The Record Magazine Issue 34 (December 2021)

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ISSUE 34 DECEMBER 2021

PLENARY COUNCIL

PLENARY COUNCIL

PLENARY COUNCIL

Opening Mass

First Assembly Final Report

Concluding Statements

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PAGE 10

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Official magazine for the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth The Record Magazine ISSUE 34.indb 1

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DECEMBER 2021

ISSUE 34 OUR MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to provide news, features and perspectives for the Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Perth and Western Australia.

We work to support Catholics to engage in the message of the Gospel and our coverage seeks to reflect the needs and interests of the Church – local, national and international – in a complete and authentic manner, reflecting always the voice of Christ in His universal Church.

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AND EDITOR Jamie O’Brien

DISCL AIMER

jamie.obrien@perthcatholic.org.au

The Record Magazine is published bi-monthly.

Views expressed in published articles are not necessarily those of the publisher

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or Editor. The Editor may refuse copy or material, including advertisements,

Michelle Tan

for publication. Inclusion of an advertisement in The Record Magazine does

michelle.tan@perthcatholic.org.au

not reflect endorsement or responsibility from the publisher or Editor.

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JOURNALISTS Amanda Murthy amanda.murthy@perthcatholic.org.au

CONTACT

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Email therecord@therecord.com.au

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Address 21 Victoria Square, Perth WA Bibiana Kwaramba bibiana.kwaramba@perthcatholic.org.au

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Copyright 2021. No part of The Record Magazine may be reproduced in any form without prior written consent from the publisher. The Record Magazine liability in the event of an error is limited to a printed correction. Proudly printed in Australia by Scott Print.

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Plenary Council Opening Mass

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F E AT U R E D T H I S M O N T H

10 First Assembly’s Final Report

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Concluding Statements

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Closing Address

“If the world hates you, you must realise that it hated me before it hated you.” — John 15: 18

F R O M T H E E D I T O R Jamie O’Brien

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Perth Closing Mass

Welcome to Issue 34 of The Record Magazine - the last issue for 2021! It has now been just over a month since the conclusion

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of the First Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia.

What an experience it has been for the Church! The historic Opening Mass took place in our own St Mary’s Cathedral, livestreamed to the whole world. In this Issue 34, we look back at all the special moments such as the Opening Mass, in addition to the Concluding Statements, the Final Report and Archbishop Costelloe’s Closing Address. We also give you

Recipe Mama’s Kaya (Coconut Jam)

FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE

a special four-page photo gallery of the week-long event. In

From Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB

this Issue, we also profile Christmas Island parishioners Ron

From Bishop Don Sproxton

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and Susan DeCruz, and in a special report, we also showcase the new Clergy Pastoral Supervision Project. Our best wishes

IN THIS EDITION

from all the team at the Archdiocesan Communications

Plenary Council Assembly 1 Montage 1

Office for a blessed and safe Christmas and New Year.

Plenary Council Assembly 1 Montage 2

Don’t forget that these and many more stories are available

Life on Christmas Island

at www.therecord.com.au. The Record Magazine is a magazine

Be Powerhouse of Prayer

for the people and I hope you will enjoy taking the time to

Clergy Supervision Project

engage with us. Please feel free to share your thoughts via

Activity Page

editor@therecord.com.au.

Colouring Page

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2021 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE: Our Christian Faith Points to Jesus What other nation is there that has its gods so near to them as our God is near to us? (Deuteronomy 4:7)

Our hearts are restless until they come to rest in you. Our Christian faith points the way; our The truth of these words, spoken by Moses to God’s Christian faith points to God; our Christian faith Chosen People, was revealed when God, who loved points to Jesus. the world so much, sent his only Son, not to condemn In Jesus, the one whose birth we celebrate at the world but so that the world might be saved through this time, God comes as close to us as we are him (cf. John 3:16-17). close to those we love most deeply. Indeed, God comes even closer for his love never fails, This is what we remember and what we celebrate knows no end, and is never limited by the as Christmas comes around again this year. Saint brokenness of our humanity and our proneness Augustine, one of the greatest Christian leaders of to let our love of self get in the way of our love the early Church, once said in a beautiful prayer: “You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts for others. are restless until they rest in you” (Saint Augustine Confessions Book 1). This thought of resting in God, of finding peace and stillness in God, of realising that the true meaning of life can only be found in God, is really what lies at the heart of Christmas. It is why the child whose birth we celebrate is called the Prince of Peace; it is why he is called Emmanuel, a name which means God is with us. It is why the angel Gabriel told Mary to call her son Jesus, a name which means “the one who saves”.

At this time in the history of the Church in Australia as we continue the work of the Plenary Council and as the whole world continues to confront the daunting challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for peace, the need for stillness, the need for something solid upon which to build our lives, is particularly pressing. If we were ever tempted to think that we had within us, as individuals or as societies, the capacity to determine and control everything, then the pandemic which continues to ravage the world, the ecological crisis which is proving so difficult to resolve, and the fragility and complexity of relationships within our families, within the Church community and within our wider society, surely all point to a deep unease and restlessness. This restlessness invites us to look beyond ourselves to something greater, something deeper, something more solid and substantial, than those many things upon which we often seek to build our lives and security.

This is what we celebrate at Christmas. It is what all our beautiful Christmas carols proclaim in song. It is what the wonderful tradition of gift-giving symbolises. It is what the gathering together of family and friends, both in our churches and in our homes, represents and deepens. It is what inspires so many people to reach out with generosity at this time of the year to those less well-off than themselves.

God is real, even for those who do not know him. God is active in people’s lives and hearts, even though they do not recognise him.

God’s love is not reserved only for those who acknowledge him, and God’s power to work through people to bring light and peace and joy into the world is not hindered by those who have not yet come to know him. The true meaning of Christmas can certainly be obscured when selfishness and self-indulgence begin to take over, but God can and does work in and through anyone whose heart and mind and spirit are not closed completely to the power of goodness.

You have made us for yourself O God and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. May we all find peace in the hope which comes to all those who welcome the Christ-child, who sit with him in stillness, and who allow themselves to be loved by him.

+ Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB ARCHBISHOP OF PERTH

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I wish you all, and all those who are dear to you, a very happy, holy, and hope filled Christmas.

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The importance of beginning with Christ: An interview with Bishop Sproxton

One of the lessons learnt during the First Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council has been the importance of beginning with Christ, said Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Record, Bishop Sproxton said that by starting with Christ, the Church will be able to establish new ways and new structures.

“Which will enable people with different experiences within the Church, with different roles of leadership in the church, to come together and establish a common starting point towards working towards the work that has to be done in working together and collaborating together,” Bishop Don explained.

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“Dioceses, parishes, religious communities, the PJPs, and all the works and communities within the Church will need to go back to Christ and work from Christ in establishing collaboration and cooperation,” he said.

Bishop Don also highlighted that he had personally felt the Holy Spirit present over the course of the week of the First Assembly through the deep listening among the members.

“I think really the First session of the Plenary Council was meant to give us all the opportunity to bring [together] the reading that we’ve done in preparation from the Instrumentum Laboris and the interventions that were sent over those first stages.

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“Having digested that, bringing to the session, you know, the insights and some of the understandings that we have, and to share that together and to put it in a sense ‘on the table’ so that we’re establishing, I suppose, the foundation for proposals that will come out probably at the end of this session, certainly into the Second Assembly.”

Bishop Don continued by highlighting that there had been a great variety of views expressed during the first few days of the First Assembly.

“I think it’s been evident that the Spirit has enabled us to listen with respect to all of those things that have been said, and to use some of those things or many of those things in that prayerful discernment and reflection that we’ve been involved in in these days.

Bishop Don continued by saying that for him, the moment that he realised the process was working and the voice of the Holy Spirit was really present, was on Day Three.

“That was when things were starting to become clearer to us.

“Day one and day two, I think were days when as I said earlier, were about putting issues and understandings and positions onto the table, which gave way to a discerning process taking hold - and us listening: trying to work out, where we want to go with some of these ideas and these positions?

“What are the propositions or the proposals that we need to develop from these? It gave a bit of clarity, and I think we came out of the third day with a much more positive experience of the process,” he said.

Bishop Don noted that his hopes for the process between the First Assembly and the Second Assembly in 2022 is the continuation of the conversation.

“One of the experiences we had before meeting in the Plenary Council was the conversations that we were having online with each other.

“I’m pretty sure that these will continue after this First Assembly. In this period of time, when we have a number of proposals that need to be refined and worked on, this period of eight or so months will enable those managing the Plenary Council to do that work and ensure that the Second Assembly will run very, very effectively and efficiently, because of the work that’s been done in between.

“But it’s a matter of distilling and forming [the conversations], into propositions that can be presented to the Members in the Second Assembly, which is going to be an important part of this next process,” Bishop Don concluded.

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SPECIAL REPORT: “The Lord is closer to us than we are to ourselves,” says Archbishop Costelloe W O R D S Jamie O'Brien

The Lord is closer to us than we are to ourselves, said Plenary Council President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, as he officially opened the First Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, Sunday 3 October at St Mary’s Cathedral.

With more than 750 people present for the occasion, which was livestreamed and watched worldwide, Archbishop Costelloe was joined by Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, Vicar General Fr Peter Whitely VG, Vicar for Education and Adult Faith Formation Fr Vincent Glynn, St Charles Seminary Rector Fr Phillip Fleay, Redemptoris Mater Seminary Rector Fr Michael Moore SM, Salvatorian Congregational Leader Fr George Kolodziej SDS, Fr Peter Bianchini as MC and Deacon Mark Powell assisting.

Cathedral Assistant Priests Frs Garner Vergara and

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Richard Rutkausakas also joined as concelebrants for the special occasion.

All Perth Archdiocese Plenary Council Members, their families and friends were also present for the Mass which officially marked the start of a ninemonth period of discernment for the Catholic Church in Australia.

It comes after three-and-a-half years of preparation, including a significant period of national consultation.

That consultation focused on the question: “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?”

The Plenary Council, the first such event in Australia since 1937, saw more than 278 Members across Australia, including those who must be called and those who may be called, meet online and in

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person over the following six days, starting Monday October 4. The Archdiocese of Perth has a total of 18 Members, which includes several clergy, lay people as well as the heads of religious orders and organisations.

Continuing his homily, Archbishop Costelloe highlighted that what has always been true in theory and in principle urgently needs to become true in the day-to-day experience of everyone who encounters us.

“We must become, even more than we are already, a community of true disciples,” Archbishop Costelloe said, having previously referenced aspects from the Dogmatic Consitution of the Church document, Lumen Gentium and Saint Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, Novo Millenio Inuente.

“We must become a living icon of Christ who humbled himself, taking the form of a servant.

“We must learn from the One who is meek and humble of heart. We are being sent by Him as He was sent by his Father. If we remain in Him, as branches remain part of the vine, we will bear much fruit.

The nature and mission of the Lord’s Church, is at the centre for the teaching of Lumen Gentium, Archbishop Costelloe explained. Lumen Gentium was promulgated following the Second Vatican

Council in 1964. “We are, the Council tells us, the People of God on pilgrimage towards our heavenly homeland, called to walk together in faith, with courage and hope.

“Our response to this call will determine the extent to which we become in practice what Lumen Gentium tells us we are in principle: 'a kind of sacrament, that is a sign and instrument, of communion with God and unity amongst all people' (LG 1).

This is, said Archbishop Costelloe, the challenge which lies ahead of us, for surely God is asking us in Australia at this time to rediscover and live more faithfully our vocation to be a Pilgrim People, brothers and sisters in a community of disciples.

“We are on the way – but we are not there yet.”

The Mass to close the first general assembly will be celebrated at 10am AEST on Sunday, October 10, and livestreamed from St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane.

The second Assembly is scheduled to take place in Sydney from July 4 to 9, 2022.

The Mass can be viewed at www.plenarycouncil. catholic.org.au

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PLENARY MEMBERS PRESENT FINAL REPORTS OF FIRST ASSEMBLY An impassioned call for “a prayer for the future of our common home, Gospel for the home of our future generations” was made during the final reporting back on small group discernment

by Plenary Council Members on conclusion of the First Assembly, Saturday 9 October.

The presenters’ comprehensive reports on the 16 agenda questions also included proposals and requests for further investigation and research to create a more missionary, Christcentred Church in Australia.

For Shaun De Zylva, from Darwin, his group discussed ways of creating a culture of conversion for renewal and mission through truth-telling, story-telling and proclaiming the Gospel for renewal through personal and communal conversion.

Specific proposals included parishes establishing small groups that meet for an annual synod and that each diocese should have a synod at least once every three years; studying and learning from the synodal journey that resulted in the

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Uluru Statement of the Heart; encouraging small ecclesial communities (home/family groups) with learnings from the early Church; and establishing forums for open dialogue and discernment especially with those groups who feel excluded in the Church.

Fr Trevor Trotter from St Columban Mission Society, told the Assembly there was some discussion in his group about the full understanding and appreciation of the Eucharist as the Real Presence of Christ – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity – being in a state of decline in Australia.

“We acknowledge that one of the challenges that we face is how we might better welcome God’s people to the Eucharist and assist them to understand what this sacrament offers, entails and asks of those who receive it,” he said.

“Recognising that fewer people today participate in the sacramental life of the Church than in previous times, the question of how best to provide formation on the sacraments

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arises. Such formation will need to focus on both deepening people’s faith and increasing their knowledge.”

Considering how to better embrace the diverse liturgical traditions of the Churches which make up the Catholic Church and the cultural gifts of immigrant communities, Theresa Simon, from the Maronite Eparchy of Australia, stressed that her group did not support the use of the term “immigrant communities” because it did not capture the “fullness of what we are trying to describe”.

The group also recognised the need for a more organised and coordinated approach, at a national level, to the inclusion of the Eastern Churches, rites of the Latin Church and culturally and linguistically diverse communities in the Catholic Church in Australia.

“We must not do this simply for the satisfaction of those Churches and communities, but rather for the richness and gifts that diversity brings to the entire Church,” she said.

“We must do more than acknowledge diversity.

Rather, we must enshrine diversity in all we do, in particular when it comes to breathing with an Eastern and Western lung.”

Marist Br Peter Carroll, from New South Wales, gave a detailed report on his group’s discernment on formation for mission leadership, with several specific ideas to achieve this.

It started from an understanding that “the

mission of the Church is the mission of Jesus, which is to make the Reign of God a reality; to incarnate it in our place and time”.

Speaking about the ordained ministry, Brigid Cooney said her group suggested identifying elements in the current formation of seminarians that are positive and valuable, but also elements that are problematic and can produce ordained ministers that are not living in ways that draw people to Christ.

One proposal was for a research project into international models of seminary pre-ordination formation programs and lifelong formation that have had proven and demonstrated successful outcomes that could be adapted for the Church in Australia.

“Of particular interest are formation programs that are grounded in the community and provide meaningful extended exposure to parish life, programs that support solid intellectual, human, pastoral and spiritual formation,” she said.

Her group believed promoting vocations was a task for all people of the Church and that a renewed focus on vocations could be assisted by a Year of Prayer for Vocations.

Members also recognised a need for opportunities in ministry for single, lay Catholics, “a genuine lay apostolate that fosters community, which is different from young adult or family ministry”.

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Time between Assemblies a chance for prayer, reflection The months between the First and Second General Assemblies of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia are a time for “prayer, reflection, maturation and development”, according to a Concluding Statement from the First Assembly.

The statement, approved by the Council’s Members during Saturday’s final plenary session, speaks of a week in which regular prayer and spiritual conversations, encouraging deep listening, “allowed space for still nascent dreams and visions to come to greater maturity”.

It came after 16 sessions across six days, encompassing conversations in groups of eight to 10 people, larger groups of up to 30 and gatherings of the full membership of the Council.

All sessions were punctuated with time for prayer and reflection.

The Concluding Statement said the process of Members listening to each other in those various forums “has planted promising seeds and raised important questions for us”.

“We have experienced and expressed the range of emotions that come with facing profound issues together, holding in tension diverse interpretations and expectations,” it said.

“Through prayer and reflection, we have been called to be patient with the process, with each other, with the Church and, most importantly, with the Holy Spirit.”

The statement outlines some of the affirmations of the life of the Church that were shared during the first assembly, as well as some of the desires expressed for a Church that renews itself for mission.

“Often expressed through the lens of personal experience, the discernment of this assembly has

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threaded together conversations about what the Church can offer today’s world on the one hand, and how the world can inform the ways and structures of the Church on the other,” the statement said.

The Assembly considered the experience of some groups within the community who don’t always feel at home in Catholic communities.

Those groups could include young people, women, single people, parents and families, people with disabilities, people with diverse experience of sexuality and gender, and others “who feel, for a variety of reasons, that there is no place for them”.

“We asked how a missionary Church might connect with those who feel distant from the community of faith,” the statement said.

“Each of these voices has been a powerful reminder that the Church, as a sign of the kingdom of God, has the vocation of being an image of Christ and an icon of grace to the whole human family.”

The statement said the closing of the Council’s First Assembly means the journey “now enters a time of prayer, reflection, maturation and development”.

“This will involve continuing reflection by the members of the Council, and consultation with the wider Church community, as we develop propositions for presentation to the Second Assembly of the Council next July,” it continued.

“In faith, hope and charity, we entrust all these tasks to the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Our prayer remains, as always: ‘Come, Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit of the great South Land’.”

Read the Concluding Statement at https:// plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au

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PLENARY COUNCIL’S FIRST ASSEMBLY, ‘INSPIRING, CHALLENGING’

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s he closed the formal proceedings of the First General Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, President Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB reflected on a week that had been “inspiring, challenging and sometimes unsettling”.

Archbishop Costelloe, adjourned the Council’s First Assembly and summoned its 278 members to gather again in July 2022 for the Second and Final Assembly.

Archbishop Costelloe said to Members that the First Assembly had been an exercise in the process of “synodality”, which Pope Francis describes as “walking together”.

“We have been walking together this week - and in rejoicing in that, and thanking God for that, we can also ask ourselves how well have we avoided the danger of walking alone, or only in a small group of like-minded people?” he said.

Archbishop Costelloe said the Members are called to be “a sign and an instrument of communion with God and of unity among all people”, something he had spoken of in his homily at the Council’s opening Mass six days earlier.

“This week we have tried to discern together how we, the Church, can become more fully a clear, unambiguous and effective sign of this communion,” he said.

“We have done this because we are sure that it is as the People of God, the Body of Christ in the world, that we can be God’s instrument for the establishment of God’s kingdom.

“All week we have been exploring together possible ways of re-casting ourselves, re-positioning ourselves, the Church in Australia, for this mission.

And this exploration will continue.”

Among a rich variety of experiences during the week, which included time spent as a full assembly, many hours of small group discernment on the agenda’s 16 questions and times of prayer,

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Archbishop Costelloe acknowledged it had been “an inspiring, challenging and sometimes unsettling week for many of us”.

“We have been told of the joy of belonging to the Church and the hope it brings into the lives of many,” he said.

“But we have, too, touched the pain of those who have suffered, and continue to suffer, through their engagement with the Church.

“As we respond to all of this we are called, I believe, to heed the words of Saint Paul who tells the Christians in Philippi, and us: ‘you must have in you the same mind that was in Christ Jesus’.”

Archbishop Costelloe reminded Members of the support they had been receiving throughout the Council journey, but in a particular way during the First Assembly.

“This week we have not been alone, notwithstanding the isolation which has been forced upon many of us because of COVID,” he said.

“We have been accompanied by the prayers of our brothers and sisters in the community of faith who are looking to us with so much hope. It is these brothers and sisters to whom we will now return.

We have carried their hopes and dreams into our Plenary Assembly.

“We will continue to walk with them as we share our experience of the Plenary Council with them and as we reflect with them on the ever present and pressing question: ‘What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?’”

Despite the First Assembly having taking place wholly online, with Members in a small number of dioceses able to gather for fellowship, Archbishop Costelloe said the “bonds we have forged and the trust we have established” will make the next nine months of the Council process easier.

The work to be undertaken in preparation for the Second Assembly in July will be determined by the Plenary Council’s steering committee.

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● LEFT For many, a promotion to CEO at 23 would have come as a daunting, bewildering move. But for The University of Notre Dame Australia Communications and Behavioural Science alumna Sam Cook, her belief that we can make a difference drove her on with relentless passion. Photo: Supplied.

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Some of the day-to-day moments from the Perth Hub of Assembly #1 of the Fifth Plenary Council, which took place at the offices of Catholic Education Leederville. Photos: Michelle Tan and Max Hoh. 18

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SPECIAL REPORT: Plenary Council Members called to ‘Let Go’ WORDS Eric Martin

Plenary Council President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB spoke from the heart as he delivered his homily at the Perth Closing Mass of the First Assembly on Sunday 10 October, drawing on the richness of the Gospel to illustrate Jesus’ desire that we put God first – before the myriad goals that come to occupy so much of our lives, both as individuals and as a Church.

The Gospel for Sunday 10 October told the story of the rich young man, who approached Jesus and put the question to him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Archbishop Costelloe explained that even though the

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young man has faithfully kept the commandments, and his fidelity has truly moved Jesus to respond to his question with love, “Jesus says some words to him, that I think he’s saying to each one of us as disciples and to the Church in Australia: ‘There is something you lack’”.

“All week the Members of the Council have been trying to identify what it is that we are lacking. What is it that’s stopping us from being the Church that the Lord is calling us to be?” he asked.

“For this man, it is his wealth that is the problem. He couldn’t let go, it was just too much. It was a hurdle too high for him to jump and Jesus wasn’t offering

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any way around that hurdle: ‘There is one thing you lack, go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor and then come follow Me’”. “…The central theme of our Plenary Council, if I could sum it up just a couple of words, is letting go,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

“All three readings, in a way, are about letting go, or perhaps also about letting go in order to let God in.

That’s what we’ve been trying to do together this week. And what we will be trying to do, not just as Members of the Plenary Council but as the whole Church in Australia, over the next nine months leading up to the Second Assembly.”

Archbishop Costelloe continued by explaining that as individuals there will be ambitions, little goals that we have established at the heart of our lives as little gods, and that by doing so, we have pushed the real God out of the way.

“All this week the Members of the Plenary Council have, in a sense, been trying to identify those little gods. And having identified them, we then have to find the courage to let go of them.

“And why?” Archbishop Costelloe asked. “In order to put the real God back where the real God belongs.

“How often, as so many of you have heard me say, almost to the point where I think people might be sick of it - but I’m not sick of it - that the great challenge that we face is to return the Church to Jesus Christ and return Jesus Christ to the Church.

He continued by saying that we have been reminded during the Council not to make God too small.

“What are the little gods that we put in place of the big God? We have to identify them, listen to each other to discover them, and then have the courage to shift them out of the way so that we can put Jesus back where he belongs at the heart of the Church.

“This is my prayer for all of us, Members of the Council, our families, and friends and communities - the whole Church in Australia. That we have the courage to answer honestly the question, what is it that we make, what is the hurdle that we’re finding it so hard to get over, that is stopping us from running after the Jesus who is striding ahead.”

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LIFE ON THE PERIPHERIES: THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF CHRISTMAS ISLAND WORDS Jamie O’Brien

The recent First Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council spoke about the mission of the Church, ministry to those on the peripheries, as well as role of the Christian family, how we can better integrate our first nations people, and the work of women.

Located some 1500km west of Perth, Christmas Island is pastorally cared for by the Archdiocese of Perth and has a population of nearly 1500 people, with some eight per cent being Catholic.

Susan DeCruz has lived on Christmas Island, together with her husband Ron, for the past 44 years and recently spoke to The Record Editor Jamie O’Brien about her life and faith.

What led you to living on Christmas Island?

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I had recently returned to Penang, Malaysia after some time in the UK and was working in a small hospital when my sister in Perth sent me an article for nursing positions in Christmas Island.

I went for an interview for the nursing position and was immediately accepted, which was a surprise. I worked in the CI Hospital for seven years and I now work with the local government, the Shire of Christmas Island.

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Life on Christmas Island is pretty quiet but really, it’s how you see and live life on the island. I find life on the island pretty “full on” as I am quite busy with work, home routines and Church activities. I love it here as it’s peaceful and safe and it’s really a great place to raise children.

People here are friendly and most of them are from Malaysia or Singapore but a lot of them have moved to the mainland because of their children’s education. We converse in each other’s language especially with the older generations, but English is mostly spoken by everyone. I notice we have more Caucasians coming here to live now.

Tell us about what life is like on the Island, the people, the culture?

The culture is a rich mix. We celebrate Chinese, Malay and Christian festivals every year with lots of smaller festivals celebrated in between.

Ron is my husband and he works with the Shire of Christmas Island as a Health Officer. He came here a few months earlier than me and started work as a labourer in the Marine. He slowly worked his way up and moved up in the mining industry until the mine closed. He then had a job with the Shire initially as a Fire Officer. As time went on, positions were changed and he is now the Health Officer.

I have two daughters - Rebecca and Lorraine. Rebecca moved to Perth when she was 15 years old to attend Year 11 and 12 and University in Perth. We were really distressed at that time as she was so young to be left on her own. Luckily my older sister agreed to look after her.

She is now married with three children and I now have three teenage grandchildren.

Lorraine was blessed as by the time she finished Year 10, the Island had set up Years 11 and 12, so she finished Years 11 and 12 here and left for University after that. She finished University and came back to the Island and she is now working in the school as an IT Officer and living with us.

What does the Church and faith mean to you?

I was baptised in Sungei Patani, a little town in Malaysia where I was born.

I believe God works in mysterious ways and I guess what I do now is proof of that. When I was young, I somewhat did not believe in going to Church, even though my Mum would take us regularly.

When I came to the Island, a visiting priest came to see me, but I was still non-practising and avoided going to services then. I think I started going to services after our eldest daughter was born. There was no Church building then and we moved from place to place whenever a priest visited the Island. I love our faith community now, we get on well together.

Sacraments like Baptism, Reconciliation, Holy Communion and Confirmation are celebrated by the priest whenever they come to the Island.

Can you please tell me about the Catholic faith community on Christmas Island?

Our Catholic faith community is a small and close-knit community.

We come together every Sunday to celebrate a Communion Service. After the service we normally have a chat about anything and everything. A few of us are involved in the care and maintenance and also the administrative work of the Church. I am also the Special Eucharistic Minister.

There have been some 46 priests who have visited the island from 1979 until now.

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ARCHBISHOP FISHER: “BE POWERHOUSE OF PRAYER” As the First General Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia neared the halfway point, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP preached on the power of prayer and trust in the Holy Spirit.

Celebrating Mass for the third full day of the Council, Archbishop Fisher’s homily reflected on Luke’s Gospel of the day, when the disciples ask Jesus how to pray.

“They knew Christ was the best of teachers,” he said.

“Of the 90 times people address Jesus in the Gospels, they call Him ‘Teacher’ in 60 of them, a title He also used for Himself. For our Plenary Council, also, Christ must be our wisdom and guide, and so: ‘Lord, teach us how to pray’.”

Archbishop Fisher said “the first purpose of the Church is the worthy worship of God, and our Plenary Council will surely do all it can to ensure this takes place going forward”.

Archbishop Fisher’s homily also reflected on the musings of the daughter of Karl Marx, the founder of atheistic communism, speaking to a friend after reading the Our Father.

Jenny Marx spoke of how wonderful it would be if there were a God like the one spoken about in that prayer.

“Well, Ms Marx,” Archbishop Fisher said, “we the People of God in Australia respond, ‘there is!’”

She also spoke of how transformational it would be if God’s children made his name holy, made his kingdom come, did his will, fed and forgave others, were fed and forgiven, and were freed from evil.

“For all that to be true, we must be Australia’s powerhouse of prayer,” Archbishop Fisher preached.

“Only through prayer can we hear, discern, converse,

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propose, decide. Only with such inspirations that we can make the decisions we must. But with true and deep prayer we can face the dreams and difficulties head on, in the grace of the Holy Spirit and the company of fellow believers, striking out with renewed conviction and humble confidence.”

Archbishop Fisher concluded: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done — in Australia, as it is in heaven!”

On Monday, as the First General Assembly opened, Archbishop Fisher wrote about the Plenary Council in The Australian.

“The Church must explore new opportunities while remaining faithful to its identity as the People of God inspired by the Gospel of Jesus and served by the hierarchy, alert to the challenges and opportunities, graces and limitations particular to our time and place,” he wrote.

Archbishop Fisher said the Council’s Members are well aware of the challenges the Church is facing in wider society, including the increase of people with no faith, a decline in religious vocations, changes in law and practice, and a lack of respect for religious freedom.

“Facing up to these challenges presents opportunities for the Church to cultivate in her members ‘be-attitudes’ of prayerfulness and contemplation, justice and peacefulness, patience and compassion expressed in action,” he wrote.

“It calls us to speak passionately for the voiceless, whether unborn or newborn, disabled or mentally ill, trafficked or refugees, indigenous or homeless, frail elderly or dying. And it demands we draw the connections between the physical, human and spiritual ecologies and highlight responsibilities towards each.”

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ISSUE 33 OCTOBER 2021

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NEW PASTORAL SUPERVISION PROGRAM DESIGNED TO HELP ACKNOWLEDGE AND BUILD ON WHAT IS WORKING WORDS Jamie O’Brien & Eric Martin Pastoral support for parish priests is now available through the Archdiocese of Perth, with the launch of the new Clergy Professional Pastoral Supervision program on Tuesday 26 October.

An essential ingredient in maintaining wellbeing, the new program ensures that the clergy have access to support and strategies to effectively mitigate the many stresses of being spiritually responsible for their local Catholic community.

“At the heart of our ministry as deacons, priests and bishops is our commitment to be servants to our brothers and sisters in the faith, and in an increasingly complex world it is not always easy to live this vocation fully,” Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB said at the launch at the Doubletree Hilton on the Waterfront Hotel.

“Pastoral supervision is designed to help us acknowledge and build on what is working and assist us to make changes where necessary and this has certainly been my own experience over the last few years.”

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Although the new program is a direct response to recommendations made by the Royal Commission (Recommendations 16.20 & 16.45*), it also extends a valuable service to the clergy: supervision is common practice for professionals who are entrusted with the physical, mental and emotional care of people, especially for the vulnerable.

“Our wider community expects us, rightly, to respond as fully as possible to the recommendations of the Royal Commission, and even more importantly, the Lord, through his Church, calls us to do whatever we can to make our pastoral ministry as effective as possible: Clergy Pastoral Supervision is one element in a suite of offerings which can help us do just that,” Archbishop Costelloe explained.

“This has long been a practice in many sectors of our society and is seen as critical to maintaining the integrity of professional practice and ensuring the wellbeing of those assisting others in difficult and complex life situations.”

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Research shows that providing pastoral care, whether to an individual or a community, can be a demanding and complex responsibility which may have both personal and professional impacts.

It can also be an isolating and lonely experience, especially when working alone or in challenging settings.

Conversely, even when the individual’s work in ministry or service is thriving, supervision plays an important part in maintaining standards and in providing the opportunity for reflection and further growth, focusing on support, education and healthy personal and pastoral practice.

Access Wellbeing Services, a service of the catholic organisation Centrecare Inc., will provide the Clergy Professional Pastoral Supervision Program for the Archdiocese using their in-house supervision team.

The program will be provided from several locations across Perth and utilise the digital communications technology so familiar from COVID-19 lockdowns to enable participation by clergy based in remote locations.

All of Access Wellbeing’s supervisors have tertiary qualifications in either Social Work, Counselling, or Psychology

The desired outcome of professional supervision is a continuing enhancement of ministry.

and hold professional affiliations with relevant professional

“I have come to know first-hand the importance of supervision in my own life and the value of the support it provides me in my role as the Archbishop. There are always challenges to meet and being able to access an independent skilled supervision specialist who can provide me with perspective and insight, and who sometimes challenges me, has helped me immensely,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

The team possess extensive skills, knowledge and experience

“I ask you to humbly join me in embracing pastoral supervision with enthusiasm and trust.”

All clergy in the Archdiocese of Perth - those who are active in parish ministry, other specialist ministries or chaplaincies, and all seminarians - will be required to attend a minimum of six pastoral supervision sessions each year.

bodies. in the delivery of Professional Supervision using a balance of the three main functions of supervision: Professional Learning, Support and Accountability.

“This is something new for most of us and in some ways may be a little daunting (the unknown often is),” Archbishop Costelloe said.

“However, I am convinced, largely because of my own experience, that this can only add to our effectiveness as ministers of the gospel, signs and bearers of God’s love for his people, and for this reason I am full of hope as I formally launch this new initiative today.”

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MAMA’S KAYA (COCONUT JAM) R E C I P E B Y Michelle Tan

A staple of South-east Asian pantries, it is spread on toast, biscuits, desserts or eaten straight from the jar! Kaya cooked the traditional way requires hours of constant stirring over low heat. Making kaya was Grandmother’s (mama) labour of love for her family. This recipe has been adapted to honour her memory and to share the joy of this simple but luscious jam.

INGREDIENTS • 3 Large eggs • 150g Caster sugar • 200ml Chilled coconut milk • 1/4 teaspoon Salt

• • • •

50g Caster sugar 1 tablespoon Butter 4 pieces Screw Pine leaves 1 drop of Pandan Liquid Essence (Optional)

TR ADITIONAL METHOD

1. Blend together eggs, 150g caster sugar, coconut milk, salt and essence.

2. In a saucepan, caramalise 50g of caster sugar. Quickly remove from fire, and add butter. Add to mixture and blend again.

3. Strain the mixture.

4. Bring 1/3 pot of water to a simmer. Place a heatproof bowl over the simmering water, ensuring that the water has no contact with the bowl.

5. Pour the strained mixture into the bowl and stir regularly over a low heat.

6. After two hours, the mixture will thicken into a custard texture.

7. Cool the mixture and store in an air-tight container.

Keep refrigerated.

NO-STIR SOUS VIDE METHOD

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2.

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5.

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Seal the strained mixture in a glass jar or vacuum bag.

Immerse the jar or bag in a large water bath.

Set sous vide prevision cooking device at 80°C. Cook for an hour and remove bag to cool.

Store in an air-tight container. Keep refrigerated.

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ACTIVIT Y PAGE

ACROSS

1 St. ___ de Porres 5 ___ of Prague 8 Octave 10 Most solemn Christian feast 11 Title for a priest (abbr.)

12 St. Francis de ___ 13 The Law 15 ___ to Damascus 16 Michelangelo’s statue in the Vatican 18 David, to Goliath 20 Moses floated the Nile in one of these 24 Joseph was sold into slavery here 25 It was empty Easter morning 26 Actress Sarandon, who portrayed Sr. Helen Prejean 28 Color of Ordinary Time

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“___ in peace” Votive ___ Dinah, to Esau Holy one, in Paris ___ on of hands

DOWN

2 Amo, ___, amat 3 First day of the triduum 4 Tools of trade for Peter and Andrew 5 Israel follower 6 The table 7 Father of Abraham 9 ___ calf 11 Mary, Stella ___ 14 Celestial being, to Jacques 16 What Judas was in charge of 17 Top monk 19 Feast in the Diocese ANSWERS of Honolulu 21 Sabbath 22 Old Testament book 23 Simon of ___ 26 Religious offshoots 27 Certain mount 28 Catholic actor, dancer, movie star Kelly 29 French Christmas 31 A sacrament is an outward ___

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SaintAnnesHelper.com

Jesus in Crib 30

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