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St
John the Apostle ~ Kippax
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CANBERRA,
AUSTRALIA |
| Heart Spirtuality | Bob Irwin Jubilee Homily | Helen Currie | MSC Parish Conference | Articles of Interest |
Heart Spirituality: MSC Parish ConferenceHeart Spirituality
- Called to be People of Heart All in all we had a very fine Conference here at Henley Beach. From the beginning moments when we honoured the Kuarna people, first owners of this part of South Australia, to the final celebration of Eucharist, our time together was a great experience of community in a truly MSC atmosphere. We had a varied program. We prayed together each day and celebrated Eucharist; we listened to the wisdom of our speakers; we heard reports of MSC parish life from a range of parishioners; we went 'walk-about' to really look at life around us and pray about it; and we shared our ideas with others in round-table discussions. And in response to Fr. Terry Bowman's 'exhortation' in his sparkling rendition of "Getting-to-Know-You" during the Opening Ceremony, we did have lots of chatting, laughter and true "getting-to-know you" over the four days together. As part of the Opening Ceremony Fr. Bob Irwin led us in a prayer of Convocation, and then the Conference Candle and Banner were ritually carried into our assembly. [Back to Menu] Heart Spirituality and the Lay Vocation In his first session Frank gently led us to break open this core theme of the Conference: what does it mean to speak about the familiar words "heart" and "spirituality" in this context? And what do we do to recognise ourselves as being "people of Heart"? He told us that to be "people of heart" we need to be mystics and poets, and be open to the mystery at the heart of all existence. Recognising ourselves as mystics and poets is not something we are familiar with, though it is the summons of the Church to us today if we are to have any Church in the future. He reminded us that when we use such a common phrase as, "I felt this in my heart" we know that we are trying to describe something that is beyond mere words, something beyond the literal understanding of "heart" as an organ of the body. The word "heart" in this instance has a mystical sense; it is a primordial word and seeks to express a deep human experience that is at the heart of existence itself. And we all have these experiences. A smile, our tears, falling in love, the love of friendship, compassionate care for those who are suffering, all these loves are at the core of our lives, and are the signs of a lived "heart spirituality". They touch into the mystical within us. The Aboriginal peoples in particular are deeply attuned to primordial words and the primordial experiences they point to; and we can learn much from them. We live out Heart Spirituality in love, a love that comes from
deep within us yet is often so gentle we fail to notice it.
But we need to learn to notice it since it is the way to the
Sacred Heart. And he asked the really hard questions: what is it that prevents us from engaging with the issues of injustice? Why is silence growing even as we learn of more and more issues that concern us? Why do we fail to raise our voices on behalf of things that trouble us and then regret what we didn't to? Why do we resent, or ridicule, or dismiss the few who do raise their voices? Is it fear? Is it that we don't want to be disturbed from our comfortable life style? Is it because we don't know how to talk to each other anymore? Is it because we are overwhelmed by the amount of suffering in the world? Have we convinced ourselves that what is happening elsewhere doesn't affect us because it is too far away? There are many things we can do. We don't help others by being silent. We have to listen to those who suffer because listening is most often the way suffering people can help themselves. We can learn that we don't have to agree with each other in order to explore together; we can be joined at the heart. We do not have to let go of everything we believe and know but we do have to be willing to let them go; we can think about what we might do to receive among us those who are suffering and think of ways to help them tell their stories and tell us of their sorrow. It is true to say we can't hate someone whose story we know. We can start more and more to concentrate NOT on results, but on value, the rightness, the truth of the task of taking some action towards redressing injustices in our country. Everything is possible. We must never underestimate the power of a small group to change the world. In fact it is the only thing that ever has. Great change starts from small conversations held among people who care. It is not a question of "What's wrong" and "how can we fix it"; the question is , "What's possible?" and "Who cares?" [Back to Menu] Post Modern World - Winners and Losers How we mission people of heart as MSC today? The MSC Provincial, Fr. Bob Irwin spoke on How we mission people
of heart as MSC today? Then there is a positive response where the signs of the times we live in are characterised by the struggle for justice and the defence of human rights; for the honoured trust in the ministry of the laity and an increased presence of women in the Church's ministry and leadership; all of which are grounded in Christ's message that we treat others with the same respect as we treat ourselves. Indeed the present is confusing and the future is uncertain, and there is a tendency to condemn the world and all who don't believe. But Bob called us to ask, "Where is the Holy Spirit in all this"? He reminded us that THIS IS OUR TIME, our only time. We have to strengthen our faith in God's love for each one of us, and always believe that God will never abandon us. We need to constantly draw on the spirit of optimism of Jules Chevalier. Let's be excited because we, the Church, have a message that means something in the everyday life of people. So our MSC Mission is to find God in our times: to make holy
our time and firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is with us;
to accept with courage the challenges of the world in which
we live now; to accept the "holes in the boat" of
the Church ….the Church has always had need of the Spirit
to renew and make up for our human frailty. To train ourselves
to be a missionary we need to be open to the experience of God
in our lives and keep reflecting on the truth that Jesus first
loved us. Questions for Parishes today from the perspective of an MSC Provincial. In addressing the Questions for Parishes today from the perspective of an MSC Provincial, Bob gave us some insight into the very critical questions facing the Order and, by extension, MSC parishes today. He spoke of the enormous issues facing the leadership of the Order because of dwindling numbers of members and the very difficult decisions that must be made by the Order to try to meet a wide range of pastoral needs, and requests from Archbishops around Australia to send priests into parishes. He paid heartfelt tribute to the men of the Order who continue to work in parishes long after their time for retirement and well-earned rest. Once again he emphasised the importance of the lay vocation of parishioners and urged us to take on the range of ministries in the Church, which is ours by reason of our baptism. He spoke of the radical decisions the Order faces to provide formation of the laity for the ministry of the Church especially within an environment of a developing Heart Spirituality. The establishment of the Chevalier Institute is one such initiative. His words to us were challenging but full of hope for the future because we are always enfolded in the Love of God for us. Page Underconstruction --------- end page -------- |
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CHURCH HISTORY |
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HEART SPIRITUALITY |
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HOMILIES |
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FAITH FORMATION |
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MINISTRIES OF LITURGY |
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YOUTH |
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SOCIAL GROUPS |
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WEEKLY BULLETIN |
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VOCATIONS |
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