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HOMILY
ARCHBISHOP CHRISTOPHER PROWSE
CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF CANBERRA AND GOULBURN
ST CHRISTOPHER’S CATHEDRAL
THURSDAY 5.00PM, 17TH OCTOBER 2024
PRIESTLY ORDINATION OF MARK HA
AND MASS ONLINE
Readings:
Isaiah 6:1-3
2 Corinthians 5:14-20
Gospel John 17:6. 14-19.
We have just heard the essential response from Reverend Mark Ha when his name was called. He said “Present.” In Latin this word is “Adsum.” It literally means, “I stand before you.”
Today, Mark’s Ordination occurs on the Memorial of St Ignatius of Antioch who died a Martyr’s death in 107. He was the third Bishop of Antioch, in today’s troubled Middle East. His Adsum was both verbal and non-verbal. In regard to his verbal Adsum, he wrote a number of very significant letters on the way to his Martyrdom. He shared with us all his Adsum in saying, “My desire is to belong to God…within me is the living water which says deep inside me: ‘Come to the Father.’”
He died the death of a Martyr. By his blood his Adsum was given extraordinary expression. Even today, this 2nd Century Martyr’s words are penetrating and insightful for all of us gathered together on this most important night.
In today’s First Reading from Isaiah 6, we hear the comments on the everyday consequences of the Adsum of Isaiah. The Adsum and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, implies pastorally the following for Isaiah and, indeed, all of us: Sent to bring the Good News to the poor, to bind up and heal broken hearts, to propose and proclaim freedom to captors and prisoners, to announce a Jubilee Year of Favour and Hope and to comfort those who mourn.
Tonight, is the moment before God and the People of God, for the Adsum of Mark Ha.
In Mark presenting himself with the Adsum and saying, “Present”, he is saying that he stands before God and the People of God in total surrender and service.
Therefore, in this precious moment let us pause and make a few reflections.
First of all, it is not the first Adsum Mark has declared. His first was his Baptism. On fifth June 5th 1994 in Vietnam his parents, Peter and Maria, who we welcome with great joy tonight, were asked the crucial questions – What name have you given your child? What do you ask of God’s Church for Mark? And then there was the Adsum in agreeing to all the Catholic Church teaches and preaches to be truth. This first Adsum was completed in his Confirmation and First Eucharist in the early years of his life.
Mark Ha’s second Adsum, in the formal sense, was at his Diaconate and now the night of his Priesthood. Along with all the Priests and Deacons of the Archdiocese, he too is now about to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. As a priest his essential role is to serve all the Baptised. It is not for the Baptised to serve him in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Unintentionally electing this latter direction moves to an elitist clericalism, a type of ecclesiastical superiority in the Church. This has no place in our Church today, in any form.
On such matters, we take seriously the Vatican II documents especially the Constitution of the Catholic Church, Lumen Gentium 2, on the “People of God.”
Recently we have heard the wonderful news that the youngest Bishop of Australia, the Ukranian Bishop of the Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne, Mykola Bychok, has been chosen to be a Cardinal by Pope Francis. As he tries to understand what this means for him, my mind moves towards the famous words of Cardinal Suenens immediately after the Vatican II Council. He reflected on the Papacy. He said, “The greatest day in the life of a Pope is not that of his election or coronation, but the day on which he receives that which the Greek Fathers call the Holy and unbreakable seal of rebirth in Baptism. His first duty, like that of all of us, is to live the Christian life in obedience to the Gospel.”
So, dear Mark, let us not forget the pivotal importance of your Baptism as we now confer upon you the Priesthood. May you never forget that you are here to serve the entire Baptised as a Priest and never yourself.
Secondly, it won’t be the last Adsum Mark will declare in his life.
On one level, for all priests and all baptised, there is the daily Adsum. In the Second Reading today from St Paul’s second Letter to the Corinthians, he reflects on his daily life and the life of all the Baptised. He beautifully states that when we reflect on the Christ event, “The love of Christ overwhelms us.” This is because through Baptism we see things differently. In us “there is a new creation.” On reflecting over his life St Paul says, “It is all God’s work.”
St Paul leads all of us into a daily examination of conscience.
I pray, dear Mark, that in your daily prayers this word, “Adsum” might become a link to the knowledge of the subtle presence of God’s work in you, which is best accessed through silent prayerfulness.
Then of course, there is the “Occasional Adsum.”
My Priests and Deacons surrounding me at the moment know about the seasons of life in the Priesthood. For many of them an Adsum has been given recently concerning Clergy appointments and changes in our Parishes. Then of course there is the Adsum when we become more aware of our human weakness and vulnerabilities, especially the weakness that comes through ill health. When Priests and Deacons reflect over their life, they can identify certain pastoral challenges that have been moments when they called out the word, “Present”, to the Lord when there has been challenges such as the funerals of children and those who have suicided.
Thirdly, there is the ecclesial or shared “Synodal Adsum.”
This is so important to remember. You don’t live out the Priesthood on your own. It is always expressed in the ecclesial context.
This will become quite a big pastoral challenge for you, dear Mark, as you move now entirely out of Seminary life into the life of a Diocesan Priest in a largely rural Archdiocese. The living out of your Priesthood must be in a synodal way. In many respects the Seminary is a place, as the name suggests, of growing seeds of the Gospel and being formed in the discipline of the Priesthood. Then Seminarians, however, given present day ecclesial and social realities, will need to scrutinise how those seeds can mature in a synodal way in present day formation structures.
For me personally, this means first the acute awareness of the Holy Spirit as the protagonist of Church and Priestly life. The Holy Spirit which both comforts and disrupts, is best engaged through silent listening. We already know you, Mark, as a man of deep prayer. This prayer too now must adjust to the new lifestyle that you will adopt as a priest.
Also, Seminary life and Priestly life expressed in a synodal way must truly mean that “we are walking together” with Jesus and His Church. This is not to be seen as some sort of slogan or theme for the year. “Walking together” goes back to the Book of Genesis where God wishes to walk in the cool of the evening with Adam, who he called by name. This continues today when we “walk together” with Jesus alive in His Body, the Church. This community of the People of God includes the community of the Priests and Deacons. May you express your “walking together” by walking in great harmony with all of us, especially your new Brother Priests. Never do this alone. I have always been persuaded by the expression, “A lone ranger is a real danger.” This is even more important in the Priesthood today.
Seminary life and Priestly life, lived in a synodal way, needs to focus more on discerning the gifts and the charisms of the Holy Spirit in God’s People. Over your years in the Seminary you have learnt much about discerning your own personal charisms and gifts. These are more than just talents or skills. For example, your Seminary friends have told me that over the years you have become a very good Barista! Others say that you have become a very good Barber! These may or may not be charisms but they are certainly skills. If you use these skills for the greater glory of God and bring people home through them, then we are starting to move into the vocabulary of charisms.
As always, the Gospel assists us in our discernment. In tonight’s Gospel from St John 17, we kind of eavesdrop Jesus’ words to the Father at the Last Supper. He says to the Father, “I have made your name known.” Your discernment as a Priest, Mark, will help us all discern where God’s presence is “known and loved” in the world today.
In this Gospel, the word “Truth” is used three times. Jesus calls on His Father that we might be consecrated in the truth. This is not some sort of acknowledgement of some pious philosophical theological concept. Consecrated in the truth means to encounter the truth. The truth is not simply a philosophical construct only but is the person of Jesus Christ. Always remember that synodality is more to do with our relational encounter with Jesus and not just simply operational ways of bringing the Church to good outcomes. Make sure you can distinguish with us all, via careful discernment, the Tradition with a big “T” and the traditions with a small “t.” The big “T” is embraced through Encounter, Discipleship and Mission. We make Jesus known and loved. This is the essence of biblical truth.
This leads on to the final point in regard to living out the Priesthood in a synodal way and with its implications for Seminary life. We are to become more adept in the art of being evangelisers. Coming from the Good Shepherd Seminary it is crucial that you live out the pastoral care of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Yet, surely this is not enough in today’s secularised world. We must avoid an understanding of the Church as something belonging unto itself and not engaged with the wider world.
The Church is never to be seen as some sort of Museum with the priests becoming curators to preserve it intact and in an isolated way. No, the Church goes fishing in the ocean of God’s love. Here everyone is welcomed. This word, “Everyone”, is a word used so often by Pope Francis. In other words, Priests and Deacons are also fishermen. In living out the Priesthood today in such a hostile cultural environment, it is even more important that we learn the Apostolic Art of fishing for souls. I suppose, Mark, I am asking, not only can you make a good cup of coffee and perhaps cut hair, but can you fish with me as a Missionary Disciple of the Lord by seeing all our pastoral activities nicely summarised under one word, “Evangelisation”?
So, let us now move on to the Priestly Ordination itself. Of course tomorrow night and on Saturday and Sunday coming, we have the Archdiocesan Assembly. This has been much anticipated and well prepared. Ultimately we leave it up to the Holy Spirit to lead us in this. This is our “Archdiocesan Adsum”, as we deliberately surrender everything to Jesus. You offer the Assembly a good example of risking everything in service of the Gospel. Thank you!
So I conclude with the famous sixth-century prayer of St Isidore of Seville, when he prayed the Adsumus Sancte Spiritus, “We stand before you, Holy Spirit.” A very short abbreviation of this classic prayer could be said as follows, adapting it to tonight.
…”We stand before You, Holy Spirit as we gather together in Your name to Ordain to the Priesthood our Child, Brother and Friend, Mark Ha…Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it…All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, especially now in this Ordination, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen!”
ADDRESS ARCHBISHOP CHRISTOPHER PROWSE ECUMENICAL PRAYER VIGIL
2024 ASSEMBLY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CANBERRA AND GOULBURN
FRIDAY 6.00PM 18TH OCTOBER 2024 (Feast of St Luke the Evangelist)
Last evening we gathered here in the Cathedral for the Priestly Ordination of Mark Ha.
At a crucial moment in the ceremony, in answer to the call, he stood up and said to us all, “Present.” (In Latin “Adsum”) This means, “I stand before you.”
Tonight we imitate his good example.
Truly tonight we stand up before the Lord and we say, “We stand before you.” Given the theme of our Assembly is “Come Holy Spirit”, we say to the Lord as a collective whole and in this case an Ecumenical gathering, “We stand before you Holy Spirit” (Adsumus Sancte Spiritus). Encouraged by the presence of leaders from other Christian denominations, we refer to our united ancient roots about the calling down of the Holy Spirit. In repentance and prayer, we admit that our disunity as the Body of Christ remains. This ecumenical focus tonight indicates a key priority of our Assembly: the search for Christian unity.
Perhaps one of the pristine expressions of Christians united in prayer, goes back to the sixth-century. It is the invocation of the Holy Spirit presumably written by St Isidore of Seville (560-636).
As we begin our Assembly, both today and over the next few days, I paraphrase this ancient prayer that has been prayed before many of the great Assemblies and Councils of the Church over the centuries and with you I say, “…we stand before you Holy Spirit (Adsumus Sancte Spiritus). – We gather in your name – You alone guide us (You are the protagonist of the Church) – Be at home in our hearts (We want to encounter You) – Teach us the way forward and how to arrive there (Teach us discipleship) – We are weak and sinful – Let us not promote disorder (Lead us to conversion and repentance) – So that we may journey together (Synodality) - To eternal life (Our ultimate mission).
Regarding the synodality of walking together (journeying together) the next two days will be significant. Already we have had the Australian Plenary Council in 2022, at this very moment the second International Synod on Synodality is taking place in Rome. All these are using or have used the methodology of Conversation in the Spirit.
Now it is the turn of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn. Already in our Archdiocese, we have had several Synods and Assemblies. This is the first one in which we will be using the methodology of the Conversation in the Spirit. It is also unique in the sense that we will be doing that in a multimodal way – both here in Canberra and also several hubs around the Archdiocese. Pilgrim synodal candles in each hub are symbols of our communion with each other.
As a symbol of synodality, we also launch tonight our Multicultural Choir. Here we can journey together, although very different yet united in song. It symbolises the great diversity of voices in our Archdiocese but our desire to be united in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
Journeying together in this synodal way is something new for us but at the same time it is very ancient, as the ancient prayer of St Isidore suggests.
In the Scriptures themselves, we find so many examples of synodality. This is perhaps best seen in the Acts of the Apostles. Today is the Feast Day of St Luke; he is the author of Luke-Acts. His writings always have a Marian tone. Acting in synodal ways are such a “Marian” way of expressing our understanding of being People of God. As Mary journeyed with the Lord within her womb from Nazareth to Jerusalem, so do we journey with the Lord in our hearts from the Archdiocese to the ends of the earth.
Returning to the Acts of the Apostles, we find a wonderful example of working through thorny issues in a synodal way.
Using a kind of ancient methodology of Conversation in the Spirit, one of the first big issues for the emerging Church was concerning the Pagans who had become Christians. Should they be Baptised or not? If they were baptised, did they also need to take on Jewish law or was the faith in Jesus enough? Well as we know from the Acts Chapter 15 and following, there was a great diversity of views and robust considerations expressed. Yet there was the imploring of the Holy Spirit to guide them. At some moment in this Marian synodality the Petrine aspect of our Church articulated the thoughts of everyone. There is a lovely expression which says, “Then Peter stood up”. (v.7) He declared the way forward for the Church. He ended by saying, “It seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit.”(v.28)
Such an ancient way of reaching a Godly consensus resonates in the documents of the Vatican II Council and its prophetic articulations.
In Australia, one of the first Bishops to bring this forward into a Diocese was our own Archbishop Frank Carroll. He is buried in the crypt underneath this altar. He said prophetically in 2004, what mirrors very much Papal statements of today. I quoted the following passage at his funeral. Archbishop Carroll said, “The approach depends on prayer, the genuine listening to others, a sensitivity to all. It encourages collaboration rather than competition. It does not exclude vigorous debate but demands Christian charity and aims for consensus rather than majority vote.”
So given the Scriptural and Doctrinal precedence and seeing in our own Archdiocese attempts to embrace synodality, it might be best to consider three challenges that arise to our Christian maturity in embracing the synodal way.
The first could be expressed as follows. Can we express the co-responsibility of our Baptisms in a prayerful and respectful manner? This requires truly listening to the Holy Spirit in each one of us without imposing ourselves on the Holy Spirit or withdrawing into some individualistic and overly pious Catholicism.
In other words, can we breathe with the two lungs of our Marian and Petrine foundations? Can we listen attentively and not just hear the Holy Spirit in the loving heart of Mary and the visible leadership of Peter and the Twelve Apostles.
What we are praying for is that the mystical and creative lung of the Archdiocese might be able to sing like our Multicultural Choir, in harmony with our operational outcomes centred governance perspectives, so that we “truly become one in Christ Jesus.”
All this implies a readiness to draw ourselves into silence which will be peppered throughout the next few days. A silence truly listens to the whisper of God in our midst.
Secondly, can we begin to discern collectively the practical principles of our Baptism regarding charisms, gifts given among us for the mission of the Church in this Archdiocese?
Here we have another set of lungs needing to breathe together, the “Ruah of God.”
There is the lung of our Parishes. By parishes, I also include all our schools, our communities, our migrant groups and the new ecclesial communities. Can parishes become synodal hubs expressing missionary and pastoral priorites in their geographic locality? Can this lung breathe in harmony with the bigger lung of the Archdiocese? Are we able to gradually form an Archdiocesan Pastoral Council in discerning, in a synodal way, that which expresses not simply a governing role but also a teaching and sanctifying role coming from our shared Baptisms?
In this Archdiocesan embrace we include all our Agencies pertaining to health and Social Services.
Thirdly, can we contribute to reconciling the dream of God and the realities of our Catholic living in the most challenging world context of perpetual change?
Well, the vision of God has already been given in the Life, Death and Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost of Jesus. We hear Jesus Himself expressing His pastoral plan…”I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10/10)
In tonight’s Gospel, we read of the early Church receiving the Holy Spirit. We also hear of the Holy Spirit breathing on them the Ruah of God. May that be our gift over these days also. Then we can hear Jesus declare to us the Great Commandment, “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News.”(Mark16/15) It is a call to evangelisation and making Jesus known and loved. This is not just for human beings but also for the entire cosmos. We are walking in synodality to eternity that will one day embrace totally “a New Heaven and a New Earth.” (Rev.21/7)
What a great challenge this is for us. In synthesis it is a mandate for all the Baptised to proclaim all the Gospel to all the people all the time. Lest such a vision becomes too abstract, the Plenary Council of Australia has offered us a reality check. Over a four year journey involving thousands of people in consultation and then practically 277 members physically present, the Plenary Council articulated decrees calling us to encourage God’s vision be expressed practically in healing wounds, seeking healing, discipleship, dignity between men and women, leadership for evangelisation, governance and integral ecology.
Finally, I suppose the ultimate challenge is bringing the vision and the reality together in Jesus via the leadership of the Holy Spirit. In a sense, we want to say together, “We want to place Jesus at the centre of the Archdiocese and Jesus as the central focus of the Archdiocese.”
In regard to practical outcomes and plans, let us be cautioned by the evergreen comments of Pope St John Paul II in the landmark document, Novo Millennio Ineunte (6 January 2001). His wise wisdom stated that, “It is not a matter of inventing a new program. The program already exists: It is the plan found in the Gospel and in the living Tradition, it is the same as ever…but it must be translated into pastoral initiatives adapted to the circumstances of each community.”(#29)
So with these reflections let us now, with great confidence and joy enter into the 2024 Assembly of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn. Let us return to the prayer of invocation to the Holy Spirit that we started with the Adsumus Sancte Spiritus, St Isidore of Seville. As we pray, ALL THIS WE ASK OF YOU, HOLY SPIRIT WHO ARE AT WORK IN EVERY PLACE AND TIME, IN THE COMMUNION OF THE FATHER AND THE SON, FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN!
SATURDAY MORNING INTRODUCTION
ASSEMBLY. SATURDAY, 19TH OCTOBER 2024
ST CLARE’S COLLEGE
ARCHBISHOP PROWSE
Thanks so much for participating in our Archdiocesan Assembly. I greet all here present and especially those joining us via livestream in the four hubs (Goulburn, Young, Cooma and Narooma) and at home.
Last night, at the Ecumenical Vigil, I shared some reflections regarding our Assembly.
This morning, for a very brief time, I will make some introductory remarks only and then conclude with prayer.
___________________________________
A significant challenge for us today will be how we manage the spirit of silence throughout the day. It is kind of like a silence on a retreat. There is a reverent tone. A respectfulness of each person.
There seems to be at least two types of silence.
The first is a BUSY SILENCE.
Here we start to think about what we are going to say and not say. How we are reacting to what is been said and what has not been said. Whether I agree or disagree. What we perceive to be the challenges facing the Church, and so on.
In addition, we can easily be preoccupied in mind and heart with our own personal and life challenges that we carry inside of us at this time. They can really distract us. Some call them “monkeys on the tree” of our lives.
A second type of silence is a LISTENING SILENCE.
Here I still carry all the above but I make a decision to go deeper in our Assembly today.
We ask the Holy Spirit to help us truly to listen at significant levels to God, others, myself, and our complex world in all of creation’s beauty.
This requires a certain self-control. This may make me feel empty or thirsty within. If fact, this is a form of prayer. It is the waiting and pondering like Mary in prayerful silence. It is the waiting for “The sound of a gentle breeze” (IKings19/12). The Holy Spirit, like a gentle breeze, is so subtle it is almost imperceptible to the inattentive.
Listening silence helps us to change or modify our opinions or strengthen them because of what I have listened to in the sharing of others. It looks for convergences, divergences, and topics for future discussions.
Listening silence wants to encounter Jesus deeply, to learn from our Catholic Faith, and then be prepared to go out as missionary disciples. It focuses on the practical implications of our Baptism and arising charisms. It is ready to serve afresh – to love and hope afresh. It is always respectful. It does not offend against Christian charity.
So, as this day, now opens up, let us all intentionally choose listening silence.
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Let us now call upon Mary, Our Lady help of Christians, to be with us in deep listening as we pray together, Hail Mary ……
Archbishop Christopher Prowse
19th October 2024
PASTORAL LETTER OF ARCHBISHOP CHRISTOPHER PROWSE
CONCLUDING THE ARCHDIOCESAN ASSEMBLY OF 2024
29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
SUNDAY, 20TH OCTOBER 2024
“COME, HOLY SPIRIT”
Isaiah 53/10-11, Hebrews 4/14-16, Mark 10/35-45
Today is World Mission Sunday.
How appropriate it is to conclude our significant ASSEMBLY weekend when the Catholic world reflects on mission. Indeed, without being “sent out” by the Lord Jesus, all that has happened in recent days would have no apostolate, no missionary zeal. We would end up a kind of “sent inwards” pious Catholic community of no real spiritual impulse or social consequence.
Let us learn from the mistakes of Saints James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They confused discipleship with power rather than a type of service that leads to possible martyrdom.
Yet Jesus’ loving care for them is obvious in his gentle question. Perhaps we could say that Jesus asks the same question to the Archdiocese and every parish, school, community and agency.
With eye-to-eye contact and a brief loving silence, Jesus too asks us at the end of our Assembly: “What is it you want me to do for you?”
Our answer is still under formation. It must, however, be missionary in some way. Our Assembly has made some progress in formulating our answer to this question of Jesus.
As an initial response, perhaps we all could reply to Jesus and say: Make of us a truly synodal Archdiocese, O Lord.
Surely, the Lord is already answering our request. In this regard, the Assembly has been, thanks be to God, a point of arrival.
This arrival is the growing awareness amongst us that the task is to see the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn IN A SYNODAL WAY.
We are slowly gaining confidence that “walking together” in a prayerful manner that truly listens and respects many viewpoints seems “good to us and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 15/28). This intentional listening is based on the belief that the Holy Spirit is subtly moving among us. Based on our Baptism and arising charisms, we separate convergences and divergences and list areas for further discussion.
This happened over the Assembly weekend and the months beforehand when so many attempted to “learn to swim” in the ancient but new methodology of “Conversation in the Spirit”, via the roundtable experiences. Having prayed, “Come, Holy Spirit”, it becomes a real conversion experience for us in restricting ourselves not to walk either too fast or too slow for the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit guide us.
As we move towards concluding our “Year of the Holy Spirit”, at least we can say truthfully that we have made a modest start to a synodal pilgrimage in our Archdiocese that is to continue in the times ahead.
Perhaps another answer in response to the Lord’s question to us all could be: Make of us, O Lord, true missionary disciples.
Here, the Assembly is a point of departure for us all in the Archdiocese.
Ultimately, I believe, true synodality is risking everything on the promise of Jesus that the Holy Spirit guides us to “a New Heaven and a New Earth” (Rev.21/1) of eternity. The Jubilee Year of 2025 is named: Pilgrims of Hope. Let us stake everything on hope! Local pilgrimages to our Archdiocesan four sentinel Churches is to be encouraged.
Our hopeful gaze centres on the task to make every parish, educational centres and communities true “schools of synodality” in the immediate times ahead. This will mean to focus on baptism and discern arising local charisms. It must also instil silence as a real listening dimension of every parish to the Holy Spirit. Perhaps parishes could plan to conduct their own parish Synodal Assembly soon.
The next Archdiocesan Assembly could well be a report back to the entire Archdiocese on how the parishes and deaneries are, in fact, developing such a synodal culture among the People of God. Let us work towards a “permanent synodal Assembly” in our motivation and attitudes.
What we have learnt is the primacy of an evangelisation that embraces encounter, discipleship and mission. Just imagine if every baptised Catholic, seeing himself or herself as a Catholic evangeliser, could “adopt” five friends and “walk with them” back to the practice of the Faith or introduce them to Catholicism via the RCIA.
As always, our missionary departure points are to prioritize ministry to families and the poor of our communities.
A full synthesis of our Assembly will be sent to your parishes and communities very soon for your discernment. Please see this as a practical point of departure for the next step on the many steps ahead on our pilgrimage to the Father’s home in our parishes. The on-going formation of a Diocesan Pastoral Council constituted in a synodal way will assist us in this task.
As always, we travel with Mary, Our Lady Help of Christians, who so brilliantly reflects the light of her Son like the moon reflects the sun. Next Sunday you may wish to join me at St Peter and Paul’s Old Cathedral Parish for our annual Marian Procession. During the 2pm Mass, I will once again dedicate the entire Archdiocese to her maternal intercession and care.
Sincere thanks to the many who have been involved in gathering us together during this Assembly.
With prayerful greetings and hope in the Holy Spirit.
Archbishop Christopher Prowse
Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn.
20th October 2024.