“The Gift of Peace”

After the Australian Bishops Ad Limina visit to Rome I went on another trip to what I call the “Middle East” which is Leonora, Laverton and Leinster in the eastern part of our Diocese.

While there on Pastoral Visitation and celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation in the three towns, I visited the detention Centre in Leonora. This Centre has been operating over a year now and has had close to two hundred refugees of mainly family groupings from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Iran. At present though there are approximately seventy unaccompanied minors (13-18yr olds) mainly from Afghanistan but also from Iran. Four of these came to Church the Sunday I was there to celebrate Confirmation.

Bishop Bianchini’s Homily at the Ordination of Tai Trinh

It is a great joy for me tonight to Ordain Tai a priest for our Diocese of Geraldton. It reflects and is in tune with the joy that we all feel this evening. Deacon Tai you will have some nerves but I know deep down that you experience this joy as well.

As a Bishop I reflect quite often and pray about the Church and having a healthy Church. We need many things for a healthy Church – good Lay people (young, as well as middle age and older), good married couples and families, as well as good single people and good Religious. Essential to the Church are good Priests. 

The role and vocation of priests within the Church is key – with the Word of God, the Eucharist and Sacraments and the pastoral care of people.

Priests have a special call and are empowered to preach the Gospel which is Jesus Christ.

Priests are key in regard to the celebration of the Sacraments and certainly essential for the Eucharist. The Eucharist has been described as the ‘heartbeat” of our Church.

 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I am writing to you on behalf of all the Bishops of Australia, giving thanks to God for your faith and witness. We now share with you a message of hope.

We call the Catholic people in Australia to a Year of Grace, to span the time from Pentecost 2012 to Pentecost 2013. Like the disciples at the first Pentecost, we commit ourselves to start afresh from Christ.

Click here to read more from the ACBC Media Blog

I was struck by Bishop Greg O’Kelly’s reflection in his Port Pirie diocesan magazine “The Witness” of August 2011 and have asked his permission to reprint it in our Sower. I invite you to read and reflect on his words.

He speaks of the growing division for many between Church and life. While many of us connect and integrate faith, and life as in weekend church and living during the week, many do not.

While in our homes so much Christian love is expressed and lived, I think we need to ask how much nowadays is being done to express our faith as families by praying together.

Also we have grown up with religious symbols in our homes. This is less evident nowadays in many homes. Carl Jung said “If people lose their symbols their culture will die”. We can likewise say that without our religious symbols our faith will be affected and run the risk of dying.

Faith and life – the two fit together so well and enrich each other. Faith, as we know, offers so much to our understanding of life and its practical living.

I thank Bishop O’Kelly for his thought provoking article.

In regard to Faith I wish to announce something special for the whole of our Church in Australia. A “Year of Grace” is being planned and will begin Pentecost 2012 and conclude the following Pentecost. Fr Michael Morrissey has readily agreed to coordinate this in our Diocese. Its aim is to focus on Christ and our personal Faith in Him, which in turn affects everything else. It will not be a new programme but will be a time to focus more on “Contemplating the Face of Christ”, as Pope John Paul II often said.

Finally as you read this I will be in Rome for the Australian Bishops Ad Limina. It is a time to report on our diocese to the Pope and to the central offices called Dicastries. It is also a time (and I really like this) as a body of Australian Bishops in union, with our Holy Father and the foundation stones of St Peter and St Paul, to strengthen our Faith in Jesus.

Please keep praying for us the Australian Bishops so that we may grow in Faith and help lead the people of God in Australia to the best of our ability in the forthcoming Year of Grace.