YOU CANNOT GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE NOT GOT, ARCHBISHOP COSTELLOE TELLS ARCHDIOCESAN AGENCY STAFF
It is important for us both to rejoice in and be rather overawed by the trust God places in us Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB said to Archdiocesan agency staff last week.
Archbishop Costelloe was joined for the annual Mass, Thursday 18 August at St Mary’s Cathedral by concelebrants Vicar for Clergy, Fr Brian McKenna, Vicar for Education and Faith Formation, Fr Vincent Glynn, Cathedral Dean Fr Sean Fernandez, Cathedral Assistant Priest, Fr Richard Rutkauskas, Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Chaplain, Fr Sebastian Fernando, Parish Renewal Co-ordinator, Fr Nino Vinciguerra and assisted by WA Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office Director, Deacon Greg Lowe.
“For it is we who are, in our various
roles, called to be the ones who, in God’s name, offer the gift of life to others,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“God is calling us to do so generously, constantly and faithfully, for it is God’s gift we offer, and not our own. But first, of course, God is calling us to accept these gifts ourselves,” he said.
Archbishop Costelloe continued by saying there is a simple Latin saying that sums this up very well: Nemo dat quod non habet, which translates, you cannot give what you have not got.
“If we really are to be at the service of those with whom and for whom we work it is important that we ask ourselves often if we really are open to the gift God gives us so freely and so generously in so
many ways,” he said.
“O God, who are you?“ asks Saint Francis over and over again.
“Today it seems to me the Lord is saying this to us: I am the one who offers you the precious gift of life and love, and I do this not just for you but so that, through you, I can then offer these same gifts to others.
“Receive my gifts with joy, care for them, for they are precious and fragile, and keep them safe so that you can offer them to others in my name and in my love.
“This is the task we share and the responsibility we carry. Let us help each other to carry it faithfully and well,” Archbishop Costelloe concluded.
Deacon Greg Lowe, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe and Fr Sebastian Fernando during the 2022 Annual Archdiocesan Agencies Mass, Thursday 18 August, at St Mary’s Cathedral. PHOTO: RON TAN.
WORD OF GOD IS CENTRAL TO THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH, ARCHBISHOP COSTELLOE TELLS CATHOLIC HEALTH SECTOR
By Jamie O'Brien
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has today emphasised the importance of the Word of God as central to the life of the Church. Speaking at the Catholic Health Australia National Conference, Tuesday 23 August in Brisbane, Archbishop Costelloe spoke on hopes for the future of the Church in Australia following the Fifth Plenary Council, looking at three key areas. Catholic Health Australia (CHA) is Australia’s largest non-government grouping of health and aged care services accounting for approximately 10 percent of hospital-based healthcare in Australia. Our members also provide around 25 percent of private hospital care, 5 percent of public hospital care, 12 percent of aged care facilities, and 20 percent of home care and support for the elderly.
Speaking about and re-emphasising the experience of synodality to which
Pope Francis is calling us, Archbishop Costelloe expressed that one of the most deeply held hopes he has for the Church moving forward, is that we can continue along the journey of discovery.
“For this to happen, I believe that we all need to reflect deeply on our own situations and local settings and ask ourselves, honestly and openly, how well we are doing in being an expression of a synodal Church, and what more we might be able to do to deepen this reality,” he said.
Archbishop Costelloe, who led the four-year journey of the Plenary Council as President, continued by talking about the overall theme of how is God calling us to be a Christ-centred Church?
“This captures one of my most cherished hopes for the Church moving forward: that we all begin to ask ourselves, explicitly, courageously, and humbly, to what extent our mission, and the day-to-day reality of all that we do and all that we are trying to be, is very intentionally centred on Christ,” he expressed. Explaining his third point with
reference to Lumen Gentium, Archbishop Costelloe spoke about the description of the Church as "a kind of sacrament, a sign and instrument that is, of communion with God and unity among all people (LG 1).
“This is a beautiful and powerful image of the Church, but when Lumen Gentium is quoted two key words are often omitted; in Christ. It is in Christ that the Church is a sacrament of communion and unity,” he said.
Concluding his speech, Archbishop Costelloe said that, at a very practical level, one of his hopes for the Church as we move forward is that the process of synodality will be seen and embraced as being intimately, and appropriately, connected with the collegiality of the bishops with each other as the shepherd leaders of their dioceses, and with the Pope as the chief shepherd of the Universal Church.
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB with Group Manager Mission Integration West Tara Peters, left and Diocese of Bunbury Financial Administrator and Catholic Homes Board Chair, John Ogilvie. PHOTO: CATHOLIC HEALTH AUSTRALIA.
NEW DEACON TO BE A LIVING REMINDER OF THE WORD THAT HEALS AND TRANSFORMS, SAYS BISHOP SPROXTON
By Jamie O'Brien
The deacon is to be a servant who goes out to the wide fields of the world to bring Christ to the people, Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton has said.
Speaking at the Ordination to the Diaconate of Redemptoris Mater Seminarian, Andres Felipe Fernandez, Thursday 18 August at St Mary’s Cathedral, Bishop Sproxton continued saying that the deacon serves both the people of the Church and reaches out to the people of the world.
“There will be many lessons to be learnt in this time of diaconal ministry on the value and necessity of patient and loving service,” Bishop Sproxton said.
“Felipe, let the Spirit guide you to those moments, welcome or unwelcome, and believe that you will understand even more deeply the love of the Father for his people and for you,” he continued.
More than 300 people gathered for the Ordination Mass, celebrated by
Bishop Sproxton and concelebrated by Redemptoris Mater Seminary Rector, Fr Michael Moore SM, ViceRector Fr Luis Tijerino, Spiritual Director Fr Noe NavaretteApaez, Fr Tony Trafford, from the Neocatechumenal Way Australia National Catechist Team, with Deacon Nicholas Diedler assisting, and numerous priests from across the Archdiocese of Perth also in attendance.
Continuing his homily, Bishop Sproxton addressed Felipe, saying the service for the Church, will be through his [Felipe’s] service at the Eucharist, the celebration of public prayer, administering Baptism, assisting and blessing Marriages, bringing Viaticum to the dying and conducting funerals.
“Your service to the people beyond the walls of our parishes and communities will be by being a sacrament or sign to them and in your careful proclamation of the Good News, and in your charity,” Bishop Sproxton said.
Originally from the town of Popayán, Colombia, 29-year-old Felipe was
trained at Perth’s Redemptoris Mater Seminary, arriving in 2012 at the age of 19.
His vocational journey to the priesthood commenced after he listed to a series of catechesis of the Neocatechumenal Way at the age of 13, in his parish church of Iglesia Espíritu Santo, Popayán. As party of his seminary training, Felipe served in Broome for one year, and due to challenges caused by COVID, continued his itinerancy in parishes of Perth including Cottesloe, Mirrabooka and Baldivis.
“The Ordination was a great sign for me, particularly during the Litany of the Saints, when I could feel the prayers of the saints and the people around me,” Deacon Felipe said, following his ordination.
“It has been a significant moment of communion; particularly knowing my family and friends were watching in Colombia who were also very moved by the occasion,” he said.
Newly ordained Deacon Felipe Fernandez, with Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton. PHOTO: RON TAN..
YOU ARE GREAT SIGNS TO YOUR FAMILIES, FRIENDS AND FELLOW CHRISTIANS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF LOVE AND UNITY, SAYS BISHOP SPROXTON
More than 151 couples have come forward in celebration of their wedding anniversary at this year’s Annual Marriage Day Mass.
At a Mass celebrated by Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, those celebrating their 20, 25, 30, 40 or 50th anniversary came together for a blessing and to receive a certificate.
“One part of my ministry that I have enjoyed so much has been the preparation of couples for marriage,” Bishop Sproxton explained, during his homily for the occasion.
“Meeting the mostly young people and hearing about their lives so far, their dreams and hopes as they look ahead as couples, and of their love for one another is always a joy,” he said.
Bishop Sproxton continued by talking about the story of an elderly couple he noticed while driving to the office one morning.
“I was driving into the office one morning and was waiting at the traffic lights approaching the Causeway in Victoria Park.
“There was quite a line of cars around me waiting for the lights to change. Then I noticed that the other drivers were all looking over to the left at a couple walking along the pathway towards the bridge.
“They were a very elderly couple, and they were shuffling along rather than striding out. But what had caught our attention was that they were walking hand in hand, making slow but steady progress, as they
chatted. It was beautiful. They held one another, supported one another, steadied one another, were there for one another and enjoying each other.
“To me it was significant, that is, it was sign of grace. A sign that the Spirit that had brought them together had remained with them over the course of so many years and supported them, steadied them, enabled them to be there for one another and was still making them glad to be together.
“How many years had it been since they took one another’s hands and created their Sacrament of Marriage? How much had they seen, rejoiced in, suffered together, grown through down those years? How much had they grown humanly, and spiritually; learned and changed to become the best they could be in partnership with a soulmate?
Director of the Centre for Life Marriage and Family, Derek Boylen said the occasion was one of great pride, especially considering the significant trials so many families have faced caused by COVID during the past two years.
“The Annual Marriage Day Mass has this year been a real testament to the fact that Jesus Christ has provided the strength and grace for so many couples here today to live the real meaning of marriage.
“It has really made true the words St Paul who said, ‘Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,’ “(Ephesians 5:25–26)” Mr Boylen said.
Stephen and Mary Tan celebrated 45 years of marriage at the 2022 Annual Marriage Day Mass. PHOTO: RON TAN.