On 16 Jul 2021 Pope Francis issued a Motu Proprio about the Roman Liturgy used prior to the Reform of 1970 with new guidelines for when (and to some extent how) it can be legitimately celebrated.
​https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio/documents/20210716-motu-proprio-traditionis-custodes.html

More colloquial ways of referring to this Liturgy are the ‘Latin Mass’ or the ‘Tridentine Mass’ or ‘Traditional Latin Mass’ or ‘TLM’.

As you might expect, there’s been a bit of a social media storm about these new regulations, and there’s been a lot of hot-off-the-cuff ink spilled about it already – most of it without due reflection on the positive sides of the document.

Because this document is about pruning the TLM movement for its own health, and for the health and unity of the Church.

And this pruning has been needed.

When Summorum Pontificum was issued by Pope Benedict XVI; many times in his excellent blog Fr John Zuhlsdorf requested that adherents to the Tridentine Mass be exemplary in their conduct, be helpful to clergy and parishes, and to not give any cause for offence lest these permissions be withdrawn.

Not everyone heeded him, hence this need for pruning so that the good may be preserved and the diseased parts be separated away lest they infect the whole Church.

Pope Francis does spell out clearly what the issues are, and the criteria by which local bishops are to do any necessary pruning, viz:
*The concord and unity of the Church
*Ecclesial communion
*That those who deny the validity and legitimacy of the 1970 liturgical reform put that unity, concord and communion at risk
*That the risk has reached levels requiring the removal of TLM from parochial churches so that there is no confusion about the validity and legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Mass (1970 liturgical reform).

(Note: Mass centres, oratories, chapels, retreat centres would then still be OK, including designated mass centres within say a cathedral parish which has several mass centres in addition to the Cathedral. ie. It cannot be celebrated at the principal church of a parish.)

Those TLM communities which are in full communion with the Church, and are animated by ecclesial communion, will be preserved.

The risk of new TLM communities forming has been deemed to be too great.

Healthy and wholesome expressions of TLM will remain, be preserved, and even encouraged.

How did it get to this? People forgot Fr Z’s advice.

There has been far too much public criticism of the Pope and far too much questioning of the legitimacy of the papacy, leading far too many believers to distrust the Pope, to distrust God’s choice of the Pope, and thereby opening the door to distrust of God and from there to loss of faith. (There are private ways of seeking answers and clarifications.)

Where has this criticism and questioning been the most vociferous? From those attending the Tridentine Mass. Some have just been the usual hot heads that every community that aspires to a radical life attracts, but some have been publicly well respected in education, theology, journalism, blogging, apologetics etc and among the clergy.

It hasn’t been here and there either; it has become a consistent questioning of every action and motive of the Pope - which would do the Pharisees proud.

Where protest has become normative and taking pride in ‘being more Catholic than the Pope’ takes hold, then those communities have exited out the other side of being Protestant.

Above all else, hear and listen to this:
Unity with the Pope is our sole guarantee of remaining in the true faith of the Apostles and not getting shipwrecked in error and heresy.
Unity with the Pope is our sole guarantee of the whole Church being guided by God.

This is so because Jesus said to Peter, ‘On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will never hold out against it’.

Yes, I fully understand the flight to the TLM given the continuing abuses of the liturgy that are happening in the Novus Ordo Mass. I understand in a time of uncertainty, that flight to where things are whiter than white, and blacker than black, and no grey in between is really attractive. I understand that being with others trying to take God seriously is really attractive.

But the TLM was never meant to be a flight-from-the-world option, a la St Benedict.

Permission for the TLM was to preserve the patrimony living in the Tridentine Mass from centuries past for future generations to be able to love and appreciate in living form. It is to be fueled by love for the Church, and love for the patrimony of the Church, not fueled by protest.

An analogy might help. The reason people volunteer to help keep steam engines alive on heritage railways is to keep the memory alive of the amazing engineers and workmen that formed that heritage, and for the beauty and majesty of those locomotives in action – not because they want steam to replace diesel electrics anymore, nor because they are protesting at the pollution caused by diesel-electrics.

That’s why Pope Francis is calling a ‘motive check’ on those priests who already celebrate or wish to celebrate the Mass in its pre 1970 form, and on those religious communities set up precisely for the preservation of this liturgical form.

This Motu Proprio is pruning the TLM for the health of the Church, and for the health of the TLM.

Should it be successful in its intent, healthy communities of TLM will remain, and will remain healthy.

As one would expect, only when this has occurred will it be possible to consider new TLM communities, and that could be 10 years away or longer, and only if they don’t fall into the same errors in the meantime.

Instead of grouching, let us be extremely thankful to God for giving us a Pope, and the bishops united with him, who are willing to do this pruning for the sake of the Church, and for the sake of the salvation of souls, despite the enormous backlash they are experiencing, and will experience in the times to come.

To God be the glory, in the Church, and in Christ Jesus, now and forever. Amen.

​This is a long story, and I'm the narrator. The protagonist is my son. We have been living the agony of the Youth Synod Process. Definitely at times this is not a pretty story, but it needs to be heard. Let's begin chronologically.

#Synod2018 #PreSynodYouth #PreSynod2018

Sometime in the latter part of 2017 there was an online survey carried out by the Australian Bishops Conference in preparation for the youth synod. Other episcopal conferences would have done their own. You can read the report from that survey here. If the questions in blue were the same as the survey questions, then the questions weren't framed for young people to answer, eg 4. What kinds and places of group gatherings of youth, institutionalized or otherwise, have a major success outside the Church, and why? 9. How do schools and universities or other educational institutions (civil or ecclesial) contribute to young people’s formation in vocational discernment?

Our son did his best to answer them. But as you can see these questions were formulated for parish priests and those in the upper reaches of youth ministry administration to answer. It would take a special kind of patient youngster to persevere in answering them and not just giving it the flick because it wasn't on their wavelength.

The next step in the process was to sign on to the pre-Synod Facebook private group. For this you had to jump through a few hoops to get approved as a member.

There were 15 questions that members were invited to answer. Here are 2 of them, together with one of the many answers that were given. This is not endorsing those answers, just showing you the type of prose being used for the answers.
(Please persevere through this bit.)

#Church
Q:(11) The Church’s manner of acting. 
What should be the characteristics of a Church which is enlightening, attractive and credible to younger generations, one which has the ability to engender respect and attractiveness in them?
A:The Church needs to end with corruption and to have more transparency. The means - priests should have college education always when possible. We need to communicate better the means the church has already taken to fight against the sexual scandals of the latter years. Some news are available, but maybe each dioceses should make a local press realize to communicate about this. People do not know that measures are being taken. It would also be good to try to have like "Representatives", normal people (young married couples, young priests, students) of the parish who live their Christian vocation to the fullest, have deep education and who are willing to explain in public the teachings of the church. That will give people a model to look up to. It would be amazing if these representatives show up every time someone types on google "how to be catholic?" or "how good Catholics are?"

 #WaysAndMeans
Q:(15) Instruments to be used. 
Which approaches appear to be the most accessible and what are the most effective ways of generating among young people a sense of vocation, attentiveness to one’s neighbour and a grace-filled life?
A:The most accessible approach in generating a sense of vocation in young people in the United States continues to be the Catholic school system. Faculty members and clergy at Catholic grade schools, high schools, and universities, welcome their students and challenge them to think critically and prayerfully of their unique purpose in life. Students who experience Catholic education realize that good guidance is not forceful or imposed but is true and direct. Good guidance at Catholic schools helps students to see the innate goodness of the actions they take in their lives and the impact of their decisions made in conscience. When all other supports fall away, many people look back on their education in Catholic schools as something that was true and good and which continues to serve them in their decision-making. #Synod2018 #WaysAndMeans

Have your eyes glazed over yet?
​Mine did, and I've read a lot of church-speak in my time. My son's did, and he felt very alienated by it. We agreed, which 17 year old, or 22 year old, would have the patience to try and decode this stuff? He was incensed enough to write something to that effect. That was late evening 16 March. He'd write something the next day. When we got home from morning Mass on 17 March, some young lassie had beaten him to it. So he added a bit of prose in the comments to support her.

The first comment she received was someone asking how old she was. Firstly that was a bit rude, and secondly it was condescending. My son added his prose next. The gist of the next comment was that he had had an opportunity to contribute in the diocesan pre-Synod survey. Too bad if these questions weren't to his taste. Angst and agony ensued from both of us.

These questions on the pre-Synod Facebook group felt like they were written by lawyers or by people from other professions that use lots of jargon (eg teachers, psychologists). They weren't written in a way that engaged the interest of any young adult who hadn't completed a bachelor's degree.

I had so hoped to provide the full transcript of that comment thread (minus names), but after spending hours searching I am forced to conclude that they have been deleted. They don't even appear on my son's Facebook activity list anymore. Are you angry? Are you feeling the agony?

In the meantime Pope Francis had dropped a few zingers on 19 March 2018:

POPE FRANCIS 
“I invite you all this week to express yourselves frankly, with complete freedom. I have said it before, and I'll repeat it – with a tough face. You all are the stakeholders, and it's important you speak openly. 'But I'm embarrassed, the cardinal is going to hear me.' Whatever he might hear, he's prepared. I assure you whatever you say will be taken seriously.”

POPE FRANCIS 
“A man, a woman who doesn't take risks, doesn't mature. An institution that makes decisions without taking risks, will remain a little girl, it won't grow. Take risks while guided by prudence and advice, but go forward. Without taking a risk, do you know what happens to a young person? He or she gets old. He or she retires in 20 years. A young person gets old, and the Church gets old.”
​
Both of those missives stung my son into action, especially the 'getting old fast if you don't take risks' bit. He worked out that he had until 7pm Wednesday our time to post his thoughts on the Pre-Synod Facebook page. So he sat down on the Tuesday and poured his heart out on the digital pages. We then spent a few hours editing and polishing it up, until he was satisfied that this was what he wanted to say. When we printed out a copy for dad to read, it covered 2 A4 pages. We posted it on Tuesday night, and then waited, and waited, and waited, and waited for the moderators to approve it. It is still pending. (Cue more agony).
Here it is if you want to read it in PDF version:

(Otherwise, wait and it will be given in full under the ………. line)

He then followed the pre-Snod events online, and eagerly awaited the pre-Synod document.

While we were waiting for both the white paper and the Facebook post-approval, Pope Francis rubbed a bit more salt into the wounds with these words at his homily on Palm Sunday:

"The temptation to silence young people has always existed.  The Pharisees themselves rebuke Jesus and ask Him to silence them.
There are many ways to silence young people and make them invisible.  Many ways to anaesthetize them, to make them keep quiet, ask nothing, question nothing.  “Keep quiet, you!” There are many ways to sedate them, to keep them from getting involved, to make their dreams flat and dreary, petty and plaintive.
On this Palm Sunday, as we celebrate World Youth Day, we do well to hear Jesus’ answer to all those Pharisees past and present, even the ones of today: “If these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk 19:40).
Dear young people, you have it in you to shout.  It is up to you to opt for Sunday’s “Hosanna!”, so as not to fall into Friday’s “Crucify him!”...  It is up to you not to keep quiet.  Even if others keep quiet, if we older people and leaders – so often corrupt – keep quiet, if the whole world keeps quiet and loses its joy, I ask you: Will you cry out?"

Ouch!

Here's the Final Document of the Pre Synodal Meeting of Young People, if you want to read it:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/synod2018/final-document-of-the-pre-synodal-meeting-of-young-people/1718340804914174/

My son read it, and he could easily see that it didn't reflect the Facebook Pre-Synod discussions he had been reading. So could I. Like many other young people he wants to see truly reverent liturgy and the full truth both preached and lived. While he's not one of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) brigade, he could see that their input did not make it into the final document at all.

So I had to read the white paper (agony) and many of the articles he found (more agony) and even watch a video clip (arrgh). Here they are if you don't want to miss out (with his introductions):

Not too certain about the title of the web-page, but at least uses snapshots.
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/youth-pre-synod-calls-for-listening-ignores-young-traditionalists

This one seems a bit more sincere and less possibly on-the-attack.
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/03/what-young-catholics-want

Interesting EWTN Perspective on Pre Synodal Meeting for Youth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDGUs_JnoMM&feature=youtu.be

The EWTN perspective corresponds with mine. It was spooky hearing my own thoughts come out of someone else's mouth.

This was the best article by Issac Withers, explaining how the disconnect from the pre-Synod group and the online Facebook Pre-Synod group happened
https://onepeterfive.com/controversy-over-pre-synod-document-highlights-appeal-of-tradition-for-young-catholics/

Do you want my personal take on the white paper? Probably not, but here it is anyway. It came across to me as a modern example of Matthew 11:17, 'We played the pipes for you and you wouldn't dance, we sang a dirges and you wouldn't mourn'. 'Hey Church, show us your dance moves, and if you measure up we might, just might, give you a second glance'. I read a lot about 'give us this' and 'give us that', and I didn't read anything (or don't recall reading anything) about a desire to serve. Yes, I could discern the fingerprints of people far older than the 16-30 age group, and lots of whiskered lobby groups. That was sad. That was additional agony.

Otherwise as these documents go, it is a starting point and par for this type of course/synod.

But the synod process is still ongoing. As Archbishop Coleridge taught us through his regular blog during the second sitting of the Synod on Marriage, things have to go through the messy process. We have to pray and trust that the Holy Spirit will work through the mess and the personalities and the agendas and get us to what He wants to be said.

So please, commit to praying each day from now until the end of the Synod process that the Holy Spirit gets His way.

Thank you.

You have been so patient. Here's what our son wrote (below). We realise now that because it was over 200 words and not linked to any specific one of the 15 questions that it was probably never going to be approved.
​But his roar deserves to be heard.
……………………………………………………………………. 
​
​I’m taking a risk writing this because I have no idea if it will be heard, or shot down in a maelstrom of opposing comments. So here goes:
 
I feel as though I am part of a hidden group within my own generation who by default and circumstance take a (somewhat) conservative view of the world around them.
 
I am writing this at risk of ridicule, and of being told to yet again sit down and keep quiet, because 'you're not one of the majority'.
 
I feel as though I am part of a generational group who do not exist; in the eyes of the parish, diocese, country, media and government. I don't have the confident articulate ability and athletic physique that makes people sit up and take notice. Yet I am at Mass every day, pray, read the Catholic press and papal documents, serve as a Senior Server at Mass at least twice a week, and am familiar with the inside of a confessional.
 
I am concerned that the government of my country is only interested in getting my vote and has no will to actually tackle issues like youth unemployment. There are others like me who are frightened out of their wits about whether or not they will be employed anywhere! When all employers in the job listings are ONLY looking for 3+ years of previous experience and who would not even consider someone with less, let alone actually help someone new to learn and earn that experience. The government employment agencies put young people through so many hoops before they even begin to offer any real help.
 
It is no wonder youth are taking a conservative stance when they have NO idea about the future of their own lives let alone anyone else’s. It feels like only the extroverts and the successful-looking have any hope of being employed, it’s hard cheese for the rest of us.
 
I live in a parish that has been in care-taker mode for nearly ALL my life, and the vast majority of the people I see at church are in their 70s, 80s and 90s -which makes it an uphill struggle to attract interest in doing something new for the young and for the needy.
 
Our local youth group is just— well… just. Just limping along enough to look like something is happening so that the bishop can show a good report card. The youth group is concerned (yet again from my perspective) with keeping pre-teens and adolescents in the church and away from the evangelical churches. I'm not in the target market.
 
So often I feel like a fraud when listening to the 'all or nothing' evangelistic preaching happening in youth gatherings. Certainly it needs to be preached, but at the same time no one is taking time to explain that most of these things happen at God’s time, not ours. We CAN’T force faith, we can't force an experience of God, we can't force a response to God.
 
I have NO desire to leave the church or join an evangelical church (thank you EWTN, Mother Angelica and Marcus Grodi).
 
There are many times at local youth group and deanery youth gatherings that I feel like the proverbial spectre at the feast. Only I don’t know if the feast is actually wholesome and lasting or not. Feasts are the current vogue for the deanery 'over 18' gatherings that consist of about 30-40+ people that are so huge that previously built relationships are the only things being strengthened. Heaven help anyone wanting to build new relationships. Diocesan 'Praisefests' seem to be an excuse to put a rock band inside a church, and jump around and scream your head off in some kind of preparation for the next World Youth Day. Loud music and crowds are not my thing, so I come away feeling alienated rather than connected and not uplifted at all.
 
I personally cannot see value in this current trend of youth events ALL trying to be an attractive alternative to what is on offer at the evangelical churches and in the process forgetting about all the rich traditions and sacramental experiences of the Catholic Church.
 
At Confirmation time our previous bishop gave the SAME homily to the mostly 8 year olds and their families, WORD FOR WORD. We have rarely seen those children since. It feels like families become Catholic in name only as a means to access Catholic Education and are willing to put up with a few archaic hoops to jump through to attain that goal, and then join the people with no religious affiliation whatsoever. From time to time there is a 'School Mass' at the regular Saturday vigil Mass, and really they are just a 'school extravaganza' with a cameo by the priest for the Eucharistic prayer. I lose count of the number of times I wince at such 'school extravaganzas' due to inappropriate music and disregard for the rubrics of the Mass.
 
While it is true that 'The Youth are the Future of the Church' and many of you would have a whole thesis ready to explain why this is so, but for me these are amongst some of the most frightening words you can hear as a young person. Who wants to be reminded of such a heavy responsibility when things are so bleak? The next most frightening words are a catechist or parish member saying that they will 'only talk for a little while' before the final blessing and then after a lengthy time (garbed as a senior server) you have to poke Father awake to say the final blessing while in the meantime everyone else has scurried away.
 
Can the youth be the future of the church if they themselves know nothing about the church, about its history, about the bible, about Jesus?
 
Where do the Youth gather? Either they are at reasonably-sized SMALL retreats that have a true sense of community and selfless love or at a giant over-blown Rock Concerts centred around Cathedrals with shake your arms, jump all around, and somehow pray (how?) amongst all the young Catholic school girls screaming their heads off. I get claustrophobic easily and would rather not have to get hearing aids before I HAVE to.
 
I’m amazed at what Fr Mallon has been doing in Canada with the Alpha program and the outspokenness of Dr Jordan Peterson receiving so many views (channel 4). I'd so like to see something positive happening locally.
 
I had so hoped that what Emma Sullivan from New Zealand wrote on the Facebook group (c.17 March 2018) would have been listened to: about how all the questions and answers on the Pre-Synodal Facebook group were going over the heads of the young people who are supposed to be taking part. The questions are framed in legalistic language, and most of the answers are in the same incomprehensible jargon. It was so sad to see that in the replies that we weren't being listened to or taken seriously.
 
I have great fear that this synod’s outcomes won’t actually reflect the TRUE common problems facing ALL the Youth from 17-18 to 29-30+, only those problems that the highly favoured and popular youth are able to identify.
 
 
Vincent Cavanagh, 20,
Broken Bay Diocese, NSW Australia    21 March 2018

During His pontificate Pope Francis has been giving us fresh insights into the Gospel, right, left and centre.

These meditations on the Mysteries of the Rosary have been gleaned from his writings and speeches, and then edited down so that each set of meditations (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious) fits onto 2 x A4 pages of text.

That makes them about the right length for meditating on these Mysteries on First Saturdays of the month, while praying the rosary, as requested by Our Lady to Sr Lucia of Fatima in late 1925.

But they are also a very good summary of what God has been teaching us through Pope Francis as well.

The title of Cardinal Wuerl's Keynote address was Pope Francis, Renewal and Parish Evangelisation
His Archdiocese of Washington bio.
His Wikipedia page.
He can be found online at Twitter using @Cardinal_Wuerl and on his regular blog http://cardinalsblog.adw.org/

Thank you for your kind introduction. It is pleasant to be a part of Proclaim 2016. So much of the renewal and evangelisation is in the lived experience in our parishes. That's where every kind of action takes place. Our Pope speaks of his experience of parish in Evangelii Gaudium 28:
'The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community. While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters”. This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed group made up of a chosen few. The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration. In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers. It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach.'

Amoris Laetitia 202: 'The main contribution to the pastoral care of families is offered by the parish, which is the family of families, where small communities, ecclesial movements and associations live in harmony'.

How do we see that each parish carries out these many missions?

There is a new spirit of welcome evident today. Pope Francis is reaching people. We can see the development of his thought through Evangelii Gaudium, the Synod, Laudato Si and Amoris Laetitia. He writes from the perspective of a pastor of souls, so they are not theological treatises but words from a pastor of souls.

So what does the Church/Christ offer us today? What do we bring to the world of today? A while back I was giving a keynote address at Harvard University on the topic of the Role of religion and faith in a pluralistic society. Following the address there was time for questions. A lawyer, in full garb, named Albert had his hand up. 'What do you people, and religion in general, think you bring to our society?' My answer was a return question, 'What do you think the world would be like without the voices of the religious traditions in our world – reminding us You Shall Not Kill, You Shall Not Steal etc, - reminding us that someday we must answer to God for our actions. How much more harsh would this culture be? 'His answer, 'It would be a mess.'

The Christian Gospel teaching us about right and wrong and about God's love may seem to being eclipsed by secular voices. At the Synod for the New Evangelisation one of the speakers described secularism as a cultural tsunami that has washed across our world, taking with it so many cultural markers and frames of reference: on marriage and family, on right and wrong.

The present energy and focus in the Church is towards openness and outreach. That level of energy has increased with Pope Francis' smiling face of welcome to the world. What is the New Evangelisation? St John Paul II spoke of the need for a New Evangelisation, new in ardour, new in method and new in expression. Pope Benedict renewed this call for a new evangelisation, seeing it as a prophetic task of love to evangelise the whole world. Pope Francis calls us all to the work of the new evangelisation. It is a hallmark of his ministry and preaching. 'Go Out, Go Out', he says, 'Go Out and share the beauty of the Gospel and the amazement of the encounter with Jesus.'

Outreach is especially involved in parish ministry. Blessed Paul VI taught us that we have to do more than just speak the words, we have to be modern examples of them: we only listen to teachers if they are witnesses.

How do we invite people? Sometimes it is just a matter of actually doing it. As I went down the street yesterday a Church of Scientology brochure was offered to me. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have run into a Catholic lady handing out parish bulletins? On a plane recently I had an aisle seat, and the person sitting next to me asked,
'Have you been born again?'
'Yes'
'When?'
'At Baptism.'
'Oh, you're a Catholic'.
She had a lot of bags, so I asked her whether she had a bible. She didn't, but she did have some 3"x5" cards with scriptural texts on them. One had the passage from Matthew 16 where Jesus tells Peter that he is the rock on which He will build His Church. She asked me, 'Tell me about this church thing'. So I did. But I was struck by how much we take for granted. So many people have no idea about anything about the Church, the sacraments and the Eucharist. Afterward the man across the aisle leaned over and said, 'Hey Father, I'm a Catholic, and I didn't know that.'

Renewal requires these elements:
•Renewal of personal faith. Not just the assent of the mind, but prayer asking the Holy Spirit to fill us.
•To stand confident in the truth. We don't have to apologise for our Risen Lord.
•The desire to share it.

The evangelising disciple has to know and be confident in the message.

In 1962 Vatican II began with the goal of preparing the Catholic faith and mission to shine forth to bring people to receive the Church's love. The purpose was to present better the precious deposit of Christian doctrine, and to make it more accessible to Christian people and people of goodwill and to show the strength and beauty of the doctrine of the faith.

Looking back over the time from the mid-1960s until now, we can see the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Pathways of renewal began, some consistent with the Gospel, some not and they introduced confusion into the liturgy and catechesis. Even before becoming Benedict XVI, Cardinal Ratzinger began to work on the hermeneutic of renewal and against the hermeneutic of discontinuity. This need for a deeper appreciation of our faith - so that we can be prepared to speak it - has been verified by a whole line of pontiffs.

Paul VI stood up for the truth despite the times of turmoil around him. John Paul II's task was to implement Vatican II and he spent 27 years doing that. Benedict XVI's writings renewed our appreciation of scripture and patristics – the profound roots going back to the revelation of Jesus Christ. With Pope Francis we are the beneficiaries of 50 years of preparation for this time of fresh perspective. Pope Francis brings his own emphasis to this renewal – that the role of the laity in the renewal is absolutely essential. 'Go out, encounter people, accompany them on the journey so that more people may experience Jesus Christ.'

Collegiality – working together collaboratively and co-operatively- is also for parish, reinforcing the message of the college of bishops. Amoris Laetitia gives us a perspective on renewal and its content shows us how to do what Pope Francis invites us to do – to listen. The Synod on the Family, in its two parts, was a time to listen, to talk, to dialogue. Out of that experience, and consensus, came the apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. In it is a focus on the human person as the object of an invitation to faith, speaking more about grace and less about law and obligation. The shallow happiness with which many are content falls short of the joy that should be the sustenance of every believer.

We can now actually hear, understand and be willing to share our faith, as a result of these post Vatican II years. We need to hear that God is a loving forgiving God. While we might get tired of asking for forgiveness, He never gets tired of granting it. At the same time we have to be aware of these words of Jesus, and do them: 'You will be My witnesses; go out, and make them disciples'. God's mercy and our conscience leads us to focus on living our lives as an expression of mercy and love.

The principle attributes of a missionary disciples are:
•Listening
•Accompanying
•Discerning
•Evangelising

The Synod on the Family was preceded by extensive consultation. Pope Francis understands this process of listening to the faithful. This synodality, this journeying together is essential for the Church today. Not just listening, but accompanying. We are going at this together. This involves a change of style and intensity which has implications for parish life and personal outreach. Pastors need to do more than just teach Church doctrine, they must take on the smell of the sheep and realise that we are here to serve. Our liturgy does not have to be so complex that it is off-putting.

Not too long ago I was in a cab in Rome. The traffic was chaotic and the cabbie was the type to drive while looking at you. 'Have you met this Pope?' 'Yes!' 'You can understand him when he speaks, not like you people.'

We need to present the faith, the kerygma, in all its clarity. In Pope Francis' morning homilies at Mass we see a continuous renewal of the kerygma of faith made simple.

We have to help our people discern what does it mean to say Christ is Risen.

Amoris Laetitia 37: 'We have long thought that simply by stressing doctrinal, bioethical and moral issues, without encouraging openness to grace, we were providing sufficient support to families, strengthening the marriage bond and giving meaning to marital life. We find it difficult to present marriage more as a dynamic path to personal development and fulfilment than as a lifelong burden. We also find it hard to make room for the consciences of the faithful, who very often respond as best they can to the Gospel amid their limitations, and are capable of carrying out their own discernment in complex situations. We have been called to form consciences, not to replace them.'

People respond as best they can to God's call within their limitations. We are called to help form their consciences. We need to do this so that we can all grow closer together to Christ. As we do this, we all draw closer to Christ.

What kind of qualities do our new evangelisers need to have?
It is a moment of grace. Calling parish a neighbourhood of grace is a beautiful description. We are living in a new moment – given the history of the Church and the special emphasis that Pope Francis brings.

Courage & Boldness
In the Acts of the Apostles, before Pentecost we see the apostles timid. Afterwards we see them bold. Peter and Paul both boldly preached Jesus, and this boldness was born of the confidence in the truth of the message.

Connectedness to the Church
We are not individuals, we are members of the Church. Renew this revelation, recognise it. Our membership of the community that passes on the good news of Jesus is our authentication. Children get to the heart of things much better than we do. For 30 years I have kept a letter I received from a child called Dominic who was then in Year 4: 'Dear Bishop, I find it amazing that you knew somebody, who knew somebody, who knew somebody, who knew somebody…..who knew Jesus.' It is our living continuity with the disciples who knew Jesus that matters.

Sense of Urgency
We are not passive bystanders. We have to be involved, and play our part in the New Evangelisation. It is our turn now. Others will take it up later. When we look at the visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth we see what urgency looks like in action – she went in haste on a long and difficult journey.

Joy
It is alright to smile. The Gospel is a glorious announcement. Christ is risen, truly risen. He is with us. 'You should see Me in the faces of the people you care for.'

We are called to reinvigorate our faith every day, to share it, and to be open to the movement and outpouring of the Holy Spirit as we try to bring the Good News to others: as we share the simple announcement: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
…………………………………………
We were then given a discussion question: What is one thing that struck you about Pope Francis' vision of evangelisation for your parish?
………………………………………..
My response

Cardinal Wuerl is even more impressive in person than on paper. He went out of his way (just like Pope Francis) to greet and chat to as many non-dignitaries as possible. Even sitting still he still exuded the presence of the Holy Spirit.

There is a lot to unpack from this talk, and it bears reading and re-reading several times. However the part that stayed with me the longest was that we are living in a privileged time of grace, prepared by God during the last half-century and that we need to respond to God's call for us Now. When I think about all this the picture of a big wave of grace comes to mind, building and building - a bit like a tsunami-, and that we need to ride that wave as it begins to move. But the time is short, and if we are too slow to respond, then we will miss that wave of grace.

The call to 'Go Out' is one we need to hear and work out how to respond to. Frequently we put on programs and expect people to come to us, and to come to the parish buildings. As was recalled to me recently, Jesus did not sit in a synagogue and wait for people to come to Him. He went to every town and village He could get to. Somehow we need to get out of our parish building mindset and set up outreach in the community, where people go and gather. Granted, there is a significant amount of red tape (paperwork) and money that local Councils want these days for setting up a street stall – or to get a pop-up stall in a shopping centre – but our commitment to mission has to find ways through these obstacles.

On the good news side, it isn't necessary 'to reinvent the wheel'. St Paul Street Evangelisation is doing great work, and training people too. Their Twitter feed is worth following @spstreetevan . Faith on Tap @FaithOnTap, Theology on Tap and Spirituality in the Pub are all doing their outreach in venues where schooners and middies available. The very good work 40 Days For Life does as a public witness against the evils of abortion cannot be underestimated from an evangelical perspective either.

Anyone who has listened to Pope Francis over the past few years has heard that we need to do more to truly listen to people and accompany them where they are at. The next step, of helping them discern how best to respond to God in the concrete circumstances of their lives, hasn't had much 'air-play' up until now. But we do need to plan for it, otherwise it won't happen. Maybe we will hear more about that when we start getting the listening and accompanying going.

That Roman cab driver sure issued a challenge! It is all too easy to forget that we speak in what to the ears of others is 'unintelligible church-speak'. To get any traction with our listeners, we are going to have to learn the local patois, just like Our Lady did when she came to speak to St Bernadette at Lourdes.

I loved Cardinal Wuerl's description of the Church as a community of believers who have passed on their knowledge of Jesus from the first disciples to us today. Viewed that way, Church isn't an option extra but is the way we meet the living, breathing Jesus.

Urgency: I can't tell you how often my memory replays for me Warwick Neville saying 'The Gospel message is always urgent'. If it doesn't bother us that the things we have failed to do today may have stopped someone encountering Jesus, then it should. But for that encounter there is a chance he or she could be eternally lost. Hmmm, that parish Facebook page that I started pushing for over a year ago, just think how many people might have been reached or at least have had a thought about God cross their brains if it had happened back then.

For myself, I am making a point of trying to get into conversation with anyone who crosses my path whether it be waiting at the chemist, sitting on a train or bus, or trying to make sure that the stranger who came to church this morning was acknowledged as a person. So far the openings haven't come to speak directly of faith in Jesus, but hopefully these 'practice runs' will eventually produce that kind of fruit. On the plus side, every person has been memorable and in quieter moments prayed for afterwards.
…………………………………………………………………
 
In the next issue will have the homily from the opening Mass of the conference with Archbishop Coleridge presiding. I often find that the conference homilies contain the true keynotes of conferences like these.

A reminder that these notes are indeed rough. Many times I may not have caught Cardinal Wuerl's thought correctly or have mis-decoded my hasty scrawls. Apologies for any errors.
 

Over the past weeks I have come across several articles that are worthy of sharing. So here they are:

Putting them here also means that I should be able to find them easier.

Papal Visit to the USA, September 2015
I am very grateful to all those who posted photographs, tweets and articles about Pope Francis when he was in the United States, because they helped me participate in it from the other side of the world. But nothing beats getting his words unfiltered. So here is the best resource for those words. (I wish something similar had been done with the visit to Cuba). http://aleteia.org/2015/09/28/read-the-full-texts-of-all-of-pope-francis-addresses-during-his-visit-to-the-u-s/

Synod on the Family, October 2015
After Part 1 of the Synod in 2014, I decided that there would be far too many voices trying to put their own spin on the 2015 part of the Synod. To keep sanity amongst the wordy jungle and endless controversy and speculation, I decided to read only the information coming from the Synod itself, i.e. any interventions published by the speaker, any of the reports from the working groups, and snippets from the official press conferences. Very early on, I discovered that Archbishop Coleridge of Brisbane was providing a regular blog of his Synod experiences. Mercifully he has been far more interested in the participants and the daily working of the Synod than anything else – and it has been a joy to follow him through the joys of catching up with acquaintances, the struggles of finding unity of thought in the working groups, and his awareness of God might be working through it all. These blog posts are all under the title of 'On The Road Together' and start on 1 Oct 2015, and will probably continue a few days past 25 Oct 2015. http://brisbanecatholic.org.au/archbishop/articles-releases/

Related to all these discussions on the Family, are the following three articles:
Firstly, why helping families to thrive matters so much. An article with data about the outcomes of regions with the most intact marriages compared to the same data for regions with the least intact marriages. http://family-studies.org/how-strong-families-help-create-prosperous-states/
Secondly, how patterns of sin can erode marriages and why we need to hear preaching about how to recognise sinful habits and how to turn away from them and seek to live differently with God's help. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/simchafisher/2015/10/08/married-to-an-angry-man-an-open-letter-to-the-synod-fathers-guest-post/
Thirdly, how hard it is to break free of dysfunctional behaviour learnt in the family, and how important it is to have someone who cares about your well being enough to patiently teach you healthier behaviours. http://chnetwork.org/2015/10/lisa-campbell-former-assembly-of-god-the-journey-home/

Homelessness
The St Vincent de Paul society recently released a report on homelessness called 'Sick With Worry'. It convincingly shows that the major causes of homelessness are structural and rarely have anything to do with personal bad decisions. Only a tiny proportion of rental properties are affordable to someone on a pension. To have to go on a pension, all it takes is a health issue or a physical accident – things that could happen to anyone. The report contains many detailed case studies. Please read it. https://www.vinnies.org.au/page/Publications/National/Articles_Reports__Speeches/Sick_with_worry_2015_national_report/
Then read this eye-opening article with facts and figures on how providing low cost housing actually does lead to an 'everybody wins' scenario. http://www.vox.com/2014/5/30/5764096/its-three-times-cheaper-to-give-housing-to-the-homeless-than-to-keep

Gospel vs modern world view
While I don't agree with all of the conclusions in this article, the analysis of the prevailing ideas that young people have about God, faith and religion is brilliant. I am sure you have come across them:
•A God exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
•God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
•The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
•God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
•Good people go to heaven when they die. (Good as in earthly measures of good, not heavenly measures of good).
http://www.lawrencewilson.com/the-heresy-all-christian-teens-believe-and-how-to-fix-it/#more-9800

At some point or other you have heard a young person (or not so young person) ask why they should bother going to church. Answering that question stumps most of us. This article gives two viable reasons in language that millennials understand; we go to church to worship God and we go to be formed in virtue and schooled in faith. Consider sharing this one with your social networks and praying that young people click and read it. http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/10/go-to-church-justin-bieber

If you are looking for an antidote to Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, then this next article is for you. It contains reminders from St John of the Cross about several uncomfortable truths, i.e. that life is short, and that the path to salvation is difficult. http://blog.adw.org/2015/10/some-hard-spiritual-truths-that-will-set-you-free-a-meditation-on-a-teaching-by-st-john-of-the-cross/

Another refreshing antidote to the relationship chaos that so many young people find themselves in these days is this wonderful article on how great it is to develop a relationship with God while waiting for Him to let you know His long term plan for your happiness. Any person who is sick to death at being asked about when they are going to stop being single will want to share it with their tormentors. http://arleenspenceley.com/single/

That's more than enough to chew over for now.

​May Blessed Paul IV intercede that the Synod on the Family achieves Gods purposes.
May St Rita of Cascia pray for all married couples who are struggling.
May St Benedict Joseph Labre pray for all people suffering homelessness.
May St John Bosco pray for all of our young people, that they may find the true happiness God desires for them.
Amen.

This most definitely isn't the blog-post I had hoped to be writing today (on the Liturgy of the Hours). It will have to wait some more.

This blog-post is an effort to get all the input that has been coming to me in one place, so that others can use it and maybe even pick it up and run with it. Please be patient, the more you read the more it will make sense why I have posted it here.

Tonight I am taking my son off to the inaugural StartUp Weekend on the Central Coast. Here's the link http://www.up.co/communities/australia/central-coast/startup-weekend/6777 although I don't know how long that link will stay active. #StartupAusCC may be another way to find out more.

Initially the motivation for going was helping my son meet local business people and graphic designers and for him to hopefully get inspired by seeing how his skills can be used in real world situations.

The first part of the weekend is the pitch, where anyone can get up and pitch a business idea for 60 seconds.

Well and good. But what would motivate me enough to devote a whole weekend to being a team member for a business idea? Hmmm.

Sure I have ideas on the backburner, a website consultancy for creatives (reviewing existing websites for artists and writers, suggesting improvements, getting initial websites started), setting up a small publishing house for local children's book authors. But they don't really need interdisciplinary effort.

However there is a situation that lots of local people face, which needs to be addressed, about tertiary education.

Over the past two years I have seen the fees for TAFE courses quadruple. Cobbling together $400 is one thing, but now needing around $2000 for a Certificate III course is a much bigger ask. How many young people are going to miss out on vocational training because they don't have a comparatively wealthy relative to help them out? Yes, there are 'going into debt' options. But the risk of getting it wrong is so much higher than it ever was before.

Even a year's Diploma study, lowest rung university study or private college study is running at a minimum of $8000 per year. That's a lot of money to pay, or get into HECS debt over, with no guarantee of employment at the end of it. And we are expecting our 17 and 18 year olds to make those decisions based on a few subjects at school and very little life experience. Granted, a few grow up with a passion for a defined career path (teacher, nurse, paramedic, hairdresser, plumber) but many still have no idea at the end of Year 12. Some still have no idea several years after leaving school.

History tells us that unskilled young people without the dignity of regular employment are going to sooner or later find themselves in trouble – poverty, gangs, lawbreaking, depression etc.

Helping young people discover their talents and their vocational career path is not just important for them and their families, but also for the safety and welfare of the communities they live in.

Doing something about that would be worthwhile, and need an interdisciplinary approach.

Perhaps these two blog-posts may help understand where I am coming from http://www.societyofsaints.net/blog/listening-to-the-call and http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/5906/death-and-resurrection-of-an-urban-church

What I do know is that most career counselling seems to be little more than listening and reflecting back. Just as I learned so much about God's ways of bringing couples together to marry by asking how they first met; recording the ways people found their first job, how they found a long term career, and what they regret they didn't do career-wise would be exceedingly helpful. Human nature doesn't change much, just the date, as family historians are fond of saying. Gathering actual case studies would be valuable so that a youngster can say: 'Hey, that person sounds like me, maybe what they did is worth investigating'.

The something would have to be organized on a non-profit basis, so that it could be accessed by the most vulnerable. Fundraising would be necessary, and also a good thing because fundraising can bring the members of a community closer together.

Grants to help pay for education will be necessary. Referrals would be best from places like the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Salvation Army because they tend to help whole families and can notice youngsters with aptitude. Maybe even a process like the Australia Day awards would work, where anyone in the community can nominate someone they think is deserving.

But such grants would be the start of a relationship, not just a handout or a hand-up. At tertiary places of study students hand in work, essays, projects, etc on a regular basis. That work should be showcased and seen by the whole community. Something like an end of term exhibition, 4 times a year, at local libraries or church halls or surf clubs, where everybody gets to feel pride in their achievements and local business gets a chance to look at local talent. Throw in a BBQ or sausage sizzle and get people taking and meeting each other.

We also need to give people a chance to 'have a go' before they commit to study. Firstly as a vehicle for discerning whether you are interested in that type of work and secondly as a reality check for what that kind of work is actually like. So often our young people go to tertiary study and come out with some preparation for what is needed at the higher echelons of a profession but no idea what the entry level work is going to be like.

Schools used to organize Work Experience weeks. Whether they still do, I don't know, but 2 days here and 3 days there at several enterprises would be very helpful – with some kind of low level payment for labour. Employers would need to commit to freeing up their time to mentor people through the experience. Feedback forms from both sides would be essential, a la Caroline Chisholm.

The profession I was trained in had a rather enlightened approach. I don't know whether it still does. But companies would offer working scholarships to those going through the uni course. There was a weekly payment, and work experience during holiday times. The profession committed itself to training up young people as a service not just to the company they worked for but also to the whole industry. They understood that everyone benefited. In contrast it seems that these days employers expect everyone to be fully skilled before they employ them and do an absolute minimum of in-house training.

I think we will see lots of young people deciding that tertiary education is no longer worth the time and expense to invest in it. The only way to cope with this is to bring back some kind of master-apprentice relationship. Often I have heard it said at funerals, 'I did well in this profession, because this person showed me the best way to do it'. Learning like this doesn't come from books, but from discussing real world situations and how best to deal with them. Facilitating relationships like this will become increasingly important I think, especially if we ever have to face a new Depression era. 

This passage from Laudato Si has stayed with me:

"In some places, cooperatives are being developed to exploit renewable sources of energy which ensure local self-sufficiency and even the sale of surplus energy. This simple example shows that, while the existing world order proves powerless to assume its responsibilities, local individuals and groups can make a real difference. They are able to instill a greater sense of responsibility, a strong sense of community, a readiness to protect others, a spirit of creativity and a deep love for the land. They are also concerned about what they will eventually leave to their children and grandchildren." Laudato Si 179a 

And this excerpt as well, from an Interview with Pope Francis on Portuguese Radio 8 Sep 2015 http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-of-pope-francis-interview-with-portuguese-radio-station-44460/

"Work with unemployed youth. I think here it's urgent to do so, above all in religious congregations that have education as a charism, but also laity, lay educators, to create small courses, emergency schools. So, a young person who is unemployed, studies cooking for six months, or studies to be gas or heating technician for six months - so long as rooves keep breaking - or to be a painter. So, with this skill they always have the possibility of finding work, even part-time, for the moment. It's doing what we call a "changa," I don't know how…(journalist asks about the meaning of "change") "Changa," yes. It’s occasional work, right? A good "change" And with that not everyone is unemployed. But today is the day. It's the time of emergency education, which is what Don Bosco did. Don Bosco, when he saw the amount of young people who were in the street, he said that education is needed, but sending the children to middle school, the humanities, no. Trades. So, he prepared carpenters, plumbers, who taught them to work and they had to earn a living. And Don Bosco had that. And now I want to tell an anecdote of Don Bosco. Here, in Rome, close to Trastevere, where it was a very poor area, but now it's the popular area for youth to "go out," right? Ok. Don Bosco passed by there. He was there in a carriage, in a car, I don’t know, and they threw a rock and broke the glass. He stopped and said: "This is the place where we have to establish ourselves." That is, in the face of an aggression, he didn't live it as an aggression. He lived it as a challenge to help people, boys, youth, who only knew how to attack. And today, there is a Salesian parish here which forms youth and children, with their schools, their things. Well, this - returning to the theme of youth, right? – what's important today is to give emergency education about some trade so that they can earn a living."

We need to help each other find that purpose for which God gave them unique talents, as Blessed John Henry Newman so eloquently puts it:

"God knows me and calls me by my name.…
God has created me to do Him some definite service;
He has committed some work to me
     which He has not committed to another.
I have my mission—I never may know it in this life,
     but I shall be told it in the next.
Somehow I am necessary for His purposes…
     I have a part in this great work;
I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection
     between persons.
He has not created me for naught. I shall do good,
     I shall do His work;
I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth
     in my own place, while not intending it,
     if I do but keep His commandments
     and serve Him in my calling."

OK. There's all the input I can recall.

Here's my 60 second pitch:

"TAFE fees have quadrupled in the last 2 years, and a single year of tertiary education now costs a minimum of $8000 with no guarantee of employment at the end of it. That's a huge gamble for any student and their family, and a lot of debt to carry. I think we should start a local non-profit with these aims: grants to students with expectations of exhibition of work, ongoing community involvement and celebration of their achievements; career advice through case studies of how actual people found their long term career; facilitation of short term work experience and facilitation of informal apprenticeships and mentorships. I'd like to see it begin on the Woy Woy Peninsula.
All I have is the need and the idea, help me make it happen."

 

Please pray that if God wants something like this to happen, that it all comes together over this weekend and beyond.

St Joseph, pray for us.

St John Bosco, pray for us.

Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us.

St John the Baptist, pray for us.

In Rome, and in many diocesan cathedrals around the world - and hopefully some parish churches as well - preparations are being made for 24 Hours For The Lord at the end of this week (13/14 Mar 2015). It is a wonderful initiative of Pope Francis, to keep the lights on and the doors open for a full 24 hours, and to invite people to come and pray and to return to the Sacrament of Penance. Many generous priests will be giving up sleep over those 24 hours to be used by Jesus to bring His Mercy to all those who seek it. May they be richly rewarded for such service.

In many other churches there will be opportunities to attend the sacrament of Penance under the 2nd Rite of Reconciliation in these final weeks before Good Friday. At those times the community gathers, prays, listens to Scripture and has an opportunity to think about those areas of their lives that are not in harmony with God's love before going up individually to one of the several priests available to confess their sins, followed by a time of prayer and communal thanksgiving.

The big question is: How can we make it easier for people who haven't experienced God's personal Mercy in a long time to take that daunting step into the confessional?

For starters you need a team of well-prepared parishioners outside the doors of the church building. People need a friendly face on the outside of a church as they do the 'Will I or won't I go in?' battle. The courage it takes to get over a church threshold is formidable, and the battle happens outside not inside. They become a visual reminder of the Father waiting for the prodigal child to return home.

You need people outside, so that someone can come up and ask, 'What's going on inside?' 'Why are there lights on at 2am?' and so an answer can be given, 'Pope Francis has asked us to have open house for 24 hours so that people can pray and so they can experience God's Mercy in the sacrament of Penance. If you wanted to go inside, you would be most welcome.'

Then if someone says, 'But I don't know how to pray' or 'I have forgotten how to go to confession' or 'Can you tell me what sin is, so that I know what I need to confess?' your team can help them.

If you can have a similar team on the inside of the church as well, that's even better. You need people on the alert for those who have become emotional before and especially after the sacrament of penance. Do you have a ready supply of tissues? Do you have people on alert for those going through the 'Will I or won't I risk going through the confessional door?' battle who can pray silently, and can encourage when appropriate. Do you have people ready to listen to those who have just experienced God's Mercy? Do you have people who can get up to a microphone every hour or so and give testimony to how prayer and the sacrament of Penance have changed their lives?

In the confessionals themselves, have the priests been supplied with printed material to hand out to penitents? Things like Parish Welcome kits (with information on parish groups, how to contact the parish office, Mass times, Reconciliation times, RCIA and how to enroll a child in a Catholic school etc), How to Pray pamphlets, small booklets of the Compendium of the Catechism and Gospels. Anything that will assist a penitent to keep going forward in the grace they have received help from God's Mercy.

Person to person interaction is best, but even that needs paperwork support, so here are some resources to download:

Sin is when we do not love God and others as Jesus taught us to. That's the answer our children going through sacramental initiation receive. Pondering our lives in the light of the Ten Commandments is valuable when preparing for the Sacrament of Penance. These documents are A4 size, one for adults and one for children.

Now that the season of Lent has arrived for 2015 you may be looking for inspiration and you may be looking for worthwhile charities to donate your almsgiving moneys to. As you seek, please consider Linda's House of Hope.

Inspiration

Pope Francis has been calling us to go deeper than a surface level in our relationships with others, and to truly journey alongside them for the long haul. This is what he says in Evangelii Gaudium 91:

"One important challenge is to show that the solution will never be found in fleeing from a personal and committed relationship with God which at the same time commits us to serving others. This happens frequently nowadays, as believers seek to hide or keep apart from others, or quietly flit from one place to another or from one task to another, without creating deep and stable bonds. “Imaginatio locorum et mutatio multos fefellit”.This is a false remedy which cripples the heart and at times the body as well. We need to help others to realize that the only way is to learn how to encounter others with the right attitude, which is to accept and esteem them as companions along the way, without interior resistance. Better yet, it means learning to find Jesus in the faces of others, in their voices, in their pleas. And learning to suffer in the embrace of the crucified Jesus whenever we are unjustly attacked or meet with ingratitude, never tiring of our decision to live in fraternity."

Linda Watson is doing just that in her work in helping women escape from the slavery of prostitution. It is long term work, not only helping women find a way out of prostitution but also a way out of the drug addiction and other abuses that go with it. It is work that requires patience, and one to one personal care. 

The following article from 'The Record' explains things better than I can:   
http://www.therecord.com.au/news/local/support-needed-to-stop-catastrophe/

Worthwhile Charity

There are many charities around that spend huge sums on newsletters, brochures, and promotional gimmicks, but Linda's House of Hope doesn't. Even the donation form is simple and without fancy coloured design (see the PDF below). So you know that a big slice of your money will not be spent on attracting further donations.

It is only recently that Linda's House of Hope now has a Facebook page, and it is worth visiting every so often to learn about their current needs and activities. For example the bathroom is undergoing much needed renovation, meals are frozen to help those in urgent difficulty, and extra money is required to fund airfares for a helper to accompany women with mental health problems in order for those women to get the professional help they need. Your 'Like' or 'Share' will assist them, too. 

https://www.facebook.com/LindasHouseOfHope

For even more background information read http://southlandmissions.org/index.php/we-help/ct-menu-item-29 and http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/ex-madam-dreams-of-a-farm

Above all else, please pray for Linda, for her team, and for all those she is helping out of darkness and into hope and healing. 

St Martha and St Mary Magdalene, pray for them.
St George, pray for them
St Andrew the Apostle, pray for them.
St John Eudes, pray for them.