BBN / SEPTEMBER 2021
BISHOP’S MESSAGE
Look after your Spiritual Wellbeing DIOCESE OF BROKEN BAY Tel: (02) 8379 1600 Caroline Chisholm Centre Building 2, 423 Pennant Hills Rd Pennant Hills NSW 2120 PO Box 340 Pennant Hills NSW 1715 enquiries@bbcatholic.org.au
By Bishop Anthony Randazzo are spiritual because the Spirit of God breathes divine life into us and animates us for eternal life.
CHANCERY Bishop: Most Rev Anthony Randazzo Vicar General: Very Rev Dr David Ranson Chancellor & Executive Officer: Kelly Paget Diocesan Financial Administrator, Director, Stewardship: Emma McDonald Director, Diocesan Safeguarding: Jodie Crisafulli Tel: (02) 8379 1605 Director, Communications: Iggy Pintado Director, Evangelisation Broken Bay: Tomasz Juszczak CATHOLIC SCHOOLS BROKEN BAY Director: Danny Casey Tel (02) 9847 0000 PO Box 967 Pennant Hills NSW 1715 CATHOLICCARE Executive Director: Tim Curran Tel: (02) 9481 2600 Family Centres: Brookvale – Naremburn – Tuggerah – Waitara –
Tel: (02) 8043 2600 Tel: (02) 8425 8700 Tel: (02) 4356 2600 Tel: (02) 9488 2400
Hospital Chaplaincy & Pastoral Care: (02) 9481 2600 Children’s Services: (02) 9481 2600 Disability Futures: (02) 9488 2500 Services for Seniors: (02) 9488 2500 Permanency Support Program (Foster Care): (02) 4320 7700 BROKEN BAY NEWS Editor: Melissa Loughlin Tel: (02) 8379 1618 news@bbcatholic.org.au Design: Chris Murray 10,400 copies of Broken Bay News are distributed quarterly to 26 parishes and 44 schools in the Diocese of Broken Bay. The Broken Bay News is a member of the Australasian Catholic Press Association. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply diocesan endorsement of products or services advertised.
www.bbcatholic.org.au We acknowledge the Darug, Gurringai and Darkinjung Nations, the traditional custodians of the land across our Diocese. We recognise the Aboriginal people as holding the memories, the traditions and the culture of the lands we live and work upon. We honour their wisdom and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
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My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, So much is being said these days regarding physical and psychological wellbeing. It is a timely conversation, as countless people are challenged by the COVID lockdown foisted by the Delta strain of the virus. For many in our community and beyond, there is great disquiet and uncertainty. This anxiety is compounded because most are not used to being restricted, especially regarding movement in and around the community. The physical dimension of being less active or mobile can intensify the mental anguish of ambiguity around employment and financial security, studies and education, infirmity and health care, and exclusion or separation from the community, especially from our church buildings. Talking about issues, in this case physical and psychological needs, can be cathartic and liberating. However, if we draw a line joining those two points the result is a flat line, which lacks perspective and direction. Now is not the time to flat line. As human beings and as Catholic Christians, we are never merely physical or psychological. We are also spiritual. The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is the memorial of God-with-us. The spiritual life is not merely an optional extra, as if we put on or take off the Spirit like a fashionable piece of clothing. We
These three points of reference: physical, psychological, and spiritual, are essential if the human person is to navigate life from this world to the next. They assist us in discerning who we are and where we are going. If any one of them is eliminated we flat line. Not being able to gather in our churches for Mass, common prayer, and worship has placed a heavy burden on our community of the Church. However, the deprivation of these essential moments in our life does not dispossess us of the Spirit of God. God is ever-present to us through the beauty and grandeur of creation; by the eternal sacrifice of Christ crucified and risen; in the communion of the Holy Spirit. In these challenging times, I urge you not to forget this great mystery of faith. In the same way that each person needs to attend to their physical and psychological wellbeing, so too we have to consider our spiritual life and wellbeing. There are many ways to do this, and so I encourage you to continue participating in live stream Masses; reading the Scriptures; praying the Rosary; reading the Lives of the Saints; praying the Liturgy of the Hours; making an examination of conscience; spending time in holy silence; praying before and after meals; attending to the needs of others via works of charity and kindness; fasting; praying for the dead; as well as considering other ways to sanctify each day. We pride ourselves as being a free society, however the foundation of our way of life is grounded in responsible
