Luem spends time helping those infected like him

This is Luem Laom. He was one of the first of 275 in his village in Cambodia to be diagnosed with HIV. That was in December last year. 

 

Out of his immediate 8 family members, 4 of also tested positive with the virus. Luem now helps out as a volunteer offering support and counseling to other affected families.

According to the Cambodian authorities, an unlicensed doctor who re-used syringes and other medical equipment was responsible for spreading the infection to unsuspecting victims. 

Catholic Mission is committed in providing support of these victims of HIV through supporting its local partner, the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang, provide Emergency support services. To ensure this project can continue to provide those people affected with AIDS and other chronic diseases in village of Roka and their families, with different tools to help overcome the difficulties they face, we are looking to raise $45,000.

If you can support this cause, click on the link below and go through the various fields. At the bottom of the page, where it has a box for you to give a bit more information, please mention this post and indicate your contribution is for the village in Cambodia. Tell them 'David in Brisbane sent us'. And thanks, on behalf of those inadvertently affected by this awful disease. 

https://www.catholicmission.org.au/donate

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Huen's hospital visits are taking a toll

Huen is the wife of the Chief of Roka village. As Chief, her husband combines this responsibility with being a farmer in order to provide their family with sufficient income. Huen is the mother to four children, each of which have been diagnosed with HIV, including herself.

In February, they joined the powder milk program of the Catholic Church’s Health Centre which provides powdered milk to mothers with infant babies and monitors there nutrition and weight.

Huen family is now struggling to survive as she has had to stop working. Every month, she must travel to and from the Provincial Hospital 15 km away is to receive monthly medication for herself and her four children. If they eventually get sick, they will have no support for any sort of transportation to the hospital.  

Huen’s main priority right now is to assure a clean house and access to clean water and food on a daily basis for her family.

If you can support this cause, click on the link below and go through the various fields. At the bottom of the page, where it has a box for you to give a bit more information, please mention this post and indicate your contribution is for the village in Cambodia. Tell them 'David in Brisbane sent us'. And thanks, on behalf of those inadvertently affected by this awful disease. 

https://www.catholicmission.org.au/donate

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Despite 'love and care', doctor still spreads HIV among villagers

 The focus for today's post is on Kuu Mau (pictured above). He is the head of his family. Like many of the other people in his village, he also has contracted HIV. As a HIV sufferer himself, what saddens him most is having to witness his 15 year old granddaughter also being diagnosed with the virus.Their home was scarce meters away from the house of the unlicensed doctor who allegedly brought the virus to the Commune. 

Mau knew this doctor personally for many years, so he was especially surprised to hear that he could be the reason for this tragedy. In his own words, the unlicensed doctor “always treated his patients with love and care”. 

Mau’s granddaughter Kaeu Nita (pictured below) is currently living in a shelter home run by the Catholic Church in Battambang, where her welfare is guaranteed as she continues to focus on her studies.

If you can support this cause, click on the link below and go through the various fields. At the bottom of the page, where it has a box for you to give a bit more information, please mention this post and indicate your contribution is for the village in Cambodia. Tell them 'David in Brisbane sent us'. And thanks, on behalf of those inadvertently affected by this awful disease.

https://www.catholicmission.org.au/donate

 

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Unwitting HIV victims need our help

This is being written on a morning when the world watches in horror as Nepal, a place of mountain ranges and mystery, is rocked by the after-effects of a devastating earthquake. I am writing this blog entry, mindful that there are many calls on the hearts and hip-pockets of people, like you the reader, to give. However, I want to draw your attention this week to a country in the same region, but slightly to the south. 

This week, I would like to introduce you to a number of people from a small village in Cambodia. They won't make headlines but they need our help, as badly as the families affected by the natural disaster in Nepal. They won't have people advocating for them, like the pair waiting to be shot in Bali, but they have each been unwittingly afflicted with a disease that could, potentially, be a death sentence.This is their story.  

Monday, April 27 - In the beginning of November 2014, Laom (pictured) started preparing his rice fields for planting. After a few days of working long hours in the fields, he felt weaker than usual and decided to visit a private clinic in the city for a check-up. The doctor took some blood samples and Laom was diagnosed with HIV. His initial reaction was one of denial, defending that he had never behaved in an inappropriate way and could not understand how this was possible.

He was so ashamed of this diagnosis that he could not face telling his family and instead went to speak with the village Chief and later to consult with the head oaf the village health centre. They both advised him to seek a second opinion on the diagnosis in the Provincial Hospital. The second blood test came back positive again and after receiving this news, he went home and told his family. They supported him from the outset and it was decided to that all of his family members should take precautionary blood tests themselves; Out of his immediate eight family members, four have also tested positive with the virus.

If you can support this cause, click on the link below and go through the various fields. At the bottom of the page, where it has a box for you to give a bit more information, please mention this post and indicate your contribution is for the village in Cambodia. Tell them 'David in Brisbane sent us'. And thanks, on behalf of those inadvertently affected by this awful disease.

https://www.catholicmission.org.au/donate

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Algo Bello Para Dios in Toowong

The following is the text of an appeal talk I prepared, as Director of Catholic Mission in Brisbane, for the parishes of Toowong and Indooroopilly, on the weekend of July 16/17.

There is a young lady in this community tonight/today, whose name is Bella. It is a name that means Beautiful. She is a family friend but I mention her specifically because the Spanish version of her name is Bello...and it is this word that figures prominently in the Catholic Mission appeal for this year.

ALGO BELLO PARA DIOS – Something Beautiful For God. It was an expression coined by Blessed Mother Teresa and used by one of the church communities in Peru, when it established a hospice for people living with HIV or AIDS. Set up in an old warehouse eight years ago, the facility was called ALGO BELLO PARA DIOS. Tonight/today, you, like the people of Las Malvinas and like Gabriela, who is on the front of the appeal envelope, are being asked to Do Something Beautiful for God.

Before I introduce you to Gabriela and her work, I have a confession to make: my confession is this: I have never been on Mission! I have never left my homeland, to travel abroad and offer myself in service to the church or those who are poor, sick or oppressed. Like some of you here tonight, I have lived out my mission, here in Australia, as a husband, as a father, as an employee and a colleague.

For those of us here tonight/today, who are filled with faith but not yet hearing the call to travel overseas or to remote parts of Australia, in service of our faith, Mission begins the moment we wake up and continues as we make our way through the day, the week, the year. You don’t need a passport to do Mission and it’s not limited only to those who wear the Roman collar or who don a habit. In fact, our entire baptised life is a constant call to create ALGO BELLO PARA DIOS – Something Beautiful for God.

My mission has changed somewhat however in these past few months. Last year, I had to give the eulogy at my son, Brodie’s, funeral. He was just over five years old. A decade earlier, I did the same thing for my daughter, Amber Rose. For me, there is now a very clear question of “if I am not called to be a father in a day-to-day sense, what am I meant to be doing?” And then I look at the image on the envelope you are holding...

Gabriela cannot be here to ask for your support. She is answering the call of God to serve the people of Peru, through the communal kitchen she has set up in Las Malvinas. Father Raymundo who set up the AIDS clinic, also cannot be here to ask for your support. So I guess, for the moment, I have made it my mission to come before you, on their behalf!

The readings for this weekend seem simple, in that they see Jesus use parables to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. The imagery we hear in the Gospel includes the Kingdom being described as the sown seed, the mustard seed that becomes a sheltering tree and the yeast that leavens the bread.

Of all these images, however, it is the parable of the wheat and the darnel, and how they become entwined, that dominates. It is a reflection unique to Matthew, focusing as it does on the idea that not only is the world made up of people who become apathetic in their faith but there are those who actively oppose Gospel values. It is in this world – where evil seems to flourish, poverty is prevalent, and disease and violence is rife – that Catholic Mission operates. Those we support in more than 160 countries – the dedicated missionaries - around the world are the wheat; what they tackle is the darnel.

It is a theme carried over from the first reading, where the author of the book of Wisdom declares: “Your justice has its source in strength, your sovereignty over all makes you lenient to all... “You only have to will and your power is there.” God could solve all the world’s problems but He created us with the potential to take the mustard seed of our faith and nurture it so that it can grow and spread its branches. Contributing to the appeal will do just this, by providing shelter, education, medical assistance and pastoral support, to those in need.

I think Jesus uses the parable of the wheat and the darnel to also point out something fundamental about us, as humans: in each of us, there is potential for good, and potential for evil. One moment we are a Saint, the next a Sinner. Stuff happens in our lives that makes us doubt, makes us question, makes us angry and sets us railing against the injustice of it all. That’s the darnel.

I know I find myself asking lots of questions about why my two children have both been called ‘home’ before me – parents shouldn’t have to bury their children! And while I can’t make sense of it, just yet, I am confident that there is a divine plan and that one day, I might appreciate how and why my children were my ALGO BELLO PARA DIOS for only a brief time!

From my limited perspective, I think the point of Jesus’ parable is that we don’t have all the answers, and we can’t provide the solutions to the world’s ills, on our own. What Matthew’s account encourages is discernment and prudence. We are not always able to distinguish accurately between what is wheat, or good, and what is darnel, or evil. It is Jesus alone who is qualified to judge. This Gospel – as with the appeal itself – is ultimately one that asks us to trust in God’s providence and divine justice.

Donating to Catholic Mission is not about solving all the world’s problems. Make no mistake – your contributions DO make a SIGNIFICANT difference and the inside flap of the appeal envelope gives some examples of how this happens. For instance, $544 – the equivalent of two beers or cups of coffee each week – will enable missionaries to provide food and medicine to 65 river villages in extreme poverty in Peru.

Our donations are like the mustard seed that turns into a tree providing shelter, education, medical assistance, pastoral support, even the Sacraments. Or you could also consider a donation to Catholic Mission as yeast that, when combined with the faithfulness of heroic missionaries like Gabriela and Fr Raymundo, helps ‘leaven’ the conditions experienced by needy people, in more than 160 countries around the world, practically and spiritually.

One such example is the focus for our appeal tonight/today. In the urban river slum of Las Malvina, on the outskirts of Iquitos, the poverty is so extreme, people live in wooden houses made of planks and boards, with only two or three walls and occasionally no roof. Flood conditions exist for up to 7 months each year, bringing sewage, rubbish and disease into the make-shift homes. Polish lay missionary Gabriela says the cars in her homeland of Poland ‘live’ in better conditions, in the garages, than the people of Iquitos do in their homes.” She opened a communal kitchen for local children and it has since expanded to include literacy and education support. With the help of Catholic Mission, and its loyal donors such as you here tonight, she has created ALGO BELLO PARA DIOS – Something Beautiful for God.

I would now like to give you all a chance to respond, according to your capacity, and fill out the envelope or make your contribution.

(GIVE PEOPLE SOME TIME TO FILL OUT ENVELOPES, MAKE DONATION)

I began my talk tonight/today by singling out Bella, the daughter of my friends. I would like to conclude by addressing my closing remarks to her, her sister, Katie, and all those who can rightly be described as Children of God. In doing so, I am going to draw on some of the words from a lovely children’s book, written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

In his book, God’s Dream, Archbishop Tutu asks:

Dear Child of God: do you know how to make God’s Dream come true? It is really quite easy. As easy as sharing, loving, caring; as easy as holding, playing, laughing. As easy as knowing we are one big family, because we are all God’s children.
Will you help God’s dream come true?

On behalf of Gabriela, Luisa, Fr Raymundo and all those whose your support will benefit, I ask you: “Will you help God’s dream come true? If you have answered yes, by making a donation, I thank you. You can be confident that you have done exactly what the appeal asks tonight: Algo Bello Para Dios.

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Readings pose a particular - and personal - challenge

This weekend, I have the privilege of serving as a Mission Ambassador at Masses in Holland Park and Mt Gravatt.

Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your worship celebrations, as a community, tonight/today.

Three housekeeping matters, before I begin:

1) Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this area and pay respect to our indigenous brothers and sisters;
2) Secondly, I would ask, right now, that you please take up one of the envelopes that are placed in each pew, as I am going to be referring to this regularly during my talk. Have a quick look at it and you will note, I hope, the strong indigenous 'flavour', or 'feel', to the way the envelope looks and also the actual content contained on it.
3) My final housekeeping matter is perhaps the most important and that's to say "THANKYOU" for the support you have given to Catholic Mission in the past. Whether it be through our annual appeals, or as a regular donor, we - and the people we serve - are extremely grateful.

To be among you tonight is actually quite challenging for me. Tonight/today's Gospel, with its focus on the death - and resurrection - of the 12-year-old daughter of Jairus is extremely poignant. I will explain why shortly. But let me ask, at this point, in time, if all those who are parents could raise their hands: as I suspected, it is many of us here tonight who have experienced the joys and no doubt challenges of parenthood. I hope you will feel a certain sense of solidarity with some of the stories I share with you tonight.

The second reading proclaimed by (insert name of reader) is such a great text for us to hear on this weekend when Catholic Mission is conducting its annual appeal. There is so much in it that is relevant to the message I want to leave with you today/tonight. Writing to the church in Corinth, St Paul reminds them that with the same spirit of generosity shown by Jesus - who laid down his life for us all - so they need to be generous to those less fortunate. This is part of their mission as a community of believers.

But the other mission that they also have to bear in mind is the call to look after each other. He writes: "This does not mean that to give relief to others you ought to make things difficult for yourselves". It is a question, Paul says, of balance: their surplus against the needs of those around them. So my first message to you all is the same message I would say to any donors: "please consider your particular circumstances - as a couple, as a family, as an individual - and then give generously, from your own surplus.

In saying this, however, I am not saying 'don't give'. Nor am I saying that the need is not great. And I am definitely not saying that you should give simply because there is someone less fortunate. I am not here tonight asking for charity. Far from it. Instead, I am asking you to join with all those who are putting their faith into practice, as missionaries, and whose own lives are being enriched by their experiences of serving others, either at home or overseas.

Let me explain: anyone who is a Vincentian and who does visitation work on a regular basis, or anyone who has done any sort of outreach or volunteer work will tell you that, often, through their experiences, their life is enriched by the people they encounter. Missionaries over the years write and speak of this experience as well. It is the realisation that comes when we understand that while we might be engaging in mission to others, it is those others who impact and affect us as well. This is the essence of the Christian Gospel and it is what is meant by our appeal slogan "Our salvation is bound together". Paul reminds us of this when he writes, again in the second reading, "one day, those in need may have something to spare that will supply your own need".

So my second message to you tonight/today is: do not think of the people I now tell you about as in need of charity. Yes, their circumstances are difficult, at times even life-threatening. But all the people Catholic Mission helps in more 180 countries around the world, and across Australia, are worthy of help simply because they, like us, are made in the image of God. People like Sr Barbara Tippolay, and those they work with, deserve our support simply because they are doing what we cannot do, but which we recognise as being important towards building the Kingdom of God.

Sr Barbara Tippolay lives and works in a remote community on the Tiwi Islands, just north of Darwin. After many years serving others in PNG, Sister Barbara felt called to bring healing into her own community.

As a child, Sr Barbara was raised at Garden Point Mission on Melville Island. As she became a teenager, she found herself assuming responsibility for looking after some of the smaller children in the community.

She then went on to work as a teacher in Papua New Guinea and ultimately became Superior General for her congregation, The Handmaids of Our Lord. Since coming back to the Tiwi Islands, she co-ordinates a Women's Centre, where she encourages local women to share their creative talents. This poster and the envelope you have in your hand (hold up poster and envelope) each contain elements of some of the art work produced by one of those women and Catholic Mission is grateful to have been given permission to use it in our appeal materials.

Sr Barbara is a living example of someone who seeks to bring the Good News message of hope and reconciliation to those around her. Working with the women, on various textiles projects and engaging in regular dialogue and discussion, Sr Barbara has created a space where her fellow Tiwi Islanders can share the stories of their history and of their family life and also of their struggles with issues such as domestic violence and suicide.

The sisters are often stretched for resources. To help with their work, they do their own fundraising by baking cakes and selling them to locals. Sometimes, they have to deal with the reality of people, who are desperate, being found asleep on their front steps.

Like the psalmist who says he will declare his gratitude to God forever, so Sr Barbara - and the many thousands of missionaries like her - are grateful for the support people like you here tonight/today, provide.

Before I reflect on tonight's/today's Gospel, and its significance to me, let me tell you briefly about Catholic Mission itself. Firstly, we are not an agency that has occasional contact with the Catholic Church; we are very much embedded in the Church itself. We are the official aid agency of the Pope and have been supporting the church in more than 160 countries for over 185 years.

Secondly, we structure our work through three different Societies, each of which has a particular focus or mandate: there is the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, which allows donors to support the work of the Church across different communities; this includes the Home Mission Fund, which has been set up by the Catholic Church in Australia to support, through a 30 per cent allocation of funds raised through our church appeals, the church's work in remote, poor and indigenous communities, in Australia. Our work with our indigenous brothers and sisters is, as you can tell from the story of Sr Barbara, just as important and just as powerful an example of mission work as what occurs overseas.

The second Society is the Children's Mission Society. This allows donors to support the church's work with children. Significantly, we do not look to support one-on-one relationships, through child sponsorship, but rather we facilitate the support of whole communities of young children and teenagers, through this program. I will have some brochures with me at the end of Mass for anyone who would like to know more about supporting this particular ministry.

Finally, there is the Society of St Peter Apostle. This is a program that gives donors the chance to support the church's work of training and equipping future leaders, such as priests and religious, to serve communities in their place of birth.

This is who we are, as an organisation. The funds are dispersed in a very democratic way in that each year, National Directors from each country's version of Catholic Mission gather to see how much money has been raised. They then look at the various applications for funding that have been submitted, from each diocese across the globe, and make decisions about which projects or ministries can be supported. It is very much the local church putting forward ideas for enriching, or bringing life, to the people it is serving at a grassroots level. We, as Catholic Mission in Australia, do not impose or tell people like Sr Barbara where and how to spend any money they might receive. This is a powerful model and one which helps ensure accountability to our different stakeholders, especially our donors.

Now, I have hinted that today's Gospel and the first reading, both of which focus on the topic of death, provided me with some significant emotional and intellectual challenges. One of the reasons I say this is because the reality for many of the children we support, and for many of those in countries where the church is at work, is that death is always present! If we - Catholic Mission - is to truly live out its mission statement of "Life to the full", we must continue to call upon the people of Australia, to support our work.

Another reason why I have been confronted by the content of today's readings is that during the week I heard that some friends of our's had lost their 5-year-old daughter. She had been sick for many months and had spent the past several months virtually confined to a hospital bed, in a room of the Paterson Ward at the Royal Children's Hospital. She had not been expected to see her fifth birthday...but she did…and then, somehow, against the odds, the days kept rolling on! Her parents stayed by her bedside, day and night, waiting for the moment when they would finally have to say 'goodbye'. That moment came last Wednesday morning, at 1.24am. For this little girl's parents, there was to be no miraculous recovery like we hear about with the daughter of Jairus.

I know so much about this family's journey because my wife and I have walked the same path. With our son Brodie, we have spent many months, in another room, just down the hall in the same hospital. Brodie's situation is not terminal but it is certainly chronic and we have been told, as recently as this week, that unless a miracle occurs, we can only expect to have him with us for "months or years but definitely not decades".

I mention the stories of these two children because I have to come to realise that, when all is said and done, what our faith is all about is that we are all engaged in Mission. Since assuming the role of Director, I have come to passionately believe that whatever we do as Christians - in relationships, in our professional lives, in our extra-curricular activities - we are engaging in Mission. As a father, I have come to appreciate, as Jairus did, that my mission is to care for, role model and hopefully, instill in Brodie a knowledge that he is indeed loved by God. As a husband, I have learnt that my mission is to love and support Celena, even when it may not be the most exciting option to do so. As an employee, my mission is to act justly, to walk humbly and to love those around me, with tenderness and compassion.

Each of us here tonight/today are engaged in Mission. But there are some who undertake missionary work in foreign lands or locations removed from where they grew up. It is those we support through Catholic Mission and it is those we ask you to think about, pray about and, most importantly, contribute to tonight/today.

I share about my son and the daughter of our friends because it reminds me of why I am working for Catholic Mission. We have access to medical professionals and a whole range of resources, simply because of where we live. But many of those we support – in the orphanages of Africa or the schools of India – do not have the same opportunities.

My call to each of you here tonight/today is two-fold: celebrate your own missionary calling, whatever and however that may be; and please give generously so that parents who struggle to feed, clothe or keep their children healthy do not have to experience the heartache and loss that comes when a son or daughter dies.

If I could ask that you now take your envelope, and a pencil or pen, and make a contribution appropriate to your circumstances and ability to give.

If you are wondering about what is an appropriate gift, I draw your attention to the inside flap of the envelope, which lists how certain amounts could be used in communities across the world.

(Pause to give people time to fill out envelopes)
As we move into the celebration of our Eucharist, I would like to thank Sr Kari for giving me permission to share with you tonight. It is a privilege that Catholic Mission does not take for granted. Thank you Sister.

Finally, I would like to thank you: for your attention as I have spoken, for your interest in the work of Catholic Mission, and, most significantly tonight/today, for your financial generosity. I pray God will richly bless you all and look forward to being part of your community again in the future.

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I have made my debut as a Catholic Mission speaker

This is a copy of the first talk I gave as part of my role as a Catholic Mission Ambassador, at Masses in the Annerley/Ekibin Churches last weekend (June 20-21).

Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your worship celebrations, as a community, tonight/today.

Three housekeeping matters, before I begin:

1) Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this area and pay respect to our indigenous brothers and sisters;
2) Secondly, I would ask, right now, that you please take up one of the envelopes that are placed in each pew, as I am going to be referring to this regularly during my talk.
3) My final housekeeping matter is perhaps the most important and that's to say "THANKYOU" for the support you have given to Catholic Mission in the past. Whether it be through our annual appeals, or as a regular donor, we - and the people we serve - are extremely grateful.

I am extremely humbled to be here, within the church community of St John Fisher/MaryMac, as this is an area that holds some fond memories for me. I was working for the St Vincent de Paul Society several years ago, as its State Youth Ministries Co-ordinator, when I had the privilege of accompanying a group of young children from Inala, for a Buddies Day, to a World Refugee Day event hosted in, and around, the MaryMac function centre. I also have been present at a number of the Adult Faith Gathering Days that are held each year in the same venue.

What I saw when we brought the children from Inala was what happens when different cultures meet: the children came to experience a day out but they had their eyes, minds and I would dare say, their hearts, opened to the presence of people who were different from them. In turn, the overall day was enriched when some of those children got up to take part in some traditional dancing put on by some of the African people.

Mission is not just about us going off to make someone else's life better. Hopefully, that's a direct result of mission taking place. But the essence of mission lies in the type of encounter we hear about in today's second reading, where Paul and Barnabas speak of their interaction with the Gentiles: in responding to the call, or command of God, they are compelled to share the light of Christ; the Gentiles, in turn are "glad and honored" and come to their own relationship with God. Faith is not imposed or forced upon them but it becomes their choice.

The story of Sr Barbara Tippolay, who is the focus of our appeal at this time, also reflects this dynamic.

Sr Barbara lives and works in a remote community on the Tiwi Islands, just north of Darwin. After many years serving others in PNG, Sister Barbara felt called to bring healing into her own community.

As a child, she was raised at Garden Point Mission on Melville Island. As she became a teenager, she found herself assuming responsibility for looking after some of the smaller children in the community.

Sr Barbara then went on to work as a teacher in PNG and ultimately became Superior General for her congregation, The Handmaids of Our Lord. Since returning to the Tiwi Islands, she co-ordinates a Women's Centre, where she encourages local women to share their creative talents. This poster and the envelope you have in your hand (hold up poster and envelope) each contain elements of some of the art work produced by one of these women and Catholic Mission is grateful to have been given permission to use it in our appeal materials.

Just as Paul and Barnabas responded to the call into today's Gospel, to "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation", Sr Barbara is a living example of someone who seeks to bring the Good News message of hope and reconciliation to those around her. Working with the women, on various textiles projects and engaging in regular dialogue and discussion, Sr Barbara has created a space where her fellow Tiwi Islanders can share the stories of their history and of their family life and also of their struggles with issues such as domestic violence and suicide.

To help with their work, the Sisters often fundraise by baking cakes and selling them to locals. Sometimes, they have to deal with the reality of finding desperate people asleep on their front steps.

Sr Barbara is doing all she can to help these people. But just as the disciples were upheld by the Lord, so too Sr Barbara needs our support. This is where Catholic Mission - and the people who support us - come in.

Before I share the story of another missionary with you, let me tell you briefly about Catholic Mission itself. Firstly, we are not an agency that has occasional contact with the Catholic Church; we are very much embedded in the Church itself. We are the official aid agency of the Pope and have been supporting the church in more than 160 countries for over 185 years.

Secondly, we structure our work through three different Societies, each of which has a particular focus or mandate: there is the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, which allows donors to support the work of the Church across different communities; this includes the Home Mission Fund, which has been set up by the Catholic Church in Australia to support, through a 30 per cent allocation of funds raised through our church appeals, the church's work in remote, poor and indigenous communities, in Australia. Our work with our indigenous brothers and sisters is, as you can tell from the story of Sr Barbara, just as important and powerful an example of mission work as what occurs overseas.

The second Society is the Children's Mission Society, which allows donors to support the church's work with children. I will have some brochures with me at the end of Mass for anyone who would like to know more about supporting this particular ministry.

Finally, there is the Society of St Peter Apostle. This is a program that gives donors the chance to support the church's work of training and equipping future leaders, such as priests and religious, to serve communities in their place of birth.

Our funds are dispersed in a very democratic way each year. National Directors from each country's version of Catholic Mission gather to see how much money has been raised. They then look at the various applications for funding that have been submitted, from each diocese across the globe, and make decisions about which projects or ministries can be supported. It is very much the local church putting forward ideas for enriching, or bringing life, to the people it is serving at a grassroots level. We, as Catholic Mission in Australia, do not impose or tell people like Sr Barbara where and how to spend any money they might receive. This is a powerful model and one which helps ensure accountability to our different stakeholders, especially our donors.

Before I actually ask you to make a donation, let me share about a story of another missionary. I have already talked about Sr Barbara and I commend her story to you. But some of you may be sitting there wondering "that's fine, she's a nun, that's what nuns do" or "I could never be a missionary like that…" or "look, I have enough trouble dealing with the demands of family, work, and all the other things that make up my life - how can I 'go into the world and do what the disciples were called to do?" I won't ask for a show of hands but I suspect there are some among us, including myself, who regularly ask questions such as these, either at Mass or perhaps in the quietness of our own heart…

If you are in that group, and perhaps even if you're not, let me tell you about a 41-year-old man who is engaged in mission. This man is not in ordained ministry. He possesses no immediately obvious special gifts or qualifications. This man is husband to a wife who has a significant medical condition. He is the father to a nearly four-year-old son who also has the same medical condition. In fact, his son returned home yesterday after more than a month in the Royal Children's Hospital fighting a significant infection and complications arising from his condition. The man of whom I speak has buried his first and only daughter, who died at 137 days. He struggles with all the demands and temptations that come from working as a professional, is often away from home, and has to manage competing priorities.

But what this man – what I – have learnt is what all of us who are parents learn: that we will never do anything more important than bringing life into this world and that our first calling, our mission, is to impart the love of God onto our children. As a husband, I have learnt that no matter what our relationship status is - divorced, widowed, married, single or ordained - our mission as Christians is to be fully present to those around us, and to let the light of our faith "shine".

Each of us are indeed engaged in Mission. But there are some who, like the disciples, undertake missionary work in foreign lands or locations removed from where they grew up. It is those we support through Catholic Mission and it is those people we ask you to think about, pray about and, most importantly, contribute to tonight/today.

My call to each of you here tonight is two-fold: celebrate your own missionary calling, whatever and however that may be; and please give generously so that the "riches of this nation" will be brought to people like Sr Barbara.

If I could ask that you now take your envelope, and a pencil or pen, and make a contribution appropriate to your circumstances and ability to give.

If you are wondering about what is an appropriate gift, I draw your attention to the inside flap of the envelope, which lists how certain amounts could be used in communities across the world.

As we move into the celebration of our Eucharist, I would like to thank Fr John Gillen/Fr Michael McKeaton for giving me permission to share with you tonight. It is a privilege that Catholic Mission does not take for granted. Thankyou Father.

Finally, I would like to thank you: for your attention as I have spoken, for your interest in the work of Catholic Mission, and, most significantly tonight/today, for your financial generosity. I pray God will richly bless you all and look forward to being part of your community again in the future.

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God continues to do 'new things' in our lives

Here are some comments, insights and observations about the readings offered during the Mass for 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

“…for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.” (Corinthians 5:14-17)

• As we begin reading a selection of extracts from the Gospel of Mark, on this 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are reminded that God is constantly doing “new things” in our lives. We have seen this at Easter, with the Resurrection of Jesus. We have seen it at Pentecost, when the apostles started preaching in different languages. And we see it for the Church today, through the 2nd reading, which reminds us to look beyond ourselves and instead focus on others.
• When we do think about others, rather than ourselves, we can appreciate even more the theme chosen by Catholic Mission for this year’s Church Appeal: ‘Our salvation is bound together’. In the readings of today, we see how the disciples come to appreciate that their salvation, and well-being, is inextricably linked to their mentor, Jesus. He protects them by calming the storm. They, in turn, realize how much they rely on him. People who are helped by Catholic Mission share a similar relationship with those who seek to lend them support.
• Of course, being less self-absorbed or less focused on our own wants and needs, is not easy. In some ways, the pressure to ‘have this’, or to ‘possess that’, is a sign that we are constantly surrounded by storms of temptation and desire. It is not easy to follow Christ, especially when it involves putting ourselves out, for the sake of others.
• Job discerns the challenge of being a person of faith in “the heart of the tempest”. Similarly, the disciples find themselves confronted by a storm and then having to experience the humiliation of being rebuked for their own lack of faith.
• Engaging in Mission is all about helping calm the storms that rage around those less fortunate than ourselves; it’s about bringing peace and hope. when others find themselves swamped; it’s about answering the cries of the needy, as we hear in the Responsorial Psalm.
• For some people, embarking on mission means taking a leaf out of Jesus’ book and “crossing over to the other side” (see the Gospel). For those who serve as missionaries overseas, they have recognized that to be truly effective in evangelizing to others, they have had to step away from their comfort zone. Catholic Mission makes it somewhat easier for those who take this leap of faith.
• This weekend, as Catholic Mission conducts its annual appeal, we pray you will join with us in helping do a ‘ new thing’ across more than 165 countries. As it reminds us in the Responsorial Psalm: the love of the Lord is everlasting. Your donation is evidence of this fact.

Useful references I drew upon in preparing these notes and comments included Break Open the Word (Year B – 2009). A useful website you also might like to explore are www.dailyscripture.net (click on the relevant date).



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Partnership paves the way for support of priests

An unlikely friendship, between two very different individuals, paved the way for a unique means of supporting parish priests.

On November 9 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte established the “Consulate” in France, in effect ending the French Revolution, which was a victory for him, and a few short years away from his reign as dictator. At this time Catholic Mission’s founder Pauline Marie Jaricot was four months old. Her later great-friend-to-be, Jean Marie Vianney, later to become known as the Curé d’Ars, was just over twelve years old. Both grew up knowing what it meant to be Catholic in those days; Pauline was baptised in secret, and, about four miles away, and at approximately the same time, the same persecution demanded that Jean’s First Holy Communion was also concealed from the outside world.

There was a difference, of course. Pauline’s parents owned a silk factory, enabling their eight children, of whom Pauline was the youngest, to be brought up in comfort.

Jean was born into a farming family in Dardilly near Lyons and knew poverty from his earliest years. This was a source of protection during the French Revolution, a period when wealth and status could mean an introduction to Madame la Guillotine! However it also ensured that Jean’s parents were able to offer no more than a single year of school before the nine year-old was needed as a shepherd on the family farm.

Pauline’s was a loving family who doted on its youngest member. There was a very close relationship between Pauline and her brother Phineas who was just two years older. They both wanted to be missionaries. In later years Phileas became a priest and with his advice Pauline’s ambition took a different direction; instead of going out into mission territory, she would organise people to finance missionaries and their work.

Jean also had his dreams. At the age of 18, he wanted to study for the priesthood, but his lack of education was a massive drawback, especially as he had never studied Latin. His was a long and difficult road until he was finally accepted at the major seminary in Lyons, where, even when given private tuition, he failed his Latin exams. His eventual ordination in 1815 was the result of a special dispensation by the Vicar General, given because of Jean’s obvious vocation.

The young priest took his parish duties so seriously that Ars was soon on everybody’s lips. People began flocking there at the rate of 350 per day for the Curé’s advice or absolution in the confessional. Jean might have failed his seminary exams, but he was proving to be an exemplary priest who not only prescribed a penance for those whose sins he forgave, but also practised an extraordinary degree of personal penance on behalf of his parishioners. Even as an old man when Jean Vianney had lost his ability to project his voice when preaching, the crowds still came to church, just to be present for the occasion.

It was through Jean Vianney’s gifts of wisdom, compassion and understanding that eventually Pauline found her way to Ars. A lifelong and close friendship soon came to birth between a woman consumed with love for the Rosary and for the missions, and a priest whose heart was equally on fire with zeal to reach out to others with God’s love. In fact Pauline would eventually found the Living Rosary and the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Catholic Mission’s work with Communities) through her seemingly simple idea that each person could touch the hearts of ten others, who, in turn, could find ten more.

Pauline had a wide Christian vision of social problems. Her efforts to solve these met with miserable failure owing to the dishonesty of others in whom she had placed her trust. Her first idea was to create a special fund for the poor so that they would obtain interest free loans. She had the plan of obtaining a large sum of money from fifteen wealthy families to create the capital of her 'Celestial Bank', but she was unable to obtain the initial capital. Her next idea was to purchase a factory where the dignity of the working person would be upheld and families would not be separated. Pauline was persuaded to purchase a factory in Rustrel by a group of people who diverted the money provided by her and her friends. Pauline would spend the rest of her life involved in various judicial proceedings flowing from their dishonesty. Despite all her efforts the factory was sold off at a low price, and Pauline was still burdened in paying back the remaining massive debts incurred through the machinations of others. Yet, by the time Pauline died in poverty and obscurity on 9 January 1862, she had 2,250,000 followers in France alone!

Jean Vianney’s own life was touched with great suffering from which his holiness was no protection. As with all the great saints who felt driven to extremes of austerity, his general health suffered. His constant availability to others meant that he allowed himself a maximum of four hours sleep at night, sleep that was regularly disturbed by terrifying, often violent, visitations from the Devil. Even when he was dying, there were crowds outside his house, looking for Jean’s blessing and, somehow, he managed to raise his head and hand in order to satisfy their need.

Jean died on 4 August 1869, 6 and a half years after Pauline. He was beatified on 8 January 1905 and canonised in 1925. Four years later, he was declared the patron saint of parish priests. 150 years after his death, Pope Benedict has chosen to mark the anniversary by declaring the Year of the Priest starting from June 19 2009.

During the Year of the Priest we might make a special prayer for missionary priests using the friendship between Jean Vianney and Pauline Jaricot as our inspiration. These priests, inspired by Vianney and supported by Catholic Mission, are vital for the life of the Church.

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Prayers provided as part of partnership with parishes

The following prayers of intention were prepared and distributed to parishes across the Brisbane Archdiocese, for use in Masses between June 1-7.

Gracious and merciful God: you not only sent your Son, Jesus, to die for us but you poured out your Holy Spirit on all who believe, so that we may know how to serve you and help build the Kingdom of God. Be with us now as we pray the following prayers:

For all our Church leaders, especially the Pope, our Archbishop and all the Bishops, that they will continue to lead by example and feel upheld by the Holy Spirit working in, and through, them. (Pause) Lord hear us.

Response: Lord hear our prayer.

For each of us and the specific part we have play in Mission, that we will feel empowered by the Holy Spirit and that we will willingly give of ourselves, no matter what the cost. (Pause) Lord hear us.

Response: Come Holy Spirit.

For all children who find themselves caught up in conflict and violence, especially those who become embroiled as participants or who witness, first-hand, atrocities and cruelty. (Pause) Lord hear us.

Response: Come Holy Spirit.

For the environment and our Mission to care for it, in all its glory and grandeur. (Pause) Lord hear us.

Response: Come Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father: these prayers reflect the concerns of our hearts and minds. We ask that you will guide us all, to walk with the love of Jesus and inspired by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. We make these prayers, in the name of the Faith, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN


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Monday morning and I'm Into the Wild

The acclaimed movie by Sean Penn, Into the Wild, is an inspiring tale with an 'un-Hollywood-like' ending...For anyone contemplating the week ahead, with some trepidation, grab a copy of Into the Wild to watch on DVD next weekend. It's a great film ((http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/09/21/movies/21wild.html)that depicts the tale of Christopher McCandless, a 23-year-old man who leaves the confines of his suburban life, including Mum, Dad and sister, for a life of trekking and living on the land. Beautifully shot, Into the Wild is a poignant tale that reminds us all that, quite often, we do indeed need to lose our life, if we want to discover the yearnings of our heart. The central character - Alexander Supertramp, as he dubs himself - is a man on a mission: to escape a life of superficiality and turmoil and seek solace in the "wild" of Alaska. As he discovers, however, true happiness only comes when it can be shared. As we set out on our daily commute, with headphones firmly in place or eyes down into our book or choice, it's worth remembering that we need others to make us truly complete.
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Happy World Communication's Day

There was plenty of food for thought at Mass this evening, the night of World Communication's Day (May 24, 2009)
I couldn't think of a more fitting time to begin this blog than on the day designated by the Vatican as World Communication's Day. (Co-incidentally, it's also the day on which the church celebrates the feast of Mary Help of Christians, as the Patron of Australia and when the World Council of Churches was established in 1948.)But it is the importance of communications, as a tool for evangelising and as a means of Mission, that really captures my attention. It also inspires me. So if you're reading this blog, it's because I would like you to share in my passion and join with me. Subscribe to this blog (there is a spot on the right-hand side of the page to do so) and let's work together to use modern technology to contribute to an age-old calling: "Go and make disciples of all nations", as the Gospel of today reminds us. As the guest preacher at St Rita's Catholic Church, Mike Jones, reminded us tonight, we each have a part to play in continuing Christ's Mission. He - through the Holy Spirit - works in, and through, each of us as to help us build the Kingdom of God, here on Earth. I look forward to sharing the journey with you.

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