COMPARING NOTES: OLD CHURCH, NEW CHURCH

Bernadette Wallis at the launch at the Yarra Theological Union Study Centre

Dear Mother, Dear Father, a collection of letters (with introductions and comments) by John Wallis, 1927-1949.

John Wallis was a distinguished Australian priest, founder of the Missionary Sisters of Service, died 2001.  This collection was collated by his niece, Bernadette Wallis, a Missionary Sister of Service. (In 2017, Bernadette published a memoir, The Silent Book, a tribute to her parents who were profoundly deaf.)

This is a large book.  And it is one to dip into although the reader working through the book would build up a picture of the Australian Church from the 1920s to the late 1940s.

Gabrielle McMullen launching the book

John Wallis was from Victoria, went to study for the priesthood at St Columba’s Springwood at the age of 16. He was ordained in 1932 for the archdiocese of Tasmania. He founded the Missionary Sisters of Service in 1944. 2019 sees 75 years celebrations.

This reviewer worked in Formation for many years and found the letters from Springwood and Manly intriguing while making comparisons between what was expected in the 1920s and what was happening from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.  John  Wallis was something of a diarist so there is more detail of seminary daily life than might have been expected – so there is plenty to compare: timetables, prayer and devotions, lectures, lecturers and study, fellow-students, concerts, debates, sport and picnics.  And, something of a revelation to those in religious orders, the constant requests to devoted parents for money for books, towels, 2/6 contribution for a student’s headstone.

The letters came to light in 2014, contained in the family's tin of Westward Ho! Assorted Toffee

For readers who are involved in pastoral ministry, the later letters are again full of detail about the llfe and work of a diocesan priest.

Bernadette provides a context and setting for each letter. Invited writers, Frank Brennan SJ, Foreword, Adrian Doyle former Hobart Archbishop, David Ranson, Gabrielle McMullen and Sisters Stancea Vichie and Corrie van den Bosch.

Wallis family members at the launch

So, that is something of what the Church in Australia was like.

Peter Malone MSC

UPDATE ON MSC PRE-NOVITIATE PROGRAM, PASTORAL PLACEMENT.

Our three pre-novitiate students have spent this year at Cuskelly House in Blackburn. 

Left to right, Daniel, Trieu, Dean

Before they enter the Novitiate on November 1^st, they are spending a month in pastoral placement.  (If you want to check on who they are and their background, go to the Search space and type in each name and the information will come up:  Dean Fonseca, Trieu Nguyen, Daniel Magadia.)

With their director, Khoi Nguyen

Dean’s pastoral placement is in our parish in the ACT, Kippax, with PP Gerard McCormick and with Kimi Vunivesilevu.

Trieu is working in Kensington parish with PP Alo Lamere in Kensington Parish.

Daniel is in Erskineville working with Tru in his outreach.

Cutting the cake at the Melbourne Community farewell meal

Lay Gathering and Commissioning of the Australian National Council of the Laity of the Chevalier Family, 13^th – 15^th September

Many Hearts United as One

Report by Alison McKenzie.

After many months of diligent and prayerful work by a steering committee composed of lay and professed members of the FDNSC and MSC family, a document of National Guiding Principles to underpin the establishment and operation of the National Council of the Laity of the Chevalier Family was released over the weekend and the Australian Council members were blessed and commissioned during the final liturgy.

The preamble to the Guiding Principles describes the identity of the National Council of the Laity of the Chevalier Family as:

… a private association of the Christian Faithful (Canon 215), motivated by and consistent with “General Guiding Principles and Statutes of the Laity of the Chevalier Family”. These guiding principles were approved by the gathering of Laity of the Chevalier Family, Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 2017.

The document also elaborates the Vision of the National Council as:

• To look for ways to support and encourage growth of Spirituality of the Heart. This may be through outreach to past students, to parishioners with/without previous connections of Spirituality of the heart and other newer areas of evangelisation and apostolate where people associated with MSC/OLSH charism are involved.

• To represent all members of the Laity of the Chevalier Family but not every group will have a member on the Council

• To seek to ensure that all members of the Laity of the Chevalier Family are communicated with and their views represented in matters considered by the Council.

• Members have the right to, and are encouraged to co-opt expertise outside the council to assist in this process.

• To acknowledge and endorse the administration of each of the aforementioned groups as considered appropriate.

Close to 60 people gathered at St. Mary’s Towers, Douglas Park for the weekend. This was a historical moment in the life of the Australian Chevalier Family as the laity associated with the MSC and FDNSC the MSC sisters come together in a retreat that recollected and celebrated our shared history and affirmed our shared charism as people of the Sacred Heart. The image and symbol of a loaf of bread being created was be the thread that tied the retreat together and become the bread we broke and shared at Eucharist.

We articulated our particular spirit as lived by lay people deeply immersed in a troubled but beautiful world as being guided by the following principles:

                We must work together to find language and symbol and metaphor that describes our lay experience of God’s love.  We must be alert to the possibility of God’s call in the lives of our friends and families and not be afraid to suggest that the spirit may be moving in that persons’ life.

                We must develop relevant and accessible rituals that enable secular people, who may not connect with the institutional church, to give expression to their longings and to deepen their experience of God.

                We must form open and welcoming communities, that actively seek to do as Chevalier said: to answer the needs of the people of our time.

                We must engage deeply with the Eucharistic and Sacramental structures of our church, but be brave enough to recognise that God’s spirit is not restricted to those places, and our call as a Eucharistic people is to be deeply fed and nourished, so we can leave the four walls and go out into the hungry and suffering world, as Jesus did.

                At the centre of it all must be a focus on the Jesus of the Gospels and his call to us and on the imperative to develop a deep and personal life of prayer – however we can in our lay lives. The sisters and the priests and brothers have a Novitiate that teaches them to pray and a community life that fosters the on-going practice of prayer. We can do nothing unless we find our own way of deep, daily prayer – and     that usually means some form of silent presence to God.

Perhaps these words will begin discernment of a Constitutions for the Laity of the Chevalier Family.

At this stage the members of the Australian National Council of the Laity are:

Fred Stubenrauch – chair of the MSC Lay and Professed Council and Chair of the Steering Committee to formulate the Guiding Principles.

Paul Compton – founding member, Lay MSC.

Thomas Hodgson – past student, Downlands College

Aidan Johnson – Leader, Heartworks Community, Lay MSC member

Ellen-Mary Lowman – OLSH Associate member

Anne Marmion – Chair, Parish Council, St Thomas the Apostle Parish, Blackburn

Chris McDermott – Principal, Chevalier College.

Jenny Missen – Lay MSC member.

Narita Perrotta – Director Findon/Hindmarsh parish, member MSC Parishes Committee.

Therese Poulton – OLSH Associate member

Spiritual Accompanier: Fr Peter Carroll msc

We are hoping to include a lay member of the MSC Sisters in the near future.

We see the following as members of the Chevalier Family

• · Formal Lay MSC/OLSH (i.e. those individuals who have been approved by provincial administrations)
• · MSC/OLSH School students, teachers and alumni
• · MSC/OLSH Parish members
• · MSC/OLSH Missions
• · Heartworks and MSC/OLSH youth outreach
• · Individuals and other groups who identify with the Lay Chevalier Family and who are recognised by others as such

As we write this article that reflects the on-going emergence of the laity as a movement within the Chevalier Family we honour, respect and give thanks to the witness of the MSC, FDNSC and MSC sisters who have gone before, and, in particular, to those who have contributed to our growth and formation over many years.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere.

FOR MELBOURNE VISITORS: SCREENING OF AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY ON REFUGEES, JOURNEY BEYOND FEAR, SUN CINEMA, YARRAVILLE

Date, Saturday May 18th - and that is election day.

Filmed over seven years, Journey Beyond Fear follows a family of Afghan refugees in Malaysia as they await eventual settlement in Australia. Unable to legally work or access education and healthcare, they battle poverty and rapidly declining mental health as they wait for Australia’s government bureaucracy to file and process their formal request for asylum, unsure if they’ll even live to see our shores.

This film documents the inhumane, laborious and ineffectual standards in place for refugees hoping to avoid Australia’s offshore processing, showing how even the system for seeking asylum the “right way” is cruel, punitive and ultimately broken.

Next screening: Melbourne. Saturday May 18th, 2pm, Sun Theatre Yarraville -
Human Rights Arts & Film Festival (HRAFF) - HRAFF Goes West.

Tickets: https://2019.hraff.org.au/events/journey-beyond-fear/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/journeybeyondfear/
Website: https://www.journeybeyondfear.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IllusiveTV
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/journeybeyondfear/
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9196980/

Lay hope for the future

A response to the Provincial Chapter 2016

We live in changing times when the influence and relevance of the church in the lives of ordinary people is diminishing and when it is foreseeable that there will be no professed MSC available to serve in Australian parishes and no obvious way to maintain other MSC ministries. We could become disconsolate and fearful, dreaming of a time that is now past. But, we MSC have a vision of our founder to guide us through times of change and uncertainty that is as relevant to our times as it was to his.  We know that the remedy for the ills of the world comes when we learn to believe in God’s love for us and to allow that love to transform us and our mission, like Jesus, is to share that good news with the world.

Professed MSC have shown us how to live that vision with courage and hope and to be a church of compassion and mercy. You have formed us and we are profoundly grateful. It is now time for us to begin to take our share of the mission.

It was always a part of Jules’ original vision to have a three-pronged structure to ministry with professed men, associated diocesan clergy and lay people working together but in different ways, so as to respond to the needs of the people. Chevalier was always aware that the sort of ministry that could be undertaken by lay people and the places where lay people have easy entrée are different to that of priests and together we can most effectively respond to the needs of the times. As this vision began to re-emerge in the post-Vatican II world, so began a long process of reflection and discernment as to how this could occur in Australia.

In the 2004 Chapter you:

• affirmed the mutuality of the lay and professed charism and
• declared the desire to deepen your understanding and appreciation of the shared nature of the charism.
• committed the province to set up structures and forums to ensure ongoing discussion and exploration of this vision of the Founder.

There have been many words spoken since that Chapter. We lay MSC have also taken this commitment seriously. We have matured over those years and now we stand beside you in ministry as reflected in the following initiatives:

An Institute has been established to facilitate adult faith formation in Heart Spirituality amongst lay people. Many lay people are now well formed and articulate in our charism and mission. Each of the MSC spirituality services has a lay Director.

Each of our Colleges has a lay Principal and an Assistant Principal Mission who is responsible for forming staff and ensuring the charism is embedded into every aspect of College life. It has been said by professed MSC that the Colleges have never been as MSC as they are at present.              

A Lay and Professed Council has emerged as a governing body for the emerging lay movement and a rich and fertile working relationship has developed between the Institute and the Lay and Professed Council.

A model of young adult, peer ministry has begun to develop.

Great MSC’s such as Jim Littleton and Bob Irwin have been significant influences on the emergence of each of these initiatives. They have deeply imbibed the vision of Chevalier and made it their own. They have courageously read the signs of the times and realized that traditional devotional practices and organizational practices must give way to more contemporary expressions. Fr Jim has evolved a model of Association that has been responsible for maturing countless thousands of people in MSC ministries in Heart Spirituality and is graciously encouraging a re-exploration of what association might mean in these times.

Aware that the Provincial Chapter was up-coming and that there would be discussion of on-going development of the lay movement, the Lay and Professed Council discerned that the time was right to call a gathering of lay people from all over Australia, representative of as many ministries as possible. The purpose of the gathering was ‘to consider the future of all lay MSC and to provide advice on this to the MSC Chapter.

The statement that representatives were asked to bring to the 2016 Chapter was:

Through a process of prayerful discernment at our recent Lay gathering we wish to say to you:

            We love you, we trust you and we are grateful for all you are and all you have    done.

Do not be afraid, we are here with you, and God is with us all.

Those present at the Lay Gathering would like to ask you:

• Do you believe that we are all MSC with different expressions of the charism?
• Can you see that our walking beside you reveals our commitment?
• How can we seek to work together as co-workers to be a transforming presence and to face the future together?
• Will you support the structural changes that our working together will require?

These are strong statements of affirmation and commitment. They reflect, most particularly, the cry of the people in MSC parishes, as they face the reality of the loss of the presence of professed MSC. While there is nothing that can be done about that diminishing presence, there is much that can be done to deepen and form the people in Heart Spirituality and to encourage them to be Missionaries of the Sacred Heart to everybody with whom they come in contact in their everyday lives.

The Chapter responded to the affirmations and questions by:

Acknowledging the developments in the past, the Chapter receives and affirms the report on the Conference of Lay MSC, ‘One Heart, Many Bodies’ (June 16,2016)

The Chapter commits the Province to collaborating with the Lay and Professed Council in the development of the lay MSC and the specific ways in which Lay MSC share the charism, Heart Spirituality and the mission.

The work is on-going and the working party from the Lay Gathering is discerning the way forward. At this stage we are considering developing a survey tool to be administered within MSC parishes, schools and other ministries. The purpose of the survey is to discern what is behind the statements from the Lay gathering to the Chapter. It is hoped that we can discern the next step in terms of new initiatives from the results of the survey.

We see significant alignment between the call of Pope Francis to be a missionary church and our MSC charism. We see a world hungry for the meaning and purpose that true spirituality can offer. We pray, as shared ministry opportunities emerge that we can be a part of the creation of a new world emerging from the heart of God.

Alison McKenzie (Report to Provincial Council 2017)

“Guidelines” of LCF

In the past few editions we have mentioned the move to organise the National Council of the Lay Branch of the Chevalier Family (LCF).

In the last edition reference was made to a steering committee set up to provide advice on the development of our LCF National Council.

A report on the first meeting of that committee is included in the March 2018 edition of Lay News.

Our second meeting was more focussed. We began with wonderful reflection prepared by Jenny Missen and, thanks to the expertise of Aidan Johnson, resulted in the document that follows. We have tried to interpret the guidelines faithfully within an Australian context. Considerable time was spent discussing just who is/who could be/who should be considered as belonging to the Chevalier Family.

We recognised that there are, and will continue to be, people who wish to have their allegiance recognised formally as has happened in the past e.g. OLSH Associates. Lay MSC. We also recognised that others don’t wish for such formal recognition but none the less wish to live their lives according to Spirituality of the Heart.

We also agreed that people will need some form of formation; some sort of help in coming to understand more about the charism that energises MSC and OLSH. Just what that formation looks like is yet to be determined.

At the gathering in Brazil one country outlined their formation program which takes six years and involves study and assignments along steps very similar to those undertaken by professed members of our orders. While not rejecting that idea my personal impression is that wouldn’t go down too well in an Australian context (but I am happy to be proved wrong!).

Our next meeting will be on 12^th August and we will begin to focus on how the National Council might be selected/appointed.

Another crucial area for consideration and development is the financial underpinning of the work of the National Council, this too will be a focus of our next meeting.

We welcome any feedback comments – positive or negative. In fact ANY response would be nice!

Please send to my email as shown below.

The shaded boxes include parts of the original document, our comments follow each of these.

Laity of the Chevalier Family

Steering Committee proposal for the establishment of The National Council

--- A Response to Part II B - DRAFT ---

Aim:

To help guide the Australian Province of MSC, OLSH, MSC Sisters and wider Chevalier family in a response to the “Guidelines” document approved by the General assembly of the Laity of the Chevalier Family, July 2018.

Unpacking the Guidelines within an Australian Context:

Provincial Administrations include:

1. OLSH: The OLSH Associates, The OLSH Provincial Council,
2. MSC: The Lay and Professed Council, the MSC Provincial Council
3. MSC Sisters: The MSC Sisters are being kept informed of the process

Lay Group(s) include:

1. Formal Lay MSC/OLSH
2. MSC/OLSH School students, teachers and alumni
3. MSC/OLSH Parish
4. MSC/OLSH Missions
5. Heartworks and other MSC/OLSH youth outreach
6. Individuals who identify as such and who are recognised by others as such

Suggested rewording of the guidelines for Australian context (to be revisited):

The National Council consists or one or more representatives of formal structures and organisations for lay members of the Chevalier Family as recognised by the Provincial Administrations of the Chevalier Congregations, as well as representation for various lay Chevalier apostolate sectors in Australia with one or more officially appointed representatives of the Provincial Administrations of the Chevalier Congregations.

Suggested rewording of the guidelines for Australian context:

• To acknowledge and endorse the administration of each of the above mentioned groups.

1. Identify what current formation is happening

Current Formation includes:

1. Courses provided through the Chevalier institute
2. Hans Kwakman online courses
3. More to be identified...

1. Provide further opportunities for formation where needed

Note: It is important to consider what levels or degree of formation people have already undertaken.  

[a]Some will have already had considerable formation in the charism and

[b] others little or none at all.

For group [a] simply repeating what has already been done could engender a lack of enthusiasm, even tedium. “Re-inventing the wheel” is not stimulating or enriching,

For group [b] those coming into a group may find it difficult to become progressively informed and ‘formed’ from a starting point.

Suggested rewording of the guidelines for Australian context:

• to appoint one or more Spiritual Accompaniers for mentoring of the above identified groups

For consideration: Who would be appropriate Spiritual Accompaniers? How would they be identified?

To revisit:

Once all existing forms of Spirituality of the Heart formation have been identified, the National Council will be in a better position to:

1. a) direct individuals/groups to existing formation and
2. b) identify the best way to provide ongoing formation in areas where it is lacking

Depending on the definition/role of ‘spiritual accompanier’ in a country as big as Australia with membership spread throughout all states would it be seen as practical to have more than one “spiritual accompanier?”

While it is acknowledged that not every group can/should have a member on the council, it is important that the council is in contact with all groups to ensure they are best represented. The National Council has the right to, and is encouraged to co-opt expertise from laity outside the council to assist in this process.

The council must continue to look for ways to support and grow the Chevalier Family. This may be through outreach to past students, parishes with previous connections of Heart Spirituality etc.

Members of the National council will select one member to vote on Australia’s behalf in the General Assembly.

Response to Request from International Committee

In the last edition reference was also made to a “Request for Information” from the LCF International Committee about progress towards our National Council.

The response prepared by the steering committee follows:

The comments are on behalf of both MSC and OLSH.

Name and contact for your National Council:

As yet we don’t have a National Council so the contact is at this stage:

Fred Stubenrauch This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• Have you communicated or met together with groups of the Chevalier Family beyond your own group? Can you give some details.

There has been communication between the MSC Lay and Professed Council and the Leadership Team of OLSH Associates.  A gathering of people representing these groups and others met 4^th March 2018 at St Mary’s Towers, Douglas Park. A wide ranging discussion resulted in the decision to appoint a steering committee to guide the development of the National Council for the Australian Province of MSC and OLSH.

Members of that steering committee include: Fred Stubenrauch (chair), Jenny Missen, Ellenmary Lomman, Therese Poulton, Paul Stinson, Jan Clark, Paul Compton, Aidan Johnson, Marian England.

The accepted goal of that committee is:

To help guide the Australian Province of MSC, OLSH, MSC Sisters and wider Chevalier family in a response to the “Guidelines” document approved by the General assembly of the Laity of the Chevalier Family, July 2018.

In particular:  To provide advice on the development of the National Council of the Laity of the Chevalier Family in Australia.

• Have you begun to discern how you will form a National Council in your country? Can you give some details.

That steering committee has met twice 8^th April 2018 and 3^rd June 2018 with the next meeting scheduled for 22 August 2018. The committee is working through the “Guidelines” document to examine how the guidelines will work in an Australian context. Discussions have been very fruitful.

While the final decision has not been made we are referring to The Lay Branch of the Chevalier Family as LCF and expect that this terminology will be accepted widely to include people previously known as OLSH Associates and Lay MSC.

It is expected that the next meeting, will bring more focus on just how members of the LCF National Council will be selected.

There has been discussion about just who would be eligible to be considered for membership of the National Council.

What might be the part played by the Provincial Councils of the Australian Province in that process? This is a question for our next meeting.

• Have you considered how you will appoint a chair of that Council who will have voting rights at the next General Assembly? Can you give details.

This has not been considered yet and we feel that the matter will be brought into better focus at our next meeting. The aim is to have the National Council and chairperson appointed in 2019. Perhaps at an assembly of lay people in 2019.

• Have you begun to consider how you will fund your National Council and the International Council? Can you give details.

These matters have not yet been considered

• Can you attach a newsletter of general Communication that you have sent to the laity in your country?

A Greeting  from the International Committee on the occasion of the Feast of The Sacred Heart

God’s beloved…

On June 8th, first Friday after the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Church invites us to contemplate the mystery of God’s Love, which means to enter more deeply within the Father’s bosom, and to discover in Jesus’ Heart, the most sublime Love, the very Love of God. That’s why John the Evangelist wrote: “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Did anyone of us never see an image of the Sacred-Heart of Jesus, and feel challenged by Him? But, in fact, what is the core message revealed to us by the Heart of Jesus?

In Scripture, the Heart of Jesus is designed as a symbol of God’s Love: “We’ll drink at the source which will spring from His Heart … for blood and water will flow from Him” (John 7:37, 19:35). “Jesus is the living incarnation of God’s Love, and His Heart is the symbol of that Love. The Heart of Jesus is the source of all graces, a fire of light and love, an abyss of mercy” (Fr. Jules Chevalier). We may experience God’s Love, present in the pierced Heart of Jesus, through our contemplating His Heart and discover within Him, the depth of God’s Love.

On the Feast of the Heart of Jesus, let’s renew our experience of God’s Love, which was poured upon us through the institution of the Eucharist, thanks to water and blood flowing from that Open Heart, that very Love who lets Himself met, and who wants we become always more faithful to His will. Let’s enter, like Thomas, in the open side of Jesus, and in God’s intimacy, so that, united to His Heart, we faithfully fulfill the commandment of Love.

As Chevalier Family, let’s make an act of faith, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, and live out the gifts of mercy present in the Heart of Jesus.

Let’s pray to God, and dedicate our Chevalier Family to Jesus’ Heart!

Ave admirabile, Cor Jesu, Te laudamus. Te benedicimus, Te glorificamus. Tibi gratias agimus. Tibi cor nostrum offerimus, donamus et consecramus. Accipe et posside illud totum. Purifica, Illumina et santifica. Ut in ipso vivas, et regnes in perpetuum. Amen

Missionary friendship!

Doris Machado LFC       

And, finally:

Some expressions of Spirituality of the Heart

“A Spirituality of the Heart is a way of being in the world. It is a journey to be travelled with others. It is an energy that sustains and moves us, a dance in which we are participating. It is a way of being in the world, in relationship to self, others and God: a way of coming to rest within ourselves, at our deepest centre”                         James Maher MSC

“Spirituality of the Heart is first and foremost something to be lived rather than understood. It demands that I first overcome divisions in my own thinking that create a sense of separation from self, from others, from God. This same separateness divides the body from the spirit, the human from the divine. It is no wonder we struggle to embody the mystery of God’s incarnation in Jesus, in our own lives and in actions”

                                    Chris Chaplin MSC

“It is a missionary spirituality that is without limits - everywhere - at every level of society. Religious, diocesan priests and laity are called to share this spirituality. The laity are indispensable to carry our spirituality of the heart.”

Jules Chevalier

 Spirituality for everyone

Fr Jules Chevalier MSC firmly believed that Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the solution to all the world’s problems. His invocation, “May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved – Forever” captures a key aspect of Chevalier’s spirituality and of his vision.

While each of the words in this invocation invite commentary I will focus on the word “everywhere”.  It is clear that Chevalier understood “everywhere” in its geographical and social dimensions. So, not only would the devotion spread to every place on earth but it would also find a home into every strata of society from home to work place to religious communities, presbyteries etc – that is, this devotion was for everyone, everywhere.

In order to achieve this vision Chevalier understood that lay people as well as religious and clerics needed to be included in the society that he founded. Lay people then, are invited to discover ways to live this spirituality in their day to day lives and not simply in that aspect of their life that may be connected to the men and women religious who claim Chevalier as their founder. Just as religious men and women strive to find ways to express and live this spirituality in community so lay men and women need to strive to find ways to live and give expression to this spirituality in their life as single or married people in their homes, work places and beyond.

The key aspects of this spirituality will be similar for everyone. It begins with a journey to one’s own heart; in this we recognize the need we all have for quiet, still awareness, to be in touch with our inner self. In this inner journey we pay attention to the multitude of feelings and thoughts that are known only in solitude.  In that place we intentionally open ourselves to the compassionate, loving heart of Jesus.

So spiritualty of the heart has this contemplative dimension. It also invites us to make the journey outwards from our own heart, to the hearts of others. And once again, in every person we meet, in whatever situation we find ourselves, we open ourselves to the abiding presence of the compassionate, loving heart of Jesus.

Spirituality of the heart invites us to make the inner journey to our own heart and the outer journey to the hearts of others in the belief that it is there that we encounter the compassionate, loving heart of Jesus. As we live this spirituality we become ever more sensitized to this compassionate, loving presence that manifests itself everywhere, in all dimensions of life. Living a spirituality of the heart gives witness and expression to this presence.

It is spirituality for everyone, everywhere.

1. Fitzgerald

November 2015

The quality that most describes an MSC is kindness. The MSC Constitutions describe and prescribe the MSC way: the Spirit of our society is one of love and kindness, humility and simplicity.

Jules Chevalier, Le Sacre Coeur

A Spirituality of the Heart is foundationally about love – not a soft sentimental love but a love which challenges and yet comforts … that is courageous and yet humble … that is hopeful and yet not blind to the problems of our world. It is a love that is strong and determined but does not crush the bruised reed … that is faithful and generous. Like Christ, it is compassionate, tender and merciful.

Fr Bob Irwin msc  (2004)

‘To live,’ wrote Antoine de Saint-Exupery ‘ is to be slowly born.’ The fact is that coming to be fully alive is the task of a lifetime. There’s so much in each of us that we’ve never touched, so much beauty we’re steeped in that we’ve overlooked. Consciousness is what lifts the ordinary to the sublime.

The ordinary is what reveals to us little by little, inch by inch, the holiness of life – we wait for retreats, liturgies, grand gatherings to take us to God, and indeed they can and do; yet God is with us all the while – most especially in the routine parts of life, the dull parts of the day, which are the gifts of space – time for consciousness and reflection, time to continue being slowly born.

From: Joan Chittister osb – Listen with the Heart – Sacred Moments in Everyday Life  (2003)

Perhaps you have some thoughts on this that you would like to share?

How has a belief in Spirituality of the Heart affected your life??

MSC Website

misacor.org.au

We are working, together with Peter Malone to have more articles and resources included on the MSC website. 

Meanwhile to use the modern way of greetings and best wishes – LOB (lots of blessings)

Fred Stubenrauch (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

LITURGY NOTES FOR THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, 2018

Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C

December 23, 2018

Suggested formula for recognition of indigenous people and their land.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land where we are now gathered,

(the ……)  and recognise that it continues to be sacred to them.

We hail them: as guardians of the earth and of all things that grow and breed in the soil; as trustees of the waters – [the seas, the streams and rivers, the ponds and the lakes] - and the rich variety of life in those waters.

We thank them for passing this heritage to every people since the Dreamtime.

We acknowledge the wrongs done to them by newcomers to this land and we seek to be partners with them in righting these wrongs and in living together in peace and harmony.

As we do this, we must also acknowledge the loss of their hunting grounds,

the destruction of their ceremonial places and sacred sites, 

and the great loss of life from all kinds of violence and disease,

and that the land was never given away.

None of us have the right to avert our gaze

William Sloan Coffin, 1924-2006

"We cannot fail to consider the effects on people's lives of environmental deterioration."

(Laudato si’ #43)

"The loss of forests and woodlands entails the loss of species which may constitute extremely important resources in the future, not only for food but also for curing disease and other uses." (Laudato si’ #32)

"The impact of present imbalances is seen in the premature death of many of the poor, in conflicts sparked by the shortage of resources, and in any number of other problems…."

(Laudato si’ #48)

There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.

Howard Zinn, U.S. historian, 1993

‘My vengeance is that I forgive you.’

The only thing worth globalising is dissent.

Arundhati Roy

‘During these times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act’

George Orwell

The beauty that will save the world is the love that shares the pain.

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini former Archbishop of Milan

Elizabeth and Mary in a modern depiction of the Visitation.

Each year, larger numbers of homeless people live on the streets of modern cities. These people may be jobless workers, battered women, the untreated mentally ill, or simply those too poor to get by. They tend to be ‘invisible’ to the rest of society, but they are a real presence of Christ, the Judge, in our midst, demanding charity and justice for the hungry and naked. They extend the incarnation of Christ, the Suffering Servant, in history.

This icon depicts the Mother of God as the mother of those on the streets. Her garments, and those of her Son, are covered with jewels and gold decoration, making manifest the hidden worth and dignity of street people, who are living icons of God.

In 1984 the Catholic bishops of the U.S. declared, ‘To turn aside from those on the margins of society, the needy and the powerless, is to turn aside from Jesus. Such people show His face to the world.’ Such people are also a presence of Church, for where Christ is, there is His Church.

Readings

First Reading: Micah 5:1-4a

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19. R./ Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-45

Opening Prayer

Liberating God,

here amongst us

you disclose the secret hidden for countless ages.

As we hear your voice

may we, like Mary, embrace your will

and become a dwelling fit for your Word.

May our hearts leap for joy at the sound of your Word,

and praise you for your wonderful works. 

Prayers of the Faithful

Introduction: Let us pray that we may welcome Jesus, as Mary did, and let him journey with us in our lives. The response is: We come to do you will. [taken from second reading]

• For the church, both leaders and members, that it will not be silent in the face of injustice but be a voice for those whose voices are silenced and that by our love and integrity we may render Jesus effectively present in our world. We pray: We come to do you will.

• That the church may not be silent but be a voice for those who have no voice or who are not listened to. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For our brothers and sisters who are particularly affected by climate change especially those in developing countries living with the effects of increased droughts, increased floods, more extreme temperatures, and accompanying political and social instability. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For all who celebrate Christmas that it will be an opportunity to grow in the peace of Christ, a peace that envelopes all creation. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For our Christian communities that there may always be among us great women and men who, inspired by Christ, reveal God's generous love through their humanity. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For all gathered here today, that we have the ability, like Elizabeth, to recognise Jesus in unexpected people and circumstances, especially those where we would least expect to find God. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For people who are sick, elderly, and who suffer, that they may be aware of Christ's closeness and consolation in the generosity, care and love of others. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For those working for justice and peace who reach out to be in solidarity with vulnerable people, that may persevere in their work and realise that their service builds a home for God among us. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For children and families who live on the streets in our towns and cities, and those who live away from home, those without family and those who live alone, that they may experience love and communion in a special way at this time. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For people of other cultures in our community, that the spirit of Christmas may create love, tenderness and generosity in our relationships and be continued throughout the coming year. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For all pregnant women that they will experience the support of the Christian community during this important time in their lives. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For countries that still apply the death penalty that they may recognise the dignity of all human life and move towards abandoning this practice. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For the people of Papua, Afghanistan, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, and Mindanao in the Philippines, who every day face continuing violence and hunger, that they be allowed to have their independence restored and peace come to all parties in the conflict. We pray: We come to do you will.

• For all peoples that seek to be free, that they may be afforded the respect for their culture, way of life and language and find the freedom from oppression. We pray: We come to do you will.

Concluding Prayer: Creator God, you call each of us to play our part in the Reign. Hear our prayers and grant each one of us the grace we need to welcome Christmas into our hearts and homes.

or

Concluding Prayer: Creator God, for whom no one is too insignificant or too unworthy, we pray that your promises of salvation, peace and blessing are meant for who yearn and we share the hope that we have in you.

Prayer over the Gifts

Liberating God,

may the life-giving Spirit

which dwelt in Mary, the Mother of your Son,

bless these gifts

which we celebrate in this Eucharist together. 

Prayer after Communion

Liberating God,

in this Eucharistic celebration

you have given us Jesus, your Son

and we receive the fullness of your life and love.

As Christmas draws near,

may we welcome Jesus by being ready for him

when he is least expected,

recognising him in events and people,

and sharing with those we meet.

Resources

We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly, but does not take place within myself? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then, is the fullness of time: When the Son of Man is begotten in us.

Meister Eckhart, 1260-1328, German Dominican mystic

In Aboriginal culture going back maybe 50,000 years, the physical place where the young Aboriginal woman was pregnant and gave birth to her baby was sacred ground, always revered by her and her community. That place the young pregnant suburban Aboriginal woman of today must reclaim. Here now instead of being land, it is the space of her body, mind and emotions. She needs to reclaim this space from alcohol, drugs and violence and declare it once more a sacred place of holding life and giving birth - the sacred land of new beginnings - not only for her infants, but for herself and her community.

Norma Tracey, 2006.Contemporary Psychoanalysis (in press)

Magnificat [Prayer for Reconciliation]

My soul comes in the darkness of unknowing to the secret room of God.

My spirit seeks understanding in the happenings of these days,

because God looks upon the people in a new way.

Yes, from this day forward

All generations will speak of these strange events as wonderful,

and those of us who walk blindly trusting, will be called blessed.

For the presence of the Almighty, the most loving One, is felt in our land.

Holy is the name of the One who is eternally new.

God's guiding hand reaches from age to age

for those who grope and stumble in search of the saving way.

We are shown the power of being present to one another,

while our proud expectations for our chosen nation are shattered.

The warrior-king we expected to establish us on earth as the righteous power

has not come.

And we see instead the promised messenger as a common man.

The hungry of heart are fed with enabling love.

In places where there was need,

people now give to others from their abundance.

The rich are troubled and stripped of their power.

[Source unknown]

Warning: Advent Virus

Be on the alert for symptoms of inner HOPE, PEACE, JOY AND LOVE. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to this virus and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs and symptoms of the Advent Virus:

A tendency to think and act spontaneously

rather than on fears based on past experiences.

An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

A loss of interest in judging other people.

A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

A loss of interest in conflict.

A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)

Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

Frequent attacks of smiling.

An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others

as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Source unknown

 *****************

All the way to Elizabeth

and in the months afterward,

she wove him, pondering,

‘This is my body, my blood!’

Beneath the watching eyes

of donkey, ox, and sheep

she rocked him, crooning,

‘This is my body, my blood!’

In the moonless desert flight

and the Egypt-days of his growing

she nourished him, singing,

‘This is my body, my blood!’

In the search for her young lost boy

and the foreboding day of his leaving,

she let him go, knowing,

‘This is my body, my blood!’

Under the blood-smeared cross

she rocked his mangled bones,

re-membering him, moaning,

‘This is my body, my blood!’

When darkness, stones and tomb

bloomed to Easter morning,

she ran to him, shouting

‘This is my body, my blood!’

And no one thought to tell her:

‘Woman it is not fitting

for you to say those words.

You do not resemble him.’

Irene Zimmerman, SSSF, Woman Psalms,

What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.

It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love and it will decide everything.’

Pedro Arrupe SJ, former superior-general of the Society of Jesus

To a nation bent on violence, anyone who claims to be speaking for God's kingdom and who advocates non-violent means as the way to it is making a very deep and dangerous political statement.

N.T. Wright, Bishop, Scripture scholar

Those who are capable of tyranny are capable of perjury to sustain it.

Lysander Spooner, 1808 -1887

The American fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power.

Henry A. Wallace , 33^rd US Vice President.

The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.

George Orwell

It is always a much easier task to educate uneducated people than to re-educate the mis-educated.

Herbert M. Shelton, Getting Well

The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two hundred years.

These nations have progressed through this sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;

from spiritual faith to great courage;

from courage to liberty;

from liberty to abundance;

from abundance to selfishness;

from selfishness to complacency;

from complacency to apathy;

from apathy to dependence;

from dependency back again into bondage.

Sir Alex Fraser Tytler  (1742-1813) Scottish jurist, professor and historian

Only a large-scale popular movement toward decentralization and self-help can arrest the present tendency toward statism... A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude. To make them love it is the task assigned, in present-day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda, newspaper editors and schoolteachers.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

We are the ones we have been waiting for

The coming of the nonviolent Jesus into our world is desperately needed. It is time for deeper prayer, reflection and action so that a path can be found in the wilderness and a new vision of peace can be birthed.

Pax Christi USA

The church ‘..has become more aware of the fact that too many people live, not in the prosperity of the Western world, but in the poverty of the developing countries amid conditions which are still ‘a yoke little better than that of slavery itself,’ she has felt and continues to feel obliged to denounce this fact with absolute clarity and frankness, . . .

In every age the true and perennial ‘newness of things’ comes from the infinite power of God, who says: ‘Behold, I make all things new’ (Rev 21:5). These words refer to the fulfillment of history, when Christ ‘delivers the Kingdom to God the Father...that God may be everything to everyone’ (1 Cor 15:24, 28). But the Christian well knows that the newness which we await in its fullness at the Lord's second coming has been present since the creation of the world, and in a special way since the time when God became man in Jesus Christ and brought about a ‘new creation’ with him and through him (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15).

John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, #61-62

The enjoyment of power inevitably corrupts the judgment of reason, and perverts its liberty.

Immanuel Kant, (1724-1804)

For in a Republic, who is 'the country?' Is it the Government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the Government is merely a servant - merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them.

Mark Twain, 1835-1910

The doctrine of blind obedience and unqualified submission to any human power, whether civil or ecclesiastical, is the doctrine of despotism, and ought to have no place among Republicans and Christians.

Angelica Grimke, (1805-1879) Anti-Slavery Examiner, September 1836

Nationalism is our form of incest, is our idolatry, is our insanity. ’Patriotism’ is its cult. It should hardly be necessary to say, that by ‘patriotism’ I mean that attitude which puts the own nation above humanity, above the principles of truth and justice; not the loving interest in one's own nation, which is the concern with the nation's spiritual as much as with its material welfare-never with its power over other nations.

Just as love for one individual which excludes the love for others is not love, love for one's country which is not part of one's love for humanity is not love, but idolatrous worship.

Erich Fromm (1900-1980), U.S. psychologist.

We kill at every step, not only in wars, riots, and executions. We kill when we close our eyes to poverty, suffering, and shame. In the same way all disrespect for life, all hard-heartedness, all indifference, all contempt is nothing else than killing. With just a little witty skepticism we can kill a good deal of the future in a young person. Life is waiting everywhere, the future is flowering everywhere, but we only see a small part of it and step on much of it with our feet.

Hermann Hesse, German poet and novelist.

...most (men) have bound their eyes with one or another handkerchief, and attached themselves to some one of these communities of opinion. This conformity makes them not false in a few particulars, authors of a few lies, but false in all particulars. Their every truth is not quite true. Their two is not the real two, their four not the real four; so that every word they say chagrins us, and we know not where to begin to set them right.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the world's greatest problems is the impossibility of any person searching for the truth on any subject when they believe they already have it.

Dave Wilbur

As I write, highly civilized human beings are flying overhead trying to kill me. They do not feel any enmity against me as an individual, nor I against them. They are only doing their duty, as the saying goes. Most of them, I have no doubt, are kind-hearted law-abiding men who would never dream of committing murder in private life. On the other hand, if one of them succeeds in blowing me to pieces with a well-placed bomb, he will never sleep any worse for it. He is serving his country, which has the power to absolve him from evil.George Orwell, London. UK. 1941 

Never underestimate the power of an enraged electorate whose trust has been shattered by deception and lies and whose voice, once shackled by fear, has risen in defiance and will now accept nothing less than moral integrity, accountability and the truth from its leaders.

Allen L Roland

Read no more odes my son, read timetables:

they're to the point. And roll the sea charts out

before it's too late. Be watchful, do not sing,

for once again the day is clearly coming

when they will brand refusers on the chest

and nail up lists of names on people's doors.

Learn how to go unknown, learn more than me:

To change your face, your documents, your country.

Become adept at every petty treason,

The sly escape each day and any season.

For lighting fires encyclicals are good:

And the defenceless can always put to use,

As butter wrappers, party manifestos,

Anger and persistence will be required

To blow into the lungs of power the dust

Choking, insidious, ground out by those who,

Storing experience, stay scrupulous: by you.

Hans Magnus Enzensberger

There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people for a purpose which is unattainable.Howard Zinn, U.S. historian 1993

Reflections on the readings

It is often simple things remind us of God’s presence like the delight of meeting someone who brightens our gray days; or offering spontaneous support to someone we meet.; or taking notice of someone we tend to overlook. Today, we notice that God enters our world through the least - the forgotten ones, those who do not to count or matter, the lowly, unnoticed.  God resides in places we may wish to avoid - places that do not count, such as Bethlehem, or even in our own hearts. Remember the story I mentioned las week from Anthony De Mello the Master from whom God sought some advice: “‘I want to play a game of hide-and-seek with humankind. I’ve asked my Angels what the best place is to hide in. Some say the depth of the ocean. Others say the top of the highest mountain. Others still the far side of the moon or a distant star. What do you suggest? Said the Master, ‘Hide in the human heart. That’s the last place they will think of!’” 

Israel’s history and the prophets remind us that God works among the small and insignificant to accomplish big things. It is a theme repeated throughout Luke’s gospel. God’s word overlooked those in power but came to John the Baptist. Again, God begins with the small and chooses the least powerful – a woman and a nation – to bring forth a liberator from a town that did not exist on the roll call of towns in history. As Micah speaks of the smallness of Bethlehem and what emerged there, we might contrast this with contemporary economic systems and governments, where more is better, maximisation of profit is the ethic, where survival of the fittest is lauded, where bigger is better, power is to be prized, where conquest in war shows greatness, and where being the empire is a sign of blessing and worth. In Mary (and Elizabeth)  we see that hope and joy are offered in the quiet and insignificant places of our lives especially when we sit with those who are considered to be the least.

In Luke, we enter the world of women but unlike the usual practice they are named. They are not just a mother, daughter, wife or woman. There is not even a male voice to be heard as Elizabeth and Mary praise the one who liberates the oppressed. They bring their creativity to change our world. They are not submissive stereotypes or limited to pregnancy, childbirth, and child raising. They cannot be locked away in obscurity. Like many women they are involved in the real dramas of change in our world.

The coming together of these two women in a time of personal and social turmoil reminds me of the beginning of Pax Christi (International Catholic Peace Movement) in 1945 when ‘a small group of people in France met regularly to pray for peace. Their concern was and what kept them coming together was their experience of an agonizing and dreadful fact that French and German Catholics, who professed the same faith, and celebrated the same Eucharist, killed one another by the millions. For them this could hardly be God’s will. They prayed for forgiveness, for reconciliation and the Peace of Christ (Pax Christi). Pax Christi is now active in over 50 countries often where differences are settled by armed violence or the threat of violence. Pax Christi offers offer a nonviolent alternative. It has recently with the Vatican called for a commitment to nonviolence in the church and beyond by promoting the value of nonviolence as a way to peace in a world that often defines ‘justice’ as ‘revenge’, where more is spent on arms and weapons than on education and health. The Advent call, and the call of Pax Christi, as we prepare for Christ’s coming is to disarm our hearts and strive to rid ourselves  of nuclear and conventional weapons. Is this not at the heart of today’s message?

Commenting on Tolstoy's War and Peace, Jimmy Carter once said that ‘the course of human events, even the greatest historical events, are not determined by the leaders of  nations or states but come about by the combined wisdom, courage, commitment, discernment, unselfishness, compassion and idealism of the common ordinary people’. This is of the youth and non-government organisations that protest the war on our earth as they did recently. It is true of members of Pax Christi in violent places and still assure us that nonviolence works. It is true of Médecins Sans Frontières that risk their lives for the sake of vulnerable and hurting people. The sign of hope is where the people call for change when leaders are numb, apathetic or self-interested.

Though not part of today’s reading, Mary’s Song (the Magnificat) spells out the creativity of God in the weak and marginal people. Mary’s delight is expressed in response to God as she embraced the calling of being ‘other’ than whom society held as the norm. Mary welcomed ‘otherness’ because God was doing something new and powerful in the history of the world. Like many minority people in our society, she understands the burden of ‘otherness’, of being different. This is how God works though her to transform the social structures that dominate the world. He Song is an invitation to all of us to recognise that God stands on the side of the socially ostracised and oppressed; those lacking recognition, appreciation and voice in society and religious world. Isolation from human institutions or church does not mean separation from God’s mercy and compassion. It is like the youth who took a day off school were not going to be limited or determined by what politicians said about them.

Mary was not just another unfortunate, unwed mother bringing a child into an unsympathetic world. Elizabeth was not just an old woman whose unexpected pregnancy surprised and shocked her husband and relatives. The gospel today is about a young woman who reaches out to care for another and thereby also finds support. Consider also how often elderly people form the backbone of many families and communities in their service of others in parishes, community centres, hospitals and nursing homes, caring and educating the young as well as people whose first language is not English, standing up to harsh and inhumane policies towards asylum seekers and refugees, peacemaking and caring for the earth. They care for children of working or absent parents; they listen compassionately to the stories of the needy, the humiliated and wounded; and their experience can teach us not to take ourselves too seriously.

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth poses some important questions. Who are we listening to? Which voices greet us with peace? Who do we visit? Who do we aid in time of distress and need? Who is caught in the web of the world’s distrust, exclusion, and violence? Here, it is unmistakably refugees, Muslims, Indigenous Australians, homeless people, people living with mental illness, more and more youth, and LGBTIQ people. Where do we stand with the so-called ‘illegals’, sinners, the expendables and unwanted? Is there room for the Word made flesh in our everyday living as we strive to be people of peace? or do we lose it as soon as anyone does or says something we oppose? Do we believe peace begins with us rather than the other? Micah refers to the one who comes who ‘will be peace’ (5:5a), who can lead us to commit to another course of action despite feelings of impotence and little of hope of success.

Jesus’ birth is best celebrated by a commitment to his way of peace. It begins by small daily actions of peace. We might check our language that can be violent, defuse conversations that become sexist, racist, derogatory, or discriminatory. Peace begins with each step. We can do it.

We are called to engage our little corner of the world and try to feel the pain of people and seek to address it. Like Mary we can be Christ-bearers to one another. As the 13^th century German mystic, Meister Eckhart says: ‘We are all called to be mothers of God – for God is always waiting to be born.’ The ancient biblical story we have just heard must become our story, with its abundant grace and costly responsibility. God chooses us to remind those in power and the wealthy to move towards greater solidarity with those on the underside. This is God speaking to both those who are insignificant and marginalised and the powerful to remind all that we are brothers and sisters and that our hope for a new world of peace comes from being in solidarity. Each of us carries God’s life within us to be a source of blessing for others and be companions to one another.

LITURGY NOTES FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, 2018

The Third Sunday in Advent

December 16, 2018

Suggested formula for recognition of indigenous people and their land.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land where we are now gathered,

(the ……)  and recognise that it continues to be sacred to them.

We hail them: as guardians of the earth and of all things that grow and breed in the soil; as trustees of the waters – [the seas, the streams and rivers, the ponds and the lakes] - and the rich variety of life in those waters.

We thank them for passing this heritage to every people since the Dreamtime.

We acknowledge the wrongs done to them by newcomers to this land and we seek to be partners with them in righting these wrongs and in living together in peace and harmony.

As we do this, we must also acknowledge the loss of their hunting grounds,

the destruction of their ceremonial places and sacred sites, 

and the great loss of life from all kinds of violence and disease,

and that the land was never given away.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-18a

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19

1. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

Second Reading: Philippians 4:4-7

Gospel Reading: Luke 3:10-18

Opening Prayer

God of Rejoicing,

give us the courage to welcome your Son every day,

by sharing what we have,

doing what is right and just,

and spreading peace.

Open our eyes to your presence,

and awaken our hearts to sing your praises.

Prayer of the Faithful

Introduction: As we await the coming of Jesus among us, may we recognize his presence in the joy of sharing. Our response is: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May we, in this time of preparation for Christmas, pray for the gift of freedom for children in detention and their families. Open our hearts that we might truly be a people that welcomes all, God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May this Advent season be a time of serious awakening to a new and deep reverence for life and for a firm resolve to care for this planet - our home and mother, God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May all the delegates at the Katowice COP 24 Climate Conference hold to a vision of birthing a new season of life for the earth so that all species may live in harmony and communion as one sacred earth community, God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May we all strive together beyond our individual interests to heal deep wounds of violence and assault upon the earth and one, God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May we grieve the injustices and stand up against violence against women everywhere especially in those parts of the world where they are most affected by war, conflict and natural disasters. God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May all people strive to bring freedom to prisoners, food and drink to the needy and speak words of encouragement to the broken-hearted. God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May all those imprisoned - those whose civil rights are denied in Guantanamo Bay, people in detention, Aborigines - find a just resolution in accordance with human rights law. God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May our community reflect its hope and joy in the presence of Jesus by its willingness to share its resources, to be compassionate and mutually respectful of one another. God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May we as a society work to cancel the debts that developing countries have paid so that greater justice may come to the global marketplace. God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May we strive to overcome the tendency to war and conflict so that all people will live in peace, war will be no more and all people will live in peace. God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

• May those who are sick find wholeness, that those who are weary find strength, that those who despair find hope. God of Rejoicing, hear us: May we bring the Good News to the poor.

Concluding Prayer: Loving God, you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus. Give us what we need to turn toward you and embrace a life of grace, peace and love so that we, too, may announce your presence to our waiting world.

or

Concluding Prayer: Loving God, we come to you with our prayers mindful that you have always acted on behalf of your people, bringing hope, relief and rejoicing. Open our ears and our hearts to hear and respond to all that you ask of us, as we reflect on Jesus’ coming yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Prayer over the Gifts

God of Rejoicing,

may this bread and wine that we offer

remind us of your gospel call to share what we have

and consistently seek equality for all people.

Prayer after Communion

God of Rejoicing,

may this bread and wine that we have shared

refresh our hope and joy.

By our sharing in this Eucharist

may we be renewed

by the Holy Spirit

so that we may participate

in making Jesus’ visible

to all people who long for your presence. 

Further Resources

We pray for all people caught up in conflict situations…..

‘I shall break the bow and the sword and warfare, and banish them from the country, and I will let them sleep secure.’

Hosea 2:20

God of peace,

Show us how to put away the weapons of war

and help us destroy the tools of destruction.

God of peace, may your reign come.

God of peace,

Teach us to follow the ways of justice

and walk with us the paths of truth.

God of peace, may your reign come.

God of peace,

Challenge the weapons of war,

and banish hatred and division,

so that all your children may sleep secure.

God of peace, may your reign come.

 (Linda Jones/CAFOD)

The church in Latin America

has much to say about humanity.

It looks at the sad picture

portrayed by the Puebla conference:

faces of landless peasants

mistreated and killed by the forces of power,

faces of laborers arbitrarily dismissed

and without a living wage for their families,

faces of the elderly,

faces of outcasts,

faces of slum dwellers,

faces of poor children who from infancy

begin to feel the cruel sting of social injustice.

For them, it seems, there is no future –

no school, no high school, no university.

By what right have we cataloged persons

as first-class persons or second-class persons?

In the theology of human nature there is only one class:

children of God.

Oscar Romero, murdered Archbishop of San Salvador, March 2, 1980

Who will put a prophet’s eloquence into my words

to shake from their inertia

all those who kneel before the riches of the earth –

who would like gold, money, lands, power, political life

to be their everlasting gods?

All that is going to end.

There will remain only the satisfaction of having been,

in regard to money or political life,

a person faithful to God’s will.

One must learn to manage the relative and transitory

things of earth according to his will,

not make them absolutes.

There is only one absolute: he who awaits us

in the heaven that will not pass away.

Oscar Romero

Love measures our stature: the more we love, the bigger we are.  There is no smaller package in all the world that that of a (person) all wrapped up in (self).

William Sloan Coffin

Clear the trick in live is to die young as late as possible.

William Sloan Coffin

Truth is always in danger of being sacrificed on the altars o good taste and social stability.

William Sloan Coffin

We must guard against being too individualistic and elitist in our understanding of spirituality. Some Christians talk endlessly about the importance of one’s interior life and how to develop it more fully, forgetting that Christ is born to bring hope and joy also to whole communities of people – the exiles, the deported, the tortured, the silenced.

William Sloan Coffin

This nation is affluent and has more than it needs. The realization that what we have is a free gift can deepen our desire to share this gift with others who cry out for help. When we bless the fruits of the harvest, let us at least realize that blessed fruits need to be shared. Henri J.M. Nouwen, from The Genesee Diary

Herein lies a riddle: How can a people so gifted by God become so seduced by naked power, so greedy for money, so addicted to violence, so slavish before mediocre and treacherous leadership, so paranoid, deluded, lunatic?

Philip Berrigan, Hell, Healing and Resistance Veterans Speak

Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.

James Bryce

I'm convinced that if we are to get on the right side fo the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin to shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people; the giant triplets of racism, militarism, and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered.

Martin Luther King

Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought! Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder! Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings! Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction! Be heroes in an army of construction!

Helen Keller, Told to an audience at Carnegie Hall one year before the United States entered World War I. From 'Declarations of Independence' by Howard Zinn page 75

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. To be your own man is hard business. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

War, we have come to believe, is a spectator sport. The military and the press ... have turned war into a vast video arcade game. Its very essence- death - is hidden from public view.

Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for New York Times

War: first, one hopes to win; then one expects the enemy to lose; then, one is satisfied that he too is suffering; in the end, one is surprised that everyone has lost.

Karl Kraus (1874-1936)

Television is altering the meaning of ‘being informed’ by creating a species of information that might properly be called disinformation... Disinformation does not mean false information. It means misleading information - misplaced, irrelevant, fragmented or superficial information - information that creates the illusion of knowing something, but which in fact leads one away from knowing.

Neil Postman

‘In all history, there is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close.

Sun Tzu, (c.500-320 B.C.)

Every great historic change has been based on nonconformity, has been bought either with the blood or with the reputation of nonconformists.

Ben Shahn, (1898-1969) Atlantic Monthly, September 1957

In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.

Mark Twain,(Samuel Langhornne Clemens), (1835-1910)

Let no man think we can deny civil liberty to others and retain it for ourselves. When zealous agents of the Government arrest suspected ‘radicals’ without warrant, hold them without prompt trial, deny them access to counsel and admission of bail....we have shorn the Bill of Rights of its sanctity.

Robert M. Lafollette, Sr. (1855-1925) U.S. Senator, The Progressive, March 1920

Whenever justice is uncertain and police spying and terror are at work, human beings fall into isolation, which, of course, is the aim and purpose of the dictator state, since it is based on the greatest possible accumulation of depotentiated social units.

Carl Gustav Jung, (1875-1961) The Undiscovered Self, 1957

Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience…therefore [individual citizens] have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring. 

Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, 1950

Some explanations of a crime are not explanations: they’re part of the crime.

Olavo de Cavarlho

And so long as they were at war, their power was preserved, but when they had attained empire they fell, for of the arts of peace they knew nothing, and had never engaged in any employment higher than war. 

Aristotle, Politics

It would be some time before I fully realized that the United States sees little need for diplomacy. Power is enough. Only the weak rely on diplomacy ... The Roman Empire had no need for diplomacy. Nor does the United States.   

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary General of the United Nations.

Justice is as strictly due between neighbour nations as between neighbour citizens. A highwayman is as much a robber when he plunders in a gang as when single; and a nation that makes an unjust war is only a great gang.  

Benjamin Franklin to Benjamin Vaughan, 14 March 1785 (B 11:16-7)

If... the machine of government... is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.   

Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, 1849

Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may.

Mark Twain

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.

James Bovard, 1994 ,  Lost Rights. The Destruction of American Liberty (St. Martin's Press: New York, 1994), p. 333

It is part of the moral tragedy with which we are dealing that words like ‘democracy,’ ‘freedom,’ ‘rights,’ ‘justice, which have so often inspired heroism and have led men to give their lives for things which make life worthwhile, can also become a trap, the means of destroying the very things men desire to uphold.        

Sir Norman Angell (1874 - 1967), 1956.

The possession of unlimited power will make a despot of almost any man. There is a possible Nero in the gentlest human creature that walks.

Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836-1907, Ponkapog Papers, 1903

Now those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth, and let me remind you they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyranny. 

Barry Goldwater (1909-1998) US Senator (R-Arizona) Senator Goldwater's Acceptance Speech at the Republican National Convention, 1964

It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a (person) of his/her natural liberty upon the supposition she/he may abuse it.

Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), Address, First Protectorate Parliament, 1654

There is as far as I know, no example in history, of any state voluntarily ceding power from the centre to its constituent parts.

Charles Handy, The Age of Unreason

When I tell the truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do.

William Blake

It seems that 'we have never gone to war for conquest, for exploitation, nor for territory'; we have the word of a president [McKinley] for that. Observe, now, how Providence overrules the intentions of the truly good for their advantage. We went to war with Mexico for peace, humanity and honour, yet emerged from the contest with an extension of territory beyond the dreams of political avarice. We went to war with Spain for relief of an oppressed people [the Cubans], and at the close found ourselves in possession of vast and rich insular dependencies [primarily the Philippines] and with a pretty tight grasp upon the country for relief of whose oppressed people we took up arms. We could hardly have profited more had 'territorial aggrandizement' been the spirit of our purpose and heart of our hope. The slightest acquaintance with history shows that powerful republics are the most warlike and unscrupulous of nations.

Ambrose Bierce, Warlike America

What child is this who came to turn the tables on traditional notions of power and authority? Who is this who came to bring justice and peace? Reconciliation and judgment? Who is this who glorified God with his vulnerability, overturned the tables in the Temple, broke all the purity codes by welcoming the stranger and the sinner, healing lepers and women with issues of blood, and elevating the status of widows with the mite of a penny, as well as children who had no cultural status or value, saying, ‘If you want to enter the Realm of God, be like one of these.’ 

Rev. Elizabeth Keaton

Creativity, when all is said and done, may be the best thing our species has going for it. It is also the most dangerous.

When we consider creativity we are considering the most elemental and innermost and deeply spiritual aspect of our beings.’ ……. ‘Imagination brings about not just intimacy but a big intimacy, a sense of union with the cosmos, a sense of belonging and being at home, of our knowing we have not only a right to be here but a task to do as well while we are here.

Matthew Fox

John the Baptist’s preaching hardly echoes today’s consultants on church growth and congregational development. Theirs is a church that meets the needs and aspirations of its members. Theirs is a church whose yoke is so light as to be no burden at all. For Luke, the good news, the gospel, is not warm and fuzzy; it is not about our needs, but rather about the needs of God and the needs of a hurting world. It is about repentance and forgiveness, which bring about God’s healing.

It is in relationships that this good-news healing is revealed. The Baptist describes in detail the character of our healed relationships with one another. Once we understand Luke’s image of the good news as the healing of relationships, we can more easily see how the good news is also about repentance and forgiveness; they are neither onerous duties laid on us by an angry God, nor something we must do to earn God’s love. Rather, they are gifts to us from God and the means by which relationships are healed. Yes, it is hard to repent. When we repent, we are admitting that we have failed, that we are imperfect, but when we repent and receive forgiveness, our relationships with ourselves, with others, and with God are healed. That is the Advent hope.

United Church of Canada

The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry person; the coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the person who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the person with no shoes; the money you put in the bank belongs to the poor. 

Basil the Great

The large rooms of which you are so proud are in fact your shame.  They are big enough to hold crowds - and also big enough to shut out the voice of the poor... There is your sister or brother, naked, crying!  And you stand confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering.   Ambrose of Milan

Loving God of creation, transform us.

Turn our words

into acts of your justice and love.

Turn points of conflict

into possibilities for coalition.

Reflections on the readings

Calling people a ‘brood of vipers’ or snakes is a real ‘ouch’ moment. A great way to get people to listen to you, I think not! Anyone hearing this language would normally be scandalised by putting people down and dehumanising them. We have heard how those who were in power such as Emperor Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Philip, Lysanias, Annas and Caiaphas were somehow overlooked when God’s word became manifest. Not to those in power or who abused power and used violence but to one like John the Baptist who was on the margins of society. What we usually expect is flipped by the gospels. Clearly, from last week’s readings and those this week we are called to change our mind about God and see that God is not out to get us and this God is found in the most unexpected places and unexpected people and who wants peace and joy for all people. Maybe crowd hung around with John because they wanted to stop being ‘a brood of vipers’ or snakes. John tells them to share what they have and act justly towards others.

Three years ago Pope Francis inaugurated the Jubilee Year of Mercy with the opening of the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica. As children in our family we had special calendars that marked the days from the First Sunday of Advent to Christmas Eve. For each day, there was a little door that revealed a picture or message. For most people, opening and closing doors carry something deeply personal and meaningful. Open doors can bring us into a welcoming space, and connection with people we know and love. Closed doors can suggest fear, anxiety, even self-centredness.

Though the Year of Mercy has ended, the focus on mercy continues to be the major focus in Pope Francis’ ministry. His concern is for a church increasingly merciful and less rigid in its demands; a church more open to the world than fearful of it; a church more compassionate and forgiving rather than harsh and dogmatic. The Pope message is that God’s forgiveness comes before judgement and lays out a way of relating with one another. ‘The church is the home that accepts everyone and refuses no one…’(March 13, 2015).

With this comes a message of social responsibility towards the most vulnerable near and far. Many people reel from aggression and threat of aggression whether by terrorists or Western empires. It is in the midst of this darkness that we called to respond with mercy and be part of a ‘revolution of tenderness’ tested in the fire of reality.

When we speak of doors, there is a choice between supporting systems based on individualism, domination, control; seeing the world as hostile or threatening that demands more prisons, more military spending and more security. There are the closed doors where the rich get tax cuts or the open doors of a supporting community based on care, equality, compassion, partnership and cooperation. John’s message called for deliberate, concrete countercultural actions that do not collude with systems that rely on pedigree or entitlements. Three practical examples of actions that counter this collusion concerned coats, taxation, and extortion. These are doable. John speaks simply and prophetically to the voices of closed hearts and doors. When the people ask what they should do, John begins with what is most immediate and go on from there: share with the needy; be honest and just in dealings with others; the tax collectors are urged to be honest and just; and not abuse authority or take advantage of others. John’s concern was to create a society where people are equal in a system where some have a great deal and others have the cards stacked against them. It is to love one’s neighbours by attending to their immediate needs as well as challenging unjust structures. The challenge is for all to embrace a way of peace in our words, thoughts and actions and confront those people who fail in this regard. Can we speak to those who promote hated and challenge those who put profit over care for people? We cannot wait for religious leaders to call out those who poison our relationships with one another or fail to name the injustices that make up our broken world when it comes to inequality, discrimination, violence, climate change, refugees, Muslims, women, and gay and lesbian people.

John calls us to attend to our better selves: that of mercy and compassion, of integrity and peace. Despite very hard times in our world, nation and church, God will not abandon us. In fact, the prophet tells us, ‘The Lord is in your midst.’ The prophet invites us to open our eyes and ears and take note how close God is. Fr. Anthony de Mello tells the story of The Master who became a legend in his lifetime. “It was said that God once sought his advice: ‘I want to play a game of hide-and-seek with humankind. I’ve asked my Angels what the best place is to hide in. Some say the depth of the ocean. Others say the top of the highest mountain. Others still the far side of the moon or a distant star. What do you suggest? Said the Master, ‘Hide in the human heart. That’s the last place they will think of!’”

One this Gaudete Sunday, maybe the knowledge that God’s favourite dwelling place is in the human heart and that this is the source of our joy despite setbacks around us or what is happening in the world. It is not a matter of closing our heart to these but allowing our hearts to be opened and let the world in (thanks to Joanna Macy).

This is Good News! God is as near as our hearts. It is an awesome realisation. Pope Francis in 2013 said: ‘God who draws near out of love walks with (His) people, and this walk comes to an unimaginable point. We could never have imagined that the same Lord would become one of us and walk with us, be present with us, present in His Church, present in the Eucharist, present in (His) Word, present in the poor, (He) is present, walking with us. And this is closeness: the shepherd close to his flock, close to (his) sheep, whom (he) knows, one by one.’

It can be a disturbing thought. If God is so near, then God knows us through and through. But we also have Jesus to point out to us how to use our hearts in a way that imitates the actions of his heart. As we open our hearts to the God’s presence among us, the fruit of conversion is shown through our lives of joyful, loving service. Let us rejoice in anticipation, preparation, proclamation, and action as we await that day when God’s justice, God’s dwelling of love, is fully manifest.

SISTER PATRICIA FOX AT ST MARY'S ERSKINEVILLE

Fr Claude Mostowik MSC, Director of Peace and Justice for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart hosted a meeting with Sister Patricia Fox.

Sister Patricia Fox sharing her story and the story of passion and resilience of the suffering people she worked amongst in the Philippines.

40 people came to pray, support and encourage at St Mary's Church, Erskineville on December 1, 2018

LITURGY NOTES FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, 2018.

Second Sunday in Advent

December 9^th 2018

Suggested formula for recognition of indigenous people and their land.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land where we are now gathered,

(the ……)  and recognise that it continues to be sacred to them.

We hail them: as guardians of the earth and of all things that grow and breed in the soil; as trustees of the waters – [the seas, the streams and rivers, the ponds and the lakes] - and the rich variety of life in those waters.

We thank them for passing this heritage to every people since the Dreamtime.

We acknowledge the wrongs done to them by newcomers to this land and we seek to be partners with them in righting these wrongs and in living together in peace and harmony.

As we do this, we must also acknowledge the loss of their hunting grounds,

the destruction of their ceremonial places and sacred sites, 

and the great loss of life from all kinds of violence and disease,

and that the land was never given away.

 Peace remains possible. And if peace is possible, it is also a duty! Pope Benedict XVI, Message for World Day of Prayer for Peace 2006 

If there is hunger anywhere in the world,

then our celebration of the Eucharist

is incomplete everywhere in the world.

Pedro Arrupe SJ, former Jesuit superior general

None of us have the right to avert our gaze

William Sloan Coffin – 1924-2006

There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.

Howard Zinn, U.S. historian, 1993

‘My vengeance is that I forgive you.’

The only thing worth globalising is dissent.

Arundhati Roy

‘During these times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act’

George Orwell

God of peace and life,

 speak to the hearts of those responsible

for the fate of peoples,

stop the `logic' of revenge and retaliation,

with your Spirit suggest new solutions,

generous and honorable gestures,

room for dialogue and patient waiting

which are more fruitful than

the hurried deadlines of war.

John Paul II [adapted for gender sensitivity]

The beauty that will save the world is the love that shares the pain.

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini former Archbishop of Milan

Readings

First Reading: Baruch 5:1- 9

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

1. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Second Reading: Philippians 1:4-6.8-11

Gospel Reading: Luke 3:1-6

Penitential Rite

• Christ Jesus, you brought us freedom and justice and opened for us the way to God and to other people: Jesus, have mercy.

• Christ Jesus, you showed to us the way of peace through forgiveness and reconciliation: Christ, have mercy.

• Christ Jesus, you lead us in the ways of compassion and hope and bring liberation to all people: Jesus, have mercy.

Opening Prayer

Disturbing God,

you come into our midst

with tender comfort and transforming power.

You make ready a way in the wilderness

and clear a straight path in our hearts

to each other and to You.

As we have learnt to pierce mountains

and level hills to build highways

come among us

to make us creative and daring enough

to builds roads of justice and peace in our midst.

or

Opening Prayer

Disturbing God,

you can pierce the mountains

and level them to build highways.

May Christ’s coming among us

inspire us to be creative and daring

to build roads of justice and love

in all our encounters with people and with you.

Prayer of the Faithful

• Introduction: We pray to the God who calls us to look to the east and the west, the north and the south, where all of God’s people gather. We pray in response: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray for your church around the world, that its leaders may have the courage to be voices when people are persecuted and speak out against violence and war by proclaiming the creative power of peace and nonviolence. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray with pain and grief for all the people who have been affected by bushfires in Queensland and in California especially where there has been loss of life; we remember also the destruction to the environment that has occurred and the loss of so many animals. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray that nations, as many leaders gather for the G20, will find the way to peace through economic and climate justice instead of competition, nationalism and seeking privileges for the few. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray for the many homeless people – the young and the aged – that they may find secure shelter and protected; relationships that are supportive and respectful; and that the hungry may be fed and clothed. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray that those people who struggling to find work will soon find it and that those who are beginning to despair not lose hope. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray that the elderly will be respected in every place and circumstance; that youth will be confident about their future and the journey they take and that children are nurtured and loved. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray for those who have been crushed by circumstances and had their hope almost extinguished that they may be uplifted by your presence in the people they meet. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray for all who cry out and protest prophetically that they make not become tired even though they feel like ‘voices crying in the wilderness’ despite the ridicule and abuse they receive – the voices crying out for West Papua, justice in the Philippines and Palestine. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray for all who are invisible in our world: people who are starving, people living with HIV/AIDS, women who suffer different kinds of abuse and people who are homeless and often living with mental illness, children not only abused by HIV/AIDS but also the effects of debt and inequitable trade agreements ….. may their voices be heard in those who speak for them. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray for ourselves, that mercy and justice will be our companions in our communal tasks as well as our individual responsibilities. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

• We pray for our civil society, that it may be permeated more and more with the consciousness of its obligations on this anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. We pray: Wrap us in the peace of justice, O God.

Concluding Prayer:  Disturbing God, we pray that we may become more and more partners in the spreading the Good News with mercy and justice our constant companions.

Prayer over the Gifts

Disturbing God,

you sustain us with your compassion

and liberating presence,

through this offering of bread and wine. 

May we fearlessly proclaim that you are near in Christ Jesus 

to a humanity that longs for you. 

Preface

God is with you.

And also with you.

Let us lift up our hearts to God.

We lift them up.

Let us give thanks to the Living God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

It is indeed right to give you our thanks and praise, O God,

for from your deepest mercy comes our hope of salvation.

In the beginning you began creating the world

and you will bring it to completion at your final appearing.

Through your prophets you promised to liberate us

from all that would drive us into slavery.

You sent your servant, John,

to prepare the way for your anointed one

by proclaiming a baptism of repentance,

a refining fire to purify your people.

In Jesus, your Son, we have seen the dawn of justice,

and the glory of your mercy, compassion and justice.

When he was crucified

you raised him to new life with the power to save.

Now we eagerly await the glorious day of his appearing,

when all your people will be gathered home,

overflowing with love, joy and the fruits of righteousness

to your glory and praise.

Therefore with .....

©2003 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net  [adapted]

After the ‘Our Father’ Deliver Us

Deliver us from every evil

and give us dedicated men and women

to prepare that peace which is the sign

of the presence of your Son on earth.

Turn our hearts to you and free us from sin,

as we wait in joyful hope

for the full coming among us

of Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...

Prayer after Communion

Disturbing God,

in this Eucharist we have celebrated

the coming of Jesus in our midst.

Refresh and restore us

to surpass our powers so that

we become clear road signs

to justice, peace, dignity and joy in our world. 

Parish Notices

December 9 International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of Victims of Genocide

December 9 International Anti-Corruption Day

December 10 Redfern speech by Prime Minister Paul Keating (1991-1996) at the launch of the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People (1992)

‘And, as I say, the starting point might be to recognise that the problem starts with us non-Aboriginal Australians. It begins, I think, with the act of recognition. Recognition that it was we who did the dispossessing.  We took the tradition lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the disasters. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers.  We practised discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice.  And our failure to imagine these things being done to us.  With some noble exceptions, we failed to make the most basic human response and enter into their hearts and minds.  We failed to ask – how would I feel if this were done to me?  As a consequence, we failed to see that what we were doing degraded all of us.  This is a fundamental test of our social goals and our national will: our ability to say to ourselves and the rest of the world that Australia is a first rate social democracy, that we are what we should be – truly the land of the fair go and the better chance.’ 

December 10, UN International Human Rights Day Inauguration of the Universal Charter of Human Rights 1948

‘All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated.’ [Vienna Declaration 1993] A possible pledge for this Human Rights Day: 

We are the human rights generation.

We will accept nothing less than human rights.

We will know them and claim them,

For all women, men, youth, and children,

From those who speak human rights,

But deny them to their own people.

We will move power to human rights.

—Shulamith Koenig, People’s Movement for Human Rights Education

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  In 1950, the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested organizations to observe 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.

December 12, Founding of the Sisters of Mercy by Catheine McAuley (1831)

A Creed

I put my trust in God.

I believe that this universe is a creation,

from the beginning veined with purpose and destiny.

Nothing is meaningless

and nobody is superfluous in God’s mystical regime.

I put my trust in Christ Jesus.

The long millennia of the human story led to him

and expands immeasurably from him.

His ways are truth and grace,

and those who receive him become children of God.

I put my trust in the Holy Spirit.

This loving Energiser precedes the beginning,

and fills the present with new possibilities.

In the Spirit there is a happiness which

is the foretaste of the joy that will ultimately fill all.

I believe in One God

revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

whose glory fills heaven and earth

and whose love is inexhaustible.

I believe;

scatter my unbelief!

Amen!

'Hope' is the thing with feathers—

That perches in the soul—

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops—at all—

Emily Dickinson's definition of hope captures what many of us have a hard time defining. Hope is not blind optimism, nor arrogant certainty, nor wishful thinking. Hope is the knowledge that God would not desert us, that we will endure difficult times to see a better day. Hope gives us the strength to seek peace and demand justice, and to envision the world as God intended it to be.

Advent Prayer

Jesus,

Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.

We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.

We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.

We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.

We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.

We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.

To you we say, ‘Come Lord Jesus!’ Amen.

Henri J.M. Nouwen

Jesus Prayer

Eternal Spirit: Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,

Source of all that is and all that shall be,

Father and Mother of us all, creation resonates

with celebration of your nameless name.

Let justice and mercy flood the earth;

let all creation harmonize in your imagination;

and let us recognize

that every thought and thing belongs to you.

With the bread we need for today, feed us;

in the hurts we absorb from each other

and those we inflict on others, forgive us;

in times of test and temptation, stand with us;

from the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you alone are creating our universe,

now and forever. Amen.

We must turn towards encouraging

a more human, loving standard of behaviour

instead of relationships steeped in aggression, competition, exploitation.

Petra Kelly

The right to revolt has sources deep in our history.

William O. Douglas  (1898-1980), U. S. Supreme Court Justice Source: An Almanac of Liberty, 1954

Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels -- men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, we may never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), 34^th US President

Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit.

Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989) Activist

The powerful have invoked God at their side in this war, so that we will accept their power and our weakness as something that has been established by divine plan. But there is no god behind this war other than the god of money, nor any right other than the desire for death and destruction. Today there is a ‘NO’ which shall weaken the powerful and strengthen the weak: the ‘NO’ to war.Subcomandante Marcos, No to war, 2/16/03 Each of the Iraqi children killed by the United States was our child. Each of the prisoners tortured in Abu Ghraib was our comrade. Each of their screams was ours. When they were humiliated, we were humiliated. The U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq - mostly volunteers in a poverty draft from small towns and poor urban neighborhoods - are victims just as much as the Iraqis of the same horrendous process, which asks them to die for a victory that will never be theirs. Arundhati Roy, ‘Tide? Or Ivory Snow? Public Power in the Age of Empire,’ 8/24/04 http://www.democracynow.org/static/Arundhati_Trans.shtml Think truly, and thy thoughts Shall the world's famine feed. Speak truly, and each word of thine Shall be a fruitful seed. Live truly, and thy life shall be a great and noble creedHoratius Bonar,So let us regard this as settled: what is morally wrong can never be advantageous, even when it enables you to make some gain that you believe to be to your advantage. The mere act of believing that some wrongful course of action constitutes an advantage is pernicious. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.) A man who has in mind an apparent advantage and promptly proceeds to dissociate this from the question of what is right shows himself to be mistaken and immoral. Such a standpoint is the parent of assassinations, poisonings, forged wills, thefts, malversations of public money, and the ruinous exploitation of provincials and Roman citizens alike. Another result is passionate desire — desire for excessive wealth, for unendurable tyranny, and ultimately for the despotic seizure of free states. These desires are the most horrible and repulsive things imaginable. The perverted intelligences of men who are animated by such feelings are competent to understand the material rewards, but not the penalties. I do not mean penalties established by law, for these they often escape. I mean the most terrible of all punishments: their own degradation.  Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.) Find out just what people will quietly submit to, and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.   Frederick Douglass, African-American slave, and later abolitionist. There is no telling to what extremes of cruelty and ruthlessness a man will go when he is freed from the fears, hesitations, doubts and the vague stirrings of decency that go with individual judgement. When we lose our individual independence in the corporateness of a mass movement, we find a new freedom - freedom to hate, bully, lie, torture, murder and betray without shame and remorse. Herein undoubtedly lies part of the attractiveness of a mass movement.   Eric Hoffer The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.  Samuel P. Huntington

Over grown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.

George Washington

War grows out of the desire of the individual to gain advantage at the expense of his fellow man.

Napoleon Hill

Human Rights Litany

Leader: Someone is shouting in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make a straight path for God to travel! Every valley must be filled up, every hill and mountain leveled off. The winding roads must be made straight, and the rough paths made smooth.’ (Luke 3:1-6)

People: God of justice, your messenger has called us to prepare your way, to make your paths straight.

Leader: But the world is not ready to receive you. The roadway is choked with material possessions of people who have become rich from the labor of those who are denied access to resources because of their race, ethnicity, gender, class or nationality.

People: God of peace, your messenger is calling us to prepare your way.

Leader: But fearful threats exist. The highway is barricaded with armaments. The valleys are filled with landmines that kill innocent children, women and men.

People: God of compassion, your messenger is calling us to prepare your way.

Leader: But not everybody will be free to greet you. Some of the courageous languish in prison, tortured for their beliefs or for speaking truth to power. Many women are imprisoned in their homes, abused by their husbands and without means of escape because they are denied legal and economic recourse. Many children are chained in sweatshops or sold into prostitution.

People: How then shall we prepare the way?

Leader: In the name of God and for the sake of God's people, we proclaim in word and deed that all human beings are born with fundamental human rights.

People: How shall we prepare the way?

Leader: We will strive to guarantee the dignity and worth of the human person and the equal rights of women and men.

People: How shall we prepare the way?

Leader: We will work for a world in which human beings enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want.

People: Then we will go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before us shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. And every valley shall be filled and the crooked shall be made straight, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Human Rights Day Liturgy [adapted from Presbyterian Church Peacemaking Program USA]

Introduction (Psalm 67)

Leader: May God's face shine upon us, that God's way may be known upon the earth, the peace of God among all nations.

People: Let the peoples pursue your justice and your peace, O God. Let all the people pursue your peace.

Leader: Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon the earth.

People: Let the people pursue your justice and your peace, O God. Let all the people pursue your peace.

Penitential Rite

Leader: God of life, Creator of all people

As equal in dignity and humanity;

You have called us to be one:

To live in unity and harmony;

To build faith and realize community.

Yet we are divided

Race from race; class from class;

Rich from poor; gender from gender;

Old from young; neighbor from neighbor.

People: O God, by whose love all enmity is brought to an end:

Break down the walls that separate us,

Forgive the sins that divide us,

Free us from pride and prejudice.

O God, give us the courage to repent honestly;

Give us the power to change our lives,

That we might be dead to sin and alive in Christ. AMEN

Silence

Leader: The mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting.

As the dove gently settles on the tree, receive the gift of peace.

As the flame rises free with light and warmth, receive the gift of life.

As the wind moves and dances around the earth,

receive the gracious gift of the Spirit.

People: Come, O Holy Spirit.

Come as Holy Fire and burn in us,

Come as Holy Wind and cleanse us,

Come as Holy Light and lead us,

Come as Holy Life and dwell within us.

Convict us, convert us, consecrate us,

Until we are set free from the service of ourselves,

To be your servants to the world. AMEN.

Litany of Commitment

Excerpts from the Beatitudes (Luke 6:17-22 and Matthew 5:1-11) and the Charter of the United Nations

Leader: God of all creation, we are your children. We are also the peoples of the United Nations.

People: Help us seek the security of the whole human family made in your image and for whom Jesus lived, died and lived again.

Leader: Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.’

People: God of Peace, we your children and the peoples of the United Nations are ‘determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.’

Leader: Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’

People: God of Love, we your children and the peoples of the United Nations ‘reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, and in the equal rights of men and women and nations large and small.’

Leader: Jesus said, ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.’

People: God of Life, we your children and the peoples of the United Nations will ‘promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.’

Leader: Jesus said, ‘love your neighbor as yourself and love your enemies, do good and lend, expecting nothing in return.’

People: God of Community, we your children and the peoples of the United Nations will ‘practice tolerance and live together in peace as good neighbors.’ We are called to be peacemakers to the Christ who came that we might know a peace that passes understanding. Lead us to rise up and be called children of God, citizens of a new world community. Guide us to speak boldly, with moral conviction, to the nations and to the world. Let us build, with your grace, a global community by acting now for world peace, for a flowering of justice, for an opportunity of love, for the realization of Your peace. AMEN.

Blessing

Leader: ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world unto God's self and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.’ Christ charges us to practice God's shalom and seek life in all its fullness for all God's people, everywhere.

People: And the courage of Christ, the peace of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will be always with us. AMEN.

Eternal lover,

during this Advent time of preparation,

help us understand the wilderness experiences of our lives

as opportunities to assist you

in your prophetic transformation of the earth, of all.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Reflection on the readings………..

Luke sets John's word context. As John was firmly placed in his context, the readings situate us in our world. The Good News came when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Tiberius Caesar had been Emperor fifteen years, Herod was tetrarch/ruler of a fourth of Galilee, and Caiaphas was high priest. And the Good News comes when world leaders meet in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the G20 playing their political roles. And God’s word and presence appears ‘smack-dab-in-the-middle’ of human history bearing upon every aspect of our lives. This word of God did not come to any of the leaders named today above but to John, an outsider to the religious and political institutions and powers of the day. He steps into the borderlands of our history bringing God’s word into specific places through specific people to specific people. It usually begins with someone prophetic – one who is a voice for another. John proclaims that this world is about to change. God enters our lives in entirely new and unpredictable ways. So, at a particular moment in world history, while civil and religious powers ruled in their own worlds of influence, God stepped in to change the course of events, to introduce a new way of living. And, the point is that God still steps into our world despite our political leaders who think it is their domain. John and Baruch tell us to take our places and rev up our engines. God is close and is preparing to show the world who we really are, to whom we belong and that our true name is: ‘the peace of justice’.

John’s ministry takes place in the ‘wilderness’ (Luke 3:2) - isolated from modern comforts and vulnerable to the violence of others. John lived on the margins as do many people: the poor, women, street people, people with mental illness, refugees and asylum seekers and many members of the gay community. All would understand the vulnerability that John exposed himself to. All put themselves as risk when they begin to claim their identity and dignity. It can leave one with a feeling of isolation and danger. With the image of John the Baptist before us and his call to repentance, one cannot ignore the ongoing call of Pope Francis for a culture of encounter, mercy, compassion and tenderness to all especially towards and with the poorest people of the world. It is a different sounding voice to that of domination, fear of the other that lead to hatred that comes from those who represent ‘empire’ today. Pope Francis continues to reveal to that the God of Peace comes through the person of Jesus not in the powerful and the wealthy or those at the centre of society but to people who have been marginalised and considered unimportant, voiceless and powerless. And as we reflect on the movement of peoples around our world, we see how the God of Jesus always goes beyond our boundaries and inviting us to look towards the margins…. and find God present there. We are reminded that as John the Baptist came from the margins this God of Jesus is also at the margins of the world: the suffering people of Yemen and Syria; the persecuted Muslims and Christians in our world; the caravan of peoples at the borders (margins) of a powerful country such as the United States; and, indeed, in the hell-holes of Manus Island and Nauru.

Pope Francis has made clear that he is taking his cues from the poor. His encounters acknowledge the wisdom that is to be found amongst poor communities and people who are socially disenfranchised, because there is still among them a stubborn resistance to what is inauthentic in an opulent society, anaesthetised by unbridled consumption; a society that uses the “language of exclusion” and “disregards or ignores” people who are poor and treats them as problems, recipients of aid and relief services, rather than as sources of insight. He knows ‘the villas of misery’ that ring many of cities in his native Argentina, with its corruption, unjust distribution of land, lack of education and health care for the poor. This is where the G20 is currently taking place but how many of these leaders will look and see and respond to what is happening there and by extension the rest of the world. Francis tells us “that the path of Jesus began on the peripheries…….It goes from the poor and with the poor, toward others.”

John challenged the existing power structures and behaviour patterns. When asked ‘What shall we do?’, he replied in practical, reasonable, economic, and hopeful ways: You who have two coats, give one away to someone who has none. You who have two loaves of bread, do likewise. Behave fairly, treat people justly. John does not hide behind the cowardice of cynicism but with courage and hope: the axe that will strike against the tree is the confrontation of the corrupt economies and systems. He was urging them to change the economy as had Pope Francis in his Encyclical Laudato si’. It begins with each of us, our hearts. This was how to stop being enslaved to unjust and wasteful systems to build a world where people work to build a world where people build relationships with each other and creation rather than being enemies or rivals. This is to invest ourselves in making crooked places straight and smoothing rough ways.

John’s message was to point toward Jesus and making a space for him who by his presence is confronting where there is corruption, impunity, violation of human rights and rendering people voiceless. His call was to transform society in preparation for the time when ‘all flesh shall see the salvation of God’ (Luke 3:6). The gospel today forces us to face the reality that the emotional pain and estrangement that marginal groups and ethnic communities face do not spring from the Gospel message of love and acceptance, but from a failure of many to truly follow the model of John as a prophetic voice and the prophetic voices in our midst. A world of hope is possible by attending to each other’s needs with our abundance, by removing the terrors of desperation and hatred among us. Baruch speaks to people who have endured pain, exile and loss and encourages them to ‘take off their clothes of mourning and misery and put on: ‘the cloak of justice from God.’

What we do today in our own land, our cities, our churches and at our altars, is inevitably a preparation for what is to come. There are voices that speak of the war of necessity and an endless war on terror. There are voices that speak of the necessity to build more nuclear weapons. There are voices that promote the market and capitalism as the only realistic way to live in the world. There are voices that tell us it arms sales are more important (e.g., Saudi Arabia) take precedence over the lives of thousands of people in Yemen. There are voices as in this country that euphemistically speak of foreign aid when it is used to train the military in Indonesia and the Philippines that oppress their own people. But, there is the voice of John and many in our world like him with other voices that speak of renewal and solidarity; of generosity and service; of bigheartedness and hospitality; and of creating a ‘culture of encounter’ which is the only way to peace and well being.

What can we do? Do we demand that our governments, organisations, churches and parishes do what they are meant to do – to build relationships that serve, especially the most vulnerable? Do make economic choices that seek to avoid collaboration with human trafficking? Do our choices reflect behaviour where the basic necessities of the many are second to the attention of the few and their privileges? Do our consumption choices take into account the kind of world we will leave to our children? Do we dare put up a Christmas crib or Nativity scene if we have failed to raise our voices against the ill-treatment of asylum seeker and refugees or even justify their ill-treatment? John’s voice continues its refrain across the stage of our privileged world: ‘Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord.’

Baruch, Paul and Luke call for change. Baruch says ‘change your clothes.’ Get up, Jerusalem, Get up Israel, get up Australia, turn around and take a look. The high and the mighty will be flattened and the lowly, the marginal, the exile, the prisoner, the stranger will be lifted up so that there will be safety and equality. There will have to be radical changes in the way we're doing things now as a people.

The setting has changed since the John was called in the desert or wilderness. But it is not that different. Though we live in towns and cities, we too are in the wilderness with wild beasts. We too must confront the beasts in our wilderness: beasts of aggression, racism, homophobia, sexism, clericalism, war, violence, competition, greed, and the lust for more property, privilege and power. We need to be signs that another way of living is possible where there are no hills, mountains, valleys or crooked roads to separate us from each other. Where are the prophets who speak from the cry of the poor and always try to do justice and worry about the future of the people and the bloody situation of the poor? We are invited to enter into the dynamism of conversion, to change. Humanity transformed is humanity reconciled and made equal, a humanity reunited.

John the Baptist expected something wonderful and new to happen, ‘in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar....’ We pray that this Advent 2018 will open our eyes to see the wonderful and new things God is promising for us, in this present moment and in this place where we find ourselves. Pope Francis challenges us with a special opportunity to receive mercy and to give mercy. The heartache, misery, loneliness of this world can be transformed by the mercy of God in Christ — mercy that is received and shared by us, his disciples.