The weekly bulletin available in the porches provides information about the Mass such as the relevant readings and music, a reflection, and notcies of events taking places in the church. Right-click here and save the current Parish Bulletin to your computer (HTML format) or as a text version here or as a Word version here.
From the Bulletin
The Christian teacher: a living sacrament.
The teaching ministry is indeed a special one! I don’t just mean in knowledge and skills sense but something more vital, more lasting. Perhaps our first thought go to schools. As you might expect, Catholic school teachers draw inspiration from the person of Jesus and they hope to model Gospel values by their example. Indeed this is a noble commitment ( and sacrament) and I believe by and large it is lived well in Catholic schools, because people who work in Catholic schools (and others) generally can not just ‘learn skills’ in how to be a model of Gospel values, one has to operate out of that ‘place’, the ‘wellspring’ within us where they live and enliven us.
Catholic school teachers and support staff are a gift to the community. They show to students, parents, colleagues and the wider community, what it is to live as a Christian. Through their energy, Jesus’ teaching breathes life into every aspect of school life, from the Maths the students learn to the way we relate to each other. However I also believe that the ‘teaching ministry’ does not only belong to the few who have degrees or appointed roles. It is the call of every Christian to be a teacher. To teach is to take incredible risks. It entails revealing one’s deepest held convictions, and subjects you to a scrutiny of your actions. You are left always exposed to criticism for your shortcomings and more often little appreciation for the good works and successes you achieve.
Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? I refer to the notion of drawing inspiration from Jesus. He endured all the above and considerably more and in a secular sense, he might have been considered defeated. Instead, He lives and so does his Spirit. Jesus as teacher made a lasting difference! We are called to do the same- in spite of the challenges that go with it. John’s Gospel ( 14 ; 23-29) gives us courage; “Do not let your hearts be afraid” To conclude, when we minister ( ‘teach’) to the least of our neighbours, we know we are acting out of God’s Spirit, a Spirit given freely, lovingly and most importantly with a peace that only God can give.
Justin Cavuoto, Principal St Joseph’s Parish School, Kingswood
WORK AND THE BALANCE OF LIFE
Anthony Kain PP
Last week was the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker that was originally initiated as a foil to May Day! In a Pastoral Letter issued for the Feast, Bishop Christopher Saunders, Chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC), has asked us to reflect on the issue of work and its effect on people. One of my own concerns, in the years I have lived here among you as Parish Priest, is how busy our lives are and whether we have enough time for one another in our key relationships. It is difficult as especially the economics of life and what is expected of us can rule us.
In the Letter, Keeping Time – Australian families and the culture of overwork, Bishop Saunders says, “Over the past two decades there has been a massive encroachment of work into family time. An increasing number are juggling the demands of work with their family commitments. He has called on Government to regularly release data on the terms and conditions of Australian Workplace Agreements. “People caught in the dilemma of having to work longer and harder in jobs that really upset the normal family routine are entitled to ask, ‘Where are the promised benefits of workplace flexibility?’”, he said. It addresses reports of a substantial erosion of overtime and penalty rates under new individual workplace agreements.
This could mean less pay but also more irregular hours for low paid and vulnerable workers. Timely information on the individual agreements registered under the new laws would allow for thorough reasoning and sound debate on the practical outcomes of the new system for working families. Bishop Saunders said, “Time together is every family’s right. On the Feast of St Joseph the Worker, we are invited to consider the ways in which we can establish the proper place for work, and the necessary pay and conditions, so that family life is well supported now and for future generations. “Perhaps it is time for Australia, with the help of our political leaders, to put work into its proper perspective”, Bishop Saunders said.
The Pastoral Letter will be available at: http://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au A copy of this letter has been posted on the noticeboard in the Church Porch. Copies also available from Parish Office
What price Wisdom?
The problem about wealth, about having things, about possessions, is not so much the quantity of riches, as our attitude to it.
The young man in the gospel story was seeking life – life for eternity. Jesus offered it to him and he turned away, - because the price was too great!
Presumably the young man had respect for and faith in Jesus’ teachings, otherwise he would not have approached him with such an important question. He was expecting a serious answer, and yet when it came, he put current satisfaction before life for eternity!
His attachment to his wealth obstructed his wisdom.
Currently, we live in a society where the value of nearly everything is measured in money terms. Profit rules!
This obsession with riches can obstruct the wisdom, not only of individuals, but of governments, of whole communities.
Reluctance to let go of the earnable dollar, perpetrates all sorts of evil.
We know that cigarette manufacturing still continues despite the open and proven knowledge of the dire health risks of cigarette smoking.
We know that drug companies have preferred to see impoverished countries ravaged by AIDS, than allow the production of cheap drugs to eat into their profits.
These are just two examples. The obstruction of wisdom by attachment to riches abounds in our world.
Last week Fr Anthony referred to the film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ which describes in great clarity the problems being caused by global warming.
Awareness of global warming as an issue has been around for many years, and we have to ask ourselves why it still isn’t being tackled effectively. Why are we being such poor stewards of the Earth?
What part does attachment to riches play in this issue? Is it leading to decisions like that of the rich young man, where current wealth is favoured over long term life?
We need to think about these things.
What is happening globally? what is happening in our own country? And where does my own attachment to my personal riches fit into the picture – am I attached to a large gas guzzling car? or a garden that needs a lot of water? or a houseful of power using technology? How do these things weigh against long term life? How do they reflect the wisdom of God?
Sr. Elaine Treagus rsm
St. Francis of Assisi and Al Gore
Anthony Kain PP
It seems a strange thing to make a link between St. Francis of Assisi and Al Gore, former Vice President of the USA. However I was thinking of this relationship on the Feast of St. Francis last Wednesday.
Francis had a wonderful sense of each creature being an expression of and linked to the divine. Francis had the stigmata, the wounds of Christ on his body, but for him the cross was never a sign merely of suffering but of redemption. His vision of a redeemed world complements his devotion to the cross and accounts for his emphasis on joy as a sign of true discipleship and his love for all God's creation. It was after receiving the stigmata that he composed his "Canticle of Brother Sun," which is really a resurrection hymn, a hymn of the new creation. We sing it as “All Creatures of our God and King”.
There is a film on now, “An Inconvenient Truth”, which weaves the science of global warming with Al Gore’s personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. A lon time advocate for the environment, Gore presents information in a thoughtful and compelling way. The film is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry - it links for me with St. Francis’ redeemed world and love of all creation.
Al Gore, in the wake of defeat in the 2000 USA presidential election, re-set the course of his life to focus on an all-out effort to help save the planet from irrevocable change. I highly recommend the film to you all. It is a portrait of Al Gore and his "travelling global warming show". He wants to tell us ordinary people about what he calls our "planetary emergency” before it's too late. The film states that humanity is sitting on a time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.
We do not despair with the facts of such a film – with the joy of Francis we are children of a new creation. We become part of the solution – “Let all things their Creator bless”.
The best translation of the Greek text for today’s Gospel says that after the Apostles returned from their missionary journeys “there were many coming and going and they had no leisure, even to eat.”
We live at a time when the pace of life is constantly increasing. The workforce has become highly competitive and all consuming. One has to be working at peak performance one hundred percent of the time. The opportunities available for rest, leisure, family, friends, are limited. We can feel guilty for putting aside the demands of others to even dream of “time for oneself.” This leads to us increasingly embracing a “culture of exhaustion.”
Jesus’ invitation to “come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while” is about humanising our work and life.
The social teaching of the Church, especially in Pope John Paul’s statements about labour and the rights of workers, repeatedly stresses three aspects to work:
it gives us dignity - Governments and employers must not allow a work culture to develop where we lose our sense of personal importance, where we are treated like just another cog in the wheel;
work enables us to improve the standard of living for us and our families;
through working we develop our talents and gifts which builds up society as a whole.
Rest from work is a key factor in the success of all three aspects being achieved in any community. A culture of exhaustion militates against them. The bottom line in all this is appropriate boundaries.
Mark tells us today that though Jesus was moved to compassion by the needs of the crowd, he also knew that their needs were not the only ones that had to be met. Jesus teaches his disciples and us that the balance between work and rest is an obligation of faith. This applies equally to all forms of work (those inside and outside the home).
So this Sunday’s Gospel carries a critical message for the modern world. Rest, recreation and leisure are not indulgences about which we should feel guilty. They are rights defended by Jesus to protect our human dignity.
| Copyright 2008, Goodwood Parish |
