at the beginning of February, the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. Both feasts call us to reflect on the vital link between a strong Christian family and a fruitful celebration of parish liturgy.
Mary and Joseph did not stand out as an exceptional family. Jesus spent 30 years in the family home in Nazareth where, Luke’s Gospel tells us, he ‘grew and became strong, filled with wisdom.’ Just as Mary and Joseph handed on faith and wisdom to Jesus, so parents today provide for their children ideals to live by and values to sustain daily living. Pope Francis once said, “Mothers are the strongest antidote to individualism because they “divide” themselves from the moment they give birth to a child.’ And Jesus himself gave God the Father the intimate name of “Abba” (Dad), shared by fathers today when they spend time in conversation, play and prayer with their children. Author: Dr Jenny O'Brien At the beginning of November the Church celebrates two important feasts: All Saints on the first, followed by All Souls on the second. While in the minds of many Catholics these two feasts are inextricably linked, they originated at different times and have different emphases.
All Saints From its earliest days the Church has commemorated the anniversaries of the martyrs, those who would face death rather than deny their faith in Christ. In the West, the number of martyrs was particularly high under the rule of the emperor Diocletian at the end of the 3rd century, but less than ten years after his death Christianity was given legal status as a religion. Because there were not enough days in the year to mark the death of each individual martyr the first Sunday after Pentecost was assigned to celebrate all martyrs. Author: Dr Jenny O'Brien The Christian journey begins with Baptism and comes to its earthly conclusion with the Funeral Mass and subsequent burial or cremation. From that moment on we enter the realm of eternal life with God.
The Order of Christian Funerals was published in 1989. A very interesting and important feature of this Order is that there is not just ONE rite, but a sequence of rites, each taking us a step further along a journey of prayer and faith. First comes the VIGIL, usually held in the church on the evening before the funeral, where the story of the deceased person is shared and we acknowledge our grief and loss. It normally consists of prayers, readings from scripture and hymns but may also include part of the Rosary and/or other customs from our multicultural diversity. Author: Jenny O'Brien Did you know that the first official Roman ritual for Christian Marriage only appeared in 1614 and was only officially recognised as one of the seven sacraments in the Middle Ages?
In the first millennium the Church accepted marriage as a secular reality and there was no Christian ritual accompanying its celebration. It “belonged” to the family and to civil authorities. The only role that the Church played was to discourage Christians from partaking in any pagan practices contrary to the Christian spirit (like sacrificing to idols.) |
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