PERTH ARCHDIOCESE WELCOME UKRANIAN CATHOLICS, PRAYING FOR END TO WAR
By Amanda Murthy
A dedicated Hierarchical Divine Liturgy to intercede with Pope Francis’ intentions for world peace and security in Ukraine was held at St Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday 27 March 2022.
The Eparch for Ukrainians in Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, Ukrainian Catholic Church Bishop Mykola Bychok CSsR and Perth Ukrainian Catholic Parish Priest Father Ihor Holovko joined Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton two days after Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine “to the Immaculate Heart of our all Holy Lady, the Theotokos
and ever Virgin Mary, just as Our Lady requested at Fatima over 100 years ago, in her prayer for the conversion of Russia.”
Bishop Mykola is currently in Perth on a two week visit, having travelled across the country to connect with the Ukranian Catholic communities.
In his homily, Bishop Mykola gave thanks to God for the opportunity to be with the Perth community and pray together for peace in Ukraine “as she faces the highest evil of war, violence and hostility from an enemy who is deaf to all pleas for peace, and makes war against a peaceful neighbour, Ukraine, who has done her no wrong, and has all the goodwill toward her.”
“Ukraine is not Russia's enemy.
Please pray for Ukraine as she passes through this terrible trial and suffering. We Christians are during great Lent, which is a special time of God's mercy for us. The Great and Holy fast gives each of us a good opportunity to work on ourselves and rethink the direction of our lives,” Bishop Mykola said.
“In the sacred tradition of the holy Eastern churches, the third Sunday of Lent is dedicated to the adoration of the Holy Cross.
“During the Liturgy, the Holy Cross is solemnly brought in procession from the altar on a tray of flowers and placed amidst the congregation.
The Eparch for Ukrainians in Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania, Ukrainian Catholic Church Bishop Mykola Bychok CSsR and Perth Ukrainian Catholic Parish Priest Father Ihor Holovko joined Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton on 27 March, two days after Pope Francis consecrated Russia and Ukraine “to the Immaculate heart of the Virgin Mary. PHOTO: RON TAN.
LOSS IS MADE ENDURABLE BY LOVE AND IT IS LOVE THAT WILL ECHO THROUGH ETERNITY
By Lisette Jas
The gift of life was celebrated on the feast of the Annunciation as people gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral Perth on 26 March to observe the Day of the Unborn Child.
The Mass co-ordinated by Perthbased life-affirming organisation, Pregnancy Assistance Inc and was first established by St John Paul II and marks the day Jesus Christ became a tiny unborn child in His mother’s womb.
Pregnancy Assistance Counsellor Lisette Jas said the celebration is a remembrance of the dignity of the unborn.
“We celebrate the sacredness of all human life, and we pray for hope and healing for men and women who have lost a child through abortion. We offer the assurance of God’s infinite mercy.”
During the Mass celebrated by Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, the congregation honored all the babies who are not with us but are loved and not forgotten by putting a flower in the baskets placed on the altar. “It is important to celebrate and honor the unborn child in this way
annually because many women live their lives after their abortion isolated behind a wall, locked up with their feelings and thoughts,” Lisette said.
“In their book A Season to Heal the authors Lucy Freed and Penny Salazar explain that society allows many rituals to help us grieve the death of our loved ones, but there is still little visible support for helping the mother and father who have had an abortion. When your loss is not recognised by society, there is no opportunity to openly mourn.
“As a result, the woman may deny her immediate pain and she cannot express her feelings surrounding her pregnancy and termination. This inevitably will cause stress. Symptoms such as anger, resentment, anxiety, depression, dreams and nightmares, fear, guilt, shame, and self-punishing behaviors are some of many symptoms they may experience. That the pain of abortion is real and may have a long-term physical, psychological and spiritual effect on entire families,” she added.
Some 1500 people seek support annually from Pregnancy Assistance
The organisation is credited as a safe space in which loss and grief
is validated, and unconditional love and support is offered.
“Those who are touched by abortion have very significant losses. If a woman hasn’t grieved these losses, she still carries within her the wounds they have caused,” Lisette said.
“At Pregnancy Assistance, we believe that women and men deserve to have their loss acknowledged, mourn, and allow the loss to become part of their life’s experience. We very gently will walk the journey with them, supporting them with love.
“At the start of the pandemic and during lockdown, we noticed that we had more people than usual seeking our support in relation to pregnancy loss. Isolation may have been why. Working through the grief with the support of someone who cares and is willing to walk with you in love is a beautiful way to allow the balm of hope to bring comfort,” she added.
Pregnancy Assistance organises two Masses annually, the first in March being Day of the Unborn Child Mass and then in December, with Thanksgiving Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Parents of unborn children placed flowers at the altar as a sign of remembrance at the Day of the Unborn Child Mass held at St Mary’s Cathedral on 26 March. PHOTO: RON TAN.
FIND MOMENTS OF SILENCE THIS LENT, CONNECT THREE PILLARS OF SEASON
By Anna Capizzi Galvez
How can Catholics and Christians approach Lent this year in a fresh way?
In interview with Catholic News Service, two authors provided their insights on how to make Lent meaningful in 2022 - especially since this is the third Lent the church will observe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Think of Lent as a season of rest, said Paul Jarzembowski, author of the 2022 book "Hope from the Ashes: Insights and Resources for Welcoming Lenten Visitors." Many people come back and connect to the church during Lent because "there's something that's weighing heavy on their hearts," Jarzembowski said.
"Lent is a time where the church invites people to lay a lot of those issues at the feet of the Lord and to go through Lent alongside Jesus who is also, we see in Lent, is walking that journey too," added Mr Jarzembowski, Associate Director for the Laity in the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Tsh Oxenreider, writer, podcaster and author of the 2022 devotional "Bitter & Sweet: A Journey Into Easter," said that this third Lent of the pandemic is unique in that many are saying they are ready to reembrace Lent again.
"It was almost like the first Lent snuck up on us" at the beginning of the pandemic and "we were just in
survival mode," Ms Oxenreider said. "Then the second Lent came around and it was like, what we just had Lent. We've been in Lent this whole time; it feels like it."
But now in 2022 many are realising the value of the rhythms of the liturgical calendar and are acknowledging the good Lent provides in our lives, Ms Oxenreider said.
One way to refresh your Lenten practice this year is to connect how you observe the three traditional pillars of Lent: fasting, almsgiving and prayer.
"See if there are creative ways you can dovetail what you sense God calling you fast from with your prayer and your giving," she said. Together with your fasting, "is there some sort of giving you can do toward local food situations? ... Focus some of your prayer on food insecurity around the world."
"Not only does that check those boxes with giving and prayer, but it actually provides more meaning to the fast," Ms Oxenreider said. To approach Lent with a fresh perspective, try to find moments of silence, Jarzembowski suggested. "Lent affords us some time to really be quiet. If that's quiet in one's personal prayer space; if that's quiet getting in the car and going over to a church or a sacred space; if that's online. Wherever someone can find that quiet and you know that you have the time to do," he said.
Mr Jarzembowski compared Lent to baseball's spring training in that both are practice seasons.
"During spring training, you practice on the fundamentals. You try things out you've never tried before so that when it's time for the regular season, what we would call after Easter, you've had this time to practice. During Lent, (practice) moments to just shut it down" to gift yourself with moments of silence, pause and reflection, he added.
But while it's important to find moments of quiet, it's also important to connect with others.
The cover of the 2022 devotional "Bitter & Sweet: A Journey into Easter" book written by Tsh Oxenreider.
PHOTO: CNS COMPOSITE PHOTO/COURTESY PAUL JARZEMBOWSKI AND ICON MEDIA GROUP..
SEMINARS AIM TO WELCOME CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE
The Archdiocese West Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (WACMRO) with the help of Catholic Mission’s Cultural Competency Consultant, Patrick Fox, are running seven sessions on Cultural Competency between 23 March and 15 June.
The aim is to help parishes become genuinely welcoming of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) newcomers.
The six modules presented cover the topics of Understanding Culture, the Cultural Orientation Modul (two and three), Key Cultural Skills, Australian Catholic Perspective and Maximizing the Cultural Navigator Platform.
At the start of the first online session held via Microsoft Teams, Mr Fox expressed his hopes that
participants will leave with the knowledge of applying cultural skills in interpersonal relationships, that they will become more pastorally effective in multicultural environments, identify, and mitigate potential cultural issues and develop cultural competence in building partnerships and networks within their parish communities.
“The majority of households in Australia (families) are multi-cultural and Australia is the third most multicultural society in the world – This is where the Church has an integral role in shaping the communities.”
Mr Fox defined the concept of culture as the complex pattern of ideas, emotions, and observable behaviours and/or symbols, that tend to be expected, reinforced, and rewarded by and within a particular
group.
“We can adapt and adjust a culture we work in – its’ our choices that define the culture in our communities,” Mr Fox said.
“Cultural competency will greatly assist the local church in its mission to be welcoming towards the people in the pews and postcodes in our increasingly diverse society.
“In your pastoral work, it is important to always keep an open mind to learn more about people from different cultures,” he added.
If you are interested in the seminar or have a group that would benefit from learning the attitudes, knowledge, and skills that the seminar training provides, please contact WACMRO at 0892205950 or wacmro@perthcatholic.org.au.
Participants who attended the first of seven online sessions on Cultural Competency, organised by the Archdiocese WACMRO between 23 March and 15 June. PHOTO: SOURCED.