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St
John the Apostle ~ Kippax
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CANBERRA,
AUSTRALIA |
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Parish Priest's Desk Archive July to Dec 05 18DecemberLast Monday we posted our parish petition concerning world debt to the British High Commission, the High Commission of Canada, the Delegation of the European Commission, and the Embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States of America. There were over 200 signatures on each petition. Hopefully our small action will have some influence on the decisions made at the G8 summit in Scotland this week. ********** Thanks to those who contributed to the extra collection last weekend, we have sent a cheque for $1,018.00 to the parish of Cootamundra as a gesture of support to assist them in this period of drought. An extra $500.00 was sent by our Xtreme group to assist youth in the parish. ************ Father Jim left for a six-week holiday in Papua New Guinea on Friday. A priest-friend whom Jim introduced to mission life is celebrating 50 years of priesthood and missionary work there. Father Jim will be revisiting the missions where he ministered for 29 years (1953-1982). He was called back to Australia to be chaplain to the Vietnamese refugees, then was elected as mission representative on the Australian Provincial Council for 6 years (1987-1992), before finishing his missionary work in Fiji and Western Samoa, and coming back to Australia to minister in the parish of Henley Beach and now here in Kippax. We pray that this will be a wonderful time for him and for the people with whom deep bonds of love were forged over many years. Last Sunday we celebrated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday. I shared with you the following excerpt from the homily given in Alice Springs in 1986 by Pope John-Paul II. Addressing the indigenous people of Australia, he said: ‘For thousands of years you have lived in this land and fashioned a culture that endures to this day. And during all this time, the Spirit of God has been with you. Your ‘Dreaming’, which influences your lives so strongly that, no matter what happens, you remain for ever people of your culture, is your own way of touching the mystery of God’s Spirit in you and in creation. You must keep your striving for God and hold on to it in your lives. For thousands of years this culture of yours was free to grow without interference by people from other places. You lived your lives in spiritual closeness to the land, with its animals, birds, fishes, water-holes, rivers, hills and mountains. Through your closeness to the land you touched the sacredness of man’s relationship with God, for the land was the proof of a power in life greater than yourselves. You did not spoil the land, use it up, exhaust it, and then walk away from it. You realised that your land was related to the source of life. The silence of the bush taught you a quietness of soul that put you in touch with another world, the world of God’s Spirit. Your careful attention to the details of kinship spoke of your reverence for birth, life and human generation. You knew that children needed to be loved, to be full of joy. They need a time to grow in laughter and to play, secure in the knowledge that they belong to their people.’ This Sunday is Respect Life Sunday. On the table in the foyer are multiple copies of two fine pamphlets produced for the occasion by the Respect Life Office in Melbourne: ‘Culture of Care’ and ‘Changing Hearts and Finding New Alternatives’. Please take one. This coming Friday, July 22, is the feast of Saint Mary Magdalen. It is also incidentally Father Jim’s ordination day (54 years). We hope he is enjoying many reunions in Papua New Guinea. I thought you might enjoy an extract from a homily given by Pope Gregory the Great (died 604AD) on her feast day 1600 years ago. It helps remind us of the rich traditions that we inherit. Our Catholic tradition is our inheritance from the saintly lives of those who have gone before us in the faith. They are not there so that we will simply remember them, nor that we try to repeat them. Our mission is to listen now to the Spirit of Jesus and dare to allow our hearts to be purified by grace so that we, too, can live saintly lives that will be part of the Catholic Tradition that we hand on to our children. May the words of Pope Gregory find an echo in our hearts: ‘Because of the ardent love of her heart, Mary continued seeking him when she could not find him, even after the other disciples had gone away. In tears she kept searching, and, afire with love, she yearned for him. Thus it happened that she alone saw him. She had already sought and found nothing, but she continued seeking and so found the object of her love. While she was seeking, her longing grew stronger and stronger, until it was allayed in the embrace of Him whom she was seeking . . . At first she did not recognise him, but then Jesus said to her: ‘Mary’ . . . as if to say: ‘Now recognise the one who recognises you’... Outwardly it was He who was the object of her search, but inwardly it was He who was teaching her to search for Him.’ * * * * * * * * * * The Catholics Returning Home team gave a wonderful presentation on Wednesday night for people who are thinking of putting on the program in their own parishes. The team shared how they went about organising the program and the advertising, and their assessment of what proved helpful and what could perhaps be improved. The 30 or so who attended were very appreciative of the evening. This week I am offering you some thoughts from the Social Justice Group put together by Sigrid Kropp on the subject of Industrial Relations. We are interested in your comments. In the lead up to the new parliamentary term and the likelihood of a major change to the Industrial Relations laws, we are being bombarded by claims and counter claims as to what will happen. What is patently clear is that they are major changes and it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that the new laws do not disadvantage those least able to look after their own interests. At a recent Community Industrial Relations Forum organised by Unions ACT, several speakers including Bishop Pat Power and the former Deputy Chair of the Industrial Relations Commission, Paul Munro, spoke. Both men have serious misgivings about the proposed changes. Paul Munro goes as far as stating that the proposed changes are in contravention of our constitution, namely section 51 (35). The Constitution is like a three-legged stool, Government, Unions and Business. Modern Australia is built on that premise. Take away one leg what happens? The Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations also has concerns. The first one is that “the proposed method of setting the minimum wage will be on the basis of a single worker” [Issues, ACCER, available in foyer]. This is contrary to the Church’s belief that the minimum wage should be a Family Wage. A Family wage allows families to make choices and to live with dignity. ACCER also believes that whoever is responsible for setting the minimum wage must be an independent authority. The fair treatment of all workers should be of paramount importance when considering the termination of employment. Fair pay rates and conditions of employment are important for all workers not just for those who are able to engage in collective bargaining. Australia has fought long and hard for a fair Industrial System. We do not yet know the full extent of the changes. What should never change is the right of the individual to a decent minimum wage, fair and just working conditions and protection against unfair dismissal. We need to let the Government know that the protection of these values is not negotiable. Without making judgements about specific employers and employees the Social Justice Group does want to draw your attention to the above concerns. We urge you to keep in mind those who may be disadvantaged and do what you consider to be just. If that includes signing the “Your rights at work worth fighting for” petition, you will find it in the foyer. Signed petitions will be delivered to Unions ACT next week. Some copies of the ACCER paper and Paul Munro’s paper are also in the foyer. The Jesuits, recognising the importance of the media, have launched ‘Catholic Church Television Australia’ on Aurora Community television at Channel 183. This is part of the Foxtel Digital Service. Their daily program can be found on www.cathnews.com/catholicchurchtv Faced with a world becoming more and more violent, you might like to read an excellent article by John Dear SJ on ‘How to stop Violence’. Copies are available in the foyer. One of his many books: ‘Mary of Nazareth; prophet of peace’ can be found in our parish library. Today (July 31) we remember Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the Founder of the Jesuits (Society of Jesus, SJ) in 1540. They continue their extraordinary contribution to the Church in Australia, especially by their contribution to the intellectual life of the Church and their work in areas of Justice. They have a house here in Yarralumla. On Monday (August 1) we remember Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, the Founder of the Redemptorist s(Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, CssR) in 1732, They have been such a blessing to this country and to our own Archdiocese through Galong. On Friday (August 5) we remember Saint Dominic, the Founder of the Dominicans (Order of Preachers, OP) in 1216, who have served Watson parish and the University for many years. The Dominican Sisters have a house here in Cook. I keep a painting of Saint Dominic on my desk in which Fra Angelico has him gazing at the Word of God in perfect contemplation, Let us remember the members of these Religious Orders in our prayers, praying that their special vocation will continue into the future in our land. God’s call to the Consecrated Life is a wonderful feature of our Catholic Church. Families who nurture an openness to this call can be assured that those who respond will experience a truly wonderful and graced life. The MSC Parish Conference will be hosted by this parish from 1st to 4th May 2006. We will keep you informed as things develop. Father Jim is due back this coming Friday. We look forward to his return and to hearing his stories about visiting lifelong friends and places of his mission activity. Thanks to Howard Stagg, the library records have been rescued from the ‘troglodyte’ computer and transferred to a second-hand computer of more recent vintage. This should make access easier for those of you wishing to use the parish library. Please make yourself acquainted with the books there. Our budget is very modest, but Lyn Stagg and Mary French do wonderful work keeping it as up-to-date as we can afford, and accessible for perusing or borrowing. Also, would you please check your shelves for overdue books. We can’t afford to lose them. We have also installed in the library a proper screen for projecting. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Allan Biggs crawling under the house, cables have been laid in the Office and Presbytery with a view to getting Broadband installed. Also in the last month both the presbytery cars have been traded in for new cars. Advice was sought from many people, and advice varied. It was a hard decision, but it seemed best at this stage to trade them in. The present plan is to keep both these new cars till they die in 20 or 30 years time! Let’s hope that can happen. If you are taking communion to the sick as a Special Minister, would you please contact Maureen or Marian after you have visited the sick, so that we have a better idea of who is being cared for in this way. Thank you. In the Compact of 3rd July I mentioned that there were over 200 signatures sent from this parish to each of the Embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States prior to the meeting of the G8 on reduction of poverty. We have as yet received no acknowledgement from any of these. However, we received an acknowledgement from the High Commission for Canada. We also received a lengthy reply from the Delegation of the European Commission outlining its commitment and policies, and from the British High Commission, we received an acknowledgement, followed by a statement from the International Poverty Reduction Team from the Treasury Department of the British Government (along with a number of copies of their July newsletter). Copies of these are available for perusal from the office. Please continue to pray that people will be open to grace, should God be calling them to journey with the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults), which begins with the Enquiry Night this coming Wednesday 17th at 7:30pm in the parish library. I will be away next weekend, as I have been asked to be at Randwick to review John Rate’s 6 years of ministry there. I am looking forward to hearing many good things about his service and his devotion to the People of God there. Finally, may I take this opportunity to offer some hints to the Eucharistic Ministers of the chalice that might help you in your sacred ministry. As you wipe the lip of the chalice each time do try not to let the cloth dip into the Precious Blood. If it does do not worry, but it is good to try not to. When communion is over and you go to the sacristy, please consume what remains in the chalice (or offer it to another minister to consume if that is what you prefer). Then pour a little water into the chalice and consume that, before leaving the chalice to be properly washed in hot water after Mass. Thank you Thanks to your generosity we were able to send off $1,621.65 for the Catholic Missions. We will be welcoming Father Adrian Meaney MSC here for the weekend of September 24-25. He will speak on MSC Missions, which you might like to support as well. We received a letter from Father Kevin Barry-Cotter, the new parish priest of Cootamundra, thanking us for our contribution to our ‘twin-parish’ in the drought. The letter is on display on the notice board in the foyer. An evening on inter-parish cooperation will be held as we go to press on Thursday Evening 18th at St Monica’s Evatt in preparation for a follow-up Regional Assembly which will take place there on September 17th. Sabina Van Rooy will be at the meeting as our representative. The Regional Assembly is open to anyone. If you would like to go please let Maureen or Marian know. The Archdiocesan Assembly (continuing on from last year’s Synod) is taking place at Merici College, Braddon from the evening of Friday September 2nd through Saturday September 3rd. It is being organised by the re-constituted Diocesan Pastoral Council. Our parish has been asked to speak on the Catholics Returning Home Program. Anne Ots will be doing this for us. We will let you know of any developments from the Assembly. On Wednesday evening (17th August) we had the enquiry night for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Two enquirers came and we had a wonderful evening led by Pat Barr and Pauline Greig. Mariana Rollgejser, John Machin and Steven Argy told the story of their journey through the RCIA, and Marian England of growing up Catholic. Please continue to pray for us. I had a busy but enjoyable weekend in Randwick parish. As you would expect the parishioners are delighted to have John Rate as their parish priest. As you read this Antioch is having its renewal weekend. Please pray for them. Their contribution to this parish is enormous, as they offer their youthful energy and faith and attract so many other young people to our community. I apologise for the poor heating in the parish centre. I was slow to get it looked at as it sometimes seemed to be working okay. Then when we decided to investigate it took an amazingly long time to get action. It appears that the two heaters in the main room have to be replaced, and the one in the smaller room has a broken part. As things look now we will have everything ready just as winter ends! I guess we can look forward to a warmer winter in 2006! As mentioned last week Sabina Van Rooy represented us at a meeting held to prepare for the Regional Assembly to be held on Saturday 17th September. Her report follows: ‘Following an initiative from the Synod, a group of Parish representatives from Belconnen / Gunghalin met on 18 August to consider opportunities for Interparish Cooperation. The meeting was well attended and identified two important issues. Firstly, with the expectation of reduced numbers of priests in the Region, parishes need to plan how the church will be structured. There are many models, but input from parishes and parishioners is needed to ensure that the church continues to flourish in the region. Secondly, the meeting identified the need for parishes to share their resources and skills more effectively. This includes sharing important programs such as RCIA, youth ministry, visitation, secretarial services and many more. The Regional Assembly on Saturday 17 September to be held at St Monica's Evatt from 9am to 12 noon and will focus on these two key questions. A steering committee has been established and will develop a program for the meeting. Parishes are encouraged to participate in the Regional Assembly and to foster consideration of these important matters within their own parish communities. If you are interested in attending the meeting please leave you name at the parish office. An outline of the regional assembly will be available next weekend in the church foyer.’ We have received advice from the Archdiocese of our financial liability for 2005/2006 with regards to the Archdiocesan levy (to support a range of Archdiocesan expenses), the Public Liability Insurance Premium, and the Canberra Catholic Schools Building Fund. The method of calculating these has changed this year. In the past these were calculated on population. From now on they will be calculated on a percentage of our income. We acknowledge this as fair, but it does make a hole in our finances. The Archdiocesan levy now will be 5% of our income, an increase from $7,200.00 to $8,849.71. The Public Liability Insurance will now be 7% of our income, an increase from $7,069.00 to $10,018.91. The Canberra Catholic Schools Building Fund [CCSBF] will now be 18% of our income, an increase from $19,532.00 to $26,160.86. This means that these three items alone account for 30% of our income, and that for 2005/2006 our liability will increase by $11,228.48. Our finances also have to cover Loan repayment, Wages, Workers’ Compensation, Property Insurance, the cost of maintaining liturgical and pastoral initiatives in the parish, and the constant expense of maintenance of our buildings, as well as ongoing Administration costs. All this has to be covered, while we maintain our determination to continue tithing, to ensure that at least 10% of our income goes to needs other than those of our own parish. While on the subject of costs, you will remember that last year we investigated getting a better system of projection for the Church. Throwing the words of hymns up against the side wall is clearly unsatisfactory. To have proper projection and a screen at the centre that is visible to all will cost in excess of $10,000.00. We can’t pay for this from our budget. I mention it here in case someone happens to win the lottery (?) and would like to donate it for this purpose. Or maybe two people might want to donate $5,000.00 each?? Finally, off the subject of finances, Chris McPhee is back in Chicago for the second half of his course. His email is still mcpheec@ozemail.com.au Last Friday night and Saturday a number of us took part in the Diocesan Assembly at Merici College. Besides the many parishioners who were present representing various groups and ministries within the Archdiocese, some members of the Parish Pastoral Council represented the parish: Andrew Kiley and Caleb Garvie on Friday evening; and Veronica Brennan, Di Bruce and Maryanne Fergusson on Saturday. On Friday Archbishop Carroll gave an excellent presentation of his experiences in Rome during the Vatican Council and how the Archdiocese has attempted to realise the dream over the past 40 years. This was followed by a report from the young people who had attended the World Youth Day in Cologne. On Saturday we were introduced to the members of the Diocesan Pastoral Council. This was followed by three first-class presentations. Anne Ots gave an excellent report on the Catholics Returning Home program here at Kippax. She did us proud. Then Lou Mackay inspired us with their experience of the Parish Based Sacramental Programs as carried out in Comma. Finally, June Sullivan told us of the Nain Group for Care of the Grieving in Cootamundra. After Morning tea we had four presentations from those who are experiencing different models of parish. The first detailed the experiences of the newly formed parish of South Tuggeranong (Corpus Christi), with the energy and challenges of combining two large city parishes (Calwell and Gowrie). Troy Bobbin then shared his experiences of being a priest sharing his ministry in three separate parishes in the country (West Wyalong, Ungarie and Weethalle) where amalgamation is not the model, since each parish has its own character and there are no natural reasons to combine. A third model was presented by Melissa Walsh of Adelong who described how they are finding life in a parish (Adelong) which has no resident priest. Finally the team at Gungahlin spoke of their partnership in ministry and the life and challenges of that vast region. After lunch people spent an hour in groups on various topics of choice. This was followed by open forum and a closing address from the Archbishop. It was quite an excellent assembly, witnessing to the wonderful life within the Catholic community, and the trust and courage of so many people who are giving such energy to live and share the Gospel in a situation of diminishing numbers of priests and diminishing Mass attendance. There are a number of important elements in the Mass. There is the gathering; the proclaiming of and listening to God’s word; the application of this word to our daily lives; the offering of ourselves; the welcoming of God’s offering in communion; the sending forth on mission. It seems to me that while we can always improve, we do a fair job of all of these EXCEPT THE GATHERING (which includes the welcoming). Partly this has its roots in the unfortunate training that many of us received as children, whereby we were called to be silent in Church and not to disturb other people’s PRIVATE prayer. The Vatican Council tried hard to change our perspective on this by insisting that while personal prayer is, of course, essential at Mass, we are GATHERING as a public assembly of the People of God of the local Church to greet each other in love, to support each other with care that connects with our real lives: care that welcomes the stranger, and supports the lonely. This flows from our communion with Jesus that we are re-living in the Mass, but it is not meant to be a private affair, and the GATHERING/WELCOMING is vital. We need to do this better. It is good that we greet each other. It is good that at the beginning of Mass we turn and introduce ourselves. But if that is all we do, week after week, if we never get to know each other better, how welcoming are we? To jump-start a better gathering, I will be spending the first 2-3 minutes of each Mass today explaining the content of this column and encouraging us to really approach each other. If you like, you can move around the Church, meet people whose eye you have caught, sometimes someone whom you have not met before, tell them something about yourself, if they are strangers to you ask them whether they are visitors or perhaps people who normally go to another Mass. If they are visitors, you might ask why they are in Canberra. You may find a common interest. Share something, show real warmth, maybe spend more time with them after Mass to continue the conversation and tell them of some of the parish activities, e.g., Mums and Bubs, the fortnightly coffee club after the 10:00am Mass. I would always appreciate suggestions as to how we can welcome people. For myself, I am going to make a further effort to get to know your names and interests – so expect me to have the little black book out. Next Sunday (September 25th) is Social Justice Sunday. Copies of the Statement ‘Jesus, Light of the World – Living the Gospel Today’ are available in the foyer (cost $1.00). Father Adrian Meaney MSC will be here, preaching at all Masses as to ways in which we can help the MSC Mission outreach. If you would like to be a lay missionary in any of our missions, you could talk with him about that as well. There will be a bucket collection after each Mass for the MSC missions. In another part of Compact, Terry Martin, Chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council, has a note concerning the up-coming replacement of half the Parish Pastoral Council. This would normally have happened at the beginning of 2005, but as I was new as parish priest I asked that it be deferred. The time has now come to ask you, the parishioners, to consider whether you would like to contribute in this way to the life and direction of the parish. As you know we have a dedicated and hard-working PPC, currently consisting of 16 members. They meet on the Second Thursday of the month from 7:30 to 9:30pm in the parish library, and there are on-going committees (Catholics Returning Home and Coffee Club are two examples). As the name indicates, the primary focus of the Parish Pastoral Council is the pastoral life of the parish. Six of the members are on the Council because of the role they have in parish life: Parish Coordinator and Finance (Marian England), Principal of St Johns Primary (Helen Currie), Liturgy Committee (Di Bruce), Confraternity of Christian Doctrine – School of Religion (Sabina Van Rooy), Antioch (Caleb Garvie), and Xtreme Leaders (Sarah Murdoch). The other 10 have been nominated by parishioners and have generously volunteered to be part of the Council for a two year term. To keep continuity, 5 are replaced (they can be renewed if they are re-nominated) each year. Each contributes to the Council according to his/her talents and desires. If you would like to be part of the Council, someone needs to nominate you. If only 5 are nominated (and accept the nomination) they are automatically welcomed into the Council. If more than 5 are nominated we will have an election. As Terry states, nominations close on 12th October. If more than 5 are nominated we will have an election in early November. Reports from the Regional Assembly held at Evatt last Saturday were very positive. We will let you know more after the next meeting of the PPC. Firstly I would like to draw your attention to the notice board in the foyer, where you will see information concerning the Family Support Services offered by Centacare, including a letter from our own Peter Needham. They are urgently looking for volunteers to help in their work in supporting families. Initial and ongoing training will be offered. They are especially interested in people from the many various ethnic groups that make up our rich culture. If you feel you might be able to help, there is a phone number provided on the information sheet and pamphlets available at the welcoming desk in the foyer. Please consider this as you have a lot to offer. Thank you for welcoming Adrian Meaney MSC last weekend and for the generosity of your support for our Missions. More money will trickle in as the Clean Water tins fill up, but over the week-end we contributed $3,271.15. Thank you. In this column last week I spoke about the Parish Pastoral Council. If you would like to offer yourself to be part of this group, there are papers available at the welcoming desk. With the government about to introduce its reform to Workplace Relations, we are on the verge of a radical social change. There are those who would like to reduce the Church to commenting on private morality, but Christianity, while intimately concerned with personal conversion, is essentially about our concern for each other. The Church has always been at the forefront of social concern and has constantly given expression to the principles that should direct public policy. As mentioned last week the Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations has produced a 61-page Briefing Paper (my 3-page summary is available on the table in the foyer). We need to be informed and we need to find a way to express our concerns. The briefing paper states: ‘The most contentious part of the Government’s proposals in regard to wage-fixing is in the proposal to introduce the single adult minimum wage’ (n.112). The Church has always proposed a ‘family wage’, to give parents the option of one of them staying at home to care for the family. This is already becoming increasingly impossible. If we are going to move to a ‘single adult minimum wage’, we must be ‘satisfied that there are adequate mechanisms in place, by way of taxation and welfare systems, that would guarantee the proper financial needs of the wage earner’s dependants’(n.129). The ACCER reminds us also that ‘bargaining is not a practical possibility for employees who have no bargaining power’(n.162). Unions are essential to protect vulnerable workers. The Church is also concerned about the proposed changes to the unfair dismissal laws. The government’s proposal ‘would exclude the great majority of the Australian workforce from making an unfair dismissal application’(n.141). The level of insecurity is being increased. There is also a danger of losing worker’s rights that have been achieved, not without a struggle, over many years: awards such as ‘meal breaks, rest periods, minimum breaks between shifts, restrictions on excessive overtime and the like’(n.172). My summary gives more detail, and the Briefing Paper can be found at www.ccer.catholic.org,au/contact/SeptemberIRBriefingPaper-ACCER.htm We are promised further Briefing Papers as details become available. Watch this space. Throughout the whole of the Catholic world, this coming weekend is celebrated as World Mission Day. Envelopes will be distributed on the seats and buckets at the door. We have already had a number of ‘Mission Appeals’ this year: the Propagation of the Faith appeal in July, the MSC Mission appeal [Father Adrian Meaney] last month, and the Mexican orphanage appeal last weekend. I thought, therefore, that some explanation would be necessary and sought help from Deacon Joe Blackwell, the Diocesan Director here in this Archdiocese. He sent me the following note: “Every diocese throughout the world is encouraged to undertake the World Mission Sunday Appeal in their parishes for the support of the Church’s global mission activity. This appeal supplements the funds raised by the July Propagation of the Faith Appeal, which is held only within dioceses of developed countries such as Australia. Funds that are raised from this appeal enable Catholic Mission to support Dioceses within the developing world and remote areas of Australia to exist and operate. In addition, Catholic Mission funds projects that build communities of faith, their activities and mission, such that these are able to serve their wider communities in ways enhancing of life and opportunity. All funds raised from both appeals are held in Australia until they are distributed directly to the approved recipients. However, only funds for which no tax deductible receipts have been issued can be used for expenditure within Australia by the Home Mission Fund.” If anyone can afford to contribute, we are assured that our contribution will go to a worthy cause and meet real needs. There is, of course, no pressure and no expectations. We have had to buy two new reverse-cycle air conditioners for the parish centre. To those who froze during the winter I apologize that it has taken so long. At least you can look forward to a cool summer dowstairs! The Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations issued the following Media Release on October 10: CONTINUING CONCERNS ABOUT WORKPLACE CHANGES. The Federal Government’s detailed outline of its proposed new system of workplace relations did not appear to address fundamental concerns about fairness and balance, the Catholic Church’s employment relations body said today. In its September Briefing on the Government’s proposals to reform workplace relations in Australia, the Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (ACCER) identified five major areas of concern – the minimum wage, unfair dismissals, minimum conditions, workplace bargaining, and the role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. ACCER Executive Officer John Ryan said that the setting of the minimum wage, if based on the single adult worker as already announced by the Government, would impact on low paid families. “A job without a fair wage will not help the unemployed successfully move off welfare,” he said. “The interaction of the day to day living costs of families with the taxation and welfare systems must be part of any understanding of the modern family wage. Government has a role to play in ensuring an appropriate balance between the worker’s pay packet and the public purse.” “The security of families and their ability to provide for their future is further reduced if employment can be terminated without any fair process and reason,” Mr. Ryan said. “Not just families but young single workers also need to be able to plan with some certainty for their future needs and commitments.” Mr. Ryan expressed concern that new employees in workplaces, especially industrially vulnerable and young workers without bargaining power, could be particularly exposed to the offering of reduced employment arrangements. “This could impact on their ability to meet mortgage payments and to afford educational opportunities in the future,” he said. The issue of the future role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission is also seen by ACCER as still being of concern. “The changes appear to leave us without any future means of maintaining a fair safety net of award conditions for those who cannot bargain effectively” he said. Mr. Ryan said that ACCER will be examining the Government’s proposals in further detail and a final assessment will be made after the legislation has been tabled in Parliament. “There needs to be a balance for employers and employees if we are to achieve prosperity and fairness in our workplaces,” Mr. Ryan said. For more information contact John Ryan on 03 9614 8644 or 0417 371 054. In three weeks time (November 20) we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. This is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and its climax, celebrating the reign of God’s love, and committing ourselves as a Church to continue his mission to bring about the kingdom of God ‘on earth as in heaven’ – here in our parish and beyond. He welcomed the outsiders (He has welcomed us!) and we commit ourselves, in the words of our parish Mission Statement, ‘to fostering communities which will be characterised by being welcoming, inclusive and missionary’. Christ is our ‘king’, our ‘leader’, showing us the way to God and inspiring us with love to belong more and more to ‘the communion of saints’. Marian and Maureen will take up the rest of this column with important information about the community Gala day with which we will mark this feast. It is the month of November, the month in which we think especially of those dear to us who have died. The Catholic Catechism writes: ‘All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but who are still imperfectly purified, are assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.’(n.1030). We also read there: ‘The Church commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead’(n.1032). The word ‘purgatory’ refers to this process of purifying – a purifying effected by God’s love. Some people have had the courage to face the trials of life (including often the trials of ageing and of their final sickness) so that when they breathe their final breath, only love remains. Of such ‘saints’ we say that they have gone straight to heaven. Of course it is not up to us to judge, but it seems obvious that many people die only half-pure. Their hearts are open to grace, but they are still impatient, unforgiving, and in many different ways not yet ready for heaven, for ‘seeing God’, for a full embrace of the divine, which, as Jesus said, is possible only for the ‘pure in heart’. When we speak of ‘purgatory’ we are not speaking of a place, nor are we to picture physical fire. We know that allowing our heart to be purified can be a painful thing, a painful letting go, a painful admission of wrong, a painful facing up to what is not pure in our loving. Purgatory is rightly imagined as painful, but it is the pain brought about by God’s love bringing us to the perfection of love. Though we cannot but think of purgatory in terms of time, time has nothing to do with it. Though we live in time, our prayer goes to God, beyond time and space. The prayers we pray today were present as the ones we love were dying. They are not alone. God is with them and we are holding them in our heart in love. One day we will see just how close we are. We don’t have to understand the process and the mystery. Our faith assures us that physical death, though obviously a physical separation, is only that. The saints in heaven remain in communion with us, as do those who are being purified by love so that they can enjoy an eternity of loving God and one another ‘with all our heart, mind, soul and strength’. This is what we mean when we say in the creed that ‘we believe in the communion of saints.’ On Sunday 25th September we asked for nominations to the Parish Pastoral Council (see Compact for Twenty-Sixth Sunday). We needed 5 to replenish the numbers in the Council. In fact 6 were nominated, so the PPC thought it sensible to accept all 6, There is no need, therefore, for an election process. Three of these six are already members of the PPC and have volunteered to continue: Veronica Brennan, Andrew Kiley and Jim Jones. We thank them for their continued generosity in serving the parish in this important role. Three are new: Joe Barr, David Lowe and Daryl Smeaton. We thank those who nominated them and we thank them for accepting this two-year appointment. You will remember that in the summer months the direct morning sun has meant that it has been impossible to sit in much of the front middle section of the Church. We hope that the two blinds, while not blocking the sun completely, will alleviate the situation sufficiently. You might be interested in the web address of Annemarie Reiner of Henley Beach Parish. She offers reflections each week on the Sunday Readings [http://apangello.blogspot.com]. There follows a section of last Sunday’s reflection to give you a taste: ‘Our Gospel highlights for us the difference between those who are wise and those who are not and what the ramifications of this will be for us. Let’s explore the bridesmaids and see how they might speak to our lives today.Like the ten bridesmaids there is no doubt that religious communities worldwide want to come and meet God – they want to be part of the kingdom of heaven. But also like the ten bridesmaids some of us will be “foolish” and we will not be known by our God because we took no responsibility for our own preparation on the journey.What a great tragedy it will be if we don’t recognize ourselves in this parable and begin to turn our lives around and make preparations so that we may be eternally with our God. We are personally responsible for ourselves and it matters greatly how we prepare ourselves. To carry the “lamp” is not enough – we are responsible to keep that lamp lit – we are responsible to provide the oil that will keep it burning.’ The Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (ACCER) has published its Submission to the Inquiry into the Workplace Relations Amendment Bill. I have prepared two pages of excerpts, which are available in the foyer. If you have access to the internet, the full document can be found on http://www.accer.asn.au/news/index.html The Archbishop is chairing the meeting of the Bishops Conference this coming week. He has a copy of our letter with 390 signatures. I was unable last weekend to do proper justice to the ideas that came from the meeting at Evatt. We will look into their proposals in the New Year. The Parish Pastoral Council was of the opinion that priority should be given to community (something the Evatt meeting was also keen on) and to the availability of the Eucharist, and hence to the ordination of priests. This parish has a long record of encouraging other ministries, and we will continue, with your help, to do so, and to contribute to ongoing cooperation in the Belconnen area. The new information desk in the foyer is a gift from Bob James of O’Rourke’s funerals. It is in the shape of a half-circle. The balancing half was also a gift. It is stored with the long tables and the spare chairs, and is more manageable for a lot of our needs. I have written a letter to Bob on behalf of the parish thanking him for his generosity. Thanks to the wonderful work of Allan Biggs some months ago in laying all the cables, and thanks to Geoff Smith, the IT expert at St Francis Xavier, the presbytery is now on Broadband. We picked up a suggestion from one of you and are including on the front page of Compact a column called ‘The Week in Review’. It is an extra effort to inform you of what is happening in the parish. We welcome any other suggestions. My new book ‘Yielding to Love: learning to follow our yearning for deeper communion with God’ (206 pages) has just arrived from the publisher. I will be selling and signing it next weekend after all Masses (Cost $25.00). Today we begin the Church’s year with the season of Advent during which we prepare for Christmas, the great Feast of the Incarnation. We might meditate on Simeon (Luke 2:25-35), the old man who symbolised the long waiting for God’s coming. You might find help in the words of Saint John of the Cross: ‘In these and other prayers a long time passed; When the aged Simeon burned with longing, And so the Holy Spirit answered the good old man, until he saw Life descending from the heights, Last week I mentioned the publication of my book on prayer called ‘Yielding to Love’($25.00). On Saturday my book on the Psalms arrived ($40.00). I will be selling and signing both after each Mass this weekend. Since today we begin cycle B of the Church’s Calendar, which means that the Gospels throughout the year will be from Mark, I thought it would be good to offer also my commentary on Mark ($25.00). Elizabeth of the Trinity (Elizabeth Catez of Dijon) entered Carmel in 1901 and died in 1906, a slightly younger contemporary of Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (Therese Martin of Lisieux). The key to her inner spiritual life was her devotion to the Blessed Trinity dwelling in the depths of her being. Linked with this was her special devotion to Mary during the period when Mary was carrying Jesus in her womb. This focus drew her into her own soul where she believed that she, too, was carrying Jesus in her heart to bring him forth into her world, as Mary did at Christmas. We might find a similar focus helpful during this time of Advent, for each of us is called, through our baptism, to grow to be able to say with Saint Paul: ‘I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.’ We are all called to carry Christ in our hearts and to bring him forth into our world. Carryl Houselander, an English mystic (1901-1954), also had a special devotion to Mary, which is expressed beautifully in her book ‘The Reed of God’. The Love-Spirit of God breathed through Mary, God’s reed, and Jesus was the music we heard. You might enjoy the following pastoral from her book: I am your reed, sweet shepherd, glad to be. Make children's songs, or any songs to fill Advent is a season of longing. Here are some questions that might help reflection: 1. What are my deepest longings? for myself? for those I love? 2. In the baptismal liturgy the Christian community rejoices with the parents who see the hope of eternal life dawning for their child. Some had these hopes for us when we were taken to be embraced by the Church. Let us listen again to God saying to us the words he said to Jesus: ‘You are my son/daughter. You are the one I love. My delight is in you.’ Jesus was obviously able to delight in sinners like us when they gave in to their longing and accepted his invitation to believe, and to cry out for release. The Advent liturgy wants us to focus on this longing and this hope. What role does this yearning have when we come to make decisions about ourselves, or decisions about those in our family, or decisions about the contribution we can make to society? 3. In what ways do we experience the image of God in our own hearts, and in the hearts of those we call ‘family’? Let us keep looking till we come up with some definite answers here, for ‘God is faithful’. God did not create us for no reason, and he will keep the promise he made us when we were conceived, and when we were baptised into the community of the Son whom he loves. Throughout this season we keep hearing the words: ‘Be alert’: we are being invited to keep our eye out for the grace that is coming to us from God at every moment of our lives and in every situation. 4. Let us join Isaiah in pleading with God: ‘Tear open the heavens and come down’. Our poor broken world needs to turn from violence to peace, from litigation to reconciliation. We need more and more people to turn to our ‘Father’, if we are ever to become a family of ‘United Nations’. And what family does not need the constant healing of grace to renew the homes which we all need, and in which we long to live. Last weekend I was asked by the Parish Finance Committee to advise you at each of the Masses of our need for an immediate injection of funds into our ‘Second’ Collection (for the parish). The full text of the address is available from the information desk in the foyer. Anyone is welcome to take a copy, but it is especially important for those who were not in attendance here last week. I explained that we have to find an extra $21.000.00 to cover the increase in our contribution to the central Archdiocesan fund to cover the Archdiocesan levy, the Catholic School Building Fund and Insurance. We recognise that some people are giving as much as they can afford already, but we suggested that if each family who can was to increase its contribution to the ‘Second’ (Parish) Collection by $5.00 a week, and if 50 more families could join the Planned Giving and make an offering of $10.00 per week, we will be able to meet our commitments in a way that would spread the burden fairly. Pledge cards were provided last week, and you were asked to take them home and consider whether you were in a position to increase your giving. We asked that you bring these cards to the Office during the week, or place them on the plate today. Cards are provided this week for those who were at Mass elsewhere last week and missed out. Please fill them in and hand them in today or at your earliest convenience. If you are new to Planned Giving, and you wish to pay by means of the envelope system, envelopes will be sent to you during the week. There is a section for the ’Second’ (Parish) Collection (this is the collection covered by the ‘pledge’), and a section for the ‘First’(support of the priests) Collection. We need an increase in the ‘Second’ Collection, not in the ‘First’. If you intend to make your contribution to the parish finances by means of Direct Debit (something that makes our work easier), there is a sheet at the Information Desk in the foyer which gives us the authority to debit directly your Savings or Cheque Account. There is a separate authority form for those who are already making their offering in this way, but wish to increase the amount. A third form is available which gives us the authority to debit your Credit Card Account. Please use this form whether you are doing this for the first time or are altering the amount you have previously pledged. Moneys offered through Direct Debit are assumed to be for the ‘Second’(Parish) Collection only. If you wish to use Direct Debit to add something towards the upkeep of the priests (‘First Collection’), you will need to note this. I received a letter from Archbishop Carroll acknowledging with gratitude receipt of our letter and signatures concerning possible restructuring of parishes in Belconnen. He promised to pass it on to his successor. It is a year since I was given the honour of being parish priest to such a wonderful faith-family. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the welcome you have given me. I’m sorry if I still don’t get your name right, but the memory side of my brain ‘ain’t what it used to be’. I’ll keep trying, and with your patient help, please God I will get to know you better. Incidentally, this is my 50th column in Compact. I hope it has kept you informed and even a little helped. Advice and criticism are always welcome. A fortnight ago I spoke to you all about our parish finances. So far 53 people have increased their pledged giving, and 22 extra people have joined the planned giving program. As a result, we have an extra $518.00 pledged per week. Thank you for your response. This is enough to cover the $21,000.00 extra that we have to find to cover Archdiocesan levies. However, we need to double the amount from the current extra $518.00 per week, to reach the target of an extra $1,000.00 per week if we are going to be able to carry out necessary maintenance and manage normal increase in costs. We would then have enough to budget properly for 2006. So if any families are still contemplating either increasing your pledged offering or joining the pledged giving program, we need you. Father Jim, Father Mark, Marian and Maureen join me in praying that you will be open to all the graces that God is surely pouring upon you and those you love this Christmas. |
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PASTORAL |
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CHURCH HISTORY |
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HEART SPIRITUALITY |
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HOMILIES |
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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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LINKS |
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