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Passionist Superior General & the Newly Elected Provincial Council of the Holy Spirit Province
Fr General, Ottaviano D’Egidio CP with members of the new Provincial Council.
(from left) Fr David King CP, Fr Brian Traynor CP, Provincial Fr Joachim Rego CP,
Fr Tom McDonough CP and Fr Tiernan Doherty CP.
Congratulations and best wishes to all the members of the new Provincial Council.
The 26th Passionist Provincial Chapter of the Holy Spirit Province was held at Holy Cross in the first week of July and in what was the ‘Stop Press’ of the July Newsletter, we were able to report that Fr Joachim Rego CP had been elected as the new Provincial. We now report more fully on some of the other aspects of the Chapter:
The Chapter elected four new Consultors (as above) and we extend our congratulations, prayers and best wishes to them all in their new ministries.
1) The President of the Chapter was Fr General, Ottaviano D’Egidio CP.
2) Fifty Passionists from Australia and New Zealand attended the Chapter.
3) In addition, Passionists from overseas attended, most of whom are known to us from their previous visits: Fr Enzo Del Brocco CP, Fr Celemente Barron CP, along with two former members of the Holy Cross community from Indonesia, Fr Marcus Adu CP and Fr Valencius Son CP.
4) Two of the sessions were devoted to ‘collaboration with our Passionist Family’. One of these sessions involved volunteer workers and employees, eg Maree Metcalfe (PFGM), Maria Kirkwood (Formation), Vince Molloy and Dennis Cougle (all of whom are associated with Holy Cross), also Cathy Tredrea (St Paul’s Retreat, Glen Osmond) and Miriam Bennett (St Brigid’s Parish).
5) The other ‘lay’ session focused on collaboration with our youth: members of our Passionist Family, TODAY and we pray, TOMORROW. The young people who attended were members of the Passionist Youth Teams, eg Tammy, Agnes and Christian, along with Michelle (Youth Worker, Marrickville) Bridget and Jeremey (World Youth Day)
In this month’s Newsletter, Fr Joachim has written a
special message for our readers (page 1) in which he outlines the nine
priorities to be undertaken by the Provincial Council over the next four
years and he concludes by asking that we join in helping to make ‘a
difference in the world’.
Fr Joachim, we share your vision; with the
grace of God, we can make a difference in the world
Jenny’s Story – a modern day miracle.
In June 2006 a woman we’ll call ‘Jenny’ came to a weekend at Holy Cross for a meeting of leaders and coordinators of Family Groups. She came with others from her country parish and during the weekend she shared a remarkable story with those of us who were there. We have recently met Jenny again on one of our parish visits and she shared with us another chapter of that story.
Jenny was born profoundly deaf, but she had learned to speak and lip-read and completed her education. She grew up, married and had a family. Twenty years ago Jenny went to a charismatic prayer group weekend, staying overnight in a caravan with some friends. On the Sunday morning when she woke she heard a sound for the first time in her life – it was the unique bush sound of magpies carolling in the trees. Jenny looked out and saw birds and then asked her friends if they could hear anything. They confirmed that the magpies outside were making quite a racket. Jenny then began to focus on other sounds around her and slowly realised that her hearing had been restored.
Fr Peter McGrath CP was leading us through the weekend at Holy Cross and, like the rest of us, he was deeply moved by Jenny’s story. Fr Peter later spoke to her privately and she told him that the priest who led the weekend was a Fr Leo Fitzpatrick CP. Until then Jenny was unaware that Fr Leo and Fr Peter were both Passionists. Fr Peter encouraged Jenny to write to Fr Leo and share her story with him.
So, twenty years on, the latest chapter of the story unfolded in July 2006 when Jenny went back home and wrote her letter to Fr Leo. She was delighted to get a reply from him. He told her that he was thrilled to hear her story and honoured to have been God’s instrument in her life.
After Fr Leo died just a few months later in November 2006, Jenny received a card letting her know of his death and she now treasures this card and his letter. The opportunity to re-connect with Fr Leo has given her great pleasure, and she is most grateful to Fr Tiernan CP for writing to her after Fr Leo died.
We were delighted to meet her again and honoured to listen to the rest of her story and see her joy as she told us about re-connecting with Fr Leo, who had been so important in her life-changing experience.
We are sharing this story with Jenny’s permission and passing on her thanks to the three Passionists – Leo, Peter and Tiernan – who reached out to her and supported her.
Jenny is now a leader of a Family Group in her parish, and that connection made it possible for her to find and contact Fr Leo again and to share her story with him in the last months of his long life.
25 Jul 2007
(Footnote: Fr Leo Fitzpatrick CP died aged 94 years on 10th November 2006 – the Feast Day of his patron saint, Saint Leo the Great. While Father Leo was ‘honoured to be God’s instrument’ in Jenny’s life, it would be not be a surprise to anyone who knew Fr Leo to find that God had worked a miracle through him.)
Kim’s Story – by Steve Butcher.
Steve Butcher is a senior court, law and police reporter with The Age.
For more than two years, he covered the case of Melbourne man Nguyen Tuong Van - who was hanged in Singapore in December for heroin importation. In the last six weeks of Van's life, Steve reported the personal, political, diplomatic and legal efforts to spare him from the gallows. After experiencing the emotion of the case, Steve’s lifelong agnostic beliefs were challenged by the power of Van's Catholic faith.
It was the face of a mother who broke the hearts of even the most cynical, world-weary news reporters in Singapore. As the days shrunk to hours and then minutes that her condemned son Van had left to live on death row in Changi Prison, Kim Nguyen's suffering was palpable.
Her glossy black hair had begun to turn white and her weight had dropped. Each morning for two weeks the media pack watched her arrive at Changi in those brief public moments when she walked from an Australian High Commission car into the Prison Link Centre with Van's twin brother Khoa. But of all her appearances, Kim's departure from the prison as night fell the evening before her son's dawn execution - after she said goodbye for the last time - was the most confronting.
When she appeared, shrouded in a veil, the arms of Melbourne barrister Julian McMahon and Commission official Annette Morris supporting her, gasps and groans emanated from onlookers. How Kim then passed those terrible last hours as her son readied to hang have never been revealed until now. While Khoa, his brother's devoted friends Kelly Ng and Bronwyn Lew and others braved the media outside the prison - determined to be as close to Van as possible - Kim couldn't have been in a more comforting place.
On each previous visit to Singapore to see her son, Kim had stayed with nuns at the Marymount Convent which is part of the province of the Good Shepherd Sisters. She had also been widely supported in Melbourne by workers from Mary of the Cross in Fitzroy, which helps Vietnamese families affected by drugs, and sisters attached to the Good Shepherd Order and the Loreto Order.
It was Sister Susan Chia, Provincial in Singapore of the Good Shepherd Sisters, who took the courageous step the day after the execution to issue a statement urging the Singapore Government to end capital punishment. But as the morning moved towards the timed moment of execution - 6am - Kim prayed by candlelight in a small chapel at Marymount convent with a lay preacher. Also present was the legal team who had fought to save her son's life – Julian McMahon, Joseph Thesiera and Lex Lasry QC and his wife Elizabeth.
The chapel, described as "like a young girl's bedroom’’, was warm and reassuring and echoed to the haunting, beautiful voices of nuns who sang hymns from different parts of the room. In dim corners, their shapes only partly revealed, nuns turned their faces upwards among the shadows. "It was a safe place,’’ said one of those present. "Love was palpable. You could feel it.’’
Kim lit candles for her son and everyone sat before an altar, took turns to read psalms and said prayers for Father Gregory Giang and others who at that moment were with Van in his cell.
It was not known at the time that a nun was also present and witnessed the execution.
The prison authorities allowed her to be there, and such was the attachment the nuns had for Van – they were said to have adored him and his mother - they wished one of their order to be at his side.
Mr Lasry struggled through his reading and later he described being present as "tragic but unforgettable’’.
No-one looked at their watch after 5.30am. The "moment’’ passed as Van went gently and quickly to his death.
Van had embraced God when he was baptised in 2004 in Changi Prison.
There was no advantage to be gained for his plight by doing so. At an inter-faith prayer service for Van in Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral before his death, the Reverend Peter Hansen told the gathering: "He has not embraced God for shallow or superficial purposes, for Van is not shallow or superficial.’’
Goldgan Ng, his close friend in Singapore, said: "He has told me this is only going to be temporary, that he will see me again one day. He believes that and I believe him.’’ Singapore’s 200,000 Catholics shared that belief. Steve Butcher
Our Dinh Reports on World Youth Conferences:
“Earlier in May this year, along with another young person from Canberra, I learnt that we were fortunate enough to be accepted to represent Australia at a Jesuit social justice forum held in Nuremberg, Germany. The forum, called the Ark of Noah, purposely formed to precede World Youth Day, brought together 80 young delegates from 30 countries around the world. Its primary purpose was to discuss social justice issues and then attempt to develop an effective global-scale action plan. This forum was a particularly moving time for all participants involved, where we were able to learn more about the differing hardships and adversities faced by others around the world, especially in third-world countries. However, in between the various conferences and discussions, we were all able to share and impart our own unique cultural identifies, traditions and practices.
After two weeks in Nuremberg, the Ark of Noah was divided into 3 different groups, where each group undertook a separate pilgrimage to Cologne, via train, bus, walking, walking and more walking. This (3rd) week was part of the ‘Magis’ program, another Jesuit initiative which centred around concrete social justice experiments which led individual groups to visit the marginalised - including prisoners, the handicapped, the elderly & and those mentally afflicted. Following on from what the Ark shared with each other in the first fortnight, this pilgrimage took on a whole new meaning and purpose. This was evident through our connection with numerous ‘new-found friends’, and whom we all cherished as creatures of God’s creation. The Magis week culminated in a touching festival in Loreley, where all 3000 Magis participants came together for a weekend of song, dance, reflection, prayer.
My fourth week in Germany was World Youth Day (in effect a week). This was where over a million young Catholics from around the world came together in Cologne, to celebrate our faith and partake in a week long carnival jam-packed with parties and festivities. Funnily enough, WYD was what I looked forward to the most before flying to Germany, however, when it came, I – along with the other Ark members – were too exhausted and overcome with emotion to be fully subjected to what it had to offer. My final day in Cologne was the Papal Mass at the Marienfeld grounds, and although it was an amazing event, it was tinged with much sadness as it was the time when all the Ark participants had to say their final goodbyes after an indescribable four weeks together.
All in all, my 4 weeks in Germany was an incredible experience. I was able to meet so many beautiful and diverse people from all walks of life. The Christ in me met the Christ in so many other people, further developing my faith and spiritual journey in a different dimension. In retrospect, I found God in so many different things everyday, where strangely individual events in isolation did not stand out, but rather the synergy of it all had such a powerful effect on me as a whole.
I greatly look forward to Australia hosting the next WYD in Sydney (2008). After witnessing and experiencing all I did in Germany, I hope that WYD 2008 too can showcase all the marvels and delights that God has given us, and become a turning point for all young Catholics in the land down under.”
- Dinh Nguyen (Passionist Youth Ministry), Templestowe.
A picture of Dinh Nguyen with some of the Ark of Noah participants
appears below:
Dinh is
second from the left/rear.
Relic of St Paul of the Cross installed at Dulwich Hill, NSW.
í On Sunday August 14th, 2005 Fr Gary Perritt CP, Fr Brian Traynor CP and Br Jerome Dunn CP attended the installation of a reliquary in St Paul of the Cross Church, Dulwich Hill. Originally the church was under the pastoral care of the Passionists, based in Marrickville, hence the patron name, as is the case at St Paul’s Glen Osmond and at Dunwich on Stradbroke Island.
The Parish Priest Fr Don Richardson invited the Passionists to this event, 80 years after the present church was dedicated to St Paul of the Cross. One 90 year old parishioner at the Sunday Mass was also present on that day back in 1925!
The ceremony commenced with Fr Richardson PP and the three Passionists processing into the church and with Br Jerome carrying the relic. The Mass was concelebrated by Fr Richardson PP, Fr Brian CP and Fr Gary CP. During the ceremony, the relic was blessed and placed in a beautiful carved box which has the two leaves from around the Passionist sign on the inside of each door, and when closed, the Passionist sign is seen on the outside.
Fr Gary spoke briefly about St Paul of the Cross and his contemporary relevance for those living in the shadow of the Cross or those who have forgotten about God.
í
From left:
Br Jerome Dunn CP, Fr Don Richardson PP and Fr Gary Perritt CP
in front of the installed reliquary containing
the relic
of St Paul of the Cross, Founder of the
Passionists.
Passionist Institute 25 – 27 May 2007
One of the participants at this year's Institute, Peter Sims, reflects on his experience at the Institute and, in addition, he has gathered some comments from other participants - comments which reinforce Peter's summary of his attendance 'why have I left it so long to participate in such a Spiritual experience?'
This being my first ‘retreat’ and from conversation with the wonderful people in attendance, theirs also, I must ask myself this question – why have I left it so long to participate in such a Spiritual experience? It was made particularly special as my wife Rosemary shared this experience also.
Upon our arrival at Templestowe the warmth and welcoming was immediate. This is what I have grown to expect since my first connection in 1993 with the Passionist Community at a place called Port Augusta in northern South Australia. It was the inspiring work of Fr Pat Cooper CP and his talented team that Rosemary decided to convert to Catholicism. Sadly, the Passionist
Community left Port Augusta this year. The Monastery and St Paul’s Retreat Centre at Glen Osmond located at the foot of the Adelaide Hills, in which I refer to, as ‘The Glen’ is very much alive and well sharing in the Passionist Charism. This community is some two hours travel from where I live now but I still maintain my strong connection with and affection for this community and the incredible work they do.
I had no idea of what to expect but knew deep down I would not be disappointed. Fr Gary Perritt CP greatly support by the incredible talents of Frs Peter Addicoat CP, Chris Monaghan CP and Brian Traynor CP did a fantastic job of sharing the Passionist Charism with us all.
I guess it is fair to say that we all in our day to day lives have our ups and downs. No doubt like I, so many of us have from time to time, questioned many things including our Faith during this, our journey of life. I am told this is normal, but to learn of the dedication, perseverance and commitment of one Paul Francis Daneii, later to become St Paul of the Cross and founder of the Passionists was an amazing, inspiring and renewing experience.
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The
whole weekend was an incredible experience of identity, a sense of belonging, openness and family connections with people who I had never met before but shared a deep similarity in the Passionist Charism. On Saturday night we had Prayer around the Cross, which in the simplest terms blew me apart. A most heart fulfilling experience of new found renewal. This was done with so much reverence particularly in the presence of the icon of Mary Major. (at right) (Click here (#) for more information on the Icon of St Mary Major) |
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The Passionist team is to be congratulated. I do not know what ingredients you use but don’t change it. All of us shared similar experiences with the Passionist Communities being warm, loving, inspiring, non-judgmental, welcoming people who most certainly practice what they preach.
To those of you who may be reading this and haven’t participated in a Passionist Institute I say to you all, now is the time. Do not put it off any longer but register your intended participation with your Passionist contact. You will not be disappointed.
I am so proud to be a Catholic but more important to me, is to belong and be a member of the Passionist Charism. They are my kind of people. May the Passion of Jesus be always in our Hearts.
Peter Sims
Wallaroo – South Australia
Following my weekend with the Passionist Community, I have come away more informed and filled with the beauty and wonderful welcoming nature of the organizers and other participants. We heard of the incredible journey of St Paul of the Cross as well as each others opinions and some personal experiences. I left feeling renewed with a peaceful comfort, knowing so much more about being a Passionist.
Rosemary Sims
Wallaroo – South Australia
I am going home immersed with the Charism of the heart to heart relationship of St Paul of the Cross that I received in the silence, peace and presence of God. Thanks to the Passionists for leading us in a special way of prayer and creating a beautiful path for us. God Bless this work! They are so welcoming.
Pauline Mallac
St Paul Apostle Church
Endeavour Hills – VIC
This weekend has introduced me to the Charism of St Paul of the Cross-through the story of his life. I have been very moved by the warmth of the Passionist Community, which welcomes everyone. Thank you for a wonderful experience.
Pam Clay
St Brigid's
Marrickville – NSW
My new Cross. I embrace the Cross of our Lord Jesus and live my life lead by him and the Cross. I put everything in the loving hands of God. Respect for everyone and to lead a community life. Repentance will draw me closer to God and Jesus, letting God’s will be done on me. A place I would like to be, a place I will love to leave you, the root of my life. I need courage, patience, perseverance, prayer and the intervention of my Mother Mary. Love, mercy, community, hope, forgiveness, perseverance, peace, friendship, happiness and humble. You are my community I need your prayers to live my life with my New Cross.
Patrick Thuo
St Brigid's
Marrickville - NSW
Gifts often come as surprises and what a gift it was when we were invited to Templestowe, with less than 10 days warning, to attend the June Institute at the Holy Cross Monastery.
It began with the wonderful smile of Br. Vince with his ‘Passionist’ sign at Melbourne Airport and continued with wonderful teachings of St Paul of the Cross; times of solitude and contemplation; times of sharing in our groups; social time around the table with others of all ages and many races from around Australia and the world.
It was truly a wonderful spiritual weekend and our thanks go to Frs Brian, Gary, Peter and Chris.
Pat & Rod Carson
New Zealand
Passionist Institute
2004
by
Michael Doyle
The five
days of the Institute were a wonderfully deepening experience.
The Passionists shared with us what is at the core of being, the centre of their life and the driving force of their spirituality. This was extremely generous; and it was done in such a generous way with much care, thought and preparation. Each day had a different presenter: Gary Perritt, Brian Traynor, Chris Monaghan and John Pearce. They were excellent, as each one who knows them would expect, very warm, engaging and spiritually very enriching. Music, emanating from the Chapel, followed us throughout the building and gave a strong unifying effect to the program.
The five days made a deep impression on us. I will not be able to look at the ocean again without thinking of the extent of God’s love for me; and that goes the other way also, I will not think of God’s love for me without seeing it in terms of the vastness of the ocean. I will not be able to see the sea without feeling immersed in God’s love. I will not look at a mountain without being reminded of the need for the solitude of prayer and I have the assurance of knowing that the great pilot is guiding my boat.
I found the simplicity of St. Paul of the Cross particularly appealing. He lived a simple life. He had a single message: God loves us. He used a single medium to get that message across: the Passion of Christ. He used simple language. For us lay people for whom the spiritual life can at times appear complex and daunting, this focus on simplicity was very uplifting. It gave great hope and encouragement. Michael Doyle.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart.
June 2007 Newsletter:
Getting to the Heart of the matter.
The month of June in the Church is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the official Feast Day this year being the 15th of June.
Over the centuries, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been somewhat inconsistent, varying from warm through tepid and sometimes cold. Generally speaking, devotion to the Sacred Heart resulted from the revelations of Our Lord to Saint Margaret Mary in 1673-1675 but the ‘official’ recognition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the church occurred as recently as 1856.
However, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is, and has been for 2000 years, fundamental to our Christian belief. The heart is variously referred to in Scripture as the centre of affections, passions, wisdom, understanding, and above all, love. And Jesus told us that to love one another is the greatest commandment.
In 1986, Pope Benedict XVl (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) wrote a book called ‘Behold the Pieced One’ in which he talked about ‘The crisis in Devotion to the Sacred Heart in the Age of Liturgical Reform’ (page 47). He noted that in 1956, the crisis in devotion was ‘clearly detectable’ when Pope Pius Xll issued an encyclical promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart to the level of general recognition that we know and observe today.
Cardinal Ratzinger also drew on the writings of Hugo Rahner SJ (1900 – 1968, brother of theologian Karl Rahner) who had written about a ‘new basis for devotion to the Sacred Heart by connecting it with the way the Fathers (of the Church) had interpreted the Gospels (eg John 7: 37-39 and 19:34). He said ‘from the Lord’s pierced heart, proceeds the life-giving streams of the sacraments; … the water of life which springs from the Lord’s side is the Holy Spirit, the spring of life which makes the desert blossom’.
In the light of these meaningful and profound statements, one wonders why devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ever waned!
Since the time of Paul of the Cross, the Passionists have been dedicated to promote ‘the living memory of the Passion of Jesus’ and an aspect of this devotion focuses on ‘the pierced side of Jesus’, similar to concepts discussed by Cardinal Ratzinger and Father Hugo Rahner in their writings. In his preaching and in his letters of spiritual guidance, Paul of the Cross often promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart, eg: “I recommend to you a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” … and … “I place you and your entire household in the Sacred Heart of Jesus”. Paul saw the Passion of Jesus as ‘a work of infinite love’ and he concluded many of his letters with the words: “placing you in the Sacred Heart of Jesus”.
During the month of June, the Church provides us with the opportunity to renew our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a heart of the greatest love, one which loved us so much that God allowed his divine Son Jesus to suffer and to die for us.
We
give thanks to God for this love and we share in the invocations of St Paul
of the Cross as we pray that ‘each of us and our entire households’ will be
placed in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, helping us to live a life of love of God
and of one-another. Amen.
Dennis.
The Passionist 'Sign'
NOT JUST A COUPLE OF ROCK STARS - from Newsletter V11, Issue 2, March 2005.
The following article appeared in the Catholic Leader (Qld). Sorry about the small print – it is too good to précis – Editor.
Around Brisbane night spots, they are known as rock stars on the rise but in other circles, they are young Catholics leading students to a deeper love of God. Brothers Daniel and Eric Robinson, 29 and 26 respectively, grew up in Nudgee on Brisbane’s northside.
About five years ago, two separate and unrelated developments set their passion for rock music and Christianity racing – one was their trip to World Youth Day in Rome in 2000 and the other was forming the band Wipsnade Zoo about the same time. Soon after returning from World Youth Day, Eric became involved in the Passionist Youth Retreat Team in Brisbane and Daniel followed. Wipsnade Zoo was born about the same time, when the brothers got together with Sean Rigley and a couple of other friends to become serious about making a name in rock music. Today, the Robinsons still run Passionist youth retreats, Daniel is working full-time with the group as youth team liaison officer and Eric is a campus minister at the Australian Catholic University’s Banyo campus.
Wipsnade Zoo – the Robinson brothers, Sean Rigley, 24, Clayton Thomson, 19, and James Laubsher, 18 – goes from strength to strength, drawing crowds wherever they play & earning national airplay on ABC’s youth radio network Triple J. “It’s hard work when you’re an independent band in Brisbane – it’s a lot of late nights … But it’s great fun,” Eric says. “At the launch of their EP (‘the coldest day’) last March, there were about 380 to 400 people (a packed house). “It was huge. It’s just such a buzz. That was off the back of Triple J airplay … and when people are singing along with your song, it’s an amazing feeling.”
It’s that kind of success that could take the Robinsons away from their jobs with the Church. That’s the dream. “If it was a perfect world, we could all quit our jobs and make a living out of it (the band),” Daniel said. “We’d love to get across to the UK.” Regardless of what happens to Wipsnade Zoo, though, faith will remain central in the brothers’ lives. Although Wipsnade Zoo is not a Christian band, the brothers agree there is no way of separating their faith and whatever they do in music. “Faith is a big part of both of our lives, so it’s got to have a big part of everything we do,” Daniel said. “It’s part of who you are, so everything you do is going to be influenced by faith,” Eric said. He said God’s involved in everything. And even though they are not a Christian band, there is a faith connection in the fact they sing about social justice. “For me, the connection between music and faith is that social justice goes beyond Christianity and covers all faiths,” Eric said. “It’s a universal thing.” He calls it “walking the walk” – “without preaching about it, get in and do it”. Focusing on social justice, they make sure their lyrics are “full of hope and optimism”. “It can sometimes be pretty terrifying with the world as it is now, and with any band these issues creep in – the devastation in Iraq, you can’t ignore those things,” Eric said. “The songs have got to mean something.”
With their next EP, due out late April or early May, Eric says some of the issues in focus include Aboriginal reconciliation “that’s just gone off the radar … things like what’s happening up in Palm Island … black deaths in custody – the stuff that continues to haunt Australia, the treatment of the traditional owners of Australia makes me really angry”. “And the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is polarising Australia,” Daniel says.
Eric refers to the impact bands such as the Irish stars U2 have had in drawing attention to injustices. He said he and Daniel became particularly aware of this dimension when they visited relatives in County Cork in Ireland after World Youth Day in 2000. He admired the way U2 in its heyday was “walking that tightrope and playing about issues that are important to young people”. “If the band can do something like that …”
Having been students at Banyo State High School, Daniel and Eric’s main influences in living the Catholic faith were their parents and, in their teenage years, the Passionists with whom they had contact through the Passionists Family Group Movement in Hendra parish and the youth retreats.
The death of an older brother from cancer in 1990, also had a lasting impact. “That makes you have a good, long hard look at life,” Eric said. “That was a huge influence on us.” They remember how the Passionists were very supportive of the family during their brother Aaron’s illness and how a priest from the Order was there when he died. In the years leading up to that, the boys had been on several Passionist youth retreats.
“Back in Year 9, our parents sent us on a camp – I didn’t want to go but I had to – and I met this fantastic guy, Passionist Father Ray Sanchez and we went on the camps every year after that,” Eric said. Daniel says he “got everything from the Passionists”. “I met my fiancée Cheryl through the Passionists – we’re getting married in October – and I work for the Passionist youth retreats team …”
And then there was World Youth Day, when the Robinsons were part of a large group whose trip was supported by Hendra parish. “That opened our eyes to the world?” Daniel said. The close involvement of Archbishop John Bathersby is a vivid memory from the trip. “What a down-to-earth bloke he is” Daniel says. “Everything we went through, the archbishop went through it with us. A lot of times we didn’t have good beds and our meals didn’t come on time”. Daniel recalled once when the group was sleeping in a school on marble floors and the archbishop stayed with them when he could have been in a comfortable motel. “He stayed on the bus with us, down the back seat telling jokes. I respect him very much for that.” Daniel says it is interesting how many people who were on that trip who “ended up in youth ministry”.
About their own youth ministry, Daniel says: “In such uncertain times, it is satisfying to be out giving kids the hope”. He and Eric constantly see young people embracing Christianity. “There’s a lot of young people out there – we go into schools that are already involved in social justice, they’re not happy with what’s happening in the environment, not happy with what’s happening to refugees… Christianity is about standing up for the marginalised and oppressed people of the world … Through those stories – that’s where young people will connect to Christianity and what it’s about. There’s a lot of hope out there.” (Note: emphasis added, Ed)
Plea Bargain or Salvation?
(from Dionysius, our Greek Reporter in Rome, AD66)
I have now been here in this Roman prison for several weeks. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me, but I don’t complain. I have been imprisoned before, but praise be to God, I have been released to continue to serve the Lord. My cell is very basic, it’s dingy and the only light comes from an aperture high above, giving me no view of the outside. At least here I have been given a desk and writing materials, so I write about the good news to our friends, not only here in Rome, but also in Corinth, Thessalonica, Ephesus, Philippi and Galatia. I must soon write another letter to Timothy and Titus to encourage them in their work, organising and leading the communities to which I sent them.
Back in Caesarea, the Port, my prison cell was more roomy and I had a window which let in some light; I could see God in the heavens above, the sun and the moon; I could smell the sea and hear the waves lapping on the shore. But I had limited opportunities for contacting our friends and the followers of Jesus. At least I was able scratch on the wall, a message which should last for all to see for years to come: For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then be not afraid of the power? Do that which is good and thou shall have praise of the same.[1]
But wait, someone comes …
Jailer: On yr feet, Saul, the Roman Prosecutor wants to see ya.
Prosecutor: So, you’re Saul of Tarsus, in Cilicia, a Roman citizen.
Paul: Yes, but I am now called Paul, an Apostle of the Christ, Jesus, since my conversion on the way to Damascus, when I was struck down and I heard a voice say: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ and then the voice said: ‘I am Jesus and you are persecuting me’.[2]
Prosecutor: OK, OK. Look Saul, I am a Roman like you; I can help you, we can make a bargain. You are facing serious charges of treason for which the penalty is death – do you hear me – death. But you can walk out of here free – free. All you have to do is admit that you and your friends, that fellow Simon Peter and the others, conspired and fabricated those stories about that criminal you call Jesus being the Messiah and about him rising from the dead. For God’s sake, rising from the dead! That’s fantasyland and you know it. Just admit the truth and make a public statement to this effect and you will be out of prison – free. Otherwise, you’re dead.
Paul: I cannot deny the truth – even in the face of death. What could I gain? I regard these mortal things as nothing, just rubbish, because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord.[3]
Prosecutor: Gain, gain? What are you talking about? You were arrested in Corinth and put on trial; I understand you have been shipwrecked two or three times; you and your co-conspirator Barnabas were beaten in Lystra; you were imprisoned in Caesarea for two years and you were previously imprisoned here in Rome for about 2 years.
Paul: I know, what you say is true. For the sake of Jesus, I have suffered many things in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
Prosecutor: You fail to see that you face serious charges. In Antioch, your treasonable activities resulted in people calling themselves ‘christians’. Now, many others in the Roman Empire are claiming to be Christians. You are the main cause of all this dissidence and for what gain; what do you hope to achieve?
Paul: By the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain.[4]
Prosecutor: And for this you are prepared to die?
Paul: That is neither for you nor me to decide.
Prosecutor: You are right. Emperor Nero will make that decision, but I can tell you, he has already said that unless you admit your guilt and this nonsense about Jesus being the Son of God and that he rose from the dead, you are to be executed by being beheaded.
Paul: If that is the will of God, so be it. I cannot deny the truth and admit to a lie just to save my life on this earth. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection;[5] in sharing the sufferings of Jesus, I will become like him in death and so I will share in his resurrection. The truth is that Jesus is the Son of God; he came on earth, born in human form. And being human, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, death on a cross,[6] but God the Father raised Jesus from the dead,[7] so that we too, if we follow Jesus, will be raised to live in the newness of eternal life. This is my final word - it is the truth.
[1] Archaeologists identified the prison of St Paul by this inscription at the Port of Caesarea (Romans 13.3)
[2] See Acts of the Apostles: 9.4, 22.7, 26.14
[3] Taken from Philippians 3.8
[4] Taken from 1 Corinthians 15: 8-11
[5] Taken from Philippians 3.10
[6] See Philippians 2: 6-11. These verses were most favoured by St Paul of the Cross, Founder of the Passionists.
[7] See Galatians 1:1 and Romans 6:4
The Lord is Risen.
- by
Fr Vianney Carey CP.
I made the Stations of the Cross at Lourdes in France. The Stations are graphic scenes, some historical, some traditional of Jesus' journey to Calvary with life size figures, probably made of bronze, depicting soldiers, onlookers, the two thieves, as well as Mary Magdalen, John, Jesus' mother Mary and of course, Jesus.
The Stations are about twenty metres apart and you walk mainly uphill from one Station to another. When I reached the l2th Station - Jesus dies on the Cross - it was on top of the hill. As I continued on to the 14th Station, I came to a natural cave in the small rocky hill. Here were life-sized figures showing Jesus being laid in the tomb.
I continued on down and around the other side of the hill and after twenty metres or so, there was no sign of a 15th Station, the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. So I thought as in many old Catholic churches, the Way of the Cross ended at the 14th Station.
Then continuing on down for a distance, there was a cave on the other side of the hill with a large round stone rolled back. To the right of the large stone are the words 'Resurrexit sicut dixit alleluia'. (He has risen as he said, Alleluia). It was in a sense unexpected, and this presentation of the Stations, seeing the tomb as it was empty and the stone rolled aside, the message hit me suddenly with great joy and excitement, something like the apostles must have experienced when they saw the 'Risen' Lord for the first time. The 'Alleluia' says it all, it means 'Praise God'.
The following day, I made the Stations of the Cross
a second time. I recalled that in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, both thieves
had mocked Jesus. Then Jesus cried out, 'Father, forgive them, they know not
what they do'. The sculptor had shown the Good Thief as looking at Jesus and at
the sign on his Cross: 'This is Jesus, King of the Jews'. No doubt moved by the
words of Jesus, the Good Thief asked for a remembrance in the Kingdom of Jesus:
'Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom'. Jesus replied: 'Indeed I
promise you, today you will be with me in Paradise'. (Luke 22: 42-43). The Good
Thief, as Bishop Fulton Sheen once said, 'had stolen Heaven'. He was to
experience the full meaning of sharing in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus
- Eternal Joy.
Now, as we ourselves commemorate the events of the
Passion of Jesus, culminating in the joyous celebration of the Resurrection, we
reflect and we pray: 'Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.
Jesus may we always remember You. But above all,
Risen Jesus, we ask that you remember us in your
Kingdom'.
The Icon in Holy Cross Chapel.
Since its
official installation in the Holy Cross Chapel by Fr Tiernan Doherty CP on 29 April 2001,
the ICON behind the altar has caused much
discussion and comment.
Several people have been heard to say they believe the three
figures in the picture are Jesus, Mary & Joseph.
At the Mass on Trinity Sunday at
Holy Cross, Fr Tiernan explained that the picture is in fact a reproduction of the renowned icon painted
in
1410 by Anrei Rublev, a Russian artist-monk in the monastery of the Holy
Trinity at Zagorsk, outside Moscow.
Reblev was renowned for his holiness as much as
his artistry, and is honoured in the Orthodox Churches as a saint.
The Icon is now known by two titles:
From early times, Christians have
seen the events described in Genesis 18 as an anticipation of the revelation
by
Jesus of the triune nature of God – The Holy Trinity.
Fr Tiernan, who has a keen interest in painting and iconography, explains that the three figures are seated at table forming a unity of composition, bound together by and within a circle formed by the line of their bodies, thus emphasizing the divine nature that is without beginning or end. The three figures are basically similar, not clearly male nor female, and the hair style suggests no specific period of history. All are dressed in blue – which in iconography is used to denote the heavenly realm. The wings on the figures have a similar meaning but the likely intention of the artist was to link the Trinity to the event described in Genesis.
So, which figure is which? Rublev makes use of the human tendency to first look to the right of an image. The figure on the right is the Holy Spirit, the green colour of the robe suggesting new life – the work and gift of the Spirit.
Our eyes then move to the central figure which dominates the centre of the icon. We identify this figure as Jesus, God made Man, not only because the colour of the robe suggests the earth, and thus the Incarnation, but also because of the hand resting on the table. In the Eastern tradition, the two raised fingers (as in the priest’s blessing) represent the two-fold nature of Jesus, divine and human. It will be noted that the hand lies at the very centre of the circle referred to earlier which encloses the three figures; also the hand leads our gaze to the cup or chalice which recalls for us the sacrificial death of Jesus and the mystery of the Redemption.
Finally, we eye the figure on the left. This is the slightest of the figures, with an air of mystery, projected especially by the ethereal, translucent quality of the clothing. Here, Rublev seeks to convey the mysteriousness, the ultimately unknowable qualities of the Father. Our eyes are drawn down the body of this figure, almost to where we began, completing the circle. We may notice that the family circle of love portrayed in the icon remains incomplete; there is a vacant space in the foreground, left deliberately by the artist. It is a space crying out to be filled. As we reflect on this, we feel compelled to occupy that empty space at table and we come to realise we have a right to do so, for in Baptism each of us has been made an adopted child of God, adopted into the very life of the Trinity.
This is but a brief explanation of the meaning of the icon, its spiritual significance, the mind of the artist, and of the many interpretations of what we see when we gaze upon the scene in the icon, thoughtfully, prayerfully. All Christian churches have come to realise the value of the iconographic tradition of the East to faith development. In this development, this icon of the Trinity by Rublev has a special place. It is now known and loved by Christians of every major denomination, a help to their faith and prayer. We hope it will also do the same for all those who worship at Holy Cross.
|
The October and November Newsletters last year contained reports from some of our Passionist friends in Ireland, where they observed many depressing sites and damage resulting from sectarian riots & violence in the Holy Cross Parish, Ardoyne. However, there is also ‘good news’, as the following extracts from the diary of Fr Brian Traynor demonstrates: The Passionists have been in Ardoyne, Belfast since 1868 and their Parish of Holy Cross is located in the notorious Crumlin/Skankill Roads area. The community there consists of 6 members, two of whom are well known, at least by name, Fr Gary Donegan CP and Fr Aidan Troy CP, as a result of media coverage whenever sectarian violence & disturbances break out in the Parish. After taking his usual morning walk one day, Fr Brian returned to Holy Cross and read a scrap book on the rebuilding of Farrington Gardens in 1971, after 194 homes had been burnt out during a night of rioting, leaving 180 families homeless. A Passionist missionary, Fr Fernando Carberry CP, a native of Belfast who was on leave from his mission in Botswana and who formerly was a bricklayer, together with another Passionist, Fr Ailbe Delaney CP, and several lay people and seminarians, set about rebuilding the homes, Catholic and Protestant. Help came from Presbyterian & Church of Ireland Ministers, and together, the two ‘groups’ formed the Ardoyne Housing Action Committee (AHAC). About £250,000 was needed to restore the homes, but financial aid from the Government was denied. The Committee then set about raising funds, seeking donations in schools, universities, churches, and overseas. One notable donor was Sir Alex Guinness. Groups of girls worked ahead of the builders to clear rubble, 26 unemployed tradesmen worked on the site 8 hours a day, 7 days a week; local women made morning & afternoon tea. Repairing the roofs was a priority and the committee organised a ‘donate a slate’ campaign inviting donations of 5p for a slate for each home. One notable of a long line of volunteers was a Captain Leslie, aged 71, who took part in heavy labouring work. He was a first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill – a relationship which in the circumstances seems ironic – but he told a reporter, ‘there is a wonderful community spirit among the workers, one which I have not encountered before; if it could only spread, we would find a solution to our problems’.
Sean Cooney,
Chairman of AHAC, (he had 2 young children when his house
was burnt out) said: ‘Our aim is to remove this monument of hate
&
replace it with a community where Catholics and
Protestants can
live together’.
In late 1972, the
Government took over the work, by which time, all 194 houses had been
re-roofed and 126 repaired. Fr Fernando, having used his skills
as a bricklayer, then returned to Botswana where he helped to build a
school for his village. |
A ‘Good News’ Story (2).
In
last month’s Newsletter, we reported a ‘good news story’ taken from the
diary of Fr
Brian Traynor CP
who visited Ireland in September/October 2004, staying with the
Passionists in the Parish of Holy Cross, Ardoyne, Belfast. That story
began with a tragic event, as does the following story, but they both
demonstrate how sometimes, good can result from suffering. On another day, when Fr Brian returned to Holy Cross around 5pm, there were two young lads sitting on a rock by a small home-made memorial in the grounds. This marks another suicide in the grounds, of a seventeen year old named Philip, or Pip. His father had divorced and remarried but there were political divides within the family that made it difficult for the boy to belong in either family. Fr Brendan aged 91 at the time, was walking around the cemetery section of the grounds, attached to and behind the church and noticed Pip’s body hanging from a tree. Fr Brendan anointed him and they took his body down (a real Passion scene!). Can anything good come, people often ask, of such tragedy and pain? Fr Brian spoke with the two boys sitting beside the tree which has cards, flowers, rosary beads, a scapular, photos and other small items hanging or placed around the tree. They are second cousins of Pip. He asked how often they came and they said ‘pretty much every other day’ and how long do you stay, and they said ‘an hour or two, mostly. We just sit and talk’. Fr Gary Donegan CP (Vicar and Econome of the Holy Cross Community) told Fr Brian that there are very few times, even into the very early hours of the morning, when someone isn’t sitting beside that tree. It has become a place of spiritual healing and comfort for a large number of young people; it is a little church beside the church! Pip’s father has begun a non sectarian peace process movement especially for young people, and has not only contributed a significant amount of his own funds but has raised a lot of money so that others can contribute and benefit. Related to this, Fr Gary and Fr Aidan have been attempting to turn a disused parish hall into a ‘peace process centre’. In an attempt to further the peace process, they have attended meetings with men, some of whom are known to have perpetrated horrific crimes, but they do so maintaining an open and reconciling disposition. The President of Ireland Mary Macalee, who comes from the Parish, has been supportive of the Passionists, and her husband, a wealthy dentist, works voluntarily and effectively for the peace process; he had attended one of the meetings in the hall on the previous Friday. And so from the tragedy of Pip’s death, comes the prospect of a more peaceful future. Let us pray for the support of those who are working to achieve this peace and for the success of their project. |
Where does God go to Mass on Sunday? (March 2004 Newsletter)
It was January, and it was hot. Mary and I were on holidays, just the two of us. This was exactly 6 months B.C and we had decided to drive across to Adelaide for the Australia -v- England Test Cricket. (By the way, that’s 6 months Before Children). The Aussies batted first and made a good start, Neil Harvey making 154 and Norman O’Neill 100.
Come Sunday, we went to Mass at the Cathedral. Mary wasn’t a catholic then and this was pre- Vatican ll. So the Mass was in Latin, but something I had not experienced before or since, the Epistle and Gospel were read in Latin! A sermon in English followed but I heard little & took in nothing; I could only think about how Mary would be thinking and what was the point of giving us this barrage of Latin. I felt embarrassed. For me, there was no feeling of the presence of God & the Holy Spirit.
Walking away from the Cathedral, Mary said she would never go to Mass again. I guess what she really meant was ‘a Mass like that one’ and who could blame her? Fortunately, it was not long before Vatican ll (1963-65) brought about considerable change in the Church; for many like me, the celebration of the Eucharist became a true ‘celebration’. These changes helped Mary too and no doubt with the Holy Spirit at work, Mary became a catholic in March 1978.
In the meantime however, there were Sundays when I went to Mass alone, other times with Mary. In our travels, we would attend Mass in other parishes, or interstate or overseas. Even post Vatican ll, I can recall being embarrassed by statements made in homilies which were offensive to non-catholics. I would sometimes think, ‘where is God in this Church?’ - maybe my fault, but I had no feeling of the presence of God.
Then one day in the early 1970’s, I went to the monthly Mass at Holy Cross Chapel. I cannot remember how I came to be there but I vividly remember going to communion with a feeling of exhilaration & an awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit. A thought entered my mind: ‘this is where God comes to Mass’.
I started to go to Holy Cross as often as I could; Mary too, and the children. The chapel was always packed and you had to arrive early to get a seat. In those days both sides of the chapel were lined with the Passionist students chanting/prayer-stalls and it seemed that every student was either a good singer or a gifted musician or both. The choir always presented joyful music, often hymns we had not previously heard. The Mass was a happy celebration and the homilies were always ‘down to earth’, explaining the Word of God in a way we not only understood, but relating it to situations and circumstances in our everyday lives – and with a touch of humour. Twenty years or so down the track, I can still recall some of those homilies.
Today the prayer stalls have gone & the chapel seats more people; but Mass is still the same happy celebration. There are no longer any Passionist students but the choir is still great, as is the music; the homilies are still ‘down to earth’ and relevant, still with a touch of humour. We look forward to Mass at Holy Cross and try to work our calendar so that we do not miss the end of the month celebration. Above all, there is a feeling of the presence of the Holy Spirit; we feel close to God there. Yes, I am sure, God goes to Mass at Holy Cross. Dennis
Being a Passionist
– the Fr Louis Story.
(February 2004 Newsletter)
Fr. Louis Yeong Ik Kim CP (‘Fr Louis’) last year endeared himself to the members of the Templestowe community who attended services at Holy Cross and it was great to learn that he would be staying on for another year or two.
When he arrived from Korea in late January 2003, Fr Louis’ command of English was less than basic but he is a quick learner and in a short time, Community Leader Fr Tiernan ‘threw him in the deep end’, concelebrating Mass and reading the Gospels. One Sunday, he celebrated Mass on his own (he modestly said, with a big smile, ‘there was no one else around’) but he delivered a beautiful homily, with feeling and a touch of humour, and at the end, gave us all something to ponder on.
Apart from the extreme contrast in the Korean and English languages, some cultural differences have been highlighted. On Mothers’ Day when Fr John and Fr Louis concelebrated the Mass, we learned that in Korea, there is no day devoted to either Mothers or Fathers but instead, there is a ‘Parents Day’. This ‘day’ is usually celebrated over two week-ends, thus catering for a celebration of parents on both sides of the family.
At Christmas, we learned (to our surprise) that Christmas Day is a public holiday. The Government of South Korea permits complete freedom of religion and although Christians naturally celebrate the day, it was the Buddhists (approximately 65% of the population) who called for the introduction of the public holiday.
Fr Louis comes from a catholic family and he has an elder brother and two sisters. When he was aged three, he had a serious accident and his parents were told he would likely die. However, his operation was successful and afterwards in the hospital when he started singing a hymn, his mother said he had ‘an experience from God’.
When he was in high school, he did not practice his religion and he declined his mother’s requests to go to Mass. One day when he was 18, he was taking his mother, then aged 48, to Mass on his bicycle when they had an accident. His mother died. Young Louis was angry, he shouted to God: ‘You are very bad … you are not here’. He could find no meaning to life. Nevertheless, he prayed. He had a sense of guilt about the death of his mother.
One day in prayer, he ‘found’ Jesus. He said that while praying, he saw his mother with Jesus standing with her. He said “I realised that my mother really loved me and through her death, I found the ‘real’ God in my life. I no longer felt guilty about the death of my mother, but saw that there was a purpose in her death. I then believed that I had a vocation to become a religious”.
Louis spent 2 ½ years in the Army - compulsory military service – but he continued to pray about his vocation, believing that he might become a monk in community, rather than a diocesan priest. He consulted with a number of people in various Orders as well as diocesan priests and although he had come to understand the Passion of Jesus and his suffering, he did not enquire about the Passionists.
One day the Holy Spirit again came into play when Louis’ brother introduced him to a Passionist, Fr Raymond CP, who was conducting a Mission in the Parish. Thereafter, Fr Raymond became his spiritual director and the two endeavoured to meet on a monthly basis. Louis often read the Bible and one night he read: ‘The whole group of believers was united heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in common. The apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and great favour was accorded them all. None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned property or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles; it was then distributed to any members who might be in need’. Acts of the Apostles 4: 32-35.
Reading this, Louis felt ‘a strong vibration’ as if the Holy Spirit was bringing him a message. It was truly a ‘conversion experience’ and he knew his vocation was in the priesthood. In Korea, the Passionists live a fairly monastic life, praying as a community as well as working among the people, conducting missions, giving retreats and spiritual direction. Thus, at the age of 27 years, Louis joined the Passionists.
Fr Louis is now continuing his English studies and this year will undertake subjects relating to pastoral counselling. Upon his return to Korea, he expects that his training and experience in Australia will enable him to help those who suffer emotional difficulties and stress. We can be confident that his good humour and sensitivity will help as well and we pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide Fr Louis, helping him to bring the peace of Jesus to others, a peace he has found following the death of his mother.
Annual Celebration of the Feast of Passionist
Saint Gabriel.
Yet Another Great Celebration on the
Feast of Passionist Saint - St Gabriel.
◙ The annual celebration of the Feast Day of Passionist Saint, Saint Gabriel, was celebrated this year at Holy Cross, on Sunday February 20th, 2005.
Although competing with the regular Sunday Mass in the Chapel, the Feast Day Mass in the grounds of Holy Cross was attended by about 1200 members of the Italian community and friends. In beautiful sunny weather and 24° the Eucharist this year was concelebrated by Passionist Fr Enzo Del Brocco, CP, along with Fr Tiernan CP, Fr John CP and Fr Vianney CP, in a huge marque on the oval, with music for the liturgy being provided by members of the St Anthony’s Choir (Hawthorn).
Fr Enzo is secretary and translator to Passionist Superior-General, Fr Ottaviano D’Egidio CP, and was previously in Melbourne for the Provincial Chapter, November 2003.
At the conclusion of the Mass, the customary procession with the Statues of Passionist Saints Gabriel and Paul of the Cross, led by thirty members of the Band Bellini, took place around the Holy Cross gardens and the Monastery.
The hard-working members of the Association of St Gabriel are to be congratulated on their excellent organisation, led by Bruno Petrocco and Augusto Calvisi, assisted by Lidio Secatore (President of the Association), Lina Secatore, Rosa Secatore, Elisa Iacovitti, Matteo Vasarelli, Renato Catena, Iolanda Giovambattista, Maria Di Donato, Santina Bevilacoua, Palmina Santucci and Lucia Cantena.
After the formal ceremonies, everyone enjoyed a picnic in the tree-shaded grounds in perfect sunny weather, in a manner typical of Feast Day celebrations in Italy, with traditional food, wine and music. People attended from far and wide, including three bus-loads from Geelong and Sunshine, to enjoy the traditional fare of the region of Abruzzi where St Gabriel is the patron, including porchetta, pasta. and of course, vino.
This year, the children were keep occupied with Jumping J-Jays Castle and from 1pm, entertainment was provided with typical Italian folk music, singing and dancing.
At 4pm, there was a blessing by Fr Enzo and a procession returning the Statues to the Holy Cross. The celebrations however continued until after 5pm and President of the St Gabriel’s Committee, Lidio Secatore, said that this year, many more people stayed on until later in the afternoon, or as we Aussies would say, they stayed on until stumps!
The next day, Fr Enzo and Fr Tiernan travelled to St Paul’s, Glen Osmond to celebrate St Gabriel’s Feast Day on Sunday, 27th. Several hundreds of people attended throughout the day-long celebrations, including a large number of families, young people & children. As we go to press, Fr Enzo & Fr Tiernan are heading to St Brigid’s, Marrickville to join in similar celebrations.
St Gabriel Feast Day Celebrations continued in Adelaide:
A week after the celebrations at Templestowe, it was Adelaide’s turn, and in perfect 28 degree weather, Archbishop Philip Wilson led the St Gabriel Procession around the Monastery Grounds of St Paul’s, Glen Osmond. The secretary for the Passionist Superior General, Fr. Enzo CP along with Fr Tiernan Doherty CP (a Member of the Passionist Charism Team) led over a thousand people in the Mass for St. Gabriel, together with Fr Kevin Hennessy CP and Fr Pat Cooper CP, the Italian Choir and the Passionist Sisters. A special feature of the procession was the involvement of a large number of children and young people, many dressed in national costume or in white habits with a Passionist ‘sign’ (In Italy, St Gabriel is the patron saint of the youth).
The homily of Fr. Enzo was inspiring, as he challened all to make the message of Jesus alive in young people.
The Festa began at 10am and over the next 12 hours, people were coming and going, many in family groups, celebrating and picnicking in the Monastery grounds and on the oval. In all, about three thousand people came for the procession, the Mass, Benediction and fabulous entertainment into the night, to which Fr Mark Cooper added his voice to the popular singers. Of course the Italian food from the Abruzzi region where St Gabriel’s shrine is located was served to all, as well as the best Italian wines. The St. Gabriel festa is one of 40 held in Adelaide; not the biggest but very popular and it is the only one held in the grounds of a monastery.
Fr Leo Fitzpatrick CP,
who passed into eternal life on 10 November 2006 - the Feast Day of Saint Leo
the Great - at the age of 94.
Fr Leo
was
always ready with a joke or a good story, and the following is one of his
contributions to the Newsletter: "Top Ten Hymns
For People of Our Age".
· Top Ten Hymns For People of Our Age:
10.
It is well with my Soul (but my backaches a
lot).
9. Nobody knows
the trouble I have seeing.
8. Amazing Grace
(considering my age).
7. Just a Slower
Walk with Thee.
6. Count your
many birthdays, name them one by one.
5. Go tell it on
the mountain, but speak up!
4. Give me that
old timer’s religion.
3. Blessed
Insurance.
2.
Guide me O Thou Great Jehovah. (I’ve forgotten
where I parked)
And the Number One Hit for people our age:
1. “Nearer My God To Thee.”
·
Passionist Saint’s Feast Day:
St Maria Goretti – July 6th.
(from the Passionist Archives)
Maria was born on 16 October 1890. Her family lived at Corinaldo, Ancona, Italy and moved to a farm at Le Ferriere, near Nettuno in 1899. Maria’s father died the next year and Maria helped to look after the children in the family, four boys and two girls. She never went to school.
When Maria made her First Communion, a Passionist Priest, Fr Jerome CP told the children “rather die than offend Jesus”.
A 20 year old farm-hand & neighbour, Alessandro Serenelli, once tempted Maria to commit a sin against purity but she responded: “No, because it is a sin and God forbids it”. On another occasion, Alessandro attacked Maria with intent to sexually abuse her but she resisted, proclaiming she would rather die than offend Jesus. Alessandro then stabbed her several times and as he went to leave the house, Maria called out. He then returned and stabbed her four more times.
Maria’s mother, working on the farm, heard her cries and with the help of some farmers, took Maria on a cart to hospital in Nettuno where Maria asked to receive Jesus in Holy Communion for the last time. The priest (a Passionist) who was called for, said: “Maria, on the Cross, Jesus forgave those who put him to death; do you forgive the person who stabbed you?” She replied: “Yes, I do pardon him for the love of Jesus and I wish him to join me in paradise”.
During her operation, Maria called out the names of Jesus and Mary and expressed concern for her little brothers & sisters. She died the next day, July 6th 1902, aged 11 years and 9 months.
Alessandro was imprisoned for many years and was initially full of bitterness. After having a dream about Maria, he repented and upon his release in 1937, he went to visit Maria’s mother, Assunta in Corinaldo to ask forgiveness. Assunta replied: “Maria has already forgiven you; how could I not forgive you?” Later, Alessandro spent many years in a Capachin Monastery in prayer and penance.
At the request of the Pope, the Passionists initiated the process of canonization and on 24
