Merry SCY News | December 2019

From the team at Sydney Catholic Youth, we want to wish you a joyful and peaceful Christmas! As we approach the end of the year, we've been reflecting on how thankful we are for all the incredible work happening in your parishes and youth groups in 2019. We pray that this time of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Our Lord, is a time of rest and refreshment for you and your loved ones. God Bless You! Merry Christmas from Gelina, Chris & Elizabeth! EVENTS IN 2020 Youth Leaders Evangelisation School 2020 Sat 25 Jan - Sat 1 Feb An evening of community, speakers and entertainment. Bring your friends for food, prayer, Adoration, Reconciliation and the Awaken Band's praise and worship. BOOK Y-Factor 2020: I AM Tues 14 Apil to Fri 17 April For students in Yrs 7 to 12, during the Easter school holidays. Experience 4 days of games, activities, talks, discussion, prayer and a chance to grow in their faith and relationship with God. This camp is so big we can only run it once a year! BOOK VIDEO Get social! Connect with us on FB, IG or Twitter to see what our team is up to and what's happening around Sydney Events Find an event in and around Sydney for Catholic youth and young adults Want to join a group? We'll connect you with a group of like-minded young people for you to journey deeper in your faith with                                sydneycatholicyouth.org

Important Changes to Social Justice Dates

Save the date!

Social Justice Sunday is now the last Sunday in August!

In November 2018 the Vatican announced that the annual international World Day of Migrants & Refugees would be moved from January to the last Sunday in September.

This day in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church in Australia has traditionally been devoted to Social Justice Sunday.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference have decided that, from 2020, the date for Social Justice Sunday will be the last Sunday in August.

- Next year, Social Justice Sunday will be observed on Sunday 30 August.

- The World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be observed on Sunday 27 September.

SCY News | November 2019

DISCOVER OUR CALL TO EVANGELISATION We are excited to announce that for the second year in a row, we are holding the Youth Leaders Evangelisation School - January 25 to February 1, 2020.   The Youth Leaders Evangelisation School 2020 is a week long live-in experience for leaders in ministry. The school will allow leaders to explore their call to evangelisation through community life, daily prayer, and through building a culture of responsibility for ourselves and others in our daily lives. The program includes daily prayer, talks and workshops, pilgrimage day trips and time for community.  More info at www.sydneycatholicyouth.org/YLES #SCYHIGHLIGHTS Youth Leaders Thanksgiving Dinner Last week on Thursday, November 14th, we treated our network of youth ministry leaders to a dinner of Thanksgiving with Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP. Youth leaders from parishes, movements, chaplaincies, religious communities, and Sydney Catholic Schools were welcomed with a formal buffet dinner, with a photobooth, and a word of thanks to 4 leaders in the Archdiocese who we wanted to appreciate for being committed to service in their areas. These were Richie Leilua from the Western Region, Jemille West from the Ryde-Gladesville area, Janice Fernandez from the Eastern Region and Jonathan Alvin Salim from the City deanery. The evening was wrapped up with a time for us to pray together with others from our respective areas. We prayed in thanksgiving for the past year, as well as for the next year of ministry, especially for the youth of our areas. View Pics from the Photobooth The Upper Room: Visio Divina with Steven Buhagiar Around 25 joined us for our monthly night of formation for youth leaders on October 21. Steve Buhagiar, Team Leader for the Life, Family and Outreach Office, led the main session - an introduction to the process of praying with beauy, namely through art. Visio Divina - which translates to 'divine seeing' - is a way of praying with Sacred art. Using the four senses of Scripture (literal, allegorical, tropological and anagogical), he shared how the same could be applied to looking at Sacred Art and can lead us into a deeper understanding of our faith. Click here to view all photos   Youth Ministry Resources The season of Advent begins in 11 Days. While many people start the joyful spirit of Christmas as early as Novemer,  before we start celebrating Christmas, the Church calls us into a time to be solemn and contemplative. Advent is a time of expectant waiting and preparation, and is an opportune time to enter into a deeper mode of prayer with our youth groups.  If you're looking for a topic to cover for your next youth or young adults group, here is a video below that you can use in the lead up to Advent. We'll be sending another e-mail next month with a longer list of Advent resources. Jacaranda Tree Reflection UPCOMING EVENTS Awaken Youth Rally Friday 22 November, 6-9pm An evening of community, speakers and entertainment. Bring your friends for food, prayer, Adoration, Reconciliation and the Awaken Band's praise and worship. RSVP ACYF19 Commissioning Mass Sunday 24 November, 10:30am   All ACYF19 Pilgrims from Sydney are invited to a Commissioning Mass on the Feast of Christ the King at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney with His Grace, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP. RSVP Walk with Christ 2019 Sunday 24 November Join Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP and thousands of Sydney Catholics in our annual Eucharistic Procession, Walk with Christ. Celebrating the Feast of Christ the King! Meet 2pm for a 2.30pm start on cnr of Martin Place and Pitt Street in Sydney's CBD. RSVP Y-FACTOR 2020: I AM Tuesday 14 April to Friday 17 April Y-Factor is for youth in years 7 to 12 hosted by Sydney Catholic Youth in collaboration with Youth Ministry Coordinators from across the Sydney Archdiocese. during the Easter school holidays, experience 4 days of games, activities, talks, discussion, prayer and a chance to grow in their faith and relationship with God. This camp is so big we can only run it once a year. MORE DETAILS COMING SOON. If you're interested in being a volunteer leader, contact Elizabeth elizabeth.pasion@sydneycatholic.org Get social! Connect with us on FB, IG or Twitter to see what our team is up to and what's happening around Sydney Events Find an event in and around Sydney for Catholic youth and young adults Want to join a group? We'll connect you with a group of like-minded young people for you to journey deeper in your faith with                                sydneycatholicyouth.org

🙏 📖 THE WAY Advent & Christmas Reflections | TWO WEEKS TIL ADVENT!

Advent begins in just over two weeks, so there is still time to finalise your numbers and order your copies of The Way. Same-day shipping! 

Advent begins in just over two weeks, so there is still time to finalise numbers and order your copies of The Way—Daily Advent and Christmas Reflections 2019 before they sell out! We are now doing same-day shipping to ensure your orders are delivered in time before Advent. Don't forget, we have discount pricing for bulk orders and a GST free option for Australian Catholic Religious Groups starting from just $3.00 per copy! Inspired by our Blessed Mother and John the Baptist who pointed the way to Jesus, this year's reflection book, The Way, provides a wonderful opportunity for us to take a quiet daily walk with our Lord and listen to him guide us on the way to holiness through his Son. The Way is an 84-page pocket-size book containing short, spiritually rich daily reflections from the beginning of Advent (1 December 2019) through to the Baptism of the Lord (12 January 2020) primarily for personal use, but also appropriate for group use such as parish, Church agency, religious community and school staff/class prayer. The Way also features beautiful religious artworks from the Masters such as Raphael, Lanfranco, Millet, de La Tour, Murillo and Koninck with enlightening "Artwork Spotlight" reflections written by the popular Monsignor Graham Schmitzer. DOWNLOAD SAMPLE We are especially blessed this year to have secured six new major international contributors for The Way, in addition to some of our regular contributors such as Mother Hilda Scott OSB, Trish McCarthy, Peter Gilmore, Sr Magdalen Mather OSB, Sr Anastasia Reeves OP, Sr Susanna Edmunds OP, Fr Antony Jukes OFM, Matthew Okinga, Jude Hennessy and Fr Sean Cullen. Our six new contributors include: Fr Gregory Pine OP—one of the most articulate young priests you will ever hear or read. He is now in huge demand in the USA, largely due to his work with the Thomistic Institute and his guest appearances on Matt Fradd's popular podcast, Pints with Aquinas, and his YouTube show, The Matt Fradd Show. Fr Pine and the Thomistic Institute have also just released a new project called Aquinas 101: a series of free video courses that help you to engage life's most urgent philosophical and theological questions with the wisdom of St Thomas Aquinas. In the end, you'll be able to read Aquinas on his own terms and master the essentials of his thought. Enrolling in the course is free and you will be sent two emails a week, each with a video, short readings, and some recommended listening resources! Check it out today! Trent Horn—widely acclaimed author and staff apologist with Catholic Answers in the USA. He is also an adjunct professor of apologetics at Holy Apostles College in Connecticut. Fr Damian Ference—doctoral student in philosophy at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. He is also a regularly featured writer on Bishop Robert Baron's Word on Fire. Michael "Gomer" Gormley—one half of the hugely popular Catholic podcast, Catching Foxes. Gomer is also a popular speaker in the USA and is currently the coordinator of evangelisation at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in The Woodlands, Texas. Fr James Mackay—anyone who knows anything about Alpha or Divine Renovation will know the wonderful Fr James Mackay from the Docklands in London. He wowed Catholics and non- Catholics alike at the recent Alpha Leadership Conference 2019 in the UK. Fr Chris Pietraszko—a wonderful young Canadian priest who has a great love for philosophy, theology and apologetics. He has his own podcast, Fides et Ratio, and blog, Fr Pietraszko's Corner, and is a regular guest on Pints with Aquinas. We are excited to bring you the wisdom and spiritual direction of these new contributors, along with our regular contributors, so don't delay in purchasing your copies before they all sell out. Many customers buy bulk copies of the book for family and friends as an alternative to Christmas cards. We have included a page in the book for you to write your Christmas gift message. PRICING   Qty Catholic GST Religious Groups (GST free) (+ post) Retail (inc GST) AU (+ post) 1–24 $4.00 $4.40 25–49 $3.50 $3.85 50+ $3.00 $3.30   To purchase your copies, just select whether you are purchasing as an individual or on behalf of a GST free Catholic Religious Group and you will see the discounted bulk pricing rates. BUY NOW If you have any questions or you would like to place a phone or email order, call us on (02) 4222 2411 or orders@dow.org.au Shipping of the books will commence Friday 25 October 2019. We will send you an email confirmation when your order is shipped. N.B. If you live in the Diocese of Wollongong, please check with your parish, school, agency or religious order before ordering as they may be ordering copies on your behalf. Copyright © 2019 Catholic Diocese of Wollongong, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you either opted in to receive Faith and Life Enews from the Catholic Diocese of Wollongong, the Journey Catholic Radio Podcast or you are a Catholic School or Parish in Australia. Our mailing address is: Catholic Diocese of Wollongong PO Box 1239 Wollongong, Nsw 2500 Australia