This year is ending with so much turmoil on so many fronts. The finance crisis has left people insecure because of a drop in their superannuation benefits. There is the fear of businesses collapsing and becoming unemployed. We may be tempted to wonder if Christ’s ‘peace on earth’ is a fantasy.
I was a bit taken aback recently when a Church leader told me he had received a death threat. He had suggested that the world would be different now if reaction to the horror of the terrorism against the New York World Trade Centre had been based upon Christ-like love, not military might and violence, particularly against Iraq.
The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is an important one for our faith. It reminds us that, though he died for the whole human race, Jesus does not see us simply as a body of people.
I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak to you, the religious education leaders within the Catholic school systems from all the dioceses across Australia. In doing so, I also acknowledge the formidable challenges you face as you go about your special ministry in today’s society and Church.
Over the past two thousand years, the Mass has been the most powerful means of drawing upon the power of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for the needs of people’s lives. The greatest means he left us to do so is the Eucharist. But to draw on this power, believers need to prepare themselves for the basic experiences Jesus offers through the Eucharist, which he instituted at the Last Supper.
For many obvious reasons, the question of how to nurture the catholicity of our schools today is a vital one. The task that I have been given is to reflect upon this question from the perspective of the Church’s theology on Catholic education. To do this, I will draw upon the principal official Church documents related to the Catholic school:
Australia is a nation that loves celebrations. Australia Day is one of our biggest. We get together for ceremonies, including the raising of our national flag and to welcome new citizens.
Pastoral Letter to the People and Decision Makers in the Diocese of Bunbury
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ
One of the most moving elements in the celebration of Easter is the sight of our priests renewing their priestly commitment during the Mass of the Oils. Easter reminds us that Jesus instituted the priesthood at the Last Supper. It reminds us too that priests are called to be instruments of the Risen Christ for his people.
DownloadOn 16 May 2005, a tornado tore through Bunbury, devastating the city and shifting the Cathedral on its foundations resulting in its demolition.
This DVD was commissioned by Catholic Church Insurances as a tribute to all those who helped build the Cathedral, to those who worshipped in it since 1921 and to all those who will ensure that its significance lives on in the community.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1Aq0Nj8VyU0%3Frel%3D0