Lazarus at Our Gate - Social Justice Sunday

Hi,

 

As you know, today is Social Justice Sunday and the Catholic Bishops have released their Statement this year around today's Gospel reading "Lazarus at Our Gate".

 

This is a question not just for one day of the year, but for the whole year. It is not just for one place, but for all Parishes. It is not solely for the collective action, but a call to personal metanoia of the rich man.

 

The Wollongong Diocese Justice Ecology and Peace Council this year did not organize any special mass in one location, as has been done in the past, especially to underline these points. Instead there will be ongoing messages and events on this theme through the next twelve months at Diocesan and local level, and we encourage Parishes and individuals to make use of the materials from the ACSJC for their own activities.

 

Some upcoming activities that we are aware of are:

·         Tonight 6pm – Campbelltown, St John the Evangelist: FaithworX will look at what the Statement says to us

·         Saturday, 12^th October, 2.30pm – Ruse, St Thomas More: MSJN will explore the Statement and seek Actions

 

We look forward to seeing you at one of these events. Please let us know any other events that your Parish social justice teams may be organizing so that we can publicise these also.

 

 

Peace,

Sean Donovan

Chair

www.msjn.org

 

The Macarthur Social Justice Network exists to promote social justice and peace, ecological concern and respect for life in society, in the light of the Gospel and the social teaching of the Church.

 

Faith & Life News | September 2013

In this Issue Living Our Catholic Faith Liturgy Notes Gets a New Home Behold: Advent Program - ORDER NOW "Kindness - Little Acts, Big Impacts" The Journey - Catholic Radio Valuing & Supporting Older People Celebrating Cultural Diversity Links and Resources Upcoming Events Exploring the Gospel of Luke Pastoral Care Course Marriage Encounter Weekend God in the Gong Exploring "Lumen Fidei" National Liturgy Conference Living Our Catholic Faith By Darren McDowell (Coordinator Adult Faith Formation) Living our Catholic Faith through involvement in our parishes and community brings many blessings. We are nourished by the support and friendship of others, we can feel energized and enthused about making a difference in the lives of those around us and as we reflect on our involvement in the light of faith can come to see God working in and through us. Liturgy Notes Gets a New Home By Paul Mason (Diocesan Liturgy Coordinator) Due to the popularity and demand for Liturgy Notes, we have now created a standalone website for Liturgy Notes so that everyone can go to the one source for up-to-date music recommendations for Mass as well as upcoming liturgy and music workshops. Look out also for the development of our new Liturgy Handbook. Check it out and make sure you bookmark liturgy.dow.org.au Behold: Daily Advent and Christmas Reflections - ORDER NOW! By Daniel Hopper (Diocesan Communications Coordinator) Due to the overwhelming success of last year's pocket-size daily Advent and Christmas reflections book, we are delighted to announce that the Diocese of Wollongong is now taking orders forBehold – Daily Advent and Christmas Reflections 2013. "Kindness – Little Acts, Big Impacts" By Alanna Roodenrys (Social Recreation Coordinator – Illawarra, SVdP Society) October is National Mental Health Month, the theme this year is "Kindness – little acts, big impacts." This theme encompasses acts of generosity and altruism towards others; ways that encourage acceptance and appreciation of the things that others do for us. By bringing kindness into our own lives we can help to maximise our own wellbeing and that of others. This theme fits well into our Catholic ethos and challenges the stigma around mental health. The Journey - Catholic Radio on Pulse 94.1FM By Jude Hennessy (Director of CCD) Have you heard The Journey - Catholic Radio Show yet? The Journey is a weekly program produced by the Diocese of Wollongong. This week features an in-depth interview with Bruce Downes, The Catholic Guy, as well as all the regular weekly spots including our Sunday Gospel Reflection, Sr Hilda's wisdom from Jamberoo Abbey, and great tips for living well from Trish McCarthy, Pete Gilmore and Fran and Byron Pirola on marriages. Valuing & Supporting Older People in our Parishes and Community By Carmen Karuada (Diocesan Aged Care Advocate) Pastoral Care is a way of responding to the invitation of Jesus to "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34). Pastoral care is caring companionship to others. It is about responding to the emotional and spiritual needs of others in their time of need. Celebrating Cultural Diversity By Kathy Richardson (Ss Peter and Paul Parish Kiama Social Justice, Ecology and Peace Committee) Around 150-200 people took the opportunity to explore Illawarra's cultural diversity at a recent Cultural Diversity Event held on Saturday 24 August at St Peters and Paul (SSPP) Catholic Parish in Kiama. Links and Resources Here is a list of links and resources relating to Faith and Life: Subscribe to the Faith & Life E-Newsletter Do you know someone that would like to subscribe to this E-Newsletter? If so, just forward the E-Newsletter to them and ask that they enter their details below to subscribe. It takes less than 30 seconds! Contact Us Darren McDowell Coordinator Adult Faith Formation (02) 4222 2463 darren.mcdowell@dow.org.au

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Exploring the Gospel of Luke

Dear all,

Don't miss this opportunity to explore Luke's gospel in a series of workshops being held during October and November.  The closing date for registrations to attend the 'Exploring the Gospel of Luke' series of workshops is fast approaching.  These workshops are being held as follows:

Thursdays, October 10 – November 14, 9:45am – 2pm, St Josephs Church, 48 Park Rd, Bulli

Fridays, October 11 – November 15, 9:45am – 2pm, St Thomas More Church, Acacia Ave, Ruse

Registrations are essential and due by the 8^th October.  We need at least 8 people to run each course.  Registration can be done by contacting myself, Darren McDowell, cfl@dow.org.au or 4222 2463

Regards

Darren

Behold - Advent & Christmas Reflections 2013 - ORDER NOW!

     

Behold - Daily Advent and Christmas Reflections 2013 - ORDER NOW! Due to the overwhelming success of last year's pocket-size daily Advent and Christmas reflections book, we are delighted to announce that the Diocese of Wollongong is now taking orders for Behold – Daily Advent and Christmas Reflections 2013. Advent is such a busy time of year, but it is so important that we spiritually prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ at Christmas. Behold contains short daily reflections from the beginning of Advent (1 December 2013) through to the Epiphany (5 January 2014) primarily for personal use. Each day contains a one-page reflection with two pages for Sundays and major feast days. The daily reflections have been written by four religious orders that also run retreat centres in the Diocese of Wollongong. The aim is to provide reflections that are both theologically and spiritually rich (from the spiritual perspective of the religious order writing each reflection), yet accessible to the average reader. It also contains details about upcoming retreats at each of the retreat centres as a next step for readers who would like to go even deeper after the program has finished. This year's reflection contributors include: Fr Stephen Dives msc (St Mary's Towers, Douglas Park) Sr Moya Hanlen olsh (Hartzer Park, Bowral) Fr Paul Maunder ocd (Discalced Carmelites, Varroville) Fr Aloysius Rego ocd (Discalced Carmelites, Varroville) Fr Gerard Moran ocd (Discalced Carmelites, Varroville) Fr Greg Homeming ocd (Discalced Carmelites, Varroville) Sr Hilda Scott osb (Benedictine Abbey, Jamberoo) Behold also features beautiful religious artworks from our rich Catholic history with enlightening "artwork spotlight" descriptions written by Fr Sean Cullen PP (Bowral). Behold costs only $2.00 (incl GST) plus shipping for those outside the Diocese of Wollongong. If you live in the Diocese of Wollongong, please contact your parish or school to reserve your copy.  If you live outside the Diocese of Wollongong and would like to order Behold, you can download an order form below and email/mail/fax back to us or contact Jenny Raposio directly at (02) 4222 2411 or  jenny.raposio@dow.org.au. If you live outside Australia and would like to order Behold, please contact Jenny Raposio before filling out the order form so that we can advise you of the shipping costs. Delivery is expected the week of 18 November 2013.

 

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