Broken Bay News August 2016

Vocations Awareness Month

North Harbour Catholic Community: Care, compassion and understanding #bemerciful DBBWYD pilgrimages

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BROKEN BAY NEWS PUBLICATION OF THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF BROKEN BAY AUGUST 2016 ISSUE 183

HEART TO HEART

A Vocation is truly a life choice

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ear friends, the people and clergy of our Diocese, I am writing this letter to you from Italy, as 120 of our 230 pilgrims heading to World Youth Day wind their way through the heart of this most beautiful and historically rich country. Rome, Assisi, Siena, Florence, and now Venice – each place comes alive through the great traditions of our Catholic faith and life. It is wonderful – and personally invigorating – to be with our young pilgrims as they open up to new gifts of grace and friendship with the Lord each day.

I have already had a number of quite deep and touching conversations with our particular bus group, the over eighteens. Each person is different, but three common themes emerge as I listened to their stories: 1. Our young people find it such a challenge to hear the personal God’s call to them in the midst of a world that offers an endless array of alternate options.

2. Our young people are faced with such fragmented and fragile situations in their own lives that committing to one path in life can seem impossible.

3. Yet, our young people are genuinely hungry for a relationship with the Lord and eager to meet him, in a world that thinks being a Christian disciple is so ‘yesterday’.

Combined, these three themes all point to the one issue: learning to discern our personal calling in life. We have all been there. How do we work out what God desires for us? How do we know what path in life to travel down? How do we make a decision about our future, and stick with it?

After all, the call to live one’s vocation is a life-long journey. For both young and old,

After all, the call to live one’s vocation is a life-long journey. For both young and old, we should not expect that the Lord will lay it all out on the table immediately: The dates, the times, the people, the places, to which we will be called. we should not expect that the Lord will lay it all out on the table immediately: The dates, the times, the people, the places, to which we will be called. Rather, a quiet openness that develops through both the clear moments and the messier and unclear moments of our lives is what cultivates our personal ‘yes’ to the God’s invitation to join him.

In a world of Facebook and the internet, of easy commercial answers and short term materialistic satisfaction, the longer journey of vocation can seem rather scary for all of us.

100 Years of Faith Community – Hornsby Cathedral Parish

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his year marks 100 Years of our Faith Community and a special Mass was celebrated on 13 March 2016 followed by a photo display. To continue this milestone, we are having further celebrations on Sunday 28 August.

Celebrations will begin with Mass at 11am in The Light of Christ Centre (End Yardley Ave, Waitara) celebrated by Bishop Peter A Comensoli. Sunday 28 August is also Migrant & Refugee Sunday and in this light we invite parishioners to dress up in their national costume.

After Mass we invite all parishioners to a sausage and salads luncheon. There will also be performances by OLOR students and old-fashioned games for the children to enjoy.

A memento book to mark this special occasion is also in the process of being printed and special badges have been designed and are for sale at $2 each from the Cathedral Office.

A photo display of the history of the parish will be set up in The Light of Christ Centre for everyone to enjoy after the 11am Mass.

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HEART TO HEART Of course for some the personal vocation appears relatively straight forward – we learn early on where our life is heading and we follow that path through thick and thin, confident that it will bring purpose and meaning to our lives. But this is not the case for many of us, and it is certainly not the case with our younger generations.

For those of you reading this in your teens or twenties (even your 30s), it is clearly a challenge.

In a world that tells you to always leave open your options, making a lifetime choice – or even a decision that might bind you for a number of years – is really difficult. Let me assure you that I appreciate this great challenge of permanency you face in our disposable culture. Yet, I have such great confidence and hope in you. Do not be afraid to hear God’s voice and to see his face present in your lives!

At many high schools these days, there is an extensive structure built around vocational awareness. I always find it a little disconcerting that this process of vocational discernment is really about occupational choices. To put it bluntly, it is more about finding a job than a cultivating a happy life. Yes, a career can sometimes become a vocation, but it still remains the case that a genuine vocation is about a way of living personally one’s purpose in this world. That is so much more than an employment path and our young people instinctively know this. Why else do many begin in one university course and end up somewhere else entirely!

In our Christian faith, a vocation is truly a life choice. How might I live my life that it may give meaning and purpose to how I live and with whom I live it? This is why for a Christian disciple a vocation is about a way of life, such as marriage, a consecrated life, priesthood, etc.

While the vocational call is a life-long journey, let us not forget that it is one step at a time.

None of us should expect a calling that is a complete answer from the beginning. This is not God’s way. Instead, he reveals himself – and him to us – gradually. God woos us (in the good sense of the word!). We open hearts and minds to a wonderful and joyful conversation about who we are and how to serve. He opens our minds, as we open our hearts: in stillness, in listening, in discerning and talking. As Blessed John Henry Newman puts it: Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th’encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on!

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me.

A vocation is both a call to a meaningful life and a call from someone to take up such a life.

Learning to trust that God has our goodness always to the fore is our chief way of navigating the tricky waters that lead to a sure and joyful path in life. Trust in Jesus! He will not lead us astray. With trust comes the need for bravery. Taking the first step along a particular vocational path is always one that should cause us to take a deep gulp as we launch out “into the deep”. But what a launch that can be. Jesus will not send us forth without also accompanying us with encouragement and faithfulness. Jesus trusts in us!

By now, I hope that you are all aware that I have a particular focus in our Diocese of encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life. I make no apology for this priority.

This is not to diminish other vocational choices,

such as marriage and consecrated single life.

Rather, it is to highlight a calling that has perhaps been neglected in recent times. I love being a priest, even in the midst of all the ups and downs, the struggles and challenges. The ordained priesthood has given me such purpose and meaning. I want our young men to know that this is a wonderful call to receive from God, and I want our young women to know that a religious life is a wonderful call to hear and to which to respond. We are blessed to have four seminarians for the Diocese (Aldrin, Hien, Martino and Sam), and I know of three women from our Diocese who are testing a vocation in Religious Congregations. What a blessing!

May there be many, many more who come to hear this divine “beat of the drum.” And may all of us who are settled in our vocational paths find room to encourage others to find theirs, wherever The Good Shepherd might be leading them.

Pray for them. Pray for one another. (And spare a prayer for me.)

Most Rev Peter A Comensoli Bishop of Broken Bay

In our Christian faith, a vocation is truly a life choice. How might I live my life that it may give meaning and purpose to how I live and with whom I live it? This is why for a Christian disciple a vocation is about a way of life…

Toukley/Lake Munmorah Parish Volunteers Thanksgiving Service Wednesday 14 September 2016 at 10.30am followed by morning tea.

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ach year one of our schools, in partnership with the PPC, host a Thanksgiving Prayer Service. We take this opportunity to say thank you to those who come to our aid in natural disasters and accidents of which we have had many in recent years. This year St Mary’s will be hosting the event with the theme of Mercy in Community Participation. We really

encourage our parishioners to join us to say thank you to our many volunteers and those in community service roles such as St Vincent de Paul, Rural Bush Fire Service, Marine Rescue, Police, Ambulance, Wyong Hospital, Wyong Council, the Red Cross and many others. This is a wonderful community event to support and meet these wonderful people.

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ACROSS OUR DIOCESE

Broken Bay Holy Door Pilgrimages in the Year of Mercy

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n December 2015, Bishop Peter Comensoli opened five Holy Doors in the Diocese of Broken Bay to celebrate the Year of Mercy.

Bishop Peter encouraged all the faithful of the Diocese to make a pilgrimage to one, or all, of the Holy Doors. Many people have taken up the call so far in this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Holy Doors in Broken Bay • • • • •

Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, Waitara St Mary’s, Manly Our Lady of Dolours, Chatswood Our Lady of the Rosary, The Entrance Holy Cross, Kincumber

DIOCESE OF BROKEN BAY Most Rev Peter A Comensoli Bishop of Broken Bay Diocesan Office: Tel (02) 9847 0000 Fax (02) 9847 0201 Caroline Chisholm Centre Building 2, 423 Pennant Hills Rd Pennant Hills NSW 2120 (Access off City View Rd) PO Box 340 Pennant Hills NSW 1715 officeofthebishop@dbb.org.au

CHANCERY OFFICES

St Thomas’, Willoughby parishioners at Our Lady of the Rosary, The Entrance.

Office of the Bishop Private Secretary: Nigel Zimmermann Vicar General: Very Rev Dr David Ranson VG Diocesan Financial Administrator, Director, Office for Stewardship: Emma McDonald Chancellor Director, Office for Chancery Services: Anne Walker Director, Office for Evangelisation: Daniel Ang Director, Office for Communications: Annie Carrett Director, Marriage Tribunal: Adrienne Connaghan Tel: (02) 9847 0458

Wyong Parish pilgrims visit The Entrance.

Catholic Development Fund: Chris Field Tel: (02) 9847 0748 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) Alison Newell

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS OFFICE Director: Peter Hamill Tel (02) 9847 0000 PO Box 967 Pennant Hills NSW 1715

CATHOLICCARE

Fr Paul Kim of Manly Freshwater parish made the pilgrimage with students from St John the Baptist Catholic School, Freshwater and Principal Judy Slattery.

Executive Director: Trish Devlin Tel: (02) 9481 2600 PO Box 966 Pennant Hills 1715 Children’s Services: Tel: (02) 9481 2660 Family Centres: Brookvale – Tel: (02) 8968 5100 Naremburn – Tel: (02) 8425 8700 Waitara – Tel: (02) 9488 2400 Warnervale – Tel: (02) 4356 2600

St John the Baptist students at the Holy Door at St Mary’s Manly.

Foster and Residential Care: Tel: (02) 4340 0786 Mission, Hospital Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care (02) 9481 2658

BROKEN BAY NEWS

Gosford Parish pilgrims made their way to Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, Waitara.

Editor: Melissa Loughlin Tel: (02) 9847 0722 Fax: (02) 9847 0721 news@dbb.org.au PO Box 340 Pennant Hills, NSW, 1715 Design: Chris Murray

21,000 copies of the Broken Bay News are distributed monthly through 26 parishes and 44 schools in the Diocese of Broken Bay. The Broken Bay News is a member of the Australasian Catholic Press Association and the Australasian Religious Press Association. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply diocesan endorsement of products or services advertised. www.dbb.org.au

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Our Neighbourhoods of Grace

Exploring our missionary outreach

North Harbour Catholic Community

Care, compassion and understanding

By Debra Vermeer

The recent solemn profession of four young Augustinian brothers in the North Harbour Parish on Sydney’s Northern Beaches was a joyous occasion, both for them personally, but also for the parishioners who have welcomed and nurtured Augustinian students from many countries over a number of years.

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t is a sign of the warm relationship that exists between the Augustinian Order and the parish that was entrusted to them 60 years ago.

Parish Priest of North Harbour Catholic Parish, Fr Paul Maloney O.S.A., says the people of the parish gain a real sense of ownership in the formation of the students during the time spent with them.

“In all of our parishes, actually, when a student goes out to a parish and is assigned there, it is often the case that in this latter part of his training as his diaconate takes place in that parish, the people there adopt him and they become his home base leading to his ordination,” Fr Paul says.

“And that is certainly the case with this parish of North Harbour. They have welcomed and embraced our students and, in return, the students learn much from the parishioners, especially in terms of pastoral work.”

North Harbour Parish is made up of two communities – St Kieran’s at Manly Vale and St Cecilia’s at Balgowlah, which became one communal entity about 10 years ago.

Building on its early foundations, the parish stays young and energetic thanks to large numbers of families with children continuing to attend the two parish schools of St Kieran’s and St Cecilia’s. An equal number send their children to one of the six state primary schools within their boundaries where they receive

Religious Instruction from our catechists and take part in the sacramental program in their homes. St Augustine’s College at Brookvale is also an important part of the parish community.

Fr Paul says that about 800 people attend Mass over the weekend, and those Masses are well known for their beautiful liturgy.

“I inherited a very strong music ministry, youth ministry and sacramental program when I came here,” says Fr Paul. “So it’s very attractive to young people and I’m hoping, with help from the people, to keep the flame alive.”

The population of young families means that

the parish celebrates anywhere from 180 to 200 baptisms each year and this year, about 180 children were part of the sacramental program preparing them for Confirmation and First Holy Communion.

“So the two churches are very active with young families who support the schools and are woven into both school and parish life,” Fr Paul says.

“We are also lucky to have the services of a Sacramental Coordinator who does a marvellous job, along with the whole parish team.”

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Our Neighbourhoods of Grace Exploring our missionary outreach

St Kieran’s Catholic School Principal, Terri Paterson, says the school has a wonderful relationship with the parish.

“And that is manifested in the relationships that exist between school and parish,” she says, “which are forged around the regular contact we have with one another.

“For example, the principals of both schools, St Kieran’s and St Cecilia’s, go to the Parish Council meetings, so that the parish is very much aware of what’s happening in the school.

And Fr Paul is very generous in spending time with our Religious Education Coordinator (REC) and helping to prepare for Masses and other liturgical events.

“We are blessed, because Fr Paul is a very good spiritual teacher and he has helped our REC and the school council with spiritual development through retreats. There is also a lot of information sharing on how we can work together to really show what it means to be a contemporary Catholic.”

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Terri says youth workers from the parish help out with the Year 6 retreat and St Kieran’s students take part in “an amazing choir” at Sunday Masses once a month. At the other end of the age spectrum, older parishioners are invited to volunteer for the Learning Assistance Program at the school, helping children to learn and also to feel valued. The school also takes part in social outreach programs with the parish, such as contributing to the Vinnies Winter Appeal, through blanket and clothing donations and a Year 6 Vinnies Sleepout to raise funds. Staff members at St Kieran’s donate time to cook for the poor in the local area, through the parish’s GIFT program.

St Cecilia’s Catholic School Principal, Fran Taylor agrees that the relationship between the parish and the school communities is “outstanding”.

“The parish is definitely very welcoming to the school community and there is a strong partnership between us and the parish,” she says.

“And we value that link highly, especially the wonderful interaction between the priests and the students. They are very good at including us in parish life and working with us as far as the religious life of the school goes.”

Fran says the school tries to take part in the social outreach initiatives of the parish, including raising funds for asylum seekers, and teachers and staff cooking for the GIFT Program.

“It’s a very welcoming, collaborative type of relationship and it bears fruit, especially through the sacramental program. On Sundays, you’ve never seen so many children at Mass, and once a month we have the ‘Family Come Gather’ Masses. It feels like it’s a real parish community, where the school and the parish are one.”

And Matthew Hutchison, Acting Principal of St Augustine’s College, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, says the relationship between the College and the local

Our Neighbourhoods of Grace Exploring our missionary outreach

parish communities goes back a long way and remains strong.

“The Augustinian fathers, who founded our school, have had a lot to do with our community, right from its very beginning and hence we have a very strong relationship with their two local parishes,” he says.

“I suppose what’s important is that despite 60 years of change, the values, and beliefs, founded by the Augustinian Fathers remain the same.

“The hallmarks of care, compassion and understanding that we have here at the College are also the hallmarks of the two local parishes, and on a practical level, a lot of our sacramental program is supported by the Augustinian Fathers. Both the Fathers and the Augustinian students are often at the College for Mass, Reconciliation and just interacting with the students. We are also engaged in various social justice outreaches, such as the Augustinian volunteer project with the indigenous community in Redfern. We send both boys and

staff over to the Redfern community where they provide literacy support.”

Fr Paul says that while young people are an important part of the Parish of North Harbour, so too are the older folk, many of whom have been in the St Kieran’s and St Cecilia’s communities all their lives.

“We’ve got a strong core of wonderful older people who are part of our parish community,” he says.

“And there are also a good number in the local nursing homes. We have an excellent team of volunteers who go to visit the nursing homes, as well as provide communion in the home for those who are housebound. This type of outreach is also part of the pastoral training for our Augustinian students.”

Seniors get together for outings to the movies and other places, as well as shared meals.

When it comes to social justice, the parish is active on a number of fronts – from preparing meals for those in need through the GIFT

program to support for asylum seekers and refugees, people with disabilities, and caring for local families through St Vincent de Paul.

The parish loves to welcome new members, and has both active RCIA and RCIC (Catholic initiation for children) groups.

“We had 19 children baptised this Easter and eight more were baptised recently, so things are very active in that regard,” Fr Paul says. “And the RCIA has been going for many years. All of these things are carried out by volunteers in the parish. People are very generous with their time and it really does create a community network.

“The people of the parish are what makes it work so well. I’m relatively new here, and having spent most of my life working in the area of retreat houses and spirituality Centres, I’m quite an untried parish priest.

“But the people have been so welcoming and supportive and I’m very happy to be here and to do my best to nurture the way in which they honour God in one another.”

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“Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy” Mt 5:7 Our 230 pilgrims have now completed their DBB WYD pilgrimage through Italy, Greece & the Holy Land as they journeyed to World Youth Day Krakow, Poland.

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ogether with Pope Francis and millions of young people from around the world, they encountered their faith in an extraordinary way. Each pilgrimage route prepared the way through faith encounters in many holy places and communities as they unpacked the theme “Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy” Mt 5:7 ahead of the incredible WYD week in Krakow.

You can watch, read and listen to their stories and faith experiences on our website www.dbb.org.au and on Social Media #dbbwyd

Many thanks to each of our supporters from across our Parish and School communities for your support. Without your generosity and prayers this life-making pilgrimage would not have been possible! We have kept you in our hearts and prayers during our pilgrimage and look forward to sharing our stories with you in the weeks ahead.

You’re welcome to join us in your local Parish over the weekend 13 – 14 August where our pilgrims will be sharing their stories with the community.

Together with Bishop Peter Comensoli, we invite you to join the Diocesan DBB WYD Welcome

Back event at PRAISEFEST on Friday 2 September (more details on the back page.)

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EVANGELISATION

The Parish as a Centre of Missionary Outreach

By Daniel Ang For most of us the local community of parish has inextricably shaped and influenced our faith and discipleship as the face of the Church’s life and evangelising mission.

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or many the parish simply is the Church and they know no other. It is in the parish that we hear the Word of God proclaimed, in which God offers his very life and Spirit to us in the sacraments, in which we gather with companion Christians who too seek Christ as the total meaning of their life, and from which we are sent to impart divine mercy and love to the world.

There are over 1,300 parishes across Australia encompassing some 3,000 communities of worship. In these communities we are blessed by the generous service of thousands of clergy, religious, and lay men and women who make our parishes places of living faith, true spiritual homes.

At the same time we acknowledge that the number of people engaging with our Australian parishes on a weekly basis for Word, Eucharist and spiritual community is in decline. While this might tempt us to discouragement, our confrontation of this reality can serve, in faith, as the mirror image of our hope and vision for the future. Our experience of limitation can lead us towards renewed faith in fresh possibilities for the parish communities we know and love.

The flourishing of parish life depends much on our ability to understand the parish as a centre for missionary outreach. In recent workshops on ‘evangelising parishes’ held throughout our Diocese, four principles were shared that are key ingredients for parishes seeking to grow in their mission. Indeed, these four principles form the purpose and values of the Office for Evangelisation itself and could be applied to any parish group or ministry reflecting on the ingredients of a missionary and evangelising community: • proclaim the name, teaching, promises, Kingdom, life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God (the ‘kerygma’ or the basic truths of our Christian faith) • call forth a personal response to this Good News • foster discipleship in the midst of the Church, the community of faith

• and send these disciples into the world in constant missionary outreach This last emphasis on mission brings home the fact that the parish, as Pope Francis has recalled, does not exist for itself but for others.

The parish is a community that has been commissioned by Christ to “go make disciples”, not only to plant seeds but to bear fruit, fruit that will last.

As leaders in Catholic evangelisation underline, the ultimate goal of the evangelising parish is to make disciples. Disciples have a personal relationship with Jesus, can and do share faith with others, are open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, have knowledge and love of the Scriptures, know basic Catholic theology, have a daily prayer life, experience real Christian community, have a commitment to Sunday Eucharist, celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, can pray spontaneously out loud when asked, serve and see their life as a mission field (Fr James Mallon, Divine Renovation Guidebook, 59). We are all on the way in this journey of discipleship, growing towards the goal of making Christ ever more the total meaning of our lives.

When we see the growth of disciples in our local communities, our parishes flourish and change: “Parishes that seriously and consistently make disciples see astonishing levels of fruit.

Disciples are hungry to pray and worship, so naturally Mass attendance goes up. Disciples want to serve, and often migrate into parish leadership. Disciples will fill every faith formation class in your parish and diocese, because they want to grow in their faith. They clamour to discern personal vocation and personal call … Disciples go to great lengths to pass on the faith to their children. They care about the poor and about justice. They take risks for the kingdom of God. Disciples give!” (Weddell, “Discipleship: The Key to Fruitfulness”, 24).

There is nothing automatic about this making of disciples. Spiritual growth and maturity do not develop overnight, by Mass

attendance alone, or simply through occasional programs. Growing Catholic communities tells us that it is the fruit of an entire culture of discipleship with the local parish. The culture of a parish is, if you like, the invisible architecture of everyday community life, shaped by our assumptions of what we think the parish is for, even who it is for, the values and vision for its pastoral leadership, its history, practices, behaviours and relationships. As Fr James Mallon, a Canadian priest and author of the work Divine Renovation, points out, “Any course run in a parish will be only as good as the culture of that parish. Even a very successful tool for evangelisation like Alpha will have a very limited impact if the values of a parish are vastly different from the values within a particular program” (Fr James Mallon, Divine Renovation, 94).

Pope Francis has challenged the Church and its parishes to reflect on the culture of our communities so they might be oriented ever more towards the making of disciples, to outreach and genuine spiritual growth. As parishioners we are constantly clarifying our understanding of how people process and grow in this relationship with God in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis is encouraging us in this discernment so that the “the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channelled for the evangelisation of today’s world rather than for her selfpreservation” (Evangelii Gaudium 27).

We are blessed as a Diocese to have parish communities that have taken up this challenge with both passion and ingenuity, who are trying new initiatives, forming intentional plans and discussing evangelisation as the mission we have received from God in Christ.

To constantly renew our life as centres of discipleship and missionary outreach is a call from which we will never ‘graduate’. It is the invitation of the Gospel that fills us with endless hope and living faith in the parish as the face of the Church.

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Vocations Awareness Month

Live in a spirit of gratitude

By Sr Sophie Boffa

Postulant, Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth How did you know you had a vocation to consecrated life and were drawn to these Sisters?

THIS is the question I am asked most often and it is by far the most difficult to answer! The truth is that there wasn’t some kind of “lightbulb moment” when I just knew I was called to be a consecrated woman or a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

Experiences and events led me to that feeling. I began to really feel that Jesus loved me and wanted me to be close to Him, and this drew from my heart a desire to give myself to Jesus as much as I could: what I was doing wasn’t enough. Simply being with sisters brought me so much happiness, and every time I visited I didn’t want to leave them. Most significant, though, has been a lasting sense of peace and gratitude. While there have been difficulties, challenges, and struggles I’ve needed to face, they haven’t overcome the peace and blessedness I feel in journeying

through life with the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

How have you discerned?

I’M a person who likes to try and learn new things, so when I really began my discernment I pushed myself to be as open as I could be to new experiences and encounters. This was a challenge, especially when it came to meeting sisters – as I can also be shy! I saw the importance of growing in my prayer life and so sought opportunities to go to Mass frequently, spend time in Adoration, go on retreats, and meditate on Scripture. I also felt I needed to talk to others. I am privileged to have a very supportive family, and they have been very much involved in the process. Speaking with sisters, friends, and people who were more objective was also helpful for me.

Particularly important, though, was simply spending time with sisters. I went on several retreats with them, but they only gave me glimpses of what life would be like in community. I knew I needed to see

sisters in ordinary circumstances and living everyday life, and so I visited them and stayed with them for short periods. Last year, during my period of aspirancy (initial stage of formation) with the sisters, I had the option to stay with my family and visit the sisters regularly, or I could move into the community, which I chose to do. Living in community was and has been the most helpful way for me to discern.

What does it mean to be a postulant?

I entered the postulancy on 19 March, 2016. In my congregation, postulancy marks the first official stage of membership.

I am now a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth. This is still very overwhelming for me, and something I try to live up to. I have weekly meetings with my

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formation director, which are at the moment focused on learning more about the congregation. I keep busy with work in and out of home: my house chores, cooking and cleaning, and external ministries. At the moment, I work as a Scripture teacher at Quakers Hill Public School, a pastoral care volunteer at Holy Family Services aged care, and a member of the Loaves and Fishes volunteer team, which provides basic emergency food supplies to people in need in Blacktown. I also love to be involved in parish life and so regularly give my vocal cords a workout with a choir of St Andrew the Apostle Parish, Marayong.

The period of postulancy in my congregation can last from anywhere between six months to two years, depending on the individual needs of each candidate. It is for me, most importantly, a time of continuing discernment and of growing in knowledge and trust of God, my sisters, and myself.

What advice can you offer to women discerning their vocations?

MY advice is very simple. First, it’s very important to live in a spirit of gratitude. Life is the greatest gift, and something to be thankful for. Recognising God’s presence throughout our lives, noting with gratefulness His works of love and mercy and the ways in which He speaks to our hearts, helps us to know Him better. Prayer, reflection on Scripture, and going on retreats are all great ways of doing that. Once we know who God is, it’s easier for us to trust Him. Living life with gratitude, deepening our awareness of God, and entering into a loving and trusting relationship with Him can help us to face discernment and decision-making with maturity, clarity and peace. www.csfn.org.au

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Vocations Awareness Month

I was called to serve the people of Broken Bay

By Samuel French, Seminarian Samuel French is a First Year Seminarian at the Good Shepherd Seminary in Homebush, a homegrown Broken Bay Seminarian, originating from Woy Woy on the Central Coast.

Key influences in what led me to join the seminary BEING a cradle Catholic gave me a huge advantage with regards to discernment. It meant that from a young age I was able to imbibe a sense of the Catholic culture, and form the foundations on which I could later build deeper theological understanding. Most importantly, however, was the fact that my parents (Mum especially) were insistent on praying a daily family rosary and frequenting the Sacraments. I believe it was this constant prayer and devotion that predisposed me from a young age to hear the call of God towards the priesthood.

My family always encouraged strong involvement in parish life and youth events. It was through this sort of exposure that I began to feel the Catholic faith was my own and something that I could be proud of. I was constantly looking for ways in which I might fit into the structure of the Church, and spent all of my teenage years running youth groups. Over time, however, due to my exposure to the Church, I really began to notice the desperate need for priests and began to question whether I might be called to that vocation myself. “Never see a need without doing something about it.” Mary MacKillop (Canonised October 2010).

Growing up, my family and friends were involved in the Disciples of Jesus community. As a result, I had a lot of contact with many young MGL priests who would often stay at my family home for retreats. These priests, inspired me by their constant vibrancy, joy and love of their own priesthood; always striving to share the love of Christ with the world. Closer to home, during my formative years, were my own parish priests and curates (such Fr John Hill and Stephen Wayoyi) whose constant efforts, and reverence for the liturgy was a continuous reminder of God at work among His people, and

that this work needed more foot soldiers if it was to continue.

Finally, and most importantly, was the call of God himself.

His calling me to towards the priesthood was hard to discern. It was sometimes dim and distant and other times hit me like a freight train. It was only after reading “Discernment of Spirits”

by Timothy Gallagher, that I began to make sense of the subtle consolations in my soul. I felt God was calling me to serve the Church in need. At first I thought this meant religious or missionary priesthood, but through prayer I discovered a strong calling to serve the people of my own diocese here in Broken Bay. That’s what I signed up for, and that’s what I hope to do one day (God willing).

Highlights of seminary life UNDENIABLY one of the major highlights of seminary file has been the spirit of brotherhood fostered in the first year. There are seven men who started this First Year group, all from different backgrounds and occupations: electrician, salesman, banker, journalist, engineer, youth ministry.

But because we are united by the common goal of serving the people of God as priests, we all get along like a house on fire. That’s not to say there are no personality clashes from time to time, but for the most part, the shared sense of solidarity is truly uplifting.

The spiritual life of the Good Shepherd is by far and away the most edifying aspect of seminary life. Every day we have Lauds, Vespers and Compline; Daily Mass; A holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament; and Confession is always available. As First Years we practice lectio divina and deliver short practice homilies each week.

We are also encouraged to nurture a strong Marian devotion. As one of my formators said: “there’s no hope of holding onto a vocation today without the patronage of Our Blessed Mother.” I believe the regular participation in the Sacraments is an ever-present reminder of the calling which we

are discerning, and a constant source of spiritual nourishment for the journey.

The four pillars of seminary formation are: human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral. While the emphasis of the “Spiritual Year” is not heavily intellectual, it certainly keeps us on our toes. We have regular in-house formation, with: a systematic study of the Catechism and relevant Papal Documents such as Pastores Dabo Vobis and Mulieris Dignitatem. We also do an introduction course to Christian Spirituality at the Catholic Institute. Most excitingly, however, is our course on the human passions and affective maturity through the eyes of Thomas Aquinas. In this course we learn about the proper integration of the intellectual and sensitive appetites

of the soul, with the goal of conforming our own hearts to that of Christ himself.

Advice for men who consider priesthood?

IF you sense God calling you towards priesthood, be brave and step out. Be honest and attentive in your prayer. Frequent the Sacraments as regularly as you can.

Pray to Our Lady and ask her for help. Visit Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and ask Him to guide you. Get involved in parish life and try to get to every youth event you can (like World Youth Day). Do not let your worries, wants and other obstacles stand in your way, God will take care of everything.

Whatever vocation God is calling you to, he has destined you for greatness. He will lead you there, all you need to do is let Him.

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Vocations Awareness Month

Photos by Ben McMahon.

From refugee to MSC Vietnamese refugee Tru Nguyen has turned around a displaced life, including imprisonment as a child for attempting to escape the country’s Communist regime, to one at the altar following his ordination in Adelaide.

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ather Tru, 35, became a priest of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church on 24 July 2015 at the hand of his former principal Port Pirie Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ. The unique ceremony was attended by Fr Tru’s family, some of whom travelled from as far as Vietnam, Africa and the United States to witness the historic family moment. More than 20 priests and seminarians

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from across Australia also gathered at the Henley Beach church for the ordination.

Twenty-four years ago, Fr Tru followed his mother Lac and older sister Thanh to Australia. He was 11 when his family settled in Pooraka, joining family who had arrived before them.

Their journey to Australia, like many Vietnamese fleeing at the time, was tough.

“My father died from cancer when I was two and my mother

could not look after us alone so she took us to live with her parents in the city (Ho Chi Minh),” says Fr Tru. He was born in Rach Gia – a city on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand.

He says his mother made repeated attempts for them to leave Vietnam’s Communist regime and follow her parents and siblings to Adelaide. Each time they were caught, they would spend days, sometimes weeks, in prison. He cannot recall those times but says he would have been a young child.

“We tried many times to get out of Vietnam,” he says.

Eventually, in 1988, when Fr Tru was eight, they made their way across the border to Cambodia by bus and a year later set sail with 90 other Vietnamese in a fishing boat for Malaysia.

They arrived in Malaysia in 1989 and spent three years in a refugee camp awaiting a visa to Australia.

Fr Tru became an active member of the Vietnamese Catholic Community in Pooraka and attended St Ignatius College from 1994-97. He graduated from Adelaide University in 2002 with a Mathematics and Computer Science Degree and first began to discern a religious life in 2003. He spoke to a chaplain and began reading the work of Jesuit missionaries in

Vietnam. A missionary life began to appeal to him.

The same year he travelled to Sydney for work and was introduced to the MSC by Fr Tan Nguyen msc, also from Adelaide.

He spent five years predominantly working as a carer for the disabled and completed further studies in social work at the Australian Catholic University.

By the end of 2007 Tru participated in a MSC retreat.

“At that time my spiritual director guided me to listen attentively with my heart, and then draw all my strength to follow that desire,” he says.

“I did that and I found what I wanted most was to be loved by God and loved by the people I love and be able to love others as I am loved.”

He joined the MSC in 2008.

After his ordination, Fr Tru returned to Sydney where he serves at Randwick Parish.

“Each of us has a vocation,” he says.

“That is, we are all called to live life to the full. We are all called to live as God’s beloved as Jesus lived.

For me to live fully and to live as God’s beloved is ‘to be on earth the heart of God’.”

This article was first published in the August 2015 issue of The Southern Cross, the official publication of the Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide.

Vocations Awareness Month

Dominicans Celebrate 800 years

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My call of Mercy

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long the paths of a privileged and colourful life journey, I have been called by God’s mercy to join a group of consecrated women in the Catholic Church.

My story began on a farm in South Australia, near Saint Mary MacKillop’s first school. Although my family were actively involved in the Uniting Church, my siblings and I attended this school and took Catholic sacraments along with my mother. Both the ministers in our family’s church and the priests in my new church were instrumental in my faith journey, and I aspired to follow in their footsteps to commit myself to God and Jesus’ gospel.

Towards the end of school, my solid, narrow faith began to break up. I questioned my vocation call and Christianity’s relevance.

Over the next few years I worked in a nursing home, organised local and international interfaith events and completed a Bachelor

By Elizabeth Young

of Circus Arts in Melbourne. In the circus course I worked with amazing people who challenged the status quo, saw the potential in the world and sought to bring it colour and life. It therefore seemed an easy transition to vows as a Sister of Mercy!

Through interfaith involvement I learned to rediscover and value my own religious tradition, seeing it with new, more open-minded eyes.

The call to a committed public life of faith continued and led me to women who found strength from prayer and community to participate in God’s reign in the world through the works of mercy.

So at 22 years I joined the Sisters in Adelaide and took my First Vows at 25 years in 2010. Since then I have been privileged to work with people in homeless shelters, youth ministry, detention centres, prisons and parish, and to study theology. For all of these gifts, I am truly grateful!

n 1216 St Dominic travelled to Rome to seek approval for a new apostolic way of life that would combine the contemplative wisdom of monastic prayer and scholarly study with a vibrant apostolic life of preaching, teaching and service. On 22 December that year, Pope Honorius III gave approval to the Order of Friars Preachers. 2016 is the 800 year Jubilee of the foundation of the Dominican Order.

Our Jubilee year commenced with the friars, sisters and lay Dominicans coming together for Masses celebrated in each Dominican community around the world. On this day, #OP800 began trending worldwide. “As the Order was founded to preach against a heresy that promoted material creation as bad,” Fr Karl Emerick, the Provincial Promoter of the 800 year Jubilee said. “It is only right that the Order will celebrate in various ways that reflect the goodness of God and creation.”

“Already, our Province has celebrated an 800 year Jubilee Mass at Blackfriars Priory School, Adelaide,” said Fr Karl. “We have also run the Aquinas Symposium 2016 at Notre Dame University, Sydney, which featured prominent speakers from around the world

including Bishop Peter Elliott and Professor John Haldane. A Dominican Family gathering is planned for the second half of 2016 for all associated with the Dominican family to discuss where the Dominicans have come from and what the future has in store,” he said.

A special highlight of the Jubilee year thus far was the ordination of two Dominican brothers, Matthew Boland and James Baxter, to the priesthood as well as Br Robert Krishna to the diaconate.

These will be presided over by the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP, himself a Dominican friar.

For those who would like to know more about the charism and spirituality of the Dominican Order, please contact the Vocations Promoter, Fr Thomas Azzi OP at vocations@op.org.au to find out more about upcoming discernment days.

Reach out to a broken world with compassion, hospitality and justice...

EXPLORE MERCY

institute.mercy.org.au BBN

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AUGUST – OCTOBER 2016

Office for Evangelisation PULLOUT EVENT CALENDAR

THE DIOCESE OF BROKEN BAY EXISTS TO EVANGELISE, TO PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST, GATHERED AS FRIENDS IN THE LORD AND SENT OUT TO BE MISSIONARY DISCIPLES. THE OFFICE FOR EVANGELISATION SERVES THIS MISSION AND PROMOTES THE GROWING MISSIONARY OUTLOOK OF PARISHES, FAITH COMMUNITIES AND INDIVIDUALS.

ENCOUNTER SHORT COURSE

The Christian Life: Morality, Relationships & Faith This course explores questions of morality such as: What is Christian morality? What is an informed conscience, and how is it best formed? What is the relationship between divine, natural, and positive law? Other topics include right relationships; the nature of sin, virtue and holiness; as well as issues of medical ethics. Learn how the church supports life and the innate dignity of the human person.

Presenters: Dr Dan Fleming, Dean of Studies and Senior Lecturer in Theology and Ethics, The Broken Bay Institute & Dr Nigel Zimmermann, Lecturer, University of Notre Dame and Private Secretary to Bishop Peter A Comensoli Course Duration: 1 x 2.5 hours Date: Wednesday 3 August 2016 Time: 10:00am – 12:30pm Venue: Parish Centre, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, 239-243 The Entrance Road, The Entrance RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Monday 1 August OR Date: Wednesday 10 August 2016 Time: 7:00pm – 9:30pm Venue: Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School Library, 23 Yardley Avenue, Waitara RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Monday 8 August

MASS FOR WORKERS AND VOLUNTEERS OF MERCY

4 September 2016 All are warmly invited to participate in a Mass of Thanksgiving presided by Bishop Peter A Comensoli to recognise and affirm the workers of mercy in our Diocese in this Extraordinary Jubilee Year. This Mass will coincide with the Canonisation of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, herself a tireless worker of mercy. After Mass, all are invited to an Aussie BBQ with the opportunity to watch part of the Canonisation on a large screen.

A special invitation is extended to all who are part of a parish care group; an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist to the sick or homebound; a volunteer or worker with CatholicCare; a member of the St Vincent de Paul Society; or involved in the many other works and organisations of love and mercy in our Diocese. This Mass encourages and supports your efforts, with Bishop Peter offering a special blessing.

journey with Peter, Paul and the other disciples as they take the message of Jesus to the wider Jewish and Greco-Roman world.

Sr Michele says, “ We will see how ordinary people came to real faith in Jesus crucified and raised. This will invite us in turn, to refresh our own faith in our times and culture.”

Date: Friday / Saturday 14 & 15 October 2016 Venue: Caroline Chisholm Centre, Building 2, 423 Pennant Hills Road, Pennant Hills Cost: $55 for 2-day Conference, or $27.50 per day RSVP: www.trybooking.com/LLLJ by Monday 3 October, enquiries registrations@dbb.org.au 9847 0448 / 4332 9825 Further information www.dbb.org.au/bible

ENCOUNTER SHORT COURSE

Christian Spirituality: Awakening the Deep Spirituality is central to what it means to be human.

This ENCOUNTER course will highlight the meaning of spirituality and how it is understood within the Catholic tradition, including the stages in the spiritual life; the insights and wisdom provided by the Doctors of the Church; and practical skills to encourage and deepen the spiritual life.

Course Duration: 1 x 2.5 hours.

Presenter: Very Rev Dr David Ranson, Parish Priest Holy Name Parish Wahroonga and Vicar General Diocese of Broken Bay Date: Thursday 20 October 2016 Time: 7:00pm – 9:30pm Venue: Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish Hall, Forestville RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Tuesday 18 October OR Date: Thursday 27 October 2016 Time: 7:00pm – 9:30pm Venue: Holy Cross Church, South Kincumber RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Tuesday 25 October OR Date: Friday 28 October 2016 Time: 7:00pm – 9:30pm Venue: Holy Name Parish Sunroom, Wahroonga RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Wednesday 26 October

Date: Sunday 4 September 2016 Time: 6:00pm Mass & 7:00pm BBQ Venue: Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, Waitara RSVP (to assist with catering): registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825 by Friday 2 September

BROKEN BAY BIBLE CONFERENCE 2016

The Acts of the Apostles: Taking the Gospel to a Wider World

PRAISEFEST AT PROCLAIM 2016 CONFERENCE Join CYBB for a vibrant gathering of youth celebrating faith through prayer, incredible music & community. The evening includes a BBQ, Welcome Back celebration for all our Diocesan WYD Pilgrims and their leaders, praise session, adoration, reflection, reconciliation and more. The evening is part of PROCLAIM 2016 conference & celebration of our DBB WYD Date: Friday 2 September 2016 Time: 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Presenters: Dr Michele A. Connolly, rsj and Dr Laurie Woods

Venue: Our Lady of Dolours Parish, Chatswood

Join us as we look at the birth and growth of the very early church, and

RSVP: youth@dbb.org.au

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AUGUST – OCTOBER 2016

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) CCD training and formation opportunities serve those involved in the mission of Special Religious Education (SRE) in our State Schools but are also open to those in catechesis and evangelising outreach in our Diocese. The Office for Evangelisation offers CCD Level 2 and Level 3 courses to all interested people providing formation that enables the Gospel to be taken into the lives of others.

CCD Level 3: Faith in Ministry “Study of the Gospel According to John” CCDL3 – 01J CCDL3 – 02J CCDL3 – 03J CCDL3 – 04J CCDL3 – 05J CCDL3 – 06J CCDL3 – 07J CCDL3 – 08J CCDL3 – 09J CCDL3 – 10J CCDL3 – 11J CCDL3 – 12J

Development of the Child and Adolescent III A Method of Theological Reflection Introduction to John Prologue The Book of Signs (A) The Book of Signs (B) The Book of Glory (A) The Book of Glory (B) The Passion Narrative The Resurrection Appearance in Galilee Spirituality of Leadership Identity and Integrity in Ministry

Central Coast Region – Course Type: Level 3 Venue: Leo Mahon Room, St John the Baptist, Blackwall Road, Woy Woy Dates: Friday 22, 29 July, 5, 12, 19 & 26 August, 9, 16, 23 & 30 September 2016 Time: 11:00am – 1:30pm (22 July & 30 September will be 9:30am - 2:30pm) RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

Northern Beaches & North Shore / Hornsby Regions – Course Type: Level 3 Venue: ‘The Sunroom’, Holy Name Parish, 35 Billyard Avenue, Wahroonga Dates: Friday 29 July, 5, 12, 19 & 26 August, 9, 16, 23 & 30 September, 7 October 2016 Time: 10:00am - 12:30pm (29 July & 7 October will be 9:30am - 2:30pm) RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

Secondary Catechist Workshop #2 CCDSEC-03 Secondary Classroom: Break Open the Word CCDSEC-04 Secondary Classroom: Technology

Northern Beaches Region Venue: Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish Centre, 9 Currie Road, Forestville Date: Tuesday 9 August 2016 Time: 9:30am - 2:30pm RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Wednesday 3 August 2016 OR

Central Coast Region Venue: Lecture Room (Building behind Church), Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, 239-243 The Entrance Road, The Entrance Date: Wednesday 10 August 2016 Time: 9:30am - 2:30pm RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Thursday 4 August OR

North Shore / Hornsby Region Venue: Caroline Chisholm Centre, 423 Pennant Hills Road, Pennant Hills (Vehicular entry via City View Road) Date: Monday 15 August 2016 Time: 9:30am – 2:30pm RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Thursday 11 August

Working with Children with Special Needs Presenter: Jo Karaolis Venue: Parish Centre, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, 239-243 The Entrance Road, The Entrance Date: Monday 29 August 2016 Time: 9:30am - 2:30pm RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Thursday 25 August

CCD Ministry Course CCDMI – Central Coast Region Wednesday 12 October 2016

The Mission and Ministry of the Catechist Wednesday 19 October 2016

SRE Teacher in the Parish and School Wednesday 26 October 2016

Child Protection / Safeguarding Wednesday 9 November 2016

Lesson Planning: Teaching the Authorised Curriculum Wednesday 16 November 2016

The Development of the Child and Adolescent I Wednesday 23 November 2016

Classroom Management: Positive Discipline Wednesday 30 November 2016

Introduction to the Bible Venue: CCD Regional Office (MacKillop House), 58 Victoria Avenue, East Gosford Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Wednesday 5 October

CCD Ministry Course CCDMI – North Shore / Hornsby Region Friday 28 October 2016

The Mission and Ministry of the Catechist

SRE Teacher in the Parish and School Friday 4 November 2016

Child Protection/Safeguarding

Lesson Planning: Teaching the Authorised Curriculum Friday 11 November 2016

The Development of the Child and Adolescent I

Classroom Management: Positive Discipline Friday 18 November 2016

Introduction to the Bible Venue: Caroline Chisholm Centre, 423 Pennant Hills Road, Pennant Hills (Vehicular entry via City View Road) Time: 9:30am - 2:30pm (Friday 18 November 9:30am – 12:00pm) RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

by Wednesday 27 October

CCD Ministry Course CCDMI – Northern Beaches Region

Tuesday 1 November 2016

The Mission and Ministry of the Catechist

SRE Teacher in the Parish and School Tuesday 8 November 2016

Child Protection / Safeguarding

Lesson Planning: Teaching the Authorised Curriculum Tuesday 15 November 2016

The Development of the Child and Adolescent I

Classroom Management: Positive Discipline Tuesday 22 November 2016

Introduction to the Bible Venue: Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish Centre, 9 Currie Road, Forestville Time: 9:30am - 2:30pm (Tuesday 22 November 9:30am – 12:00pm) RSVP: registrations@dbb.org.au or 9847 0448 / 4332 9825

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CatholicCare achieves highest accreditation with the Office of the Children’s Guardian CatholicCare must be accredited by the Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG) to provide services through our Out of Home Care program to children and young people. n particular CatholicCare provides Ipeople Residential Care Services to young between 12 and 18 years of age and Foster Care to children and young people 0 to 18. CatholicCare Diocese of Broken Bay has received the highest possible achievement of 5 years and is now accredited until 16 June 2021.

It is no mean feat to achieve this level. It means that we constantly work towards maintaining the highest quality service through complying with the 23 NSW Child

Safe Standards for Permanent Care.

The standards provide a road map for CatholicCare to ensure it is providing the best possible care for children and young people in a safe environment where they can grow and thrive with confidence.

Many people were involved in the preparation of the OCG visit which spanned over three days and took in four work sites last December. A return visit was also included of a further two days March this year. The process was

expertly led by Vanessa Smith who is our Out of Home Care Manager. This work of the Out of Home Care teams contains daily opportunities for acts of mercy with all involved receiving and giving mercy.

Foster Care is a great opportunity for people to provide a stable home for children and young people who may otherwise not experience something many of us take for granted. If you are interested in being a Foster Carer please contact Michelle Taylor on 4340 1030.

The NDIS is here

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) commenced in Northern Sydney and Central Coast regions on 1 July 2016.

t will be a gradual move for most of Iwith the current clients of disability services a complete rollout expected by 30 June 2017. CatholicCare has a large suite of programs in its Disability Futures

service and we have been out and about assisting people in building knowledge about NDIS. Our Disability Futures Manager, Peter Dixon has presented in six Catholic schools in the Broken Bay Diocese, three government schools and to all special education teachers in the Diocese and special interest groups. In addition we have connected with over 400 of our existing clients. Peter and the team developed a NDIS Pre Planning Wall Chart (see below) which assists people to look at support needs and

specific focus points in ensuring they obtain what they want from the NDIS that will assist them. It uses the language of the NDIS which makes it much easier to cross the divide of the new frontier. It is very important to be able to use the NDIS language when sitting down with a planner to ensure everyone is on the same point.

Peter and the team are only too happy to assist. Call one of our Disability Hubs: Waitara 9473 7221, Brookvale 8968 5100 and Central Coast 4356 2660.

FAMILY CENTRES: Central Coast • Naremburn • Waitara DISABILITY FUTURES: Central Coast • Northern Beaches • Northern Suburbs OUT OF HOME CARE: Foster Care • Therapeutic Group Care EARLY LEARNING AND CARE: Forestville • Lake Munmorah • Terrigal • Waitara

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Charity Race Day to support Mary Mac’s Place Mary Mac’s Place began in 1993 as a project of the parish of Woy Woy. then it has grown and now caters Sdailyince for anywhere between 80-120 people for lunch from Monday – Friday.

Those who come to Mary Mac’s for lunch are called companions as building relationships and connections is just as important as satisfying physical needs.

Since 2005, Mary Mac’s has been located in the Ethel Cox Parish Centre in Woy Woy, and

has laundry and shower facilities for the homeless to use.

Mary Mac’s relies heavily on volunteers and donations, as well as receiving support from CatholicCare Broken Bay and St Vincent de Paul. Approximately 10 volunteers help out each day to cook a hot lunch for their patrons. In all about 60 volunteers are on the roster.

This year, the Diocese of Broken

Bay’s Annual Charity Race Day at the Entertainment Grounds, Gosford will raise funds for Mary Mac’s Place.

“We are extremely grateful that the Diocese of Broken Bay is supporting Mary Mac’s for the Charity Race Day this year,” said Trish Devlin, Executive Director of CatholicCare. “Mary Mac’s relies heavily on donations and we need all the support we can get to keep the project running to the same high standard.”

Annual Diocesan Charity Race Day THE ENTERTAINMENT GROUNDS, GOSFORD 27 OCTOBER 2016 All funds raised support Mary Mac’s Place, Woy Woy. To book your individual or group tickets, call Rhonda Andersen on 02 9847 0426 or email rhonda.andersen@dbb.org.au

OUTSIDE SCHOOL HOURS CARE: Carlingford • Collaroy Plateau • Davidson • East Gosford • Forestville • Freshwater Lake Munmorah • Manly • Mona Vale • Narrabeen • Pymble • Waitara • West Pymble HOSPITAL CHAPLAINCY: Gosford • Hornsby • Manly • Mona Vale • Royal North Shore • Wahroonga (SAN) • Wyong BBN

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EDUCATION

The Leader in Me

Holy Family Catholic School in Lindfield has signed up to the Leader In Me program, a whole-school transformation program which aims to foster leadership skills and positive values in students.

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he program is modelled on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, including responsibility, vision and integrity, to help develop the students’ life skills in a proactive way.

Principal Lou Dogao said the program brought together the ethos of the school with a language that everyone can understand.

“We had all these great things happening in the school that were

in these little pockets,” he said. “ This is bringing it all together.”

Mr Dogao is thrilled that the whole community can be involved. “ The other thing that really attracted us is that we can take it on as a community approach.”

Mr Dogao was inspired to look into the program at Holy Family after visiting a Catholic school in Wollongong, which has been part of the program for seven years.

“ There are kids in kindergarten talking about being proactive,” he said. “ They’re using the language and modelling it.”

Staff began to implement the program by participating in a two-day course to take on the seven habits themselves. Then, colourful posters listing the habits have been put up in the school and students have been encouraged to identify the habits in their own behaviour.

Modelling the Real World The new adventure playground at St Patrick’s Catholic School at East Gosford was officially opened on 17 June by Senator Deborah O’Neill and Lucy Wicks, Member for Robertson.

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arents and children from the school community celebrated the opening with a sausage sizzle, choir performance and blessing by their Parish Priest, Father Tadeusz.

The new playground adds model shopfronts, play kitchen, letter boxes, sandpit, car tracks, dry creek bed and a crossing bridge to the existing climbing equipment. There’s also a stage that allows the children to perform

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creative plays and dances. Assistant Principal, Michelle Perry says “the children are extremely excited about dressing up, going shopping and opening their own businesses in our muchanticipated new play area.”

Play has a vital role in children’s social and emotional development and the provision of quality outdoor play opportunities form an integral part of a good learning environment.

It has been designed to encourage social and emotional learning by allowing children to explore their world through play.

“The idea is that after the parent and teacher, a child’s environment can be their third teacher,” said Sally Harrison, Early Learning Officer at the Catholic Schools Office. “They’re learning to share, to take turns, modelling real world behaviours when they play shops.”

EDUCATION

Learning Outside Classroom Walls Stage Three (combined Year Five and Six) students at St Cecilia’s Catholic School, Balgowlah have taken their learning outdoors to understand more about Indigenous culture and Science.

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irsty Thorpe, the Education Officer in Science and Technology at the Catholic Schools Office, said that she and fellow Education Officers John Hession and Dave Ella were passionate about helping the students learn more about the relationships between people and their local environment.

Kirsty was a teacher at St Kieran’s Catholic School in Manly Vale for eight years before beginning her role as an Education Officer, and said that the role has been an exciting challenge.

“As an Education Officer, it has been a great privilege to help teachers realise their own passion for Science and Technology and pass this onto their students,” she said.

The Stage Three students explored the bush at Manly Dam and looked at the effect humans have on the natural world.

Zara, one of the students, said that the experience had deepened her understanding of Indigenous culture. “I was able to witness and familiarise myself with the land as I attempted

to make connections between my prior knowledge of the Indigenous culture and my own understanding of the land, animals and natural surroundings,” she said.

“I learnt the importance of the sacred sites and the phenomenal impact that today’s recreational activities have on our bush environment.”

The students tested for pollution levels in the dam and looked at the effect humans have on the natural world.

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EDUCATION

Watch out, Masterchef!

Catholic Schools from across the Upper North Shore and the Central Coast battled it out in the annual Battle of the Chefs hospitality competition.

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t was held once again at St Peter’s Catholic College in Tuggerah and teams of three Year Twelve students from seven schools competed.

The winner, for the second year running, was St Leo’s Catholic College in Wahroonga, while Mt St Benedict’s College in Pennant Hills took out second place.

Judges agreed that third place was impossible to split, so awarded a joint-third place to St Joseph’s Catholic College in East Gosford and MacKillop Catholic College in Warnervale.

Students were allowed three hours to prepare, cook, serve and clean up a set menu which included an entree of orange

and avocado salad, followed by poached chicken breast in tarragon sauce, with a dessert of profiteroles filled with chantilly cream and chocolate ganache.

“The judges were blown away by the quality,” said Phil Cox, Education Officer for Vocational Learning. “It’s a real chance for the students to showcase their skills.”

The Science of Success St Paul’s Catholic College in Manly is now offering the CSIRO Scientists and Mathematicians in Schools program (SMiS) to their students.

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he program brings students into contact with professional

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scientists and mathematicians and they are given the chance to

learn from experts in the field.

St Paul’s staff and teachers also benefit from the close contact with industry professionals and the support of the Government.

The school was extensively consulted for an evaluation of the program undertaken by researchers from Deakin University who found that it was a highly effective program.

The Executive Summary of the report can be accessed through the CSIRO website.

The three judges were Sandra Stowe and Dimitris Aronis from Ourimbah TAFE and Executive Chef Keiron Brabender from Kooindah Waters Resort.

The students were judged on their group’s ability to produce creative, well presented dishes that were full of flavour.

EDUCATION

Time to Change Channel Nine producer Jill Greenwood gave up her twentyyear career in the media to study teaching and is now a Year Four teacher at Prouille Catholic School in Wahroonga.

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ill grew up in Brisbane and started at Channel Nine in their programming department in 1992 before working her way up to being a Promotions Producer.

“It was an exciting place to be as a twenty-three year old from Brisbane,” she says. “Kerry Packer was still there, walking through the corridors. It was kind of the golden age for Nine.

We met so many celebrities … Kevin Costner was on Hey Hey It’s Saturday!, Prince Edward rang up one day.”

The move to give up a high-flying career in television might seem unusual, but Jill says her calling to teach actually came first.

“It was always my dream,” she says. “When I was at school I did work experience and I thought about getting into teaching, but I started at Nine and then that got in the way.”

She started at Prouille in 2014 and was very excited to begin her new career.

Jill says that teaching is “an extraordinary responsibility, but it’s very rewarding.” She

relishes the chance to equip children with skills and knowledge to navigate the world.

“We did a Maths assessment yesterday and I thought, ‘I really am teaching them

fundamental things which they need for life.’”

Jill says she has never been happier. “I’m doing what I always felt I was meant to do.”

From the corporate world to the classroom Nathan Smith’s two sisters and mother all worked in Catholic Education, so teaching seemed a likely transition for him when he decided to leave the corporate world.

“IT felt very natural,” he says.

Nathan worked in marketing for large corporations and was ten years into this career when he recognised that it was not his passion.

“I realised I wasn’t getting job satisfaction,” he says. His two sisters, who both work in the Diocese themselves, suggested he look at Catholic Education and he decided to become a school counsellor.

“I wanted to help young people,” he says.

After three years working as a counsellor, it was a natural transition to teaching and in 2015, Nathan started teaching Commerce, Business Studies, Geography and Religion at St Leo’s Catholic College in Wahroonga.

“I love the interaction with the kids,” he says.

Nathan is an avid touch footballer and coached the senior mixed team at St Leo’s to victory in the Division Two finals earlier this year. “When you’re coaching a sporting team, spending time with students outside the classroom, that’s where relationships and connections with students are built,” he says.

“That’s where you really make a difference in the young person’s life.”

However, while the corporate world wasn’t for him, Nathan finds he still uses many skills and knowledge from his previous career.

“As a teacher I’ve found I use project management, time management, organisational knowledge … they are all transferrable,” he says. “I often use real-world examples in the classroom to engage the students and enliven the topic.”

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NEWS & ISSUES

Pope Francis calls on the Catholic faithful throughout the world to perform works of mercy with the help of ACN Pope Francis has given his personal support to an awareness and fundraising campaign organised by a leading Catholic charity to mark the Pontiff’s Year of Mercy.

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id to the Church in Need’s “Be God’s Mercy” initiative was launched on 17 June at a press conference in the offices of Vatican Radio in Rome.

The Pope personally associated himself with the campaign through a video message broadcast at the conference, in which he highlighted ACN’s work. In his message, the Pope called on people to “carry out works of mercy together with ACN in every corner of the world, in order to meet the many, many needs of today”.

ACN projects to be supported during the four-month “Be God’s Mercy” campaign include prison ministry, drug rehabilitation centres and support groups for women who have suffered violence.

In his video message, the Pope

said: “I am entrusting these works to Aid to the Church in Need.”

For Christians and others who fled Islamist terror group Daesh (ISIS) in Iraq, the Pope has supported an ACN project providing medicine for St Joseph’s Clinic, Erbil, in the Kurdish north of the country, which serves 2,800 displaced people. The Pope’s financial support was sent via Italian Bishop Francesco Cavina of Carpi to ACN project partner Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil.

Father Imad Gargees, a Catholic priest working with Iraqi refugees, gave a description of the project at the press conference. He also showed a short video about the clinic with a message of thanks to the Pope from Archbishop Warda.

Also speaking at the press conference was Archbishop

Sebastian Shaw of Lahore, Pakistan, who gave an account of the atrocity on 27 March in Lahore where suicide bombers killed 76 people in a park, many of them Christians celebrating on Easter Sunday.

Pakistan is the focus of three “Be God’s Mercy” projects – support for victims of the March 2015 suicide bomb blasts on two churches in Yohannabad, outside Lahore, as well as increased security both for St John’s, one of the two churches in question, and the nearby St Francis Xavier Major Seminary.

The Pope asks all of us to follow his call for works of mercy.

ACN seeks to support those who give their lives at the service of mercy: the men and women of the Church – priests, sisters, either active or contemplative, and laity – those who dedicate their energy to serve others to overcome their needs. Often reaching out to those who cannot or will not be reached by others, they feed the poor, heal the sick and console the sorrowful, keeping them in their prayers and carrying them by sharing the Good News.

For more information about the Be God’s Mercy Campaign, please consult the multi-language website www.acnmercy.org . To donate go www.aidtochurch.org

Celebrate the Holy Year of Mercy: ACN by supporting priests and religious wherever the Church is poor or persecuted Through their hands, God’s hand caresses the earth... A complimentary Year of Mercy rosary designed by the Priests and religious are above all the apostles of Divine Vatican rosary makers and blessed by Pope Francis will Mercy - and not merely during the extraordinary Year of be sent out to all those who give a donation of $15.00 or Mercy that Pope Francis has proclaimed for the whole more to support this cause and tick the box below.

Church. They feed the hungry, comfort the grieving, en- Rosary design: Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s Mercy dure injustice. They promote reconciliation and absolve Every confessor must accept the faithful as the father in the the repentant from their sins. Day by day, through the parable of the prodigal son. Confessors are called to embrace works of spiritual and corporal mercy, they show people the repentant son who comes home and to express the joy of the Face of the Merciful God. ‘They’ are the priests and having him back again. religious of the Catholic Church.

Chosen to be the Mother of the Son of God, Mary, from the Throughout the world wherever the Church is poor or outset, was prepared by the love of God to be the Ark of the persecuted, there are tens of thousands of priests and re- Covenant between God and man. She treasured divine mercy ligious daily living the ‘Yes’ they have already given to in her heart in perfect harmony with her son Jesus. The red and God. It is vital that the indispensable work of priests and white beads represent the rays of light of the Divine Mercy. religious in Christ’s Holy Catholic Church continues.

Send to: Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 7246 Baulkham Hills BC NSW 2153 Tel No: (02) 9679-1929 Email: info@aidtochurch.org Web: www.aidtochurch.org I/We enclose $_________ to support the work of Priests and Religious for the poor and persecuted Church.

I enclose a cheque/money order payable to Aid to the Church in Need OR please debit my Visa or Mastercard:

Broken Bay News

Signature .................................................... Exp Date ....... /.......

Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Rev ..............................................................................................................

The Year of Mercy Rosary set will be sent out to all those who assist this cause and tick this box.

Address ........................................................................................................... PC ..................

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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

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ACROSS OUR DIOCESE

Bible Conference in October to Explore the Acts of the Apostles It is always fascinating to reflect on the early Church. The life and mission of the earliest Christian communities can teach us much about the mission of evangelisation in the 21st century.

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ow did the earliest community gather around and make sense of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection after his Ascension? How did the disciples, for example, Peter, Paul and Stephen, find the courage to bring the story and message of Jesus to towns and cities which came at considerable personal hardship and cost? Glimpses into these questions can be found in the Acts of the Apostles, the book that will feature in this year’s Broken Bay Bible Conference on 14-15 October at the Caroline Chisholm Centre, Pennant Hills.

Entitled “The Acts of the

Apostles: Taking the Gospel to a Wider World,” conference presenters will include Dr Michele A Connolly rsj and Dr Laurie Woods, with participation by Bishop David Walker. Dr Michele Connolly rsj is a lecturer in Biblical Studies at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, whilst Dr Laurie Woods taught Biblical Studies at the Australian Catholic University for 29 years and is now a casual academic at the University. Bishop David Walker represents the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference at the Catholic Biblical Federation.

Dr Woods shares, “This

conference on the Acts of the Apostles, the sequel to Luke’s Gospel, is a marvellous opportunity to explore the world, the community life and the missionary activity of the earliest days of the Church.”

Sr Michele adds, “Acts opens to us the experience of the first generation of Christian believers coming to faith in Jesus crucified and raised. This is a rich and fascinating narrative, showing how the apostles Peter and Paul take the Gospel to many different cultures in the lands around the eastern and northern Mediterranean Sea.”

As well as looking back, the Conference will invite us to consider how the text might speak to us today in our own times and culture. What can we learn today from the earliest Christians about bringing the Good News of Jesus to the wider world?

Registrations open in early August, and the cost is $55 for both days, which includes lunch and morning and afternoon teas. Single-day tickets are also available. Join us for this significant biblical event in the Diocese.

Broken Bay BiBle ConferenCe 2016 14 & 15 October, 2016

Caroline Chisholm Centre, Pennant Hills “The Acts of the Apostles: Taking the Gospel to a Wider World” presented by Dr Michele A Connolly rsj and Dr Laurie Woods

Registrations open 1 August www.trybooking.com/LLLJ Contact: registrations@dbb.org.au or Colleen on 9847 0448 / 4332 9825 Web: www.dbb.org.au/bible

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TakinG THe GoSPel To a WiDer WorlD

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AUGUST 2016

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ACROSS OUR DIOCESE

The God of Mercy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam We know that Jesus, through his teachings and actions, revealed a Father who is compassionate and merciful.

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he Abrahamic Seminar on 5 June at the Light of Christ Centre, Waitara, explored the quality of mercy as it appears in other faith traditions and disclosed a strong, common thread.

An initiative of the Office for Evangelisation, together with the Columban Mission Institute, the seminar titled, “The God of Mercy in Judaism, Christianity and Islam” was an opportunity to dialogue with other faith traditions around a shared understanding of the merciful nature of God and foster goodwill and understanding among the three Abrahamic faiths.

Rabbi Gary Robuck, Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, and Sr Michele Connolly rsj provided wonderful input representing Jewish, Islamic

and Christian understandings of our merciful God, with Columban Father, Patrick McInerney ssc, facilitating the conversation. The individual presentations held an extraordinary consonance, one with the other, which led participants to a deeper appreciation and insight into the nature of God. For the 100 people who braved the wet weather to be a part of the conversation, the opportunity to sit and discuss universal truths with people of other faiths was a real gift. One participant commented, “I am motivated to do more to build bridges between the three faiths in order to receive and give mercy in my daily life ... I know the discussion in one sense is over, but in other, we are only just beginning.”

AUDIO

Another added, “Mercy is a gift from God. I honour God best when I propagate the gift in the world.” Sr Michele offered similar words in her presentation: “To receive mercy is to enter into my own need and vulnerability.

It also implicitly accepts that a mercy received is a mercy that I can almost guarantee I will be asked in some way to offer again to someone else; someone equally needy and perhaps equally undeserving in ‘strict justice.’”

Pope Francis in Miseracordiae Vultus, his letter announcing the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, wrote: “I trust that this Jubilee year celebrating the mercy of God will foster an encounter with [ Judaism

VISION

& Islam] and with other noble religious traditions; may it open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might know and understand one another better; may it eliminate every form of closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every form of violence and discrimination.”

(MV, 23) God indeed is universally known as loving and merciful, and when we personally adopt a merciful orientation in the world, closed-mindedness and disrespect cannot take hold. We can only give mercy because it has first been given to us. Our challenge in this Year of Mercy is to build bridges and multiply this gift in the here and now. We have a good Teacher who showed us how.

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AUGUST 2016

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ACROSS OUR DIOCESE

Bringing Laudato Si’ to Life A Sacred Forest in the Forest Parish

On 29 May, marking the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudato Si’ on the care of our common home, Frenchs Forest Parish inaugurated plans to revegetate the grounds at St Anthony in the Fields Church, Terrey Hills to create a sacred forest.

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ope Francis writes, ‘(earth) cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.’ He emphasises the consequences of human activity on the climate and oceans and the loss of homelands, livelihood and culture of indigenous peoples and the world’s poorest.

The project employs restorative justice principles of putting back what has been taken away, through revegetating cleared land.

From its friends in the Northern Beaches Aboriginal Community, the parish is learning how to re-connect to country and, thus to God’s creation.

The St Anthony’s property forms part of the threatened Duffy’s Forest Wildlife Corridor.

Traversing it is the weed-infested Kierans Creek, which stretches into Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, supporting many species of birds, reptiles, frogs, and animals, including micro-bats. The parish has a responsibility to ensure the corridor’s future viability.

The Sacred Forest will promote the spiritual, educational, environmental and community needs of the three Forest Parish communities and it is hoped it will become a resource for the Diocese and wider community. It will incorporate tracks for walking, stations for reflection and prayer and spaces for liturgical celebration, faith and ecological education. In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis calls for “ecological education and spirituality.”

At the Landcare-sponsored event on 29 May, participants heard an overview of Laudato Si’ from Anne Lanyon of the Columban Mission Institute and an introduction to land management by Mia Dalby-Ball from Dragonfly Environmental. There followed a walk around the property, visiting sites already under revegetation and examining areas infested by serious weeds such as bitou bush.

A highlight of the day was the formation of Kierans Creek Landcare Group under the auspices of Greater Sydney Landcare. A good number of people have volunteered. Training

will follow shortly and invitations extended to the wider community to join.

Evaluations of the day included: ‘I became more aware of our own space, so sacred at Kierans Creek and St Anthony’s and how we can help preserve and regenerate it” and “It provided a whole community with a common understanding and helped to provide a common goal and common focus” With the office at Forestville now fully solar, the Parish hopes this initiative will give witness to Pope Francis’ call for ecological conversion.

Put those you love in the hands of those who care

Of all life’s celebrations the funeral liturgy can touch us the most deeply.

At least that’s what Sydney families look for when they choose WN Bull Funerals.

We prefer to place our trust and reliance on those who have the skill and experience to plan a funeral that has meaning and dignity.

As the funeral liturgy expresses faith, it also contextualises the life of the deceased with traditional and contemporary elements.

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AUGUST 2016

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NEWS & ISSUES

Why Religious Liberty?

By Rocco Mimmo LLM, Founder and Chairman, Ambrose Centre for Religious Liberty

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s a Catholic lay person, I experience the periodic occasions of doubt prompting the questions: “Who am I?”, “What am I doing here?’ “Where am I going?” These same questions have been raised in several Catholic documents by Popes and prominent writers.

The questions go to the mysteries of life which baffle men and women throughout the world.

These moments of doubt and questions can be refreshing in that they recalibrate the mind on what is important. Obviously, the last of the three questions goes to what I suspect unites us and is common to all: is there life after death? If there is no life after death, then God is irrelevant, non-existent; constraints on personal conduct is limited only by the harm we do ourselves, not by the tenets of what we understand is morally proper and correct.

But the question, is there life after death, ignites the need for religious liberty. If when seeking an answer to the question leads us to believe that God does exist, then it brings out the reasoning, what does God expect of me in order to save my soul? Without our religious liberty then it would be to the State imposed laws that we would need to answer on matters of personal conduct, not what God expects of us.

When Governments enact laws to remove discrimination against religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, colour, national extraction and social origin, then many people applaud. People reason that democratic governments should not permit any discrimination against personal traits, birth characteristics and personal lifestyle choices. Therefore, there should be no hurtful speech or action against a person who seeks to nominate, on whim or otherwise, a gender identity different to their birth biology and to be treated as that identity for all purposes of social interaction. Immediately there arises a contradiction between a birth characteristic and a personal choice.

People caught in this contradiction would find it bizarre that at law the personal choice will mainly prevail over the birth characteristic.

By way of illustration, the person nominating a gender identity different to their birth biology can insist on using the opposite sex assigned bathroom, the opposite sex assigned dressing room at sporting venues, wear an opposite sex assigned uniform at work or to school and no objection or resistance will be tolerated.

The above is a microcosm of what is occurring in the area of discrimination law. It is discrimination laws which pose the greatest challenges to religious liberty.

The right to do an act in accordance with what God wants of me may be refused if the exercise of the religious belief comes into conflict with another’s personal choice in matters of personal lifestyle around sexual orientation, gender identity or relational status.

In Australia we are blissfully at peace as there is no attempt to prevent a person from having a religious belief, attending a prayer session, a religious service or Mass. Many consider this to be the exercise of religious liberty.

It may come to pass that the registered political party called, The Sex Party, wants to hire the Parish Hall for a political rally.

The parish priest may deem The Sex Party’s platform to be contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church and refuse the hiring. The same parish priest, however, agreed to the Save Our Nation political party hiring the Parish Hall in the previous week.

Clearly, the parish priest is discriminating against The Sex Party. Is this prejudice, is it religious highhandedness, maybe a bias, or worse, is it bigotry? Take your pick; it still is discrimination. The priest may believe this is his religious liberty, that is, to do what God would want him to do. Note, even the Bishop takes second spot to what God wants.

Let’s take another simple example. Tony is a practising Catholic steeped in the tradition of the Catholic tradition of prayer and work. Tony also ponders on the question: Is there life after death? from time to time. He does his best to live in accordance with what God would want of him.

Tony has a flourishing business hiring out luxury limousines for special occasions. One day he receives a request to supply two luxury limousines for the use of a same-sex celebration.

Tony believes, rightly or wrongly, same-sex activity to be wrong and not in accord with Church teachings. On the strength of what he believes God would want him to do, he refuses to supply the two limousines.

According to law, Tony is discriminating against sexual orientation. Although in his mind he is refusing to facilitate same-sex activity. The law will not countenance such a belief. So, is Tony acting on prejudice, religious bigotry, intolerance or the in-word – is he a homophobe? Perhaps Tony could be all of these, but above all, can Tony exercise his religious liberty, to act in accord with what God wants of him? Can Tony live out, in a democratic society, in a lawful way, what he believes God wants him to do?

Tony says he should be allowed to live out his genuinely held religious belief; after all the would be same-sex hirers of his limousines can go to another supplier who does not have the same belief. But the discrimination laws say no; Tony must supply the limousines upon pain of a hefty fine and possible damages.

Hence we see the over reach of the law into making unlawful acts inspired and motivated by genuinely held religious beliefs.

No democratic government should permit acts of prejudice or bigotry to masquerade behind a mask of religious liberty. The exercise of religious liberty is not absolute and therefore some limited restraint is not unreasonable in certain circumstances. However, the law must differentiate between acts motivated by genuinely held religious beliefs which seek to act in accordance with what God wants rather than a desire to discriminate. This is where we need to find the right balance.

It is not the role of the law to decide what is a proper, a reasonable or a correct religious belief. If the belief is within the general law and does no harm, unless otherwise shown, then it should be allowed to be exercised.

Religious freedom is for all – it is a human reality!

O

n 29 June, a discussion on Religious Liberty between Bishop Peter A Comensoli and Mr Rocco Mimmo (Ambrose Centre for Religious Liberty) was held on the feast of Sts Peter and Paul – the great men of the Church who opened up this same dimension of dialogue in the Gospel.

Both men lived the example of expressing their religious freedom.

The images of Peter and Paul exercising their reason in the public arena showed how

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it might be possible to live and express beliefs reasonably, honestly and respectfully – not imposing, but proposing.

Our challenge today is getting our voice heard in the public square – of becoming more than just a voice among many.

Thank you to Mr Daniel Petrie, St Leo’s Catholic College for facilitating, and to the Staff at the Cathedral Parish and Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary for their support in hosting.

The next forum will be held at the Catholic Parish of Epping-Carlingford on 21 September 2016.

Learn, grow and thrive – enrol in BBI’s Professional Development and Short Courses in 2016 Learning and applying new skills is the ultimate self-improvement. BBI is proud to offer non-academic courses to enhance the professional development of those working in the Church, and to help you learn more about your faith, theology and spirituality.

Governance & Canon Law Seminar Series

Mercy: A Way of Being in the World eConference

22 August to 2 September – Sydney & Brisbane Emeritus Professor Francis Morrisey OMI and other canon lawyers and governance leaders www.bbi.catholic.edu.au/GovernanceCanonLaw

AICD Company Directors Course

8 to 9 September – North Sydney Professor Clifford Green and other Bonhoeffer experts http://www.bbi.catholic.edu. au/short-courses/12th-AnnualBonhoeffer-Conference

17 – 21 October 7 – 11 November 28 November – 2 December and

AICD Foundations of Directorship Course

16 – 18 November http://www.bbi.catholic.edu.au/aicd

Adult Faith Online

This is a series of short, online courses which focus on aspects of our faith and require reading, listening and reflection. Start anytime, 6-8 week courses. http://www.bbi.catholic.edu.au/ short-courses/Adult-Faith-Online

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