World Youth Day - Journey of The Cross and Icon Through The Diocese of Rockhampton

My dear people of the Diocese of Rockhampton

I wish to write to you at this time, concerning the arrival in our Diocese of the World Youth day Cross and Icon. On Wednesday 29th August, we will receive the Cross at Childers, as it is handed over to us by the Archdiocese of Brisbane.

As you know, the Cross is a gift to the youth of the world by the late Pope John Paul II, and it is now travelling from country to country, inviting young people to the next World Youth Day, to be held in Sydney in July 2008. Our Holy Father, Benedict XVI, will meet the youth from every nation at the largest gathering ever held in Australia. What a challenging theme the Pope has chosen for all young people “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

The arrival of the Cross and Icon is our invitation to make immediate preparations for the great event in Sydney next year. It is a call to all youth, those able to go to Sydney and those who are not, to focus in new ways on Jesus, the centre and inspiration of our lives. In fact, it is an invitation to everyone of us, young and older, to let the Cross be a sign of renewed faith and hope for us all.

The Cross and Icon of the Mother and Child, will begin its journey in Bundaberg, then it will continue to Miriam Vale, Gladstone, Biloela, Rockhampton, Emu Park, Yeppoon, Sarina, Mackay, Walkerston, Moranbah, Clermont, Capella, Emerald, Alpha, Barcaldine, Blackall, Isisford and finally, Longreach, where it will be handed on to the Diocese of Townsville.

Unfortunately, it cannot reach everywhere in our vast Diocese in nine days, but I ask you to do all you can to take yourselves and your families to honour the Cross, to help carry it, to touch it and allow it to lead you to Jesus in a new way. Stefanie Lloyd, our World Youth Day Coordinator, and the teams in all the local communities, have put tremendous effort into ensuring meaningful and prayerful celebrations around the visit of the Cross and Icon. I ask you to support them by joining in, remembering that it is not just for our wonderful young people, but also for families
and everyone, even those of us who are a little older.

The coming of the Cross is a timely symbol for our times. It has been the central Christian symbol from the beginning, when the Cross of Calvary led to the triumph of the Resurrection. We use it to sign ourselves when we pray, we place the cross on little children at the first ceremony of Baptism, it is on our churches and schools . We wear the cross as a sign that we belong to Jesus.

In an age of real challenge to make the right choices, it is a sign that we have to carry our own cross at times, to be different, to take a stand against evil. It is part of being a disciple of Jesus for He said “unless you too take up your cross, you cannot be my disciple (Matt 16:24).

The Cross is a powerful sign of forgiveness, so needed in our lives, so needed in a society which often finds it hard to be reconciled. For so many reasons, the coming of the Cross and Icon will renew our faith. I ask you to join me as I travel with this gift to our Diocese. I look forward to meeting you as we offer our witness to the wider community that Jesus is the hope for our times.

Yours sincerely

+Brian Heenan
Bishop of Rockhampton

16 August 2007