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St
John the Apostle ~ Kippax
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CANBERRA,
AUSTRALIA |
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Parish Priest's Desk Archive January to June 09 James McAuley Celebration of Divine Love (last stanza)You gentle souls who sit contemplative In the walled garden where the fountain flows, And faint with longing have desire to live But the brief flowering of the single rose, Knowing that all you give Into the keeping of your tender Lord Shall be enriched and thousandfold restored: Before the herons return Abide the sharp frosts and the time of pruning; For he shall come at last for whom you yearn And deep and silent shall be your communing; And if his summer heat of love should burn Its victim with a sacrificial fire, Rejoice: who knows what wanderer may turn, Responsive to that fragrant hidden pyre! James McAuley In a Late Hour Though all men should desert you my faith shall not grow less, but keep that single virtue of simple thankfulness. Pursuit had closed around me, terrors had pressed me low; you sought me and you found me, and I will not let you go. The hearts of men grow colder, the final things draw near. Forms vanish, kingdoms moulder, the antirealm is here whose order is derangement: close-driven, yet alone, men reach the last estrangement, the sense of nature gone. Though the stars run distracted, and from wounds deep rancours flow, while the mystery is enacted I will not let you go. James McAuley (from A Letter to John Dryden) Incarnate Word, in whom all nature lives, Cast flame upon the earth: raise up contemplatives Among us, men who walk within the fire Of ceaseless prayer, impetuous desire. Set pools of silence in this thirsty land: Distracted men that sow their hopes in sand Will sometimes feel an evanescent sense Of questioning, they do not know from whence. Prayer has an influence we cannot mark, It works unseen like radium in the dark. Also what appears to be his final poem composed as he was dying from cancer I know that faith is like a root That's tough, inert and old; Yet it can send up its green shoot And flower against the cold. I know there is a grace that flows When all the springs run dry. It wells up to renew the rose And lift the cedars high. Gerard Manley Hopkins God’s Grandeur The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook foil; It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod? Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil; And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod. And for all this, nature is never spent; There lives the dearest freshness deep down things; And though the last lights off the black West went Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs – Because the Holy Ghost over the bent World broods with warm breast and ah! bright wings. Dear family, during my break I spent a week with my brother Gerald and his wife, Nancy, at Gloucester (Gerald has since had his heart operation – quadruple bypass - on Tuesday 27th January). After the week in Gloucester I had 10 days at Rosedale, and have just returned from a six day retreat at Douglas Park. So I am renewed and looking forward to being at home again with you here at Kippax for another year. I would like to share with you a key theme from my days of silence. • We live in a universe in which everything is connected to everything else. • The ‘gravity’ that draws us to each other, in its human expression, is ‘love’. • There is only one centre, one heart, one source of this love. We call that source ‘God’. God is, in Teilhard’s words, ‘the heart and the beyond of everything’. While God is necessarily always beyond our reach and comprehension (God is ‘Transcendent’), God is also revealed everywhere (God is ‘Immanent’). In our graced nature we, along with the whole of creation, experience the ‘gravity’ of ‘love’. • We who follow Jesus do so because we see God revealed supremely in him. • So (and here is the key point) when we speak of ‘love’ we are thinking of the communion with God that Jesus experiences, the communion that we call the ‘Spirit’. • Jesus said: ‘As the Father loves me, I love you.’ He wants to embrace us in his communion with God. When we open our hearts to Jesus’ Spirit, we experience this communion. When we have fully embraced this love we will be able to say with Paul: ‘I live, no longer I, it is Christ who lives in me’. This is the essence of what it is to be a Christian. • Jesus said: ‘Love one another as I love you’. He wants us to open our hearts to everyone to invite them to share in this same communion (in his Spirit). This is the meaning of church. This is our mission – to be on earth the heart of God: experiencing Jesus’ love for God and reaching out in this love to everyone. Through us, Jesus ‘draws everyone to the Father.’As you probably know the 12th General Synod took place in Rome last year from October 5 to 26. 253 bishops attended, including our own Archbishop, Mark Coleridge. The subject for reflection and discussion was ‘The Word of God’, and its central place in the Faith, Life, and Mission of the Church. Mark was in his element, as he is the only Australian bishop to have a doctorate in Sacred Scripture. The priests and deacons of the Archdiocese are looking forward to his sharing some of his insights with us at the Clergy Assembly in May. In the meantime, I recommend to you the latest Summer Edition of the MSC Theological Journal, Compass. It is available for $7.00 in the bookshop. Mark Kenney SM gives an overview of what happened at the synod (with references to the web for further information). There is an article by Michael Trainor (a priest from the Archdiocese of Adelaide), which includes a suggestion of how to pray using the Bible. There is also an edited copy of a talk given by Brendan Byrne SJ at the opening of the Year of Paul (June 2008 to June 2009). Incidentally, on my own website you can find the audio record (podcast) of the seven lectures I gave on Paul last year, in which I took a major theme from seven of Paul’s letters. There is also the audio record of the 42 lectures I gave on Paul here in the parish in 2002-2003, which was a verse by verse commentary on all Paul’s thirteen letters. While on the subject of my website, since returning from holidays I have put up on the web the text and audio record of 18 lectures which I gave on Prayer in Adelaide in 1999. (If you are in the habit of going to my website, please make sure you refresh your site as I have made some adjustments to it). ‘I was in need and you came to my help’ Our minds and hearts are focused on the tragic events in Victoria. The PPC has judged that you would want us to make some financial response as a parish community. Rather than have a leaving collection (which would add to the many calls to which people are already responding), we have decided to make an offering on your behalf from our parish revenue of $2,000.00 and to offer it to the Diocese of Sale in the Gippsland, as one of the areas most affected. As we go to press, we received notification from Archbishop Coleridge that he is setting up a fund. Money received will be given to the Vincent de Paul Society to be distributed to those in need. If anyone wants to use this way of making a personal donation, there are forms on the Information desk to assist you. Please make any offerings direct to the Chancery. The Archbishop goes on to say: ‘The solidarity of prayer is also a vital part of the response which we as the Church can make. I would ask therefore that on every day, but especially on Sundays, intercession be made for those who have died in the fires and for those who have survived but are suffering so much. I would encourage you to think of how communities might gather in prayer to entrust all the suffering and sorrow to the loving mercy of God. Special Masses and ecumenical prayer services come to mind, but there may be other initiatives appropriate to different communities. One suggestion has been that at the evening meal next week families light a candle each night to pray for those killed in the fires and those who have survived but are suffering greatly. Schools could light a candle at midday each day through next week. Fire has destroyed but another little fire can be the flame of hope. Another possibility that has been suggested is that people in the Archdiocese – especially in Canberra – who may have second homes on the coast or elsewhere may be prepared to offer these homes rent-free and perhaps even longer term to those who have been left with nothing. This may present problems of distance, schooling etc, and it would not be easy to organise. But it strikes me as a most practical suggestion, and I would ask you to see if there may be such peoples in your communities. If there are, you might pass the detail on to my office. ‘ I am pleased to tell you that following a number of meetings over the December-February period, the parish is taking steps to establish a Young Adults Group for post-school, over 18 year olds. You will be hearing about this at Masses this weekend. We also have a Junior Parish Pastoral Council to help guide the development of the group. Our aim is to take steps to set up another group for the 15-17 year olds and a third group for those in Junior Secondary. Your prayers, ideas etc are welcome. My latest commentary on Isaiah is now available in the bookshop ($25.00). That completes the publication of the work I did in Rome in 2007. Thanks be to God. There has been a lot in the media about the Pope’s decision with regard to the four bishops of the Society of St Pius X, illicitly ordained by the late Archbishop Lefebvre. One is on record as having denied the Holocaust. Another is alleged to be involved in extreme right-wing French politics. The Society has determinedly continued to worship according to the Tridentine form of the Mass and other Sacraments. This has been a symbol for them of opposition to many of the reforms of Vatican II, including the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to non-Christian Religions, and the Declaration on Religious Liberty. Many would say that the Holy See has bent over backwards to reach out to the Lefebvrists, and certainly this gesture by the Pope was an act of mercy towards the excommunicated bishops in the hope that they would respond by taking steps of their own to heal the wound of division. It needs to be understood that the lifting of the ban of excommunication in no way represents the restoration to full communion of the four bishops who remained suspended from all ministerial duties and still have far to go before they are in full communion with the Holy See. Nonetheless, the Pope’s decision has caused dismay even among some who understand its force. Another disturbing issue is that the Pope has also personally appointed a new auxiliary bishop of Linz in Austria without consulting either Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, or the Bishop of Linz. This is not a new phenomenon, but, in this case, a number of statements made by the new bishop prior to his appointment are described as ‘scandalous’. The evidence points among other things to a serious lack of communication within the Vatican bureaucracy. German Cardinals are especially concerned. Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Jews acknowledges that ‘mistakes have certainly been made by the curia management.’ As people who love the Catholic Church we need to be informed. We also cannot be seen to be defending the Church against reasonable criticism. The latest copy of ‘The Tablet’ is available in the library should you want to read it (please read it in the library. It is not for borrowing). Some of the headings of the articles witness to the dismay: ‘Crisis at the Vatican’, ‘A Gaffe too far’, ‘Vatican Governance in disarray’, ‘Old Wounds open’. ‘Healing the Rift’. Hopefully the wise expression of dismay will lead to better governance. Lent On Wednesday we enter the season of Lent. The ashes remind us of our fragility. The divine Spirit dwells in a body that one day will be but ‘dust and ashes’. As we begin our preparation for Holy Week and Easter, we focus on the fragile, sinful, broken part of our being, and our need for God’s Spirit. Ashes also come from fire. Jesus said that he came to ‘cast fire upon the earth’(Luke 12:49). We are fragile, we do sin, we fail in so many ways, but God is giving us his Spirit, and it is like a fire. We pray in lent that God will fire us with his Spirit and reduce to ashes whatever in us is not of love. Our hearts need to be purified. In accepting the ashes we are indicating our willingness to undergo whatever God’s knows is needed to set our hearts on fire. Fasting has been a traditional way of reminding ourselves to go without certain external pleasures so that we can create some space in which to feel our hunger and thirst for God. Lent is a season, too, to turn our attention in a special way to the needs of our neighbour and to spend special time in prayer. The question we might ask ourselves as Lent begins is: What is God gracing me to change? Where is God’s love calling me to grow? We are not the ones who are going to do the purifying. We are branches of the vine that is Jesus and it is God who does the pruning. God loves us with an everlasting love and he will certainly be offering us the grace to find the courage to let him purify our hearts. Lent is a time to look gently into our heart, praying that we may pick up the slightest movement of grace - and when grace is calling us to alter our behaviour, that is the area of Lenten resolution. Each day God himself calls each one of us closer to himself. Let us resolve to listen to his call and to follow him, however painful the journey may feel. Then, when Holy Week comes, we will be ready to walk the way of the cross with Jesus and experience once again and more profoundly the grace of new life in Christ - the grace of Easter. Young Adults Last weekend Matthew, Robert and Stephanie spoke to us about a new Young Adult Group that we are starting in the parish. As they said, it will be for those between 18 and 35. The plan is to meet here in the parish centre from 7:30pm to 9:00pm twice a month – on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays. The aim is to build friendships, to share thoughts on topical issues, and to spend some time together in a group of people who share similar values, helping each other deepen our lives as Christians. The first meeting is a BBQ on the deck near the priests’ lounge room at 7:30pm on Wednesday 4th March. We invite you to come and check it out. Please know that you would be most welcome to share yourself, your thoughts and dreams, and to help plan and build our community. Many newcomers to our parish express amazement and joy at the number of people who contribute to the life of the community. At the same time it is true that it is never easy to ‘break into’ a community even though the community is committed to being inclusive and welcoming (see the parish mission statement on the front page). One relatively easy way of belonging is to look carefully at the ‘Time and Talent’ sheet that was distributed last week, and that is available again this week on the Information Table in the foyer. There is a variety of contributions you can chose from. You can play a role in our Sunday liturgy as a Singer/Musician, a Reader or a Special Minister helping to distribute Communion. There will be training for these ministries. This year Reading was once every two months, and Special Minister once a month, so it is a contribution, but not too demanding. You might like to become a Catechist or to assist in the Children’s Liturgy. Or you might like to join those caring for the needy in the area, either through the Vincent de Paul, or the Parish Social Justice Group, or the Refugee Resettlement Committee, or Caring Connections. There are cleaning jobs in the Church, Parish Centre, Grounds and Presbytery – none of which adds up to more thasn 6 times a year all told. There are also other groups in the parish (some of them noted on the Time and Talent sheet) that you might like to join. By the way, if you have been involved in one or other of these ministries, please remember that we do not presume that you wish to continue. If you wish to continue, please note this on the Time and Talent sheet and hand it in. Thanks. We are sorry if we have failed to reach out to you properly. This is one way in which you can take a step, meet others and know that you are contributing to our community life. Young Adult Group (Footprints) Twelve young people turned up for the BBQ on Wednesday Evening. Marian England, Toni Cox and I did the cooking. They had a very enjoyable evening, and we enjoyed being with them. The group decided to meet on Thursday Evenings (not Wednesday as previously suggested), and to meet in the Library on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Thursdays. The next scheduled meeting will be on Thursday 19th March. You can begin coming any time you like, so please feel welcome to come on the 19th. Children’s Reception of the Sacraments With the approval and backing of the Archbishop, here at St John the Apostle, Kippax, we are piloting a new approach to children's reception of the sacraments. It is best explained by two letters which I wrote to parents on February 16th and March 2nd. The letters can be read online by going to http://www.stjohnkippax.org.au/faith_formation/reconciliation_euch_conf.htm. (If you are interested in reading the letters, but do not have access to the internet, see Sharon in the Office). The Introduction to the first letter includes the following: ‘The key element in our thinking is to separate the reception of the Sacraments from any automatic link with either the child’s age or class at school. The Sacraments are too important and too beautiful to be thought of as automatic steps. Even within the same family children at the same age can be at different levels of maturity. We want to offer the Sacraments to your children when you judge that their nurturing in the faith and their education has brought them to a stage when they not only grasp what the Sacrament is (a child’s grasp, of course), but you discern in them a readiness and a longing to receive it. It follows that, if adopted, this approach would mean that there would not be fixed dates on which the children would receive the Sacraments as a group. The letter goes on to speak of the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation. The children will be prepared for the sacraments here in the Parish School of Religion and in St Johns Primary School. While the children are being prepared there will be information-education evenings for the parents. The reception of the first three sacraments will be offered to the children not as a group but when the parents judge their child is ready. Since the Sacrament of Confirmation is given by the bishop, special organization is necessary. This year Archbishop Coleridge will offer the sacrament to those who want to receive it on May 28th, the Thursday Evening just before the Feast of Pentecost, at 7:00pm. We asked for the sacrament to be received at the Cathedral to highlight the special link that this sacrament has with the diocese and the wider Church. The children are currently being instructed in the Sacrament of Confirmation. For the parents/caregivers two evenings have been arranged, both here in the church. The first is this coming Wednesday (11th March) and the second is on Thursday 26th. Both from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. Please pray for the success of our new initiative. Readers and Special Ministers Please note these dates in your calendar. We are having an afternoon here in the Church for Readers on Sunday 22nd March culminating in commissioning at the 6:00pm Mass. Similarly for Special Ministers on Sunday 29th March. Besides dealing with practical issues we will explore the spirituality of these sacred ministries. Please come if it is at all possible. The Sacrament of Confirmation On Wednesday Evening from 7:00 to 8:30pm Leonie Keegan, the Religious Education Coordinator at St Johns Primary School, lead the first of two meetings for parents/caregivers on the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Principal, Helen Currie, and her Deputy, Sharon Sams, and the 6th grade teachers were present, as was Sabina Van Rooy, representing the Parish School of Religion. Parents/caregivers representing 45 children took part in the evening. I presented a 30-minute reflection on ‘The Spirit of Jesus’. I have been asked to speak on this subject at St Thomas Aquinas School, Charnwood, this coming Thursday Evening at 7:30pm. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. I have written to the parents/caregivers who were unable to attend last night offering to set up a time for them during the day next week, or to meet them personally. Footprints Thursday 19th Young Adults are invited to attend the first formal meeting of ‘Footprints” in the Parish Library at 7:30pm this coming Thursday. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend because of the prior commitment at Charnwood. Taste of Harmony Friday 20th Since its beginnings the community of Jesus’ disciples were called ‘Catholic’. Unlike any other religious group they were ‘all-embracing’(the meaning of ‘Catholic’). Next Saturday (March 21) Australia celebrates Harmony Day, as part of the Diverse Australia Program, which has the theme “Everyone belongs”. This is central to our “Catholic” identity and to our Parish Mission Statement. The Parish Refugee Resettlement Committee will have a display in the foyer. You are invited to a “Taste of Harmony” in our Parish Centre this coming Friday (20th March) at 7:00pm to celebrate the cultural diversity of our parish. Please come. Bring a dish of food from your own country of origin. Wine, tea and coffee will be provided. Unfortunately I will not be able to be there with you as I had already committed myself to speak at St Vincents Aranda on “The Meaning of the Paschal Mystery”. Receiving Communion I would like to draw your attention to some changes to be implemented in our approach to distributing communion at St Johns as of next month (April) when the new rosters begin. The first change relates to the numbers and location of Special Ministers distributing communion. In future there will be only four Special Ministers (not six). Communion will be offered as at present from the centre aisle and from positions to the left and right of the altar. In this way all will approach the Altar to receive Communion rather than, as at present, some proceeding to the back of the Church near the statues. Those in the section that previously received communion in the statue area will now be invited to approach the centre aisle or join those receiving communion to the left of the altar. The second change relates to the manner in which we receive the Precious Blood of Jesus. The full symbolism of communion is achieved when, in response to Jesus’ invitation, we ‘Take and Eat’ and ‘Take and Drink’. Jesus wants to satisfy our deepest hunger and our deepest thirst. When we hold out our hand to ‘Take’, Jesus is entrusting himself into our hands. When we open our mouth to receive the Body of Christ, we open our heart to welcome our divine Guest. Similarly, when we are offered the chalice and take it into our hands. In drinking from the cup we are choosing to open ourselves to the outpouring of love that comes from the pierced heart of Jesus. Just as taking the host on the tongue loses something of the symbolism of ‘Take and Eat’ (in our ordinary lives only the very infirm are fed in this way), so dipping the host into the chalice (‘intinction’) loses something of the symbolism of ‘Take and Drink’. The Church has issued instructions that we are to drink from the chalice, not intinct. In future you will not be offered the Chalice to intinct, but, for the reasons just given, I would encourage you to take a sip from the chalice. Some may have concerns about hygiene. This is a valid consideration, though I have been told that the possibility of contracting a condition is minimal. This assumes that if you have a cold or other transmissible condition you would refrain from taking the chalice out of consideration for others. It is also worth noting that there are potential problems attached to intinction which may be more serious than those attached to drinking. I remember my surprise when I was alerted to this by a pharmacist who highlighted the possibility of touching the Precious Blood with one’s fingers. To keep this in perspective there are risks in holding on to the rail on an escalator, and from the million other things that we touch in our ordinary daily living. I have not been affected adversely by drinking from the chalice, and I have done so for nearly 50 years (and, till relatively recently, was the one to consume what remained in the chalice when communion was over). On Thursday 26th March from 7:00pm to 8:30pm we held the second Parent/Caregiver Formation Session in preparation for children’s reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation (see Compact 8th March and 15th March). Parents/Caregivers are now in the process of spending time with their children, as a family or in groups of families, assessing the readiness of their children for the Sacrament, and helping their children to open their minds and hearts to confirm their belonging to the Church, the Body of Christ, and to receive a fuller share in the Spirit of Love that Jesus is offering them through this Sacrament. During the tragic days of the Victorian Fires many organizations were setting up systems to funnel help to the victims, including the Archbishop and the St Vincent de Paul Society here in the Canberra-Goulburn. Rather than overburden you with yet another ‘bucket collection’, we decided to send $2,000.00 from our parish revenue to the Diocese of Sale in the Gippsland (see the Compact of 15th February). This is just to inform you that we received a grateful acknowledgment from the Diocesan Administrator dated 11th March. After Easter I will continue to lecture of a Tuesday at Rheinberger Centre, but have asked Tom Halloran to offer a series of lectures here at Kippax. His lectures will be on Monday (not Tuesday) Evenings. This is his invitation. I am sure the evenings will be excellent. Church in Context: A theological adventureFive Mondays: beginning 11th May from 7:30 to 9:30 pm in the Parish Library In western Christianity, theology is often described as “faith seeking understanding”. The phrase fides quaerens intellectum is attributed to Anselm of Canterbury in the 11th century. As descriptive of a kind of human endeavor it is open to various applications. Context, in the title, refers to a set of questions and answers. It is questions which indicate the reach, the horizon, of the questioner. Faith is a gift which extends one’s horizon to include mystery. It follows then that the immediate context for understanding “Church” is the person of faith who is seeking an understanding. There are a number and variety of proximate contexts which can be named doctrinal, historical, organisational, political, or liturgical. The ultimate context is anticipated in identifying “Church” as mystery. This series of five lecture/discussions will raise questions which aim at a unified understanding of Church as “constituted by faith, motivated by charity, oriented by hope”. Church is the object of the seeking, the mystery about which we are seeking a limited but fruitful understanding. Theology covers the range and variety of the questions, which can be raised. Our adventure will include identifying the different contexts and the relevant skills required. Like the Church itself, theology is a collaborative undertaking. If the above strikes even a faint chord, please come along. The sessions will be interactive. This Holy Week hundreds of millions of people remembered the death of Jesus of Nazareth. As a politically motivated murder of an innocent and loving man, it runs to a pattern with which our world is, unfortunately, all too familiar. Yet there is something about the crucifixion of Jesus that continues to haunt our minds and hearts. Why? It witnesses to the folly of people attempting to define the divine, the folly of an established group thinking that they alone possess the truth and have a mission to impose it on others. Those responsible for the death of Jesus were convinced that they knew God. They knew where to find God and they knew how God was to be worshipped. They failed to recognise God at the heart of the love of this Galilean carpenter. Their laws, their traditions and their theology contained much that was inspired and that could reveal the divine and draw people into communion with God. But they seem to have lost the sense of wonder, and they failed to share their traditions humbly and with joy, open to the new wine of God’s continual self-revelation. Religion was being used to prop up authority and power, when it should have been a way of keeping people in touch with their own hearts and with God. Religion continues to be used and abused in this way today. For all our religious posturing, Jesus’ way of dying reminds us that the ultimate experience of the divine is found in love. This is all symbolised in the terrible act of the man who thrust a lance into Jesus’ heart. In that act we see the awful reality of our personal sins, and the sins of which we tend to wash our hands, but for which we are responsible. Whenever we sin against the truth, whenever we betray or abuse love, we thrust the lance again into the heart of Jesus. The blood and water that flowed from his broken heart symbolise the sacraments through which the risen Jesus communicates his life to us. If our hearts were moved this week by what Jesus offers us, let us commit ourselves to carry on his mission of love. That we might be able to do this, let us re-commit ourselves to the community of faith that comes together to hear his word and to receive him in communion. Special thanks to all who contributed to making our Holy Week ceremonies such a stimulus to our faith. This is especially true of the Liturgy Committee who spent countless hours preparing the liturgies for us. There are some things in life that we can grasp and express clearly, and if we can’t there are astrophysicists who can. There are other things that the most highly trained mathematicians can’t find the right formula for – men and women trying to ‘understand’ each other is only one of scores of examples. It is here that we thank God for artists, musicians, choreographers, and especially lovers. It is to these latter, among whom are the writers of the Gospels, that we turn when we try to find words to express our experience of the presence and action in our lives of the Risen Jesus. Belief in the Resurrection of Jesus is central to our Christian faith. This belief arose from experiences that Jesus’ disciples had consequent upon Jesus’ death on the cross. It is a belief that has been continually reinforced by the experiences of millions of people since (including our own). It is the faith of the community that has taught us how to interpret our experiences and how to explain them to our children and to others who are searching for a meaning that makes sense of their lives. If you have ever had the privilege of journeying with adults as they seek full belonging in the Catholic community you would know what I am speaking of here. It is true that Jesus lives on in people’s memory. It is true that what he once said and did continues to impact on the world. However, those who first experienced Jesus’ presence and action in their lives after Jesus’ death were insistent that such expressions failed (and they continue to fail) to convey the essence of the communion that we have with the living Jesus. Traditionally we speak of the ‘physical resurrection of the body’. If the word ‘physical’ leads us to think that the risen person has a ‘body’ of the same matter or substance that we have in this life, the New Testament is perfectly clear that we are mistaken. Paul writes: ‘Someone will ask: How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’(1Corinthians 15:35). Paul considers the question foolish, and goes on to speak about all the different kinds of ‘bodies’ that we know, and about how a seed is transformed into a tree. He concludes by stating that the body that we now have is defined in relation to our soul (Greek: psychikos), whereas it is raised a ‘spiritual body’(Greek: pneumatikos – a ‘body’ that is defined by our communion with God; see 1Cor 15:44). The word ‘physical’ comes from the Greek word ‘physis’, which means nature. It is a scientific term. We look at what something does and we draw conclusions about its ‘nature’. We look at what is happening in our lives. We know-in-faith (‘believe’) that it is Jesus who is loving us and active in our lives, and we conclude that the whole of Jesus person, all that makes him human, has been raised by God to life. We believe that Jesus’ whole human reality has been taken by God into God’s eternal embrace, totally transformed in love by the power of God’s Spirit. We believe that it will be so also for us, but we must know that any attempt to imagine or describe in familiar terms what the risen ‘body’ will be like must be inadequate: ‘Eyehas not seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’(1Cor. 2:9). We will enjoy (and be enlightened by) the beautiful narratives that are read out to us each Sunday during this Easter period, if we relax our logical, scientifically trained, mind, and allow ourselves to enjoy the art and love that is expressed in the texts as we enjoy contemplating an icon or a favourite painting. Instead of wondering why such amazing things happened to them, and not to us, we will recognise our own experience in the Gospel stories. On Anzac Day we reflect on the terrible sacrifices that war makes on people, especially on those who die in war or who are chronically affected by the experience of war, as well as on their loved ones. Sadly, we live in a world in which some people choose to pursue their own self-interest by inflicting violence on those whom they perceive to be thwarting their ambition. Where aggression brutally attacks the innocent and defenceless, where human values are disregarded and whole communities are in danger of being wiped out before the naked aggression of people who refuse to listen to reason, there is absolutely no Christian merit in being socially or politically apathetic, or in being fearful and cowardly, or in standing by and allowing ourselves and others to be crushed and broken. We exist in a world where violence must be curbed. Pacifism and therefore conscientious objection is a position consistent with discipleship of Jesus, and can indeed be a moral imperative for persons and communities who live within the graced environment of Christian living. But this does not make it always a realistic choice for a political community. In this setting the pacifist performs a prophetic role of reminding all of us of a value towards which we should strive and which must be part of the agenda for practical decisions. Christian moral living simply cannot be lived by those who are not sustained by the Christ-life. It cannot be supposed or self-acquired. It is also morally authentic only when accompanied by commitment to repair, relieve and rehabilitate the threatened world and its inhabitants (see Catechism n. 2311). While we can learn much from Mahatma Gandhi, the most Christ-like response has to be worked out in the complexities of each particular situation. This is difficult when propaganda perpetrates prejudice rather than truth, and, even when we are able to sift through the lies that inevitably corrupt information in situations of fierce conflict, it is seldom if ever absolutely clear as to what is the appropriate response. The Vatican Council states that there can be situations where it is morally appropriate to use force to resist aggression: ‘As long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defence once all peace efforts have failed’(GS n.79). War is clearly an evil. But we sometimes have to choose the lesser of two evils. One cannot exclude the possibility that in given circumstances war may be the lesser evil. If this is so then one must be careful to place appropriate limits on the conduct of the war. The question is not peace versus war. It is war as an instrument to achieve peace versus other strategies. When we speak of the need for war for the "common good", this can no longer be thought of in national terms. Our vision must be global, for all men and women are children of the one God of love. In situations where the use of force is shown to be necessary and so morally appropriate for defence against unjust aggression, force must not be used indiscriminately. However difficult it is to draw the line, attempts to draw it must be made. Vatican II states: "Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities or of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and humanity itself. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation"(GS, n.80). Recent history has shocked us with the knowledge that ‘allies’ have used torture and other instruments that the world community has outlawed in the name of civilisation. The reasoning behind such behaviour has been that ‘the end justifies the means’. If we do not rage against such behaviour we will end up just as barbaric as the aggressor. Our so-called ‘civilisation’ will not be worth defending. The man whom I have admired most in this world is my brother Brian, who flew Lancasters over Germany in the final years of the war and who celebrated his twenty-first birthday in January 1946 after his return. I will not dare to say what Anzac Day meant for him, but the bonds he made with the young men who risked their lives every sortie, and the memory of those who were shot down were certainly part of it. As we struggle with these complex considerations, today is a day for contemplation, and for acknowledgment of how much we owe to those who have ‘lain down their lives for their friends’. Please God we will be worthy of the sacrifice they have made. The latest MSC Theological Journal, Compass, is now available in the bookshop ($7.00). There is an excellent article on inter-religious dialogue. Another on a survey of questions asked by Catholics & Muslims of each other in Auburn, Sydney; another long article on ideas and images of the ‘Devil’; a historical survey of theologians who encourage hope that ultimately all will be saved; and the second part of a reflection on the Sermon on the Mount (the First Part is in the previous volume, copies of which are also available – you can purchase 2 volumes for $10.00 if you wish). Every now and then people come up with the idea that it would be useful for the building of community if members of the parish were to wear nametags at Mass. Late last year a number of you indicated that you would like some made, and, after some delays, they are now ready. On the assumption that the intervening months may have led some to forget that you ordered them I will list below the names of those whose nametags can be collected at the Information Desk. If you like the look of them I am sure we could organise a second manufacture. Just put your order in at the Information Desk. Rob Caskie Patrick Corr Barbara Gardiner Tom Hallahan Pauline Honeyman Anthony Jayawardena Joseph Lai Keiren McLeonard Darren Maharaj John Marane Dolres Munoz Georgia Peake Lyn Ray Lisa Webber Sheila Whigham By the way, you have probably noticed that the swing doors between the foyer and the church are now working smoothly (before they were dangerous, as they would slam back hurriedly and could hit you on the foot etc). The door stoppers in each of the four doors have been replaced. It is important that you allow the doors to close slowly of their own accord. If you help them close by pushing-pulling you will affect the mechanism and we will have to replace the stoppers again (it is not cheap). Understandably it is taking some time for the new process of receiving communion to run smoothly. This is a reminder to key groups. 1. Special Ministers of the Eucharist (see laminated notice on table in foyer) Please go to position in centre aisle immediately after we say: ‘Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed’. First in line on left side is the red stole 1 (W1). You receive the chalice from the Acolyte, hold on to it and stand at the acolyte’s right in order to distribute the Precious Blood. Behind W1 come White stole 2 (2B) and Red stole 2 (2W). You receive communion from the Acolyte and W1 and then collect your bowl and chalice from the altar, and go to designated positions. First in line on the right side are the junior altar servers, followed by White stole 3 (3B) and Red stole 3 (3W). You receive communion from the Priest and the Acolyte and then collect your bowl and chalice from the altar and go to designated positions. 2. Junior Servers Please go to the right side in the centre aisle immediately after we say: ‘Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed’. You are the first to receive communion from the Priest and Acolyte and then go to your seat. 3. Those seated in ‘wedge’ area on left side of the church. It is expected that half of you will receive communion after people from the pews. The other half will go to the back and down the centre aisle. I imagine you will work out the best way to do this. Perhaps the front rows will follow the pews and the back rows go down the centre aisle (or you may find it easier to split left - pews/right - centre aisle?) 4. A reminder about not ‘dipping’ For reasons of hygiene (as explained earlier) you will not be offered the chalice to dip the host. For the fullness of the symbolism you are invited the ‘take and drink’ should you so wish. For those who do not have access to the internet, here are some of the details of the PARISH SOCIAL PROFILE 2006, prepared by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Information is gleaned from the 2006 Census. Copies of the complete profile will be published on www.ppo.catholic.org.au. The following are on our parish website. The Total Population of our parish area in 2006 was 13,039 of whom 3,801 identified themselves as Catholics (29.2%). In the age-groups 17-29 and 50-54 there was a percentage decrease of the Catholic population compared to 2001. There was a percentage increase in age-groups over 55. The median age of Catholics in the parish was 34, and there were 1,442 Catholic Families. 346 Catholics lived alone. 718 Catholics were born overseas. 127 Catholics needed assistance in core activities. 3.8% of Catholics were unemployed in 2006 (down from 6.4% in 2001). In 2006 there were 56 Catholics with indigenous origin. In Kippax 9.1% of Catholics lived alone (compared to 8.0% in 2001). The median Family Income was $79,000 (up from $62,000 in 2001). The following statistics refer to education. 52.5% of Catholics Primary Students were in Catholic Primary Schools (down from 57% in 2001). 42.2% were in Government Primary Schools (up from 43.7% in 2001). Non-Catholics constituted 23.3% of enrolment in Catholic Primary Schools (up from 13.1% in 2001). 57.8% of Catholic Secondary Students were in Catholic Secondary Schools (up from 54.4% in 2001). 42.2% were in Government Schools (down from 43.7% in 2001). Non-Catholics constituted 25.7% of enrolment in Catholic Secondary Schools (up from 20.4% in 2001). For the past 7 years we have counted a consistent 800 people coming to our weekend Masses. Over 40% of these come from outside our parish boundaries. This means that about 500 Catholics from within the parish boundaries attend Mass each weekend out of 3,800 Catholics. The ‘Catholics Returning Home’ program has just begun. It would be good if we could do more to attract our Catholic brothers and sisters back to the Eucharist and to our community. Clergy Conference I am taking a break at Douglas Park for a week (to make up for my interrupted January break), from May 25 to June 5, and then am on a lecture tour in the coast parishes from Friday June 5 to Sunday June 7 (to offer the lectures on Paul that I gave earlier at the Rheinberger Centre. It takes the form of a pilgrimage starting at Batemans Bay and finishing at Eden. The special gift of Pentecost is a deepening of the gift of Jesus’ Spirit. Each of us has a special share in this as Saint Paul tells us: ‘There are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit; there are varieties of ministries but the same Lord; there are varieties of ways of exercising power but it is the same God who activates them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for a good purpose’(1Corinthians 12:4-7). Paul also speaks of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives: ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control’(Galatians 5:22-23). Here, too, he is contemplating the qualities that were characteristic of the heart and mind of Jesus. He appealed to the community at Philippi not so much to model their lives on Jesus as to open their minds and hearts to let Jesus live in them through the gift of his Spirit. He writes: ‘If then there is any appeal in Christ, any consolation from love, any communion in the Spirit, any movements of compassion and feelings of love, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one soul and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition. Do not strive after or seek to find your value in things that are worthless, but in humility regard others above yourselves, so that not everyone is focused on themselves, but each is looking to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus’(Philippians 2:1-5). We believe in One God. We speak of Trinity. Instead of thinking of the Trinity in terms of an abstruse mathematical conundrum, we should first think in terms of the man Jesus, of the God whom he prayed to as ‘Father’ [Abba], and of the Spirit of communion which bound Jesus to God in love. Only as we contemplate this can we project our frail human thoughts to speak of the inner mystery of a God who is God, Word and Spirit in communion in love. Some thirty or so years ago I was chaplain at the University of NSW. One day a young man who was working as a gardener popped into my office and asked me to explain the Trinity to him. Fortunately I had enough sense to pause and to ask him first how he saw it. In a way that nicely avoided abstraction, he went straight to the heart of the mystery by speaking of the Trinity in terms of dance. He said that he thought of the Father as the Dance. We cannot grasp a dance without someone who dances. He thought of Jesus as the Dancer. However, we will never know a dance just by watching. We have to enter into the dance with the Dancer. He thought the Spirit as the Dancing. One could speak of God as Life, of Jesus as the one who lived this life and of the Spirit as the experience of living. Perhaps best of all one can speak of God as Love. But what is love if we have no one to love us? Jesus is the Lover who expresses God’s love. He has ‘poured the Spirit of love into our hearts’(Romans 5:5), and it is the Spirit of communion between Jesus and God that is the loving that we enjoy in the communion of the Church. Writers on religious experience speak of the numinous and the mystical. The numinous is our experience of God coming to us from outside: from nature, from people, from the events of our lives. The divine comes to us when we encounter the world around us. In the tradition of Israel, this is spoken of as God’s Word to us. The mystical is our experience of God at the depths of our own being. In the tradition of Israel this is spoken of as an experience of God’s Spirit. Revelation happens when the outer Word and the inner Spirit come together. Jesus is God’s ‘focal Word’ – God’s Word expressed perfectly in a human way. And it is Jesus’ Spirit that is poured into our hearts. Knowing that God is Spirit reminds us to be attentive to the divinely inspired movements of our own heart: movements of longing as we yearn for closer communion with him whose Spirit inspires us; movements of wonder and praise as we rejoice in his being with us; movement of trust as we confide ourselves to God’s love; movements of pleading as we give expression to our needs. Knowing that God is Spirit reminds us to be sensitive to these same movements in every man and every woman. Knowing that God is Word reminds us to be attentive to the words and actions through which God speaks to us, and the words and actions through which we respond to him. Knowing that God is Father, we learn to reverence the sacred ground of each person’s spirit, and be attentive to each person’s word, as together we journey towards him who is the Father of all. Let Saint John of the Cross have the last word: ‘God dwells within you. You are yourself the tabernacle, his secret hiding place. Rejoice, exult, for all you could possibly desire, all your heart’s longing is so close, so intimate as to be within you; you cannot be without God’(Spiritual Canticle 1,7). For statistical purposes the Archdiocese asks us to count the number of people attending Masses during each of the four Sundays in May. Over the years since I arrived (2002) there has consistently been an average of around 800 people attending Mass of a weekend. This year we averaged 700, which is a significant drop off. There can be any number of reasons why people might choose not to attend Mass regularly. Our obligation is to do all we can to respond to grace generously by contributing to making the Mass a meaningful and attractive community prayer celebration. We are also called to be Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, reaching out to people to attract them to come to receive mercy, grace and love from Jesus, especially through a prayerful listening to God’s Word and the receiving of communion, as well as the support of our faith community. The Parish Pastoral Council is interested in any suggestions you might have as to how we can make the Sunday Eucharist more attractive and more meaningful. One thing I would recommend is that each of us think deeply whether there is someone close to us (a spouse? a friend?) whom we could invite to ‘come and see’ by entering the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program. It is a twenty-week program beginning in September and running to early December, then recommencing in February and concluding at Easter (April). Currently we run the program in the library on Monday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00pm. It is a systematic presentation of the essential elements of the Catholic Faith. The decision to join the community by the reception of the Sacrament of Baptism or, for those already baptised, by entering into full communion with the Catholic Church with the Sacrament of Confirmation – this decision is, of course a free one. Anyone can join the program and pull out whenever they wish. The RCIA program aims only to offer welcome, information and encouragement. The members of the small team representing our community in offering information and welcome to interested inquirers turns over every two years. The team for 2009-2010 consists of Tony and Margaret Di Michiel, Allan and Elaine Laycock, Marian Crowley and myself. For those already Catholics but who have somehow lost close contact we have a Catholics Returning Home program which is a six week program run once a year. The current series is drawing to a close. The next series is in October 2010. The small team that represents our community in this program consists of Moira Sutch, Tom Halloran, Veronica Brennan, Robert Caskie, Robert Day and Jan Haydock-Wilson. I have been conducting many series of Adult Education since my arrival. My appointment as Parish Priest ceases at the end of this year, and, to continue to reach out to interested people we are setting up an Adult Education Team that will be chaired by Tom Halloran. This is written as I prepare to leave to offer a retreat to the principals of Catholic Schools in the Manning District north of Newcastle (Wednesday to Friday). By the time you receive this we will have celebrated the Feast of the Sacred Heart. As you would know from the Archbishop’s letter last Sunday, the church is celebrating ‘The Year of the Priest’ from the Feast of the Sacred Heart this year to the same feast next year. Pleas pray that we Missionaries of the Sacred Heart will draw closer to the Heart of Jesus and so be better ministers to the community of His Love. On Tuesday evening from 7:00 to 8:30 parents/guardians of 39 children attended the first of two evenings in preparation for journeying with the children towards the reception of First Eucharist. The second evening is this coming Tuesday. Please pray for the children and their parents/guardians and for the Parish Sacramental Team, We want the reception of this beautiful sacrament to touch deeply the hunger and thirst for communion with Jesus and with the community which is his Body because we live by his Spirit. We have completed the two evenings for parents preparing their children for reception of First Eucharist. The attendance was excellent. The Parish Primary School and the Parish School of Religion will continue offering instruction, and the parents will be working through the preparation booklet with their children. When and if the parents judge the child is ready we will offer communion at a time suitable to the family, beginning in August. Please pray for the parents and their children that this experience will be one that stays with them as they continue to open themselves to receive Jesus sacramentally at Mass throughout their lives. We cannot offer them a more beautiful gift. As of next weekend you will notice two changes in the way we conduct the Mass. The Acolyte/Senior Server will bring the chalices to the altar at the Offertory and the priest will pour the wine into them at that time. We are doing this to fit in with the General Instructions. Also at the distribution of communion, both the Acolyte and the Senior Server will offer the chalice. The Special Minister wearing stole 1 (white now, not red) will offer the host standing next to the priest. This second change is just to make things run more smoothly. Most of you who sit in the ‘wedge’ seats near the entrance doors go to receive communion after those sitting in the pews. This is good. It would help the flow if those sitting in the ‘wedge’ section closest to the centre of the church would receive communion from the centre aisle. Perhaps the simplest way to do this is to follow the people in the centre row adjacent to yours. Walk through after them and then follow them down the centre aisle.
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PARISH MAINTENANCE |
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VOCATIONS |
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