Pastoral Letter - Advent 2004 |
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My dear people, With the beginning of Advent, our preparation for Christmas and indeed a new year is beginning. I would like to recall that we have already begun the Year of the Eucharist, announced by Pope John Paul II in October and to conclude in October 2005. Entitled “Stay with us Lord” Pope John Paul has chosen the words of the disciples on the road to Emmaus after the Resurrection, requesting Jesus to stay on to have supper with them. The image of the disciples on the way to Emmaus can serve as reminder to us all that there is an urgent need to discover His presence anew, in the great gift of the Eucharist. With you, I experience deep sadness that so many of our people no longer draw life and strength from the Eucharist. Advent reminds us of the first coming of Jesus when he was born as a tiny child in Bethlehem. We call it Christmas and it is beautifully linked with every Mass, for Christ comes again when we gather for Eucharist. We recognise that He is present in several ways – in the community, in the Scriptures and in a most remarkable way in the Eucharist, bread and wine becoming the very person and presence of Christ. I want to announce that throughout next year, we will focus on the gift of the Eucharist, beginning with Advent and including various programs and celebrations during 2005. Our Lenten program “Living the Call of Baptism” will help us to discover that Eucharist is the power of Christ enabling us to live out the call of Baptism. After Easter, we will draw on another diocesan program which will highlight the real meaning and gift of the Eucharist. It will take the form of a series of five leaflets explaining the Eucharist, through Scripture, Theology, Prayer and the testimony of what the Eucharist means to various members of our faith community. The program will be widely available throughout the Diocese, in every Parish, and community and will be offered to our teachers, parents and students in our Catholic Schools and Colleges. I am confident this resource will be of immense encouragement to discover again this treasure of the Eucharist, in our midst. I will be asking every Parish to make a special celebration around the Feast of Corpus Christi towards the end of May. World Youth Day in August will be focused on our young people throughout the Diocese, inviting them to an explanation of the Eucharist and we will conclude the Year of the Eucharist with a pageant of thanksgiving on the Feast of Christ the King. With Pope John Paul and the Catholic Church throughout the world, may we look forward to a real resurgence in our understanding of and practice of the Eucharist. May we begin this Advent and invite all our family members and friends to celebrate Eucharist with us as a genuine expression of our dream that many might “come home and celebrate Christ-Mass”. We are called during Advent to rethink the way we live, to hear the call of Jesus to live simply, honestly and with renewed respect for one another. It is a time to renew relationships, to send and receive meaningful greetings and be aware of those with special needs at Christmas time, not necessarily gift giving. It is a time for quiet moments, to pray, to read again the story of God’s love, the meaning of Jesus coming and the courage of Mary and Joseph. Advent is a time for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and I urge all parish communities to celebrate in the most practical way possible the opportunity of receiving this liberating and healing Sacrament. The recent ordination of Father Matthew Moloney has brought abundant hope to our Diocese and a renewed focus on the centrality of the Eucharist in our Catholic way of life and worship. We welcome Father Matthew to the priesthood and I pray that others will come forward to follow him. In the meantime, let us welcome the season of Advent, embrace it with enthusiasm and let God’s grace do the rest. Yours sincerely + Brian Heenan 28 November 2004
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