CAVHOL ICIFE - Lismore Diocesewas accepted into Archbishop Sapieha’s secret seminary, hidden from...

CAVHO ICLIFEDiocese of Lismore

Tweed Coast to Camden Haven September 2016 Vol.14 No.3www.lismorediocese.org

World Youth Day 2016

Jesus, I trust in you

Open for Breakfast & DinnerBreakfast: Monday – Saturday 7am – 9am Sunday 8am – 10am (Room Service Only)

Dinner: Monday – Saturday 6pm – LateBreakfast: Monday – Saturday 7am – 9.30am Sunday 8am – 10.30am

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Catholic Life, September, 2016 3

The Bishop Writes

Continued on page 16

Bishop Jarrett with the Lismore Diocese Pilgrims

Stories from our 45 young pilgrims to World Youth Day in Poland in late July have spread far and wide already, but they are a chronicle of wonderful experiences of faith which it’s only fitting that we share also in this issue of Catholic Life.

Each of us has returned home pondering on the effect of the eighteen days on our lives of Christian faith. For some it was their first experience of this

global Catholic event, indeed for some it was their first trip overseas and even their first flight in an aeroplane.

Participating in WYD for the sixth time, the trip to Poland vividly recalled my first WYD in Toronto in 2002 with Pope St John Paul II and even more indelibly the final time I met him in Rome, in a private audience in 2004, to present my report on the affairs of the diocese. By the next year Benedict XVI was Pope and he continued the next three WYDs of Cologne, Sydney and Madrid.

Visiting Poland for the first time had for me all the excitement of walking in the footsteps of the greatest Christian leader in the fractured history of the twentieth century, a man whose whole life was dedicated to the ennoblement and the freedom of the human person in Christ. His adult life was set against the drama of the tyranny of National Socialism as it devastated most of Europe over five terrible years, followed by another 44 years imprisoned in the soulless Soviet system which over-ran Poland and other Eastern Bloc countries in 1945. When the liberation came in 1989 it was a deeply faithful people that emerged and their priest, bishop and cardinal of Kraków, then pope for eleven years, was the pivotal figure through whom they finally found their freedom.

It was fascinating to trace Karol Wojtyła’s life from Wadowice, his home town of birth and upbringing, to Kraków. Life as a university student had become difficult with the Nazi invasion of Poland and the young Karol, now living with his widowed father, took a job at a chemical plant on the outskirts of the city. It was close by Sister Faustina’s convent and there he stopped off almost every day to pray. The revelations of the Divine Mercy entered early into his consciousness. Soon Karol was accepted into Archbishop Sapieha’s secret seminary, hidden from the SS, where he studied for his similarly clandestine ordination in the Archbishop’s chapel just as Hitler’s war was ending and the Soviet occupation began. After two years of further study in Rome the young Father Wojtyła returned to Kraków and was assigned to the parish of St Florian just outside the surviving gate of the old city.

A visit to St Florian’s is a beautiful moment. As always in Poland there are always people quietly praying in their churches. At the end of the side aisle one comes across the more recent altar of St John Paul II. It has a large painting showing ‘the young, poorly dressed, pious priest’ as the university chaplain of those days.

In the face of communist prohibitions Father Wojtyła gathered his young people for catechesis and the deepening of Christian faith and virtue, probing such themes as the existence of God and the spiritual nature of the human person to fortify them against Marxist ideology. He accompanied the students as a friend and mentor, challenging them not only intellectually and spiritually but in long outdoor hikes on vacation where they could get away from the secret police and spies. They called their group the “Little Family,” and it was in this period, to preserve his anonymity, that they began to call Father Wojtyła “Wujek,” (Uncle). It was by this name that his old students from those days continued to call him, whenever they met, right to the time of his death in 2005. It is claimed that the seeds of what was to become World Youth Day after 1984 were really sown in the mind of St John Paul not in Rome but back at St Florian’s in 1949. Accompanying young people and challenging them to lead heroic and holy lives as Christ’s witnesses in the world of today is what he began to do then and what he always placed before young people wherever he went. I recall the Pope’s words to the vast assembly of young people, freshly doused with a heavy downpour of rain just before the closing Mass of his last World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002:

“Although I have lived through much darkness, under harsh totalitarian regimes, I have seen enough evidence to be unshakeably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young. You are our hope; the young are our hope. Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on it! We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son.”

The harshness and darkness of those regimes that shadowed the life of St John Paul II were nowhere more terribly realised than in our visit to the extermination camps of Auschwitz/Birkenau which Hitler’s SS set up on Polish soil not far from Kraków. They are truly places of silence and tears recalling an evil that cannot be imagined even amongst the worst excesses of human depravity. Yet here was also the most beautiful and heroic sanctity, in the very places in those camps where the Franciscan priest St Maximilian Kolbe and the Carmelite nun St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) were martyred and cast into the incinerators.

Catholic Life, September, 20164

Regular Features3 & 16 The Bishop Writes 5 editorial6 Cso Director’s Article7 Vocations12 Liturgy13 Question Box22 Churches of the World23 Religious Art33 Classical Religious Destinations: Lourdes

Features8 The Mercy Reflection Garden 8 A Tribute to John howard9-11 Around our parishes – Alstonville13 Devotion – A Visit Recalled14 shine Gathering 201615 A Wish Come True17-20 Centre Feature: World Youth Day 201621 Ministry in the outback

School News24 st Augustine’s primary school, Coffs harbour25 st Joseph’s primary school, Alstonville26 our Lady help of Christians parish school, sth Lismore st. Mary’s primary school, Casino st. John paul College, Coffs harbour27 Mt st John’s primary school, Dorrigo st Joseph’s primary school, Maclean28 st Agnes parish secondary schools, port Macquarie st Joseph’s primary school, Woodburn29 Trinity Catholic College, Lismore30 Mount st patrick College, Murwillumbah st Joseph’s primary school, Tweed heads Mary help of Christians primary school, sawtell31 st John’s Catholic College, Woodlawn32 st Joseph’s primary school, south Grafton Newman senior Technical College, port Macquarie MacKillop College, port Macquarie

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Pope Francis with representatives of six continents, walking through the Door of Mercy – World Youth Day Prayer Vigil at the Field of Mercy in Krakow on July 30.

World VieW The faithful assemble in their hundreds for Mass outside the San Cayetano Catholic Church in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Aug 7, 2016. Saint Cayetano, the patron saint of work, draws thousands of Catholics, in a country accustomed to economic crisis and high unemployment.

CoverCApTioNContents


The flags have stopped waving. The cheering voices, the hugs and kisses and the tearful moments for prayer have ceased. The World Youth Day pilgrims are home. Where to from here?

When two million people edged slowly away from the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2016, Krakow a city of three hundred

churches would always remain a poignant memory of the Universal Church.At the Mass that gave closure to World Youth Day, the message of Pope Francis was: “Do not be afraid... Do not be afraid to trust in mercy”.

It is the same message that Christ uttered on the first Easter Sunday morning. Those words are centuries old now, but more relevant than ever.

Our youth are inheriting a world wracked by fear. It is no longer an emotional feeling that keeps many off the playing fields of life. It has become a strong weapon used by technology, politics, economics, religion, terrorism and sheer hatred. Fear has become a cruel weapon of control and alienation that is telling millions around the world; “You don’t belong…unless”. Existence is fast becoming conditional.From where our world is now and to what it needs to be to get some way beyond the culture of fear and hate, Pope Francis is challenging youth to begin shaping a new humanity.

His challenge is to establish a culture of mercy that is honest about living a meaningful life: “Dear young people, we didn’t come into this world to “vegetate,” to take it easy, to make our lives a comfortable sofa to fall asleep on. No, we came for another reason: to leave a mark. It is very sad to pass through life without leaving a mark.”His genuine concern about the direction of this new humanity is clear. This plea is not only for youth but also for all in the Church.

At the core of the Pope’s statement is the very real fear that our lives will be unremarkable, unexciting and unimportant. What person doesn’t have that thought cross their mind? Back now at ‘home base’ the challenge to the returning pilgrims and their communities will be to carry determination, love, justice and mercy into the lives of our homes, families and friends as a true sign of a new humanity.

Writing on the occasion of appointing a new chancellor to the Pontifical John Paul II Institute and the Academy for Life, Pope Francis encouraged a new focus ever more clearly on the horizon of mercy. He wanted the institutions to renew their commitment to

spreading church teaching on family, marriage and life issues in relation to the challenges of contemporary culture. Pope Francis emphasized that the sphere of reflection should be the frontiers of society: “Even in theological study, a pastoral perspective and attention to the wounds of humanity should never be lacking.”He continued: “To bow down before the wounds of the human person, to understand, cure and heal them is the task of a church that trusts in the light and strength of the risen Christ.”

Such a church is “able to deal with tension and conflict as a ‘field hospital’ that lives, proclaims and realizes its mission of salvation and healing, precisely where the life of individuals is most threatened by the new cultures of competition and rejection.”

What pilgrims heard from Pope Francis is the proclamation of a new charter with emphasis on the power to reach out and heal those who are afraid, poor, refugee, abused and devalued. His theme: ‘Blessed are the merciful’ was a plea to a fear-filled world to open hearts and borders, to build bridges and pull down walls.The resonating echoes of the chants: “Papa Francesco” should remind the pilgrims that the old order has passed away and the new deal, the new charter, the new humanity was proclaimed at Krakow: “Mercy always has a youthful face.”

Father Peter M. KaramEditor and Publisher

Where to from here?Editorial

Catholic Life, June, 20166

In late August, the Catholic Schools Office hosted the annual Priests, Principals and senior CSO staff conference in Coffs Harbour. The theme of the conference was ‘Building Stronger Catholic Communities-Head, Heart and Hands’.

This event reiterated the challenges that schools and parishes face in re-enlivening the mission of the church entrusted to them, but also the optimism we

have gained from the Proclaim Lismore program over the last three years. Proclaim Lismore has yielded many fruits in this initial period of Catholic Cultural change. Our student discipleship program continues to grow, our parent assembly conference evidenced significant growth in numbers and a Catholicity continues to be permeated into the mainstream curriculum. Significantly, the promulgation by the Bishop of Lismore of the Foundational Values for Catholic Identity and Mission is leading to a formation of ‘the head, the heart and the hands’ in both staff and students, in encountering Jesus Christ. Proclaim Lismore recognises that to encounter Jesus Christ on a personal level, there must be solid catechesis, the heart must engage,

and faith must be put into action. Therein the conference saw international speakers from England, the United States and the Philippines broaden our perspective on initiatives of evangelisation and the enactment of mission in other parts of the world. The conference continued the call regarding directions regarding Catholic Identity, formation and evangelisation, as St John Paul II demanded, “in new ardour, methods and means of expression”. A key learning from the conference was that methods of handing on the faith need to be rigorously and faithfully refocussed to enable a new evangelisation to take cultural roots.

On the days of the conference, attendees shared methodologies that are happening in our own Diocese, in England, in the United States and in the Philippines. They confirmed that the universal church, struggling against problems, facing obstacles, seeking solace in the fallout of many issues, always find new ways forward through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Kathy Enright from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California, spoke at length of the need for all members of the Church to continue professional learning, especially around the pillars of the human, spiritual, emotional and intellectual. The Head of Evangelisation in the Diocese of Plymouth, England, David Wells gave addresses on what Pope Francis is calling the Church to be through the virtues of Joy and Mercy.

Fr Nonong Fajardo, Minister for Public Affairs under Cardinal Tagle in Manila, spoke of his projects and of leading change through governance, advocacy and learning from the poor not doing to the poor. All speakers highlighted that the Diocese of Lismore is in the midst of definitive, exciting and positive change. For us as Church it was recognised that we must see ourselves as one group, struggling in our own way, with many other such groups in the world, ‘always facing forward’.

The conference concluded that placing an evangelisation focus, inspired by ourselves and others, is crucial in the years ahead. This must be evaluated by a collective fundamental orientation to Jesus Christ and Christ-centred learning. Such focus will guarantee that all teachers, as Lumen Gentium reminded us, have “a special vocation: to make the Church present and fruitful in places and circumstances so she can become the salt of the earth”. Besides acknowledging the evangelising nature of our schools it was is also asked that schools refocus on lifting Catholic enrolment: re-engaging Catholics in other systems; focussing on the transmission of the faith; and ensuring that our schools are not becoming ‘fashionable’ to those with no interest in the catholic Identity of the school.

In essence then, the call from Proclaim Lismore 2013-2020, for the co-design of a stronger catholic culture in leadership, is even more important today than 3 years ago. As Chris Lowney reminded us in 2013 ‘We clergy, principals, managers, laity, are all leaders-whether we like it, for good or for worse; the players the Holy Spirit has put on the playing field’.

Building sTRoNGeR CAThoLiC CoMMuNiTies

by David Condon, Director of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Lismore


World YouTh DAY

The 31st World Youth Day was held in Krakow Poland in July this year.

Celebrated with the theme, “Blessed are they merciful, for they shall receive mercy,” (Matthew 5:7) it gave an opportunity for Christians, young and old, ordained,

religious and lay, to encounter Jesus anew, that is, in the words of Pope Francis during the welcoming ceremony: “To celebrate Jesus who is living in our midst!... [that is] to rekindle our enthusiasm in following him, to renew our passionate desire to be his disciples.” (Address of the Holy Father, World Youth Day, Krakow, 28 July 2016)

I was part of the diocesan pilgrimage group from the Diocese of Lismore to World Youth Day 2016. There were 45 pilgrims led by the Bishop and I was one of the four priests from the diocese including Fr Paul Winter, Fr Bing Monteagudo and Fr Stefan Matuszek who assisted with chaplaincy ministry during the pilgrimage.

In his address during the Prayer Vigil, Pope told the pilgrims: “In all settings in which you find yourselves, God’s love invites you to bring the Good News, making of your own lives a gift to him and others. This means being courageous, this means being free!” (Address of the Holy Father, World Youth Day, Krakow, 30 July 2016)

This captures the essence of “vocation.” Vocation comes from a Latin word “vocare” which means to call. Vocation

means that God calls each one of us to be part of a mission – to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ. That calling takes many different shapes. The Catholic Church expresses vocation in four states of life: married life, religious life (nun – brother – sister); ordained (priesthood – and deacon) and single. Each of these states of life is the primary setting in which we can grow in our discipleship and share in the mission of bringing the Good News of Jesus.

“The times we live in require only active players on the field,” Pope Francis also said, “and there is no room for those who sit on the bench. Today’s world demands that you be a protagonist of history because life is always beautiful when we choose to live it fully, when we choose to leave a mark... As he did on Pentecost, the Lord wants to work one of the greatest miracles we can experience; he wants to turn your hands, my hands, our hands, into signs of reconciliation, of communion, of creation. He wants your hands to continue building the world of today. And he wants to build that world with you. And what is your response? Yes or no?” (Address of the Holy Father, World Youth Day, Krakow, 30 July 2016)

May more and more young men and women say “yes” to the Lord’s call to a life dedicated to bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Let us continue praying for an increase of vocation to the diocesan priesthood in the Diocese of Lismore.

by Fr Roland Agrisola, Vocations Director

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If – after prayer – you feel God has chosen you for a vocation then please contact:

Most Rev’d Bishop Geoffrey JarrettBishop’s Office, P.O. Box 1, Lismore NSW 2480Fr Roland Agrisola, Bishop’s Office, P.O. Box 1,

Lismore NSW 2480 Phone: (02) 6626 0200

The Mercy Reflection Garden is a wonderful asset for the College and was built with the generous support of the Mercy Sisters.

Sr Barbara Bolster rsm attended the blessing and opening on 30th November 2015 accompanied by other Sisters of Mercy from the Grafton region, Sr

Jenny Hartley, Sr Clare Noonan and Sr Jan Holohan. The garden was blessed by the College Chaplain, Fr Bing Monteagudo and opened by Sr Barbara Bolster.

McAuley Catholic College has been on a new site at Clarenza since 2004 but could not afford the prohibitive cost of building a chapel, so the Mercy Sisters of Grafton, prior to their amalgamation into the Institute, set aside some funds to create a space on campus to allow quiet reflection and a point of focus in times of sadness or tragedy or celebration.

The process started with identifying an area and drawing preliminary plans with input from various sources. The Principal, Mr Leon Walsh, consulted with a range of people including local craftsman and artist, Mr Jim Muldoon who has had a long association with design and construction of Mercy crosses for schools and institutions across Australia. He designed a stainless steel Mercy cross for the entrance to the garden. Many local contractors contributed to the development, along with staff and students who assisted in various ways.

The garden has a small tiered seating area suitable for a class gathering. In one corner there is a marble statue of Jesus and the remaining space has several large rocks which provide relaxed seating. There is an extensive shade sail covering about half of the area. As the hedge around the space grows and matures, it is hoped the garden will provide a sanctuary and quiet space for students and staff.

The College community is very proud of its Mercy heritage and owes an enormous debt of gratitude to the Mercy Sisters who pioneered education in this region dating back to January 1884 when they landed in Grafton from Bermondsey in London.

The College is indebted to the Mercy Sisters for their support of this project.

The Mercy ReFLeCTioN GARDeN


A Tribute to John

Our Advertising Manager, Mr John Howard, passed away four weeks ago. He was much respected in media circles in this country, a much talented

colleague and loyal friend.He was with us for twelve years, from the first issue of the

“new” magazine format and celebrated each of the national awards accorded our magazine. We benefited from his encyclopaedic knowledge of Australian media and his easy recall of names of many in the media industry.

His commitment in years and energy to the advancement of community organizations to help those with special needs, our indigenous people and was a founding member of the Lords Taverners NR Club. Only recently he was accorded a Life membership in Multitask in recognition of his many years of service. He commenced his employment locally in 1982: 1982-1985: Business Manager Northern Star Holdings - Regional Daily & Community Newspapers, Radio and Television operations1985-1995: General Manager and Director Northern Star Ltd, Regional Daily Newspaper and four weekly community newspapers, Financial Bureau for group subsidiaries, commercial print operation and retail stationery outlets1995-to date: Self Employed Other Professional and Community Involvement History:Recent (basically to this year) – Chairman/Member of Board of Directors, Multitask Human Resources Foundation (and

prior was Board Member Lismore Challenge Ltd, a total of approx 30 years volunteer service). Honoured to have been awarded a Life Membership to that organisation.Member, Board of Management, TURSA Employment & Training Ltd until December 2015 resignation. Key Past Endeavours - all volunteer service:• Assistedandprovidedadviceanddirectioninthe

formation of Australia’s first national Aboriginal newspaper, the Koori Mail, Lismore NSW (1991) and securing of seed funding for ownership by five local individual Aboriginal Land Councils and Cooperatives.

• Businessrepresentativeinthedevelopmentandestablishment of Southern Cross University and selection panel member for senior staff appointments

• CommitteeMember,NorthCoastNationalAgricultural&Industry Society

• Chairman,SalvationArmyBusinessAdvisoryCommitteefor a number of years

• ExecutiveCommitteeMember,intheformationandfledgingyears of The Lords Taverners Northern NSW Branch.

At “Catholic Life” we were inspired by John. As we turn the pages in our magazine, one page we will always recall.

We extend our prayerful sympathy to Tricia, Christian and Ryan.

At this time I recall the words of the American author John Steinbeck: “It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone”.

Rest in peace John.Father Peter Karam – Editor and Publisher

Catholic Life, June, 2016 9Catholic Life, September, 20158

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Our Parish Priest Fr Amila Rajasekara has a busy schedule serving these three communities as he not only celebrates the Holy Eucharist with weekend Masses in each of the three churches but also conducts a regular program of weekday Masses. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered once a week in each community and Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction are celebrated in all three churches once a month.

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Parish HistoryOur Lady of the Rosary Parish was established in 1981 under the care of Father Darcy McCarthy. Father McCarthy died in 1991 and Father Frank Mulcahy was appointed Parish Priest and he remained until 2012. Father Max Gow followed as Parish Priest in August 2012.

In August 2013 the Alstonville Parish was amalgamated with St Patrick’s Church, Wardell. Pastoral Associates, Sisters Anne Hughes RSM and Larelle Laverty RSM assist in the pastoral care of the parish.

Our parish serves Alstonville, Wollongbar, Rous Mill, Marom Creek, Pearces Creek, Uralba, Tuckombil, Wardell and Broadwater.

The community is served by St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School.

A word from our Parish Priest – Fr Max GowThe parish of Alstonville/ Wardell is a strong and welcoming

community. In addition to the rich liturgical life of the parish, there is a wide range of activities that aim to strengthen and deepen faith.

There is an embedded culture of volunteering to support all aspects of parish life and most parishioners are active as volunteers in one way or another. They participate in groups such as Care & Concern, Adult Faith, RCIA, LinC (love in the name of Christ) Family Groups, Liturgy of the Word for Children, Rosary Group and St Vincent de Paul.

Currently we have over 100 altar servers and approximately another 100 liturgical and music ministers who assist at the weekly Masses. In addition, parishioners volunteer at the Father Mac’s Heavenly Pudding kitchen. These helpers wrap and pack the puddings and make up cartons. The volunteers are the special ingredients in a Father Mac’s Heavenly Pudding. Without their assistance the cooked puddings would go no further than the oven!

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Centenary Celebrations at Wardell Parish Church

Welcome Ceremony

Volunteers at Fr. Macs


Each year, during the month of July, the parish responds to a special request to support a project in Zimbabwe through the sale of Father Mac’s Heavenly Puddings, with all the proceeds donated to this appeal. This gesture from our parish shows our commitment to the poor, something Pope Francis is continually calling us to. This year, $6,500 was sent to Zimbabwe to help provide breakfast for those who go to school hungry.

For the past 20 years, the parish has celebrated Family Week, acknowledging the importance of family. The week begins with

Pancake Sunday and parishioners are invited to breakfast following the 8.30am Sunday Mass. There is an emphasis, not only on individual families, but also our Parish family.

The parish has a vibrant Pastoral Council elected by the parishioners which provides a guiding vision for the parish. During the Year of Mercy, the Pastoral Council organised weekly reflections, justice thoughts, liturgical prayer and video clips to remind us of the Year of Mercy. Young people spoke of their immersion experiences and commitment to mercy.

New parishioners and visitors are made especially welcome at weekend Masses.

Our Parish GroupsOur call as Catholics today is to continue to be firm in

our faith. The call is basically to bring our communities and our everyday living back to the heart of what we are – back to Christ himself. It is an opportunity for us to see the face of Christ in all our members of this vibrant community who participate in service and those that receive and benefit from the service and relationships.

St Joseph’s Family Day

For Mass and reconciLiation tiMes consuLt the Parish website:

www.alstonvillecatholicchurch.ordg.auPhone:02 6628 3047 Email:[email protected]

churches:our Lady of the rosary

44 Main Street, Alstonville 2477st. Patrick’s church

Richmond Street, Wardell 2477Parish schooL:

st. Joseph’s Primary school11 Perry Street, Alstonville 2477

Phone: 02 6628 1009Email: [email protected]

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Parish Groups

• Adult Faith Development• Becoming a Catholic• Care and Concern• Celebration of the Word with Children• Family Groups• Father Mac’s Heavenly Puddings• Finance Council• Liturgical Ministry• Pastoral Council• Rosary Group• Social Justice Committee• St Joseph’s School• Youth Ministry

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Parishioners on Pancake Day


All thE DiffErEnt moDEs of PrAYEr thAt AbounD fAll into onE of tWo Distinct GrouPs. thE first cAn bE DEscribED vAriouslY As PrivAtE, PErsonAl, DEvotionAl, or, As ron rolhEisEr cAlls it, AffEctivE PrAYEr. thE sEconD GrouP is corPorAtE, Public, liturGicAl, EcclEsiAl, or PriEstlY (rolhEisEr).

Both types of prayer are vital in the life of the Christian and, like love and marriage in the old musical, you can’t have one without the other. Liturgical prayer forms us for personal prayer. Personal prayer forms us for liturgical prayer.

But they are totally different. The difference does not relate to where it is happening or how many people, eg. 100 priests meditating in the church is private/devotional/affective prayer, a religious sister praying Morning Prayer (divine office) on her own is involved in corporate/liturgical/ecclesial/priestly prayer. The distinction lies in the different nature and purpose of each type.

There are all sorts of private/personal/affective prayer – meditation, devotional prayer, Marian prayer, but they all have one purpose – personal intimacy with God and a deeper relationship with Christ. Private prayer is a personal conversation with God

in which we prayer for but not with others.

Liturgical prayer is not the private prayer of isolated individuals who happen to be physically together; it is the group activity of the Body of Christ, an offering of prayer by a spiritually united assembly. In public worship we pray together in Christ for the life of the world. “In the liturgy, all Christian prayer finds its source and goal” (CCC 1073).

Corporate prayer is universal; it belongs to the Church, to the people

of God. In liturgical prayer we pray with Christ, through the Church, for the world. This concept is counter-cultural in an individualistic society.

Those who bear the responsibility of preparing and leading the community’s prayer need to understand the nature of liturgical prayer and be wary of posing individual preferences onto corporate worship and of focussing on making liturgy ‘relevant’ (to whom?) Preparing and leading good liturgy is more than a matter of taste and requires more than good will – it requires people with expertise in the field.

An important question when it comes to preparing and participating in corporate prayer is: How do we worship God as Church with one voice? Singing has important role in helping us pray communally; set forms and familiar texts enable us to pray together. The purpose of rubrics and documents like the General Instruction of the Roman Missal is to help create unity in our public worship.

The key to worshipping as one body is listening to our fellow worshippers and joining our prayer with theirs, not trying to get to the end of the prayer before everyone else, as some people seem to do!

There are different types of prayer – personal, devotional, liturgical – and the greatest of these is liturgical!

Reprinted with permission of “Catholic Leader”, Brisbane)

Liturgy:Praying Together

by Elizabeth Harrington, Liturgy Brisbane’s Education Officer


Q: What is the Church’s position on euthanasia?The word “euthanasia” literally means “good death”. Every responsible person should hope to die, when the day comes, in a good way. But the Church maintains that dying by way of an act of another person which terminates one’s life is anything but good.The crux of the Church’s opposition to euthanasia is that the good of the sanctity of human life, that life which God has bestowed on each one of us, can never be sacrificed for the sake of the good of self-determination. In Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul II wrote about the present attitude towards death: “When the prevailing tendency is to value life only to the extent that it brings pleasure and well-being, suffering seems like an unbearable setback, something from which one must be freed at all costs. Death is considered ‘senseless’ if it suddenly interrupts a life still open to a future of new and interesting experiences. But it becomes a ‘rightful liberation’ once life is held to be no longer meaningful because it is filled with pain and inexorably doomed to even greater suffering.” (n64)The decision to request that one’s life should be ended by means of an active intervention by another person rests on a misconception that a human life can be not worth living. People have made that judgement about themselves and about others for centuries, many choosing to take their own life. Today, with advances in medical technology, the possibility exists for others to intervene to assist

people to end their lives, relatively painlessly. But this doesn’t make that judgement morally right. On the contrary, it is a clear violation of a principle which all civilised societies have recognised and defended throughout human history. And from the point of view of Christian teaching it contravenes the commandment of God, “Thou shalt not kill.”The Church reminds us that euthanasia must be distinguished from the decision to forego so-called ‘aggressive medical treatment’, in other words, “medical procedures which no longer correspond to the real situation of the patient, either because they are by now disproportionate to any expected results or because they impose an excessive burden on the patient and his family. In such situations, when death is clearly imminent and inevitable, one can in conscience ‘refuse forms of treatment that would only secure a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life, so long as the normal care due to the sick person in similar cases is not interrupted’.”(Evangelium Vitae, n65) Christians have been at the forefront of caring for the sick and dying for centuries. Inspiring that service has been a reverence for human life and a love for the God who has created that life and who has sovereignty over it. And the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry of healing leave us in no doubt of how he respected human life when many of his generation did not. One only needs to recall his healing of the ten lepers and of the blind man by the Pool of Siloam, whom others had bypassed for many years.

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DevotionA Visit RecAlled

Ten years ago, Pope Benedict XVI visited the Shrine of the Holy Face in Manoppello, which houses an image of the face of Christ which some believe to be the Veil of Veronica.

“Seeking the Face of Jesus must be the longing of all of us Christians; indeed, we are ‘the generation’ which seeks his Face in our day, the Face of the ‘God of Jacob’,” Benedict said during his Sept. 1, 2006 pilgrimage to the shrine. “If we persevere in our quest for the Face of the Lord, at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, he, Jesus, will be our eternal joy, our reward and glory for ever.”

During that pilgrimage Benedict was the first Pope in more than 400 years to kneel in veneration before the Manoppello Image which is kept in the shrine, located about 12 miles southwest of Chieti in Italy’s Abruzzo region.

After his visit to Manoppello, the talk of the human face of God in Christ became a kind of mark in Benedict’s pontificate.

In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the event, Paul Badde asked Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto about his memories of the day:

Badde: Your Grace, ten years ago, Pope Benedict XVI

visited the holy veil, which is called the “Volto Santo” in Manoppello and was long known as the “Veil of Veronica”, on your invitation as the first Pope in over 400 years to visit. You stood one meter away from the Holy Father on this historic encounter. What was going through your mind during those moments?

“In those moments, my eyes were going back and forth between the venerated image and the face of the Successor of Peter, who contemplated it intensely, as if to be captured by the image and at the same time challenged to enter into that which this veil suggests – with that extraordinary mystical and inquiring intelligence that characterised the whole work of Joseph Ratzinger and Benedict XVI.

It was like attending a dialogue in which silence was more eloquent than each word: a silence from the surplus, touching and being touched on the threshold of mystery from whose depths allows itself to be illuminated.”

Pope Benedict at the Shrine in Manoppello

1414

An ExCiting And AdvEnturous rEnEWAl of CAtholiC idEntity And mission hAs bEEn hAppEning ACross thE 46 pArish sChools Within thE dioCEsE of lismorE in rECEnt yEArs. this rEnEWAl CAllEd proClAim lismorE hAs foCusEd on pArish sChool stAff, pArEnts And studEnts in its first four yEArs And Will rEdoublE its foCus And Effort in 2017.

In August 2016, 700 students, staff and clergy from across the Diocese of Lismore assembled for the fifth Annual Diocesan CSYMA Gathering – ‘Shine’. Held at St John Paul College in Coffs Harbour, the gathering brought together students ranging from years 9-12 who have been studying the CSYMA Youth Ministry units as a part of the Catholic Studies Course. Sleeping on classroom floors, the students enjoyed two days of talks, rallies, workshops, discussion, music and sacraments.

In two days with so many highlights, not the least of which included, the Emmanuel Worship band, inspirational guest speakers Fr Morgan Batt and Kym Keady and the CSYMA National Team, it was the participation of students as small group leaders, workshop presenters, master of ceremonies, testimony presenters, drama performers, multimedia makers, readers, altar servers and the welcoming party that was the cause for most celebration. Peer-to-peer ministry was truly in action! The development

of these skills and the preparation of students to perform these roles at the gathering was a credit to their teachers.

The highlight for many was certainly the Thursday evening rally where seven hundred danced and sang praise and worship before transitioning into complete silence, total reverence and unreserved adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It was uplifting to witness such an outpouring of student faith.

The success and growth of the ‘Shine’ gathering over the last five years has ensured it will be an annual event. With all parish secondary schools now implementing the CSYMA program Shine will continue to provide an opportunity for these students to join together in this unique faith journey that strengthens student discipleship.

As Proclaim Lismore moves on to its next phase please pray for our students. They are filled with the love of God to be found in Jesus Christ and are hungry to live their faith. Our prayers ought also to be for our many parish school staff who generously share of their time and witness to their Catholic faith with the students. It is a time to rejoice in the Diocese of Lismore because there is an exciting outpouring of the Holy Spirit renewing every aspect of Catholic education.

Matt de Dassel and Kate NestorStudent Discipleship Formation Consultants

School Evangelisation and Catechetical ServicesCatholic Schools Office – Diocese of Lismore

‘Shine’ Gathering 2016 for Students in Parish Secondary Schools


One of Port Macquarie’s St. Agnes Parishioners Sandra Wilson, met Pope Francis on a recent visit to the Vatican.

As a young student attending St. Felix Catholic School at Bankstown in Sydney, Sandra had a dream that one day she would meet the Pope.

Sandra was born with achondroplasia (dwarfism).Sandra was born in Sydney but came to Port Macquarie

in middle age where she lived a very active life in Community Affairs. Sandra is very involved with St. Agnes Catholic Parish in Port Macquarie and her contribution to Parish Life includes Special Minister of the Eucharist, Reader and Commentator on a regular basis and member of the Catholic Women’s League.

Sandra has been able to inspire many people by her involvement with the Parish. Sandra works as a Volunteer in the Port Macquarie Community Kitchen, visiting patients in the local Hospitals and visiting people in their homes.

Wherever possible Sandra advises other people with a disability to become involved in the community.

To celebrate her 70th Birthday this year, Sandra with two of her friends decided to take an overseas holiday which included a visit to the Vatican.

On Wednesday June 22nd Sandra’s wish became a reality when she was personally greeted by His Holiness.

A Wish cOme tRue

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AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED... a Catholic charity dependent on the Holy See, providing pastoral relief to needy and oppressed Churches

CL

Lis


One of the other places which we were blessed to visit, the very spiritual heart of Poland, was the Jasna Gora shrine of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa. Always a place of huge crowds of pilgrims, a place was reserved for us to offer Mass at the very altar of the image of Our Lady, something I had not expected. At this beautiful silver altar there is only one place where one’s feet can stand. The awareness that my feet stood precisely on the space where St John Paul had stood offering Mass on his visits as priest, bishop, cardinal and pope was a significant moment of my pilgrimage and, as he had done, there were many graces I consciously sought at that altar for our diocese and for many who had asked our prayers. Many unexpected good things happen along a pilgrim’s way and if you have been to Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe or any of Our Lady’s best known shrines you will know what I mean.

Another unplanned moment was the opportunity while in Warsaw to make an afternoon pilgrimage to the parish of Blessed (soon to be canonised) Jerzy Popiełuszko, the Solidarity priest who was assassinated by the communist secret police as he was driving home after an evening Mass in 1984. Ordained in 1972 Father Jerzy as an assistant priest served also as a chaplain to the workers of the Solidarity union movement at the Gdansk shipyards. The government had grown nervous coping with a popular workers’ movement which was threatening the collapse of Polish communism. Collapse it did just five years after Father Jerzy’s murder. The priest’s funeral in the large forecourt of his church attended in the streets and parks around by ten thousand workers and the whole Polish episcopate was a sign that now there could be no going back.

As a priest of the same generation I recall the close interest we were taking in Hobart in the early 1980’s in the courageous ministry of Father Jerzy and other Solidarity priests, an interest promoted by the late Father Greg Jordan SJ among the students at the Catholic chaplaincy of the University of Tasmania. We had a group called “The Friends of the Prisoners” which supported priests and lay people who were suffering behind what was then known as the Iron Curtain. I remember the news of the death of Father Jerzy at the time and the Mass that was offered in the St John Fisher College chapel. So it was good to kneel there in Warsaw at his grave, again where Pope John Paul had knelt, at the large granite cross, surrounded by the round stones linked in a huge chain of a rosary

enclosing the grassy knoll of the shrine, to kneel and pray for a like faith and courage for all priests today. In the nearby presbytery and museum one was reminded of how ordinary a priest’s life can be, a desk and a typewriter, the books and the rosary, souvenirs and family gifts, a sick-call stole and holy oil stocks and winter woollies. All suddenly left behind by a call to martyrdom.

Our return home was another of travel’s unexpected events and delays caused by the crash landing of an earlier aircraft on the runway at Dubai. The Lismore pilgrims returned home sleepless and late but safely, luggage following days later.

World Youth Day in Poland vividly brought to mind the great and enduring legacy of St John Paul II, “the millennial Pope.” For a lifetime he had ‘opened the doors to Christ’ and exhorted countless young people to do the same in their own cultures and societies. Go to work, he would say, wherever they remain closed or shut by opposing forces. Wherever attempts are made to deny Christ a place in His world, or Christians are denied the freedom to proclaim their faith and its way of living, there is your call to action.

Following from his predecessors and in his own style, the message of Pope Francis to the young people of the world over our days together continued the same challenge and encouragement: In the face of all that opposes, go to work with the courage and truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and activate your call to holiness. On our home front there are many young Christians and their friends ready to take a more critical view, for example, of the various agendas of ‘political correctness’ at work in today’s Australia, sowing false views of the human person and proclaiming their right to such constructs as ‘marriage equality,’ the recognition of ‘gender fluidity,’ and all the rest. “Christians Keep Out” has never been a command we have recognised, for we know that whatever is not of God must ultimately fail. As today’s apostles our WYD pilgrims and their peers can depend upon the intense interest and prayers, from their heavenly places, of St John Paul II and all the holy men and women of Poland whose faith and witness constantly held aloft Christ and His Mother, to shine like the dawn when the darkness of their country’s long night began to fade at last.

Yours devotedly in Christ,✠ Geoffrey Jarrett, Bishop of Lismore

Pope Francis leaving World Youth Day 2016

the BishOp Writes Continued from page 3

17

GrATITuDE WAS THE OVErWHELMING FEELING ExPrESSED BY PILGrIMS AT THE CONCLuSION OF THE LISMOrE DIOCESE World youth dAy 2016 PILGrIMAGE TO POLAND. GrATITuDE TOWArDS THE DIOCESE OF LISMOrE, GrATITuDE FOr THE TEACHINGS OF POPE FrANCIS AND GrATITuDE FOr THE INCLuSIVENESS OF THE uNIVErSAL CHurCH THAT WAS SO EVIDENT DurING THE LIFE-CHANGING ExPErIENCE THAT WAS World youth dAy 2016.

A diverse group of 47 pilgrims representing the breadth of the diocese included Most rev Geoffrey Jarrett, Chaplains – Fr Paul Winter, Fr roland Agrisola, Fr Stefan Matsuzek and Fr Bing Montegeudo, Youth Ministry Officers, Parish School Teachers and Parish sponsored pilgrims. Formation before departure included: prayer, music, pilgrimage orientation, logistics and catechesis on St John Paul II, St Maximillian Kolbe, Divine Mercy, Marian devotion and placement of the Church in the history of the world. This catechesis continued on pilgrimage proving a highlight of the experience with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and Archbishop Christopher Prowse from Canberra featuring during the daily catechesis in Wyd week.

The pilgrimage began with two nights in Warsaw followed by ten in Krakow for the week of Wyd activities and finished with two nights in Vienna before the long trip home. There were

many highlights including visits to Wadowice, the birthplace of St John Paul II, Mass in the Shrine of the Black Madonna and a moving day at Auschwitz-Birkenau which was preceded by a poignant homily from Fr Paul Winter on the nature of evil and concluded with small group sharing at the Shrine of Divine Mercy. Once Wyd began it was the big events like the Opening Mass, the arrival of Pope Francis, the Pilgrim walk to Campus Misericordia, the Papal vigil with 1.5 million pilgrims and of course Mass with the Holy Father in front of 2.5 million pilgrims.

The Wyd pilgrimage has provided an opportunity to move closer to Christ for those who were fortunate to be involved. It has provided a deep appreciation of the universal Church and a chance to be immersed in the tradition of the Catholic Church through catechesis and daily Mass with Bishops and Chaplains. The rich history of Poland with it’s remarkable prominence as the birth place of many Saints including the founder of World youth day, Saint John Paul II provided a unique backdrop for Wyd2016.

The 18 day pilgrimage was captured in detail using digital ministry platforms of Instagram, Facebook and the Proclaim Lismore Students website. Contributions to these platforms included written blogs, video diaries, photographs, captions and conversations can be accessed at the following links:

www.proclaimlismorestudents.com.au https://www.facebook.com/proclaimlismorestudents/

Matt de Dassel, Lismore Diocese WYD 2016Pilgrimage Coordinator

Lismore Diocese World Youth Day 2016 Pilgrimage

Lismore World Youth Day Contingent

lEAvE A mArk, popE frAnCis tElls young AustrAliAns At World youth dAy vigilmore than 3,000 young people from across Australia and half of the Australian Catholic bishops joined pope francis for a prayer vigil at Campus misericordiae, kraków on saturday 30th July as part of World youth dAy 2016.

An additional three hundred young Australians were invited to join Pope Francis in front of the stage. Throughout the vigil, Australian flags could be seen across the campus where more than 1.6 million gathered.

The vigil was a time of prayer, meditation and singing in preparation for the celebration of the Eucharist at the final Mass of World youth day on Sunday 31st July.

On Saturday morning, young people began the pilgrimage on foot to Campus Misericordiae, a field between Kraków and Wieliczka.

Speaking after the vigil, Bishop Peter A Comensoli, a member of the Bishops Commission for Family, Youth and Life said, ‘Tonight has been a powerful

encounter with the merciful Lord for our young people on their journey of faith, hope and prayer. Through all the physical and mental challenges that World Youth Day week can throw up, it has been a life making experience for each of them. Sharing this vigil with the youth of the world tonight was going to the horizons with Jesus rather than the museum, as Pope Francis told us in his address’.

In a challenging and inspiring address, Pope Francis told young people, ‘the times we live in do not call for young couch potatoes but for young people with shoes, or better, boots laced’. He said, we didn’t come into this world ‘to make our lives a comfortable couch to fall asleep on. No, we came for another reason to leave a mark’.

Pope Francis encouraged young people to ‘build bridges not walls’, to be ‘courageous and free’ and to not confuse ‘happiness with consumption’.

Based on the theme of World youth day; ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy’ (Mt 5:7), the field was named by World youth day organisers as the place of encounter between the Holy Father and millions of young people from around the world.

Pope Francis entered the vigil site by passing through the ‘Gate of Mercy’ accompanied by representatives of all continents.

18

Pope Francis with young people cross the Gate of Mercy at the Campus Misericordiae in Brzegi, Poland, 30 July 2016, during the evening vigil with pilgrims participating in

the World Youth Day 2016.AAP IMAGE.

19

Pilgrims participating in World Youth Day 2016 carry the cross during the Station of the Cross mass with Pope Francis in Blonia Park in Krakow, Poland, 29 July 2016. AAP IMAGE.

The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy

Words of Pope FrancisOur true identity cannot be lived out in glum negativity, but only in the knowledge that, in God’s eyes, our value cannot be measured; no one is insignificant.Pope Francis made these remarks on Sunday to at least 1.5 million young people gathered in Krakow for the final Mass of World youth day (Wyd).“God loves us the way we are andno sin, fault or mistake of ours makes him change his mind,” the Pope said in his homily to the crowds of young people who filled Polish city’s “Campus Misericordiae” – or “Field of Mercy.”“No one is insignificant,” the pontiff said. “He loves all of us with a special love; for him all of us are important: you are important!”“God is not concerned about whether you are stylish or what kind of phone you have,” Pope Francis said. “In his eyes, you are precious and your value is inestimable.”“He believes in us even more than we believe in ourselves. He is always ‘cheering us on’; he is our biggest fan.”

Lismore Diocese World Youth Day 2016 Pilgrimage

Tuning in to Pope Francis at World Youth Day

20

A welcome coffee break

Our Lady of Czestochowa,

Basilica Interior


Ministry in the OutBAck

In the poem “My Country” by Dorothea Mackellar, we read these immortal words:

I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, Her beauty and her terror - The wide brown land for me!

This is an accurate description of north-western part of the Townsville Diocese. For the last four or five years this area has been in drought. Yes! there were a few

good rain falls over the summer months but not enough to break the drought. At Christmas I was given a new insight into the phase that we use continually in our worship “Living Water”. It was incredible what effect the rain had on the people of the Outback. They were full of joy and hope, it turned their lives around. The Cloncurry River was in flood, the many creeks and streams were full of water and life abounded.

Ministry in this part of the country is different to that on the coast. You can drive hundreds of kilometres each week for a handful of faithful people. These numbers can vary depending on what is happening in the local town some 150 kilometres away, mustering or the rivers and creeks are in flood. Despite this, the faith is alive and people appreciate the fact that the Mass and the Sacraments are offered to them on a regular basis.

Funerals are a challenge. Due to the small population in the local government areas, often there is no Funeral Director in the town. The task of conducting a funeral falls on the local community. The role of funeral director often is the local Shire Council and the body of the deceased is kept in the local hospital where the body is prepared by the local medical staff. If no clergy are available, one of the locals conducts the funeral. There is a funeral director in Mount Isa and the next one is in Charters Towers eight hundred kilometres away. The parishes of Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek, Cloncurry and Winton do not have a funeral director.

The way of ministering in the outback is different and has its challenges. Take any parish and the distances are huge. Mount Isa Parish goes from Camooweal 200 kilometres to the north of the Isa down to Boulia 300 kilometres in the south and east 260 kilometres to Julia Creek. Fr Mick Lowcock is the only priest in this vast expanse. The next parish is Hughenden which has a vigil Mass on Saturday evening, on Sunday morning in Richmond, 115 kilometres west andSunday evening in Winton 215 kilometres south of Hughenden. The parish priest drives a total of 660 kms per weekend to provide Mass for around 60 people.

I celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation in Richmond recently, as there has been no Bishop in the diocese for over two years since the death of Bishop Michael Putney. The Diocesan Administrator is often unavailable often for the celebration of Confirmation so the Parish Priest celebrates the sacrament. Recently, as the Parish Priest was away on leave, I was called upon to confer the Sacrament on the children in Richmond. There were 9 children from the district to be confirmed.

The parishioners in the outback have a right to have access to the Mass and the Sacraments on a regular basis. Some live 125 kilometres or more from the nearest church. In order for their children to receive an education, the children live in town during the week and go back to the station at weekends

As the numbers decline in this area due to the down turn in the mining and pastoral industries and as the long drought starts to bite harder, combined with the withdrawal of financial institutions and government departments, young families have moved away for work. Mass attendance is falling. One wonders how long the Mass and the Sacraments can be offered on a regular basis?

It is a difficult ministry but a very rewarding one. People really appreciate what is offered.

Fr Colin Reinhard, retired priest of the Lismore Diocese

Fr. Colin Reinhard administers the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Fr. Colin Reinhard with Confirmation candidates.

22

Churches of the WORld Saint Basil’s

Cathedral red Square,

moscow

catholic life, september, 2016 23

ReligiousARt

Commonly known as Saint Basil’s Cathedral, is a church in red Square in Moscow, russia. Wikipedia

height: 48m

founder: Ivan the Terrible

Architects: Postnik Yakovlev, Ivan Barma

burials: Basil Fool for Christ, Alexei Komech, Peter Petreius

Architectural styles: russian architecture, Byzantine architecture

The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, commonly known as Saint Basil’s Cathedral, is a church in red Square in Moscow, russia. The building, now a museum, is officially known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat ) or Pokrovsky Cathedral. It was built from 1555–61 on orders from Ivan the Terrible and commemorates the capture of Kazan and Astrakhan. A world-famous landmark, it was the city’s tallest building until the completion of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower in 1600.

The original building, known as Trinity Church and later Trinity Cathedral, contained eight side churches arranged around the ninth, central church of Intercession; the tenth church was erected in 1588 over the grave of venerated local saint Vasily (Basil). In the 16th and 17th centuries, the church, perceived as the earthly symbol of the Heavenly City, as happens to all churches in Byzantine Christianity,

was popularly known as the “Jerusalem” and served as an allegory of the Jerusalem Temple in the annual Palm Sunday parade attended by the Patriarch of Moscow and the tsar.

The building is shaped as a flame of a bonfire rising into the sky, a design that has no analogues in russian architecture. Dmitry Shvidkovsky, in his book russian Architecture and the West, states that “it is like no other Russian building. Nothing similar can be found in the entire millennium of Byzantine tradition from the fifth to fifteenth century ... a strangeness that astonishes by its unexpectedness, complexity and dazzling interleaving of the manifold details of its design.” The cathedral foreshadowed the climax of russian national architecture in the 17th century.

As part of the program of state atheism, the church was confiscated from the russian Orthodox community as part of the Soviet union’s anti-theist campaigns and has operated as a division of the State Historical Museum since 1928. It was completely and forcefully secularised in 1929 and remains a federal property of the russian Federation. The church has been part of the Moscow Kremlin and red Square uNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. It is not actually within the Kremlin, but often served as a visual metonym for russia in western media throughout the Cold War.

The last round of renovation was completed in September 2008 with the opening of the restored sanctuary of St. Alexander Svirsky. The building is still partly in use today as a museum but since 1991 is occasionally used for periodic services by the russian Orthodox Church.

The Cathedral

Of VAsily the Blessed

24 CATHOLIC LIFE SEPTEMBER 2016

SchoolSacroSSthedioceSe

St augustine’s Primary School coffs harbour

Ella May Spagnolo and Riley Betland looking at the Year 2 family tree.

Grandparents dayWe recently held a very special celebration for Grandparents Day. Hundreds of grandparents gathered with the school community to share in a beautiful Liturgy. Each student had written a prayer for their grandparents and these were displayed for all to read. These prayers were

of thanks and acknowledgement of the love and the role grandparents play in each of our lives. Grandparents are the custodians of individual and cultural memories.

Following the Liturgy, Grandparents were shown learning, technology and quizzed about life at school in their time, the school community then enjoyed a picnic lunch together. We continue to pray that all grandparents receive God’s blessing and grace in their lives and that they continue to experience the joy and wonder of being a grandparent.

CATHOLIC LIFE SEPTEMBER 2016 25


St Joseph’s Primary School alstonville

Students Serving others on the airwaysThis year, as part of the school’s Year of Mercy activities, students and teachers at St Joseph’s Primary School Alstonville are reaching out to the elderly residents of BaptistCare Maranoa Alstonville by entertaining them Wednesday mornings on 88.3FM Radio Maranoa.

The school’s principal, Therese Seymour, views this not only as a service to their elderly neighbours. “This is an exciting opportunity to build the skills of students outside the everyday curriculum areas,” she said. “Students need opportunities to build a skill set for the future and being part of radio club is just such an opportunity that we can offer, thanks to the support of Maranoa.”

Six year old Isaac is an Early Stage One student who is a member of the club. “I like that I get to tell stories,” said Isaac. One of the leaders of St Joseph’s, Daniel Pereira, helps the younger students with their time on the radio as well as hosting the morning sessions. “I like being in radio club because I get the opportunity to see what it’s like to be on radio,” said Daniel.

The staff member leading this club, Libby Spash, is thrilled, “We are working with the staff at Maranoa to build on what we have started,” she said. “It’s heart-warming to see the smiles on the residents’ and children’s faces. We’ve been told by Pope Francis to reach out to others in the Year of Mercy, so that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

by Therese Seymour, Principal

Year 12 2016 With our Prayers and best wishes

Senior students Daniel Pereira and Lewis Parker – news and sports.

Teacher Nicole Wagland planning with students from the radio club.



Jasmine Bowling and Amrit Gill at the Year 9 Pastoral Day.

Pastoral dayYear 9 were privileged to get the opportunity to attend the Coffs Harbour Racecourse and take part in a Pastoral Day. A guest speaker Michael Fitzpatrick spoke to us about Catholic schooling, particularly the co-ed aspect of our school in comparison to other non co-ed schools. We were encouraged to express opinions on co-ed education as well as to work collaboratively with people who we normally wouldn’t pair up with. The main focus of this day was the idea of bringing about popularity for good reasons. This idea was further reinforced by students getting up in front of the year group and saying the reasons that they respect or admire a certain person. This was a relatively new concept for our year group and I think that it was highly beneficial and hopefully it’s something that will continue within our year group after the pastoral day.

NAIDOC boys dance group with Cody and Dane Walker.

Naidoc dayWe embrace and are proud of our Aboriginal culture and heritage and this was highlighted and celebrated on NAIDOC day. The students had the opportunity to rotate through an array of activities such as traditional Indigenous dance, face painting, storytelling circles, damper eating and football drills with South Sydney star Cody Walker. As Cody spent many years living in Casino as a young boy, he was excited about returning to the Bundjalung nation and one of his primary schools. He shared his rugby league talents with us but most importantly the pride he has in his cultural heritage, his love of family and the importance of chasing your dreams. The community really pitched in with Sue and Troy Freeburn and Shane Caldwell assisting our Indigenous Educational Workers Sarah Flocchini and Dane Walker. This was a real fitting way to acknowledge and lead the way in cultural recognition.

St John Paul collegeSt Mary’s Primary School coffs harbourcasino

our lady help of christians Parish School Sth lismore

Kinder children, Callum, Jed, Kalan and Juliette make origami cranes with visiting student ambassador, Miu Ueno.

origami Fever at olhcOur school again hosted student ambassadors from Lismore’s Japanese sister city, Yamato Takada for a day of cultural appreciation. The six visiting students, accompanied by teacher, Mika Ogawa Sensei worked with our Kindergarten children and students from Years 5 and 6. The kindergarten children were

right in their element making a range of objects with origami, from ninja stars to moveable paper cranes. The connection between Lismore and Yamato Takada has enhanced the Japanese program at Our Lady Help of Christians with annual visits, skype sessions and Japanese cultural nights that provide our parish school community with a taste of Japan. With formal weekly Japanese lessons for children from Years 1 to 6, we whole-heartedly embrace any opportunity to engage in cultural immersion with our Japanese visitors.


Trinity Catholic College Lismore A Co-educational College providing a quality education for

students in Years 7 to 12

1 Dawson St, Lismore NSW 2480T (02) 6627 6600

www.trinitylismore.nsw.edu.au E [email protected]

Celebrating

130 Years

Trinity Catholic College LismoreCelebrating 130 Years of Catholic Education


Mt St John’s Primary School St Joseph’s Primary Schooldorrigo MacleanJade Ellis at the NAIDOC

on the Plateau celebration.

Naidoc on the PlateauAt the end of Term 2, students from Mt St John’s Dorrigo participated in the NAIDOC on the Plateau celebration. The day involved the coming together of all schools in Dorrigo to pay respect to the traditional owners of our land, the Gumbayngirr people. There was food, music and workshops, as we came together to learn and celebrate Gumbayngirr and Aboriginal cultures. The day was a wonderful celebration for our Indigenous students and a valuable firsthand experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives for all students. Students learned about Gumbayngirr spirituality through rituals such as the Smoking Ceremony. They were given the opportunity to view artefacts from the Grafton Gallery. Students even got to taste some bush tucker including crocodile, kangaroo and barramundi.

Andrew Chin sings with Stage 3 at St Joseph’s, Maclean.

andrew chinn VisitOn Wednesday 19th July Australian religious songwriter and singer Andrew Chinn came to visit our school. Andrew taught for 20 years in Catholic Schools in Sydney. He has been writing songs since 1993. Andrew’s songs such as “These Hands”, “Rainbow” and “An African Blessing” are used in classrooms and liturgies around Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. He has also written 5 picture books, one which is based on the life of Mary McKillop.

Each Stage had a turn of performing with Andrew some songs which they had learnt in class. Andrew made this fun and engaging. It was a wonderful experience for all the children. We will continue to sing Andrews songs in all our masses and liturgies.



Naidoc Week celebrationsWe had a wonderful day on Thursday 4th August celebrating NAIDOC Week. Auntie Gwen (Bundjalung Elder) welcomed us to country. Mrs Sarah Flocchini led us through an understanding of songlines in Indigenous culture and then the children broke into three rotating groups to broaden their understanding about Indigenous traditions. Students were grouped in their Sports Teams of Burbi (Bundjalung language) for koala, Guraman – kangaroo and Gahgun – kookaburra.

Group 1 learned Indigenous dance and language with Shane Caldwell and 3 Indigenous Casino High students. Group 2 learned about and the creation of songlines, story and symbols. Group 3 had the opportunity to have Indigenous face markings and try some damper.

Our celebrations concluded with a NAIDOC themed Mass assisted by our Indigenous students and celebrated by Father Richard Foley.

School Jazz Band performing at Rhapsody Rotorua Festival.

New Zealand Music tourOn Monday 27th June, 38 students, 5 teachers and 7 parents set out from Port Macquarie for the long trip to New Zealand. These students were from our three St Agnes’ Parish Secondary Schools – St Joseph’s Regional College, MacKillop College and Newman Technical College. After a 6 hour coach ride, 5 hour wait at Sydney airport (our plane was delayed!), a 3½ hour plane ride and another 3 hour coach ride, we finally arrived at our hotel in Rotorua!

Rotorua is on the north island of New Zealand and has been hosting the Secondary Schools Band Festival, Rhapsody Rotorua, for the last 19 years.

This year we were one of four Australian schools that participated – two from Brisbane and one from Perth. There were also 11 New Zealand schools participating.

We performed at the local historical museum, two local schools and also at a public performance at the Convention Centre. All the students were then divided into numerous bands combining with all the other schools. These included an Honour Stage Band, Honour Concert Band, Jazz Choir, Festival Concert Band and Festival Stage Band. These ensembles rehearsed together for many hours over the week and culminated in another public performance on the Friday night.

Our two bands, the Concert Band and Jazz Band also received an adjudication for the work we had prepared, with the Concert Band receiving a silver award and the Jazz Band a gold award.

On the Friday, numerous music workshops were offered and the students choose the one that interested them the most. The favourite one was the learning of the Haka from two teachers from the local Maori village.

St Joseph’s Primary School Woodburn

St agnes Parish Secondary Schools Port Macquarie

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Mitchell Aquilina-Brown – Year 11.

Foundation dayEach year on the Feast of the Assumption our College gathers to celebrate this Feast Day and our Foundation Day. Our Foundation Day activities links us to our history that began 130 years ago, on 15th August 1886, when the Presentation Sisters started the first Catholic school in Lismore. The Marist Brothers responded to the call for Catholic education of boys and began their school in 1911. The traditions of the Presentation Sisters and the Marist Brothers’ lives on and inspires Trinity in all that we do.

We were privileged to have Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett join us for the celebration of Mass. Bishop Jarrett challenged our students to “make a mess”. To stand up for issues that challenge our Catholicity in today’s world. The sense of celebration of our College’s history was evident in the beautiful singing throughout the Mass by our school community.

At the end of the Mass we recognised the dedication of staff through our Trinity Staff Service Awards. Significant service awards of 35 years were presented to Mr Pat Stace and Mrs Joan Paddon. Following the staff presentations our College Captains and Ministry Captains for 2017 were announced.

The students then gathered in their House Groups where they were served a BBQ lunch by staff followed by 10 amazing cakes each decorated in the colour of their respective House.

We are all truly blessed to be members of this wonderful community.

trinity catholic college lismore



Kate Wilson is the first student to represent her country from the College..

First olympic representativeThis year Mount St Patrick College had the honour of having our first ever student compete in the Olympic Games. Year 12 student Kate Wilson qualified for the Swimming Team at the Paralympics and left for Rio on Monday August 22.

Kate’s road to Rio has certainly been a long and arduous one for both her and her family. All the years of early

morning training schedules and long road trips to compete in a range of state and diocesan competitions came to fruition when Kate was selected in the Australian Paralympic Team at the conclusion of the National Open Swimming Championships in Adelaide earlier this year. In order to gain this selection Kate swam the 6th fastest 100m Breaststroke in the world and also broke her personal best time by 7 seconds in the 200m Individual Medley.

Before finally getting her ticket to Rio Kate had one hurdle to climb – classification. On her 18th birthday Kate flew to Germany with the Australian team. To meet her classification Kate needed to be less than 130cm tall, her official measurement came in at 129.8cm. While in Berlin Kate also managed to win a number of gold medals in team events including the 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay and the 4 x 50m Medley Relay.

Kate competed in 5 swims in Rio; the 100m Breaststroke, the 200m Individual Medley, the 20pt Relay (competitor classification points must add up to 20pts in total), the 100m Freestyle and the 50m Freestyle.

Prior to arriving in Rio Kate spent two weeks at a training camp in Auburn, Alabama.

As a College we are immensely proud of Kate, she is a College SRC representative, a diligent and hard-working student and already an Australian sporting champion in all of our eyes.

Mount St Patrick college Murwillumbah

St Joseph’s Primary School Mary help of christians Primary Schooltweed heads Sawtell

Mini Vinnies leaders making a donation at our local St Vincent De Paul.

Mini Vinnies Winter appealThis winter our Mini Vinnies team was inspired to make a difference within our local homeless community and those facing financial hardship by supporting the St Vincent De Paul Winter Appeal. The students decorated a wheelie bin and have been collecting donations of warm clothes and blankets during terms 2 and 3. Every Monday members of our Mini Vinnies team drop off the donations at our local Vinnies store.

The students have been busy organising and promoting their donation bin initiative within the school community, through posters, newsletter additions and performing “skits” at assemblies. It is fantastic to see the initiative and responsibility that the students are demonstrating to ensure that the whole school community is aware of the need to support the disadvantaged especially during winter. The students are living the MJR values and we are proud to be making a difference within our local community. Anastasia Scott – Student Welfare Worker

The Indigenous students at MHOC led the school liturgy to celebrate

NAIDOC.

children of the dreamingPope Francis’ statement that he is the ‘Pastor of a Church without frontiers, a Church which considers herself a mother to all’ was evident when our aboriginal children led us in prayer during NAIDOC week this year.

Beginning with a smoking ceremony, the school community was reminded of the Holy Spirit who gives us warmth, purifies us and brings many gifts. Under the guidance of Uncle Mick Bryant, Mrs Dennis and Mrs Rynkowski, our aboriginal children led parents, teachers and students in prayer, named their tribes and sang for us in the Gumbaynggirr language.

Praying together for mercy, forgiveness and justice was a powerful symbol of all that the Year of Mercy represents. Opening of our hearts to God and seeking his everlasting forgiveness and strength to forgive allows us to live in peace. Following the liturgy, teachers and students, all dressed in the colours of the indigenous flag, had an enjoyable time viewing and creating indigenous art and sampling bush tucker.

Liz Watts – Principal

CATHOLIC LIFE SEPTEMBER 2016 31Catholic Life, September, 2015 7Catholic Life, September, 2015 7

Laudato Si' – ‘Praise be to You’ – On the Care for our Common Home

by Fr Paul WinterVocations Director

St. John Vianney Seminary

If – after prayer – you feel God has chosen you for a vocation then please contact: Most Rev’d Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett

Bishop’s Office, P.O. Box 1, Lismore NSW 2480Fr. Paul Winter, PO Box 2450, Coffs Harbour NSW 2450,

Phone: 6651 0000 [email protected]

continued on page 29

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Such a paradigm shift requires a different way of thinking and living which can only be achieved through education and training. Laudato Si' offers pragmatic ways for people to act such as reducing their own carbon footprint at home through greater austerity in their own energy use. Living within our means can also liberate many people as materialistic pursuits alone will not necessarily bring happiness and fulfilment. With a contemplative outlook grounded in our faith, Francis challenges that ‘we must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world and that being good and decent are worth it’.

Having spent considerable time in rural and regional parts of Australia, I have experienced first-hand the vagaries of life on the land for our farmers dependent on

Early in August, I was able to spend some time with our seminarians at St. John Vianney Seminary, Wagga Wagga. It was wonderful to catch up with our young men who are preparing to be the future priests of our diocese.

I was also lucky to be with them as they celebrated the feast day of the patron saint of the seminary, St. John Vianney. St. John Vianney (otherwise known as the Curé

of Ars) is a very apt Patron Saint for the seminary as he is also the Patron Saint for all Priests.

St. John Vianney was a French Diocesan Priest who lived from 1786-1859. St. John found study difficult. He found Latin very difficult to learn and his studies were interrupted by military service. After much perseverance, he was finally ordained in 1815 and was an Assistant Priest for three years in Écully. He was then appointed Parish Priest in 1818 at Ars.

In Ars, a remote village, he became famous throughout the world, not that he sought fame. He came to be known for his pastoral care, catechesis and deep prayerfulness, holiness and the ability to read people’s hearts. People began to seek him out for advice and confession, first from neighbouring parishes, then from all over the nation and ultimately from all around the world. By 1855, he was receiving an average of 20,000 visitors a year and spending 12-13 hours a day in the confessional. He was beatified in 1905, canonised in 1925 and made the Patron of all Priests in 1929.

His deep life of prayer, his pastoral practice of speaking the truth in love to his parishioners and all who sought him out; his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady and the Sacrament of Confession are a great example and inspiration to our Seminarians and to Priests. St. John’s life and ministry is a living invitation to all of us to respond to the grace of God and seek a life of holiness and wholeness.

Our seminarians (pictured above L-R) Roger Delmonte, Anselm Okeke, Deacon Stefan Matuzsek, Solomon Okovido, Emmanuel Okparanaku and Wilber Tobe. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue their studies.

There are young men in our diocese who Christ is calling to enter his Priesthood, to proclaim the Gospel and to serve the people. Let us all keep our young people in prayer and let us seek to cultivate a culture in our homes and parishes that encourages our young people to listen to what the Lord is inviting them to be. To our young people I simply say, do not be afraid to seek the Lord’s will in your life. If you are a young man wondering about priesthood or religious life, or a young woman wondering about religious life, I encourage you to contact me, or your local parish priest. Explore the possibilities! You will never regret saying ‘yes’ to Christ!


World champion titleAugust was an outstanding month for St John’s College, Woodlawn elite athletes Tahlia Potter (Year 11) and Eliana Brown (Year 7) who have both recently achieved international success at martial arts events in South Africa and England respectively.

Tahlia’s achievement in securing the World Champion title for the 16-18 year Kurrite (fighting) category at the 2016 International Shotokan Karata Federation World

Cup held in Cape Town, South Africa has been widely celebrated within the College community.

In recalling the moment she realised she had won Tahlia said she felt her heart skip a beat. “All of the Australians were cheering and you could hear the roar of “Aussie Aussie Aussie” echo against the walls of the stadium, it was an amazing moment.”

“This has always been my long term goal, ever since I started karate 12 years ago I have trained nearly every afternoon for this opportunity and I won!

Looking forward, I have my sights set on the Olympics in 2020 and I also want to maintain my status as a world champion.”

Overall, Tahlia competed in four events up against an estimated 100 competitors, placing third in the Individual Kata, fourth in the team Kata, and third in the team fighting.

Meanwhile in England at the International TaeKwon-Do Federation World Championships 13-year-old Eliana took out the silver in the Special Techniques event and bronze in the sparring – in the second degree black belt division. She was also awarded silver in the Patterns at an ITF World Cup event that was held at the same venue shortly after the World Championships.

“My main goal heading over there were to gain more experience – obviously you want to come home with a medal, but that is a big dream when you are competing at that level. So when I actually placed I was surprised but very happy,” Eliana said.

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Left to Right: Kate Schaefer, Tahlia Potter, Eliana Brown.


Visit from handa higashi high School Handa, Japan is the Sister City for Port Macquarie and this year, MacKillop College was chosen to be the host school for 12 visiting students and four staff from Handa Higashi High School. The delegation arrived on Friday, 29th July to a warm welcome and gift exchange from members of the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, MacKillop College and volunteer host families.

Over the weekend, families enjoyed trips to the beach, dolphin spotting in the river, picking strawberries, the koala hospital and eating some real Aussie foods like meat pies, roast lamb and scones! The Port Macquarie-Hastings Council hosted a wonderful day on the river on Sunday where we all enjoyed socialising together.

On Monday the Handa students and the Aussie host siblings were treated to a day out which included a guided tour of the Charles Sturt University Campus and an afternoon at Billabong Zoo. The students loved interacting with some of our native animals – feeding kangaroos and wallabies, patting a koala and even watching a monster crocodile being fed.

On Tuesday, the students spent the day at MacKillop College, experiencing a typical day in an Aussie high school. The day ended with the final official engagement – a farewell dinner at Port City Bowling Club. The students impressed all the guests with their traditional dancing and singing. It was a fitting end to the five days they had spent with us and we were all sad to say goodbye to them.

MacKillop college Port Macquarie

drum Band MarchThe Drum Band proudly joined with Vietnam Veterans and the Clarence Valley community to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, a significant battle in the Vietnam War. Our School Captains laid a wreath at the cenotaph and gratefully accepted a book on behalf of the school, “The Battle of Long Tan”, which was presented by the Clarence Valley Vietnam Veterans’ Association.

The St. Joseph’s Drum Band has been in existence for 51 years, with many students having made a contribution over this time. It is a prominent and valued element of our school’s representation at many community events and part of our school heritage of which we are extremely proud.

Biannual Vanuatu excursionOur biannual dive and cultural excursion to Vanuatu has proved to be a rewarding experience for both staff and students. Each day we snorkeled in the pristine marine sanctuary of Hideaway Island and other locations. The marine life was astonishing!

We were filled with anticipation when gathering our school supplies and donations to visit the Mele Village and its two schools. Here we engaged in activities with the children and gave them much needed school equipment. The devastating cyclone ‘Pam’ which hit Vanuatu in March 2015, destroyed so much of the infrastructure. Some infants and primary school classes in Mele Village School continue their lessons in stifling hot, UNICEF aid tents.

Walking through the village we noticed the basic standard of housing and simplified living, where clean water and electricity was precious. Large families lived in small dwellings accompanied by pigs and dogs, most food was grown in the village. Family, love of life, generosity, optimism and education seemed to be core values and source of happiness for many of the local people.

Spending the day on 67 year old Coongoola sailing vessel was truly amazing. Guided gracefully by a pods of dolphins we sailed to a Hawksbill turtle sanctuary. We gained an insight into the vulnerable turtles housed on the island.

On our final day many of us combined our leftover money to donate to Mele locals who brought us such joy, love, hospitality and wisdom. For them this money was equivalent to months’ worth of wages. The emotional impact this had on all involved was bitter sweet.

St Joseph’s Primary School Newman Senior technical college South Grafton Port Macquarie


Catholic Life, June, September 33

The appeal of Lourdes has never waned and continues to grow in popularity as millions each year make their way to pray their faith, seeking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Nestled in a valley in the south western part of the Hautes-Pyrenees, Lourdes is a haven for spiritual comfort and hope. In particular it is one of the more

popular destinations for Australian pilgrims.On February 11, 1858, the Virgin Mary revealed herself to

a poor shepherd girl, Bernadette Soubirous, who was born in January 7, 1844. Eighteen such apparitions were reported. Bernadette, died in a convent in 1879. She was beatified in 1925, then canonised a Saint in 1933.

The Church has recognised many cures that have taken place after patients bathed in the springs, labelling the cures “true miracles”. At the Grotto of Massabielle the Virgin is said to have appeared 18 times to Bernadette between February 11 and July 16, 1858. This venerated site is accessible to pilgrims both day and night, and Mass is celebrated there every day. The Statue of Our Lady depicts the Virgin in the posture she is said to have taken in the place she reputedly appeared, saying to Bernadette in Pyrenean dialect, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”

At the back of the Grotto, on the left of the Altar, is the Miraculous Spring that reportedly spouted on February 25, 1858, during the ninth apparition, when Bernadette scraped the earth as instructed. The Virgin is said to have commanded her, “Go and drink at the spring and wash there.” The water from this spring is collected in several reservoirs, from which pilgrims drink and also take containers of the water home with them as a sacramental.

A special feature of the pilgrimage site is the oval basilica of Pius X, consecrated in 1958. It is an enormous underground chamber covered by a concrete roof. It is 660 feet long and 270 feet wide, holding as many as 20,000 worshippers. It is one of the world’s largest churches. “

Classical Religious Destinations: Lourdes

Catholic Life, September, 20163434 Catholic Life, September, 201530

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