Holy Cross
Passionist Family
Newsletter.
MAY 2012
Volume 18,
Issue 4
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Easter Day
Celebrations:
‘one
day given to you today … a gift … The Easter ceremonies conducted by the Passionists at Holy Cross were very well supported on Holy Thursday evening, Good Friday morning and afternoon, and especially Easter Sunday when the Chapel was packed with many people standing, even though extra seating had been provided. The Easter Day Mass was celebrated by Fr Kevin Hennessy CP who welcomed everyone saying: “Today is a great day for all Christians throughout the world as we celebrate new life and the great hope that Jesus brought through the Resurrection.” The joyful celebration commenced with the opening hymn on two screens – Open My Eyes Lord – and after the first stanza, Fr Kevin invited the ladies to sing the next verse ‘Open my eyes Lord, help me to see’ and he then invited the men to sing ‘Open my eyes Lord, help me to hear’ and finally, all together, ‘Open my heart Lord, help me to love’. The Easter Blessing Rite followed and in a poignant moment, Fr Kevin invited a young couple, soon to be married, to assist in the sprinkling of the baptismal water on the congregation, while fittingly, the PowerPoint presentation on the screens was “Come to the Water”. In his homily, Fr Kevin
said
“All
of us here in some way carry the cross of despair, of sadness or a pain caused
by illness. All of us know peop “We come to church bringing our family, especially the children to learn the story of Jesus and what he was able to give us in the story of hope. “We must enable ourselves always to have a depth of positiveness about our lives even though in our world, people are in the depth of suffering.........O my God, look at Syria; unbelievable violence! “We must have a heart of gratitude, of hope, no matter how we may be in our life's journey.” Fr Kevin then showed a short video – relating to his theme of gratitude. At the end of this, he invited the congregation to ‘yarn amongst yourselves’. This resulted in some lively, even noisy, discussion – the homily had indeed made an impact. The video concluded with an elderly gentleman, seated and reflecting, his pipe in hand, as he says: ‘if you learn to respond as if it were the very first day of your life and the very last day of your life, then you will have spent this day very well’. And Fr Kevin added: “Take everyday as a new day as one that will never return – be grateful, and celebrate what is right with the world.” At the end of Mass, Fr Kevin (having returned from working in PNG the day before) gave the dismissal in pigeon English – with some gusto and animation! He then invited the children to come forward for Easter Eggs, and to help distribute them to the young people, that is, he said ‘anyone under 90!’ Then as the recessional hymn – You Raise Me Up – was playing, there was a real buzz in the Chapel, with many people commenting on the Mass: “Alleluia, that was a joyful celebration with the liturgy, the homily and the music enriching my faith in the Resurrection”’, said one lady, while another commented: ‘a celebration of life and love’. Some young people discussing the celebration said: “If Mass was always like this, we would come more often” and a man who was there with his parents and his children – 3 generations – said “I loved the music; you’ve gotta have music to celebrate Mass”; and a lady in the group said: “The music was ‘live’ and Easter is ‘life’. May this spirit of Easter, life and love, remain with us forever. |
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A Novena of Hope – by our foreign correspondent, Fr Denis Travers CP. Whilst in Ireland and visiting the Passionist Community of St Gabriel’s Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, I was able to see an interesting renovation whereby most of the Monastery has been converted into a Nursing Home, but the Chapel remains our property. The community live in a section of the building that has been added to the original structure and so we have a situation whereby we are linked directly to the Nursing home and our ministry to the people there, share a Chapel that is available to the people in the Nursing Home and to those who come to the chapel for masses and we still own the grounds themselves. But whist in Enniskillen I was able to experience in part the well known Novena of Hope that is conducted every year at our Monastery in the Lenten season. The concept of Novena itself – nine days of nine days of private or public devotion to obtain special graces or for a special intention- is well known from our faith tradition. However, from my observations the Novena at Enniskillen is a new kind of mission. That is, rather than a situation where the Passionists go out to others in their own parishes, the Novena is one in which people come to our community and participate there for the nine days. Much like a parish mission, the Novena has a morning session and an evening session. These two sessions are almost exact parallels to each other – both have a musical session to entertain and occupy whilst waiting for the programmes to start; and then each has a time of input, prayer together, and Eucharist and post session sharing over a cup of tea/coffee and light refreshments. On particular days a special theme – e.g. the blessing of the sick or reconciliation – is stressed, but overall the nine day programme has a wonderful flow and follows a particular theme for each day. Some of the topics covered in this year’s Novena were – Saying Yes to God, Getting one’s life sorted, Forgiveness, Trust in times of Change, Working for Justice, Being proud to be a woman, Coping with Suicide, Finding God when life is tough and Persevering in the journey of life.
The
particular attraction of each day/evening is that while the Passionists and
other religious and priests do speak, they do not speak on all these topics.
The people who present each day/evening are drawn from a range of vocations
and occupations in life. They share a Catholic or Christian faith in common,
but they are drawn from such diverse occupations as – a radio/TV
personality, a Governor of a Prison, a Football player, a Newspaper Editor,
a father of a suicide victim, a person involved with social justice issues.
In past years there have been politicians, members of parliament,
Commissioners for Equality and other areas like social inclusion, people fro More than a thousand people attend each day and the sessions have to be carried via a Video link to adjoining rooms and outside the chapel so that those participating can listen/see the sessions. Because of such numbers people tend to arrive very early and so for about one hour before the sessions begin, there are musicians and singers performing for the people. These songs can be traditional or inspirational. This combination of music, prayer, input and some social time together after the sessions, seems to be an ideal mix. While there is an attraction because of the Passionists, the Novena is really the work of a very dedicated team of people who promote the novena, manage traffic, provide teas/coffee and hospitality, participate in the administration and organisation of the event and care for the sick or disabled who attend. It seems like a wonderful initiative. While Novenas have their own special tradition in Ireland, the one at Enniskillen is only 25 years old. So it has built up in popularity and scope as the years have passed. I realise we live within a different social context, but I do wonder if we could ever offer such a kind of ‘mission’/devotional event in the context of our Australian churches. Day Retreat for Mothers and Daughters. May 12th - 10am (coffee); 10.30 – 4pm “Things I learnt from my Mother” On the eve of Mothers’ Day, an opportunity to explore my relationship with my mother &/or mother figures in my life. Cost $60 (includes morning tea, lunch etc). For further information, please speak to Fr John or phone 9846 6014. Happy Mothers’ Day May 13th to all our Mums ‘The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a Mother’ – St Thérèse of Lisieux.
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New Appointment: – Fr Brendan Connell CP. Fr Brendan Connell CP has been appointed by the Superior General, Fr Ottaviano D’Egidio CP to the international community at St Joseph’s, Highgate Hill in London and as assistant priest of St Joseph’s parish. Passionist Vicar-General Fr Denis Travers CP is also a member of the international community at Highgate, although as First Consultor on General Council, his main residence and office is at Ss Giovanni e Paulo in Rome. Fr Brendan’s appointment to Highgate will commence in September 2012. During his time in Adelaide where his ministry included the role of Parish Priest of St Paul’s, Glen Osmond, Fr Brendan completed his Masters in Theology and while in London, he will continue studying for his Doctorate. As well as transferring to London in September, Fr Brendan will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of his Ordination as a Passionist Priest on the 21st of that month. We extend our best wishes to Fr Brendan on his London appointment and congratulations on his 10th anniversary. Passionists’ Birthdays in May:
Fr
Brian Gleeson CP
(Endeavour Hills) May 20th Anniversaries this Month: Fr Ron Davoren CP, Fr Phil Smith CP and Fr Ray Brain CP all celebrate the 41st anniversary of their Ordination as a Passionist Priest on May 15th. Fr Peter Gardiner CP – 28 years Ordained May 26th. May 16 is the Feast Day of Passionist Saint, Gemma Galgarni, born 12 March, 1878 at Camigliano, near Lucca, Italy, the 4th child in a family of 8. Gemma wanted to be a Passionist nun and in 1898 had made a decision to become a religious. She was refused on grounds of ill-health. The Lord however had other plans for her and she received the stigmata. Her spiritual director, Fr Germanus CP asked her to pray to the Lord to remove the visible signs of the wounds of Jesus, but she continued to suffer the wounds of scourging and the crown of thorns. After her death on Holy Thursday 1903, the Passionist ‘sign’ which she had so much desired to wear as a nun was placed over her heart.
In 1923, her body was transferred to a shrine at the Passionist Convent in Lucca. She was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1933; on 2nd May 1940, Pius XII declared her life to be one of heroic virtue & proclaimed her as a Saint. Postage for this Newsletter kindly provided by Le Pine Funeral Services
Courtesy of Tim Horlock. Ph 9569 0585
Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea & Art Show At Holy Cross, Tuesday May 8th, from 10am. Paintings by local artists on exhibition and for Sale. Entry $10. Great Door Prize. Proceeds in aid of Cancer Council Victoria. Please come, bring a friend and support this worthy cause.
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Next Monthly Passionist-Family Mass - the 443rd Family Mass –
May 27th 10.30am This is one of the most important dates on the liturgical calendar, along with Christmas and Easter. Please come and celebrate – receive the Holy Spirit - bring family and friends, and stay for a cuppa and a chat after Mass..
Province Assembly and Synod. Last month, 38 professed members gathered at Holy Cross for their annual Synod which allows them to consider particular issues about which the Provincial seeks their advice or wishes to provide information. This meeting is combined with a formation component (Assembly). This year, the focus of the Assembly was on the new Province Professional Standards policy and on Social networking. Every entity today is required to have a policy on Professional standards for its members, employees and volunteers. The Province has updated its policy and this week was an opportunity to have some in-service through the expertise of Ms Maria Kirkwood from the Melbourne Catholic Education Office and Ms Susan Halliday, former Sex and Disability Commissioner, who focused on responsible use of social networks. Our Chapter last year called for us to respond to Pope Benedict’s call to ‘evangelize the digital continent’. In order to respond to this call we realized we need to first understand something of the different types of digital communication and social networking (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Skype, YouTube, blogs, podcasting, email, smartphone etc) and how we might use them. With the help of Fran Dorgan and Michael Haigh from the Melbourne CEO, we were given some very valuable insights and we were also alerted to some of the limitations and dangers of social networking. We were shown how we might use Twitter in a positive ‘evangelizing’ way. Twitter is a microblogging platform that invites you to share what you're doing with the world - in 140 characters or less. These short messages are called "tweets". Twitter also allows you to keep track of what other people are doing, either by monitoring their Twitter updates online, or by receiving updates directly to your phone or email. Twitter can be a good way of hearing about current topics and sharing with others, information that is being passed around.
Podcasting offers the opportunity to download radio broadcasts and other audio/video programs from the Internet to a computer or website It would allow us to share reflections and homilies for an interested audience. It was suggested that this and other ways of saturating the web with ‘good stuff’ might be a positive opportunity to get some ‘good news’ out there. We were advised that, technology is becoming more intuitive, easy and logical to use so instead of being hesitant as most senior adults are, we should copy younger people and children and dive in, play and experiment, mindful of our responsibilities to act always in a professional way.
‘Come Away’ Retreats: May 22, June 14, July 18, August 23, Sept 20, Oct 24, Nov 22. Ú Day Retreats for Mothers & Daughters: May 12. Ú Overnight Retreat for Men: October 27/28; (further details of all retreats on: www.holycrosscentre.com |
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