Catholic LifeCatholic LifeFreePublication of the Diocese of Sale ISSUE 163 July 2012

Cranbourneto hostMigrant Day

- Page 5

Emmausleadingthe way

- Page 3

Youth headingfor experience at Copacabana

- Page 10

Your gift will go on giving

When you donate to the Bishop’s Family Foundation you can be assured that the money will be assisting families in need for many years to come. Donated funds are held in a trust account to go on earning interest year after year. It is

the income from these investments which have led to more than $750,000 being given to organisations running programs to assist families.

Send tax deductible donations to Bishop’s Family Foundation,PO Box 1410, Warragul 3820

Phone 5622 6600 for more information

A new parish on the wayBy Colin Coomber

A NEW parish at Cran-bourne East was described as being like a pregnancy by Bishop Christopher Prowse during his fi rst homily at what will be-come St Thomas the Apos-tle Parish.

He said the diocese was now “pregnant” with a new parish but its birth would probably not be for some years yet.

A large crowd gathered for Mass at the Cranbourne East campus of St Peter’s College which was the fi rst Sunday Mass for the future parish.

Masses will continue to held there on Sundays at 9.30am.

The creation of the new par-ish will be the fi rst in the dio-cese since Narre Warren was carved from Berwick 32 years ago.

However, Bishop Prowse forecast it would not be the last as the rapid growth of the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne would bring hundreds of thou-sands of new residents to the City of Casey over the next decade.

It was possible there would be three or four new parishes created in years to come.

Land has already been pur-chased for a new Cranbourne East Church, presbytery and primary school, virtually oppo-site Casey Fields which is Mel-bourne Football Club’s training facility.

Mass began with an offi cial recognition of traditional cus-todianship of the land and the presentation of a message stick by Aboriginal leader Marion Pearce, who was proceeded by Nick Moffatt, Bairnsdale, play-ing a didgeridoo.

The magnifi cent Samoan Di-vine Mercy Melbourne choir,

which comes from Cranbourne, led the worship in their red and white uniforms.

Cranbourne parish priest Fr Denis O’Bryan welcomed eve-rybody to the Mass which her-alded the start of a whole new parish.

Being crowded into an up-stairs room at the college was a humble beginning for a parish but he was sure that in the fu-ture a great Church community would develop in the area.

There was already a strong faith community in the rapidly-growing suburb.

In his homily Bishop Prowse urged everyone to remember that they were present on what was really a historic day,

He said the new parish had been talked about for many years, was now offi cially con-

ceived and has even been given the name Thomas.

The bishop said that when Fr Andrew Wise was parish priest at Cranbourne he had provided three prospective names for the parish and fi nally Thomas the Apostle had been chosen.

St Thomas was a great mis-sionary and evangelist who took Christianity from Jerusa-lem to India, particularly the area around Kerala.

Bishop Prowse said he want-ed each member of the con-gregation to be evangelisers in the new suburb of Cranbourne East, to invite newcomers to be part of the life of Jesus and the Church.

St Thomas caught a ride on the spice ships to India to spread the word of Jesus but there was an opportunity for parishioners

to do similar by catching the great wave of people spreading into our diocese as Melbourne grew.

Waving his hand towards fi elds being turned into housing estates, he said “Out there I do not see a suburb. I see a mission fi eld.”

He urged people to get be-hind Fr O’Bryan and the parish pastoral leadership group and the various projects they had in mind to bring St Thomas the Apostle Parish to fruition.

After the Mass the bishop commissioned the group and blessed a photograph of a stained glass window featuring St Thomas which will be a fo-cal point of prayer for the new parish.

The window is in a small Eng-lish Catholic Church of St Biri-

nus at Dorchester on Thames, near Oxford, and features St Thomas kneeling before the risen Christ after examining hiswounds.

The architect of the church was William Wardell, who lateremigrated to Australia, where he became famous for being thearchitect of both St Patrick’sCathedral, Melbourne, and St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney.

The new pastoral leadershipgroup for St Thomas the Apos-tle Parish are Edita Dovida-vicius, Vivian Crasto, Helene Jayamaha, Jude Pete, Jon Ru-bite, Matthew Thoompumkal,Tom Joseph Vellaramkunnel,Flevius Pinto, Dezlene Or-chard, Colleen Johnson, Moril Cooke, Jennie Borsodi and Sr Anna Abba SON.

• More photos page 4.

BISHOP Christopher Prowse receives an Aboriginal message stick from Aboriginal leader Marion Pearce, Bairnsdale. Around him are members of the pastoral leadership group and didgeridoo player Nick Moffatt.

Page 2 - Catholic Life, July 2012

Year of GraceRefl ection 2:

My dear people of God in the Catholic Diocese of Sale,

Last month I began my Year of Grace refl ections with you on the Holy Trinity. This month I wish to refl ect on the Church.

Recently (May 24, 2012), the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, spoke to the entire Italian Bishops’ Conference. He refl ected on the Catholic Church in our challenging times. It was a typically masterful address from our teaching Pope.

I wish to outline some of the main points for your prayerful considera-tion.

The fi rst thing the Pope mentions is that “it is a moment of grace that expresses the Church’s nature.” In a world which tends to measure eve-rything from an exaggerated self-confi dence in our scientifi c world, the Church is an expression of the sheer grace of God.

He observes: “In the preparation for the Second Vatican Council the main question the Council meeting intended to answer was: “Church,

what have you to say for yourself?” Going deeply into this question the Council Fathers were so to speak led back to the heart of the answer: it was a matter of starting afresh from God, celebrated, professed and witnessed to.”

This is such a vital point for us all to appreciate. We love the Church. There are so many options and strat-egies offered for the future of the Church. But the essential way for-ward before all else is to start afresh from Christ. Let us make this a real priority in our Year of Grace in our parishes, school communities, agen-cies – the entire Diocese of Sale. Let us start with a fresh encounter of Je-sus!

The Holy Father expands beauti-fully on this transcendent dimension of our common mission in the secu-larised world: “In a period in which for many God has become the great Unknown and Jesus merely an im-

portant fi gure of the past, mission-ary activity will not be relaunched without the renewal of the quality of our faith and our prayer: we will not be able to offer appropriate answers without a new reception of the gift of Grace; we will not know how to win people over to the Gospel ex-cept by being the fi rst to return to a profound experience of God.”

Later in the address the Pope adds: “However it is always important to remember that the fi rst condition for speaking of God is speaking to God, becoming increasingly people of God, nourished by an intense life of prayer and shaped by his Grace.”

When I read these words of the Holy Father in Rome to the Bishops of Italy, it is almost as if he is writing to every Catholic here in the diocese of Sale and throughout Australia.

In these fi rst months of our Year of Grace such teaching is truly inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is our initial

way forward. Australians are very pragmatic.

We rush to the “doing” so quickly. We can so often eclipse the neces-sary “being” of our faith. We need every day of our Year of Grace to activate the necessary “course cor-rection” on our way to the Father’s home in heaven.

Pastoral action in the Church that truly converts the human heart to Christ begins on our knees and not simply in our planning meetings and ecclesial organisational structures. These structures are important but they are to be the fruit of prayer and not the replacement of prayer.

As we continue to articulate slow-ly a diocesan pastoral plan for the diocese for the years ahead, may this papal teaching really guide our pastoral strategies. Only then will the diocesan pastoral plan be a lit-tle part of the much greater plan the Lord has for his entire Church – the Body of Christ. It will truly be a GRACED diocesan pastoral plan.For this we pray together.

+ Bishop Christopher ProwseCatholic Bishop of Sale

To God’s Peoplein the Catholic

Diocese of Sale

The Church: Continually shaped by Grace

Catholic LifeDDIOCESE OF SALE

PO Box 1410, Warragul Vic. 3820

Phone: (03) 5622 6600catholiclife@sale.catholic.org.au

www.sale.catholic.org.au

Editor: Colin Coomber

Published monthly except January.

Deadline for advertising copy and editorial contributions for next issue is

Monday, August 6Issues distributed free through

parishes and schools fromAugust 15.

Published byCatholic Media Gippsland,

an agency of the Diocese of Sale.

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Warragul move accomplishedALL diocesan staff have now transferred to the new diocesan headquarters, Sion House.

The move of offi ce furniture and equipment took place on July 7 and while all staff offi -cially began work in Warragul the following Monday, we have experienced many hiccups.

Unpacking several hundred removal boxes and fi nding a new place for everything was one of the easier parts of the move.

Getting the computer systems up and running took a little longer as new dedicated Telstra lines were not yet installed.

The server for the computer

had to be left behind in Sale to handle fi nancial transactions for the Catholic Development Fund and temporary connec-tions had to be made back to Sale to enable emails to be sent and received.

This meant accessing emails and other fi les stored on the server was extremely slow.

Getting used to new offi ce space, moving furniture around to fi t in and getting used to a new environment and fellow workers has meant a period of adjustment for all.

Working on large multi-lay-ered fi les required to produce Catholic Life was diffi cult and

so the decision was made to set the paper back a week.

So this issue should have been with you last week and we apologise if anyone has been inconvenienced.

The good news is that the Au-gust issue will be be out in only three weeks time.

All diocesan staff are now in the one building and can be reached by phone on 5622 6600.

Catholic Education Offi ce mail should be sent to PO Box 322, Warragul 3820, while all other mail should go to PO Box 1410, Warragul 3820.

THE diocese still has a number of fi rst day of issue envelopes featuring the unique Diocese of Sale postmark which is being used at Sale Post Offi ce until the end of this year to celebrate the 125th anniversary.

The envelopes were issued on May 4 and are part of a numbered series of 100.

They all feature the postmark

and also have an embossed seal of Bishop Christopher Prowse.

The envelopes are for sale from the bishop’s offi ce for $5 an envelope with all proceeds going to the St Mary’s Cathe-dral Restoration Appeal.

To acquire one contact Cathy Dougan at Sion House, War-ragul on 5622 6600.

First day postmarks on sale

Catholic Life, July 2012 - Page 3

Only fi ve weeks to apply forFamily Foundation funds

It’snot all about

themoney!

The Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale is not subject to the provisions of the Corporation Act 2001 nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Deposits with the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale are guaranteed by CDPF Limited, a company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference for this purpose. We welcome your in-vestment with the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale rather than with a profi t orientated commercial organisation as a conscious commitment by you to support the Charitable, Religious and Educational works of the Catholic Church. Neither the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale nor the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Sale are prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority; contributions to the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale do not obtain the benefi t of the depositor protection provisions of the Banking Act 1959; the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale is designed for investors who wish to promote the charitable purposes of the Catholic Diocese of Sale.

Can you help us fulfi l the mission the Church in this way?Have you got money invested elsewhere that you could

consider investing with the CDF?If you are able to help why not give the CDF

a call or email and see how easy it is. You will be rewarded with:

• A competitive rate of return on your investment;• The security of investing with the Catholic Church; and,• Most importantly you are making a contribution tofurthering the Catholic faith and education in our diocese.

So you see it’s notjust about the money

Phone 5622 6600 cdf@sale.catholic.org.au

CHARITIES seeking funds from the Bishop’s Family Foundation this year have until the end of August to make ap-plication.

The foundation has about $100,000 to distribute to chari-ties which run programs which aid families in Gippsland or the outer eastern suburbs of Mel-bourne.

No funds are available for in-dividuals as all recipients have to be charities with registered tax deductibility status.

Since its inception 12 years ago the foundation has distrib-uted almost $780,000 to pro-jects in Sale Diocese.

Funding is not restricted to Catholic organisations and in the past there have been gener-ous disbursements to charities run by other religious denomi-nations.

The amount available each year can vary depending on the amount of income generated from the foundation’s trust fund which retains all money donat-ed to it since its inception.

Donated amounts are in-vested by independent trustees and it is the proceeds of these investments which are available for charities.

The Bishop’s Family Founda-tion is unique in Gippsland be-cause it does not do any chari-table work itself but provides the funds which enables other charities to continue function-ing.

Applications for funding should be accompanied by the relevant form which is avail-

able from the diocesan website

www.sale.catholic.org.au. Follow the links through

Agencies,, then select Bishop‘s Family Foundation from thedrop down menu.

The page which opens has a link to a PDF document which explains the funding policy indetail.

Organisations without in-ternet access can obtain the documents by phoning CathyDougan at Sion House on 5622 6600.

Clearing sale cancelledAN advertised clearing sale of surplus offi ce equipment and sundries from the now closed diocesan offi ces in Sale, has been cancelled.

It has been decided that an antique partner’s table and cap-tain’s chair used by all former Bishops of Sale will be retained as part of the patrimony of the

diocese.Other items which include

desks, tables, chairs, fi ling cabi-nets and bookshelves are beingretained at this stage and havebeen offered to a charitable in-stitution.

There was keen interest in thebishop’s table with several largeoffers being made.

Emmaus leads wayin spiritual direction

EMMAUS spirituality ministry coordinator Ruth Spierings.SALE Diocese was the obvi-ous place for the creation of Emmaus spiritual ministry ac-cording to co-ordinator Ruth Spierings.

She said the idea grew out of the Campion Retreat Centre’s outreach program because fi ve of the Campion spiritual direc-tors came from Sale Diocese.

After Bishop Prowse gave ap-proval, many months of hard work went into the project be-fore its launch in Warragul in June.

Mrs Spierings said the object was to train others to be spir-itual directors and to provide support for these people for fi ve years.

At the end of that period it was hoped that the new spiritual directors would be able to con-tinue with the work.

She said that while Emmaus was based on Ignatian spiritu-ality, it was not a specifi cally Catholic program and was be-ing offered to people from oth-er Christian denominations as well.

It was pleasing that three peo-ple were already in training to become spiritual directors, each receiving two and a half hours a month supervision and training.

A new spiritual direction for-mation program was being of-fered in Pakenham on Septem-ber 1 and was the same as that offered previously in Yarragon.

Bookings for this program were essential.

Mrs Spierings said programs could be run in other parishes if they had rooms which could be utilised.

Emmaus would also be offer-ing a formation program where two people from each parish would be trained over the next few years.

She said many people were unaware of the commitment needed to have spiritual direc-tion but it was only one hour, once a month.

The focus was not only on a person’s spiritual life but also involved their everyday life and responses.

“Spiritual direction helps people to see God in their life and it gives them various aids, prayers and they are urged to do retreats.”

She said two exciting retreat days would be held in our dio-cese later this year by renowned Jesuit priest Fr Monty Williams.

He was an internationally ac-knowledged spiritual director, author and retreat leader from Regis College in Toronto would be leading these retreat days and had given his approval to use the title of his latest book Stepping into Mystery as the re-treat theme.

“The path of contemplation is not just to see God more clearly or to feel God’s presence more passionately; it is also to see the world as God sees the world. (Monty Williams SJ – Stepping into Mystery p34).

The retreat days would be on Monday September 17 at St Michael’s Parish, Traralgon, and Sunday November 25 at St Patrick’s Parish, Pakenham.

On Tuesday October 9, Em-maus would be giving a day for parish volunteers and workers at St Mary’s Hall in Bairnsdale from 9.30am to 3pm. Tea and coffee would be provided, BYO lunch.

To book into any of these pro-grams or for further information please contact Ruth Spierings on 5998 2664 Monday to Fri-day or email salespirituality@hotmail.com

Page 4 - Catholic Life, July 2012

Upper roomsWE couldn’t help but see the parallels between the an-nouncement of the fl edgling parish of St Thomas the Apos-tle at Cranbourne East and the experience of the faithful dis-ciple Thomas with the risen Jesus.

Both events took place in an upper room and of course, in the Biblical event it was there where St Thomas (known thereafter as “Doubting Thom-as”) made the declaration “My Lord and my God” after the risen Jesus urged him to in-spect his wounds.

The disciples went out as missioners to evangelise the known world and Bishop Prowse has urged those who will become parishioners in the new parish to go out and evangelise the residents of the rapidly growing Melbourne suburb.

Ancient and newANOTHER great feature of the Mass at Cranbourne East was the bringing together of the music of the fi rst Australians with that of some of the newest Australians.

Didgeridoo player Nick Mof-fatt was invited to play with the spectacular Samoan choir which hails from Cranbourne.

To hear the haunting drone of the ancient instrument leading in the Alleluia was a remark-able experience.

No rehearsals beforehand, just a musician fi tting in with the great harmonies of the choir.

Not IrenaeusKEEN-eyed mum from Narre Warren South spotted that the picture of an icon we used last month to illustrate an article on St Irenaeus was not the ancient saint but a well-known Russian icon of Jesus.

Had we known the Cyrillic alphabet we would have been able to see that the letters spell out “Jesus Christ”.

The interesting thing is that we lifted the picture from else-where where it was labelled as Irenaeus. Since our error was pointed out we have searched the internet for graphics of the saint and the same picture crops up quite a few times.

Testing timesAS mentioned elsewhere in this issue, we have had a few problems with our E-mail con-nections since we moved our offi ce from Sale to Warragul.

This issue was postponed a week and it is possible that during downtimes we have not received E-mails sent to us or during the troubles we may have accidentally deleted some items.

Apologies if that’s the case with your item and we hope everything is back to normal soon.

Of all the decisions we make in ourOf all the decisions we make in ourlifetime, making a valid will is amonglifetime, making a valid will is among

the most important.the most important.

This fi nal testament speaks loud-ly of the values, causes and pos-sessions we hold most dear. We bequest personal treasures and mementos to special friends and loved ones and ask them to care

for them after our passing.

If you hold the Church dear, you may consider leaving a percent-age of your estate or a specifi c

amount to theDiocese of Sale.

The Diocese is grateful for the support of its benefactors, who

have enabled the Churchto grow in its service of

its people, and invite youto share in thisrich heritage.

Heralding St Thomas, apostle

ABOVE: NICK Moffatt plays the didgeridoo as he accompa-nies the Samoan Divine Mercy Melbourne Choir which led singing at the fi rst regular Sun-day Mass said at Cranbourne East which will become the newest parish in the diocese.

RIGHT: Bishop Prowse bless-es the picture of Jesus and St Thomas from a stained glass window in England. The picture will become a focal point for prayer as the new parish devel-ops in coming years.

THE Catholic Women’s League of Wagga Wagga Inc. annual general conference will be held at Wangaratta on August 22-23.

The conference will open with Mass at Our Lady’s Church, South Wangaratta on Wednesday, August 22 and conclude the following day with Roll of Honor and announce-ment of the committee for 2013.

At the Sale diocesan confer-ence one of the guest speakers was Derek Amos from Barrier Breakers Mental Health Advisory Group.

Of 250,000 people in six munici-palities 50,000 people in area will

experience some form of mentalhealth problem with 5000 cases being acute.

He said some 18 percent of cases would be youth, 27 percent wouldbe in their 20s and 85 percent of homeless people were affected.

There has been a 60 percent re-duction in beds for mental health. The government provide socialhousing for people plus support.

Mr Amos said Gippsland had the highest suicide rate in Austral-ia and he recommended we lobby government to put more moneyinto mental health.

CWL conference

Catholic Life, July 2012 - Page 5

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By Regina T Abraham

THE World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be celebrated on August 26.

The Diocese of Sale has been celebrating Migrant Sunday, in-itiated by the Australian Catho-lic Bishops’ Conference for the last three years.

This year our celebration will be at St Agatha’s Church, Sladan St., Cranbourne, at 2pm.

This annual event has been a great opportunity for parishes to work together and for people to get to know one another.

The theme chosen by Pope Benedict XVI for this year is “Migration and New Evange-lisation”. New evangelisation was a term popularised by Pope John Paul II with reference to efforts to reawaken the faith in the traditionally Christian parts of the world, and since then Pope Benedict has established a Council for New Evangelisa-tion.

In his message for the 98th World Day of Migrants, Pope Benedict said “We must re-awaken in each one of us the enthusiasm and courage that motivated the fi rst Christian communities to be undaunted heralds of the Gospel’s new-ness, making St Paul’s words resonate in our hearts: ‘For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting, for necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gos-pel!’ (1 Cor 9:16)”.

“Migration and the New Evangelisation” is the theme I have chosen this year for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. This calls for an in-tensifi cation of her mission-ary activity both in the regions where the Gospel is proclaimed for the fi rst time and in coun-tries with a Christian tradition.

“Pastoral workers – priests, religious and lay people – play a crucial role in the demanding itinerary of the new evangelisa-tion in the context of migration. Asylum seekers, who have fl ed from persecution, violence and situations that put their life at risk, stand in need of our un-derstanding and welcome, of respect for their human dignity and rights, as well as awareness of their duties.

“Priests, men and women re-ligious, lay people, and most of all young men and women are to be sensitive in offering sup-port to their many sisters and brothers who, having fl ed from violence, have to face new life-styles and the diffi culty of in-tegration. The proclamation of salvation in Jesus Christ will be a source of relief, hope and ‘full joy’ (cf. Jn 15:11).

“Lastly, I would like to men-tion the situation of numerous international students who are facing problems of integration, bureaucratic diffi culties, hard-ship in the search for housing and welcoming structures.”

Pope Benedict has asked us to invoke the intercession of

Mother Mary, “Our Lady of the Way”, so that the joyful proc-lamation of salvation in Jesus Christ may bring hope to the hearts of those who are on the move on the roads of the world.

The full message of Pope Benedict for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees can be found at the Vatican website.

In previous years members from many parishes have come forward in a spirit of unity to be part of this great celebration of our cultural diversity.

Parish teams have also come together and worked hard to make this event a possibility

and to ensure a smooth coordi-nation of the event.

This year at the diocesan cel-ebration, Mass will be concel-ebrated by Bishop Christopher Prowse and clergy from the diocese.

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Page 6 - Catholic Life, July 2012

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Reflectionsby Jim Quillinan

IT is not unusual today to hear people describe themselves as being ‘spiritual but not reli-gious.’

This is often said as if it is some kind of insight, unique to that person, or perhaps a sort of reaction against religious prac-tices regarded as somewhat dull and irrelevant.

There are so many defi ni-tions of spirituality – in fact, in one sense, there are as many defi nitions as there are people. But, for those who are seeking an understanding of Christian spirituality, there are two things that are common to all defi ni-tions - spirituality is a very nat-ural thing.

At that same time it is also very supernatural.

Christian spirituality recog-nises two important and funda-mental truths – we are created by and for God and we will never be satisfi ed with anything less. We all desire lasting hap-piness, freedom, inner peace, to make our mark.

At the same time we have profound questions about the meaning of life and suffering, personal identity and life after death. Our seeking and ques-tioning is the means by which we search for this relationship with God.

Spirituality involves us in

getting in touch with our own yearnings, our hopes, our dreams, our disappointments.

At the same time, however, God is seeking us, not bolts of lightening or personal visions but in day to day events, the mundane, the ordinary parts of our lives.

We meet God in the people we encounter each day, the challenges we face, the joys and moments of happiness and sadness that we experience. Spirituality involves getting in touch with our own life journey for it is in that journey that God walks with us and invites us into friendship.

So it is perfectly natural for people to seek out and fi nd ‘spirituality’ in many different ways – to go out into nature, to become contemplative or to become an activist, to seek in times of peaceful quiet or when busily working with others. We are all different, made that way by God. So is it any wonder that God’s search for us takes differ-ent journeys?

But how do we know what is the right one? That’s where ‘be-ing religious’ helps in two im-portant ways. Seeking to under-stand spirituality, is not simply listening to what is happening in our own lives.

No matter how sincere the

individual search may be, we run the risk of exploring private fantasy rather than real faith or spirituality.

The Churches all have long traditions of spiritual practice – for centuries those who have gone before have been engaged in similar spiritual searching. There is a wisdom, a language, a pathway that has been devel-oped over long years of prac-tice. Trying to discover all this on our own is simply too hard!

The great spiritual writers, the words of Jesus himself, the wisdom from other cultural tra-ditions contain the principles, the wisdom, and they help out-line the practice to lead us to the discovery of where the true path to spirituality lies.

Secondly, spirituality is not a private affair, a private search It is not about seeking a private vision or some personal revela-tion. Of course, Christian spir-ituality also recognises the cen-tral place of Jesus – that He is the Way. No-one comes to the Father except through me, Jesus told us.

Not only does God seek us out and desires to stay close to us, but Jesus is also our com-panion on the journey. Jesus teaches us that God calls us, not just as individuals but as a com-munity. How we relate to each other is part of how we relate to God. We need others.

It is too hard to pursue spir-ituality alone; religion offers a language, a tradition, a commu-nity to assist in our exploration, a community to support us and to challenge us. A living spirit-uality leads to a transformation of our own life and the world around us. Such transformation is a communal exercise.

We need to gather, to share, to journey together, to seek wis-dom and enlightenment from those who have gone before as well as those on similar jour-neys.

The rituals and practices of our Church are designed to help us encounter God who is seek-ing us out, God who ultimately is the answer to the truth and happiness we seek. The beliefs and practices of our faith chal-lenge us to listen, and to be of service to others – in this way we also discover God.

Much of Jesus’ message was about fi nding God in others. In this way God keeps us ener-gised for the search. We ‘un-cover’, as it were, the face of God in community.

To assist our spiritual journey we can

1. Take to heart the call to “ Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46). Put aside some time for refl ection each

day, to listen to what is happen-ing in your life.). Think about the people we met (including family!), the events of the day,what we read or saw on tel-evision. Otherwise we lose themessages and invitations Godhas put in our way today.

Taking time to pray, to com-municate with God in your own way deepens our relationshipwith this God who seeks us out in friendship.

2. Read through last Sunday’s or next Sunday’s readings acouple of times, once to get to know it and the second time tofocus on words or images thatcome to mind. What messagedoes Jesus have for you in this passage?

Say to Jesus“Jesus, I know you are the son of God who has given your life for me. I want to follow you faithfully and be led by your Word.I place my trust in you and I put my life into your hands.I want you to be the power that strengthens me and the joy that never leaves me.”

- Benedict XVI August 21, 2011 from homily, concluding Mass, World Youth Day, Madrid

Being a spiritual person involves walking with God

NEWBOROUGH - The Trav-elling Sisters’ Roadshow vis-ited St Mary’s School in New-borough.

Travelling across Australia in a brightly colored van, the Roadshow is spreading the message of the Mary MacKil-lop Foundation with multi me-

dia presentations and interac-tive role play.

Sr Julianne Murphy, lead-ing the Roadshow, told the children about the work of the Mary MacKillop Foundation and explained how they helped people.

The children were excited to

meet Sr Julianne’s puppet of Mary MacKillop and to learn more about her legacy.

The presentation was fun and entertaining. Everyone was in-spired to help the Foundation in their work.

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SALE - A MenALIVE Retreat will be held on August 4-5 at the Chapter House behind St Mary’s Cathedral.

It will start on the Saturday and fi nish early afternoon on the Sunday.

I attended the fi rst Me-nALIVE retreat to be held in this corner of the world last year with the usual concerns. What am I getting into here?

MenALIVE is a National Catholic Ministry to Men in Australia which was founded out of a response to a great need in the hearts and lives of men, and a great need in the life of the Catholic Church.

The purpose of MenALIVE is to bring men together, to renew their faith in God and to en-courage them become an active force of renewal in the Church.

Through a variety of events and programs, men are invited to explore what God would

want for their lives and howthey might come to experiencethe fullness of life that God wants for us all.

Perhaps you are on the work merry-go-round and wonderingis this all there is to life? Sprir-itual balance all out of whack ?

Take a risk and invest yourtime in this weekend. Saturday night fi nishes with a barbecueand a few coldies.

Further details on the retreat can be obtained from John Cooney (5148 9220) or BertFiddelaers (51442762) or visit www.menalive.org.au

Men Alive or half dead: Your choice

Catholic Life, July 2012 - Page 7

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Small community with big hearts helping NigeriaLOCH - The small community at St Vincent’s in the village of Loch in South Gippsland, has been inspired by one of their as-sistant priests, Fr Joseph Abutu, who arrived in their community

from the village of Ochobo in Nigeria in November 2011.

Fr Joseph’s stories about the harsh geographic conditions and the diffi culties of everyday life in his village activated the

St Vincent’s community to see what they could do to assist the Catholic community in Ocho-bo.

A team of parishioners launched Project Ochobo then set about raising funds by set-ting up stalls to sell donated goods at the local Loch market.

The initial target was to raise $600 to purchase a Mass box for the Ochobo village church, St Michael’s. A Mass box con-tains vestments, chalice and other necessities for celebrating Mass.

The response from parishion-ers and the people of Loch and surrounding areas has been so strong that, with the Mass box purchased, the Project Ochobo group has confi dently set its sights on raising $25,000 to provide a sustainable clean wa-ter supply for Ochobo. Villag-ers currently walk daily to col-lect water from wells.

Every dollar raised is guar-anteed to go to Ochobo, where the Bishop Michael Ekwoyi Apochi is arranging distribu-tion of funds. Even the cost of transferring funds to the bishop is covered by local donations.

Rob and Joan Hicks visited the stall at the Loch market and were impressed by the dedica-tion the team showed and more especially the positive response from Loch people who fl ocked to the stall.

The motivating factor behind

the success of this fundraising effort is summarised by Mr Hicks who recently donated an expandable banner to assist the marketing of Project Ochobo:

• We all see graphic photos of children in African countries who are in desperate need and we often wonder what we can do to help.

• We worry about whether money we might donate will get to its intended cause with-out being substantially diluted by overheads and commissions.

• The Project Ochobo meth-od of fundraising and distribu-tion guarantees that every dol-lar raised will be transferred from the local parish account directly to the bishop in Nigeria and will go where it is intend-ed – to the Ochobo villagers.

Guaranteed !And fi nally, Mr Hicks could

see that the passion and intense motivation of the Project Ocho-bo team was such that he knew they would “reach their goal”.

The Project Ochobo team began in a small way by want-ing to raise $600 to help out Fr Abutu’s parish priest. Theoverwhelming support of manyGippsland parishioners, local people and furthermore, local newspapers has made the pro-ject grow into a major plan to connect water to the village ofOchobo in Nigeria.

To date over $5000 has beendonated.

A website has been set up;with the services being donat-ed. www.projectochobo.org.au

ROB Hicks from Nyora, who is involved in market support to the Australian Wine Industry, presents a Project Ochobo expandable banner to Project Ochobo Committee president Ken Loughnan, and secretary Dianne Stewart.

Page 8 - Catholic Life, July 2012

Reflect On Your Life

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A pivotal moment - The Goulburn strike recalledTalking

CatholicEducation

withPeterRyan

JULY 2012 marks the 50th an-niversary of one of the most pivotal points in the story of Catholic education in Australia.

Indeed, it can be said to mark one of the pivotal points in the story of the Church in Australia and to the history of Australia generally

The Catholic school had al-ways been considered to be one of the major works of the church in this country.

Until the 1860s, Catholic schools co-existed relatively peacefully with other schools and systems throughout the land.

In 1867 though, colonial gov-ernments throughout Australia began to enact legislation that made school education free, compulsory and secular.

The Catholic Bishops of Aus-tralia found that to be entirely

unacceptable. They took the courageous decision to conduct Catholic schools without gov-ernment fi nancial support.

It was, indeed, a brave move and one for which we in Aus-tralia need to be thankful. And not only is it Catholics who need to be thankful. It is very clear that Catholic schools have added enormously to the rich-ness of the fabric of our society.

Those schools, however, needed resources to run them and those resources came, not in money terms but from the gen-erosity of the men and women of the religious congregations.

These great people came, not only from Australian families, but from far away overseas, particularly from Ireland and from France.

For the best part of a century, Catholic schools prospered and

grew thanks to parish priests who had the passion and com-mitment necessary, to the nuns, brothers and priests who staffed them and to parents who made such enormous sacrifi ces to pay the fees that were necessary.

But it grew increasingly dif-fi cult as costs continued to rise and enrolments continued to burgeon.

Those enrolments became quite unmanageable after World War 2, with the baby boom and the infl ux of many migrants, mostly Catholic, from Europe.

There was a growing sense of injustice, too, among Catho-lic people. They became more intensely aware of the fact that they were paying taxes, some of which was supporting pub-lic schools, while having to pay fees to support their own free-dom of choice and freedom of conscience.

And they were receiving no government support to match what they were contributing to the public system.

Over those years, the cry for “State aid for Catholic schools” grew ever stronger. Tensions around it were heightened by

the fundamentally sectarian na-ture of society that prevailed at the time.

The Labor Party of the time was not interested in changing policy, as they believed they had the Catholic vote already guaranteed. The conserva-tive side of politics were much more closely aligned with the Anglican/Protestant tradition, so they too had little interest in responding to the cry. It contin-ued to grow, to fester and to be-come more urgent.

Then, in July 1962, it came to a head. Some six years earlier (in 1957) the principal of Our Lady of Mercy Primary school in Goulburn, New South Wales, had been advised that the school would not continue to be regis-tered unless additional toilet fa-cilities were made available.

The school, and the bishop, argued that there was simply no money to comply with the gov-ernment’s requirements.

On July 9, 1962, a public meeting of Catholics of the town was called. Over 700 peo-ple attended and passed a mo-tion that saw all the Catholic schools in the town closed! The “Goulburn strike” had begun.

On July 13, approximately 700 primary school children went, not to their parish pri-mary school as usual, but to the local public schools demand-

ing enrolment. Only about 420 could be accommodated.

Another 650 Catholic second-ary school students turned up at the local high schools. Just over 200 could be accommodated.

Very clearly this was a major challenge to government policy.It really stirred things up.

The publicity throughout the town, as might be expected, was enormous. But not only in Goulburn was it thus, but in factin all of New South Wales, and indeed, all of Australia.

The strike lasted a week be-fore the Catholic schools were re-opened but the point had been well and truly made. Gov-ernments realised that “State aid” was an issue they could no longer afford to ignore.

From that time, gradually at fi rst, government money began to fl ow, as justice demanded itshould, to Catholic schools (and other non-government schools).

We need to be thankful to these pioneers who confronted the government over this issueof justice.

Catholic schools in this coun-try are a wonderful institutionthat must be valued by all Aus-tralians. We must continue the fi ght to ensure justice.

And we can celebrate a risky,brave and radical action 50 years ago this month that sawsuch a momentous change inthe way education in Australiawas structured.

(This article has used infor-mation from “Catholics in Aus-tralia – Volume 2” by NaomiTurner, Collins Dove, Mel-bourne, 1992)

By Wendy Power

MAFFRA - It was a crisp, cold June night in Maffra. The street seemed dark, as we parked the car outside the large dark church.

Would many people, parish-ioners and visitors want to leave their, cosy winter fi resides, to attend a healing Mass, on a week day night? We wondered?

Suddenly all the lights snapped on and the bulky build-ing came to life, almost as if it knew the celebration of the Eucharist was happening again, as so many times before. Let there be light, Master Jesus said!

Walking inside we saw the beauty of the interior, delicate-ly and beautifully painted. We heard the sound of the music ministry, practicing.

Christa Dwyer and her friends

encouraged us by their singing and playing music prepared our hearts for worship. Christa’sson Jim capably operated the data projector.

A testimony of the healingpower of Jesus was shared be-fore we began a half hour ofpraise and worship songs be-fore Mass, as many people kept coming in.

Then Fr Peter Bickley, the Catholic Charismatic Revival chaplain celebrated the regionalcharismatic healing Mass, be-ginning with a reminder notlook at our watches, but to just allow Jesus, to touch us, toheal whatever and however, He wanted too.

How lovely to step off theround of duties, the race against the clock, switching off thebusyness of life for awhile. Tobe, still and know that the Lordis God.

We sang, we worshipped andwere richly blessed, throughout the Mass. The Blessed Sacra-ment was exposed in the mon-strance and carried through the church.

Many people then came for-ward for individual prayer forhealing and blessing, as songs were sung with love and faith.

After a lovely supper I was reminded that there are manyplaces of light in our church, in a dark world.

Where are you fi nding yourplace of light?

Maffra’s healing Mass

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Catholic Life, July 2012 - Page 9

Ca

tholic Education

Catholic schools offer

Bishop’s DiaryJuly 26 - Maffra confi r-

mation, 7pmJuly 27 - Churchill con-

fi rmationJuly 28 - Orbost Mass

visitJuly 29 - Lakes Entrance

and Bairnsdale confi rma-tions.

August 3 - Traralgon confi rmations.

August 4 - Newborough and Moe confi rmations

August 5 - Trafalgar con-fi rmations.

August 8-10 - Attend Proclaim 2012 conference on new evangelisation in Sydney.

August 12 - Foster con-fi rmation.

August 12-16 - Attend

Federation of Catholic Bishops Conference of Oceania executive meet-ing in Noumea, New Cal-edonia.

August 17 - Celebrate Mass at secondary school religious education co-or-dinators' meeting at Raw-son.

August 18 - Diocesan Pastoral Council meeting at Warragul.

August 18 - Warragul confi rmations.

August 19 - Drouin and Warragul confi rmations.

August 22 - Meetings of Council of Priests, Consul-tors and Diocesan Finance Council.

August 26 - Migrant

Sunday Mass at Cran-bourne, 2pm.

August 29 - Meeting with Anglican General Synod ecumenical com-mission in Sydney.

August 30 - Bishops' Commission for Ecumen-ism and Inter-Religious Dialogue meeting, Syd-ney.

Year 12 students learn about spinal cord injuriesTRARALGON - Lavalla Cath-olic College students in Year 12 recently attended a seminar run by Selena - a representative of the RACV SpinChat Program.

SpinChat aims to raise aware-ness, promote prevention and educate secondary school stu-dents about spinal cord injury.

Selena took students through her tragic story involving a mo-torbike accident. She was left a paraplegic, paralysed from the

mid waist down. She spoke about the conse-

quences of her spinal cord inju-ry and how it affects her day to day life, as well as the dangers involved with high-risk activi-ties such as dangerous driving and diving into shallow water.

The presentation opened the Year 12’s eyes to many alarm-ing statistics involved with young people and spinal cord injuries

• Those at highest risk of suf-fering a spinal cord injury are aged between 15-34 years old (80 percent male, 20 percent female)

• There is no cure for a spinal cord injury

• 350 to 400 new cases of spi-nal cord injury are reported in Australia each year; more than one every day

Selena answered questions regarding her life before the

accident and how her life has changed since.

Selena was only a few years older than most of the students present when the accident oc-curred and many of the Year 12’s could relate to her life be-fore the crash.

While one could focus on the disadvantages of being in a wheelchair, Selena considers herself lucky that she only lost movement in her legs and feels her accident could have been much worse.

Many students were also

surprised to fi nd that Selena isstill able to drive (both cars and motorbikes) and is still able to have children.

SpinChat was especially im-portant for the Year 12’s, par-ticularly during this year in their lives when most turn 18and are able to drive and to liveindependently.

Selena and many other 18year olds believe that spinalcord injury would never happen to them. The RACV SpinChatprogram makes people aware of how to minimise the risks.

COLLEGE Captains, Jessica Trewin, Erin Lawn, Ryan Ward, andLeigh Jones with the RACV presenter, Selena.

Page 10 - Catholic Life, July 2012

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Catholic Life

Copacabana Beach to welcome WYD pilgrimsA BRAZILIAN bishop and top organiser has revealed that Copacabana Beach and the Santa Cruz Air Base will be the venues for the main events of World Youth Day Rio 2013.

The global youth event will take place July 23-28 next year, which Pope Benedict XVI is expected to attend.

During a press conference, Archbishop Orani Joao Tem-pesta said Copacabana will be the venue for the opening Mass, the welcoming ceremony with the Pope and the Via Crucis – the event’s traditional Way of the Cross procession.

The Santa Cruz Air Base, on the western side of the city, will be the venue for the vigil on July 27 and the closing Mass on July 28, where some two mil-lion young people are expected to gather. Operated by the Bra-zilian Air Force, the base cov-ers an area of nearly 3.5 square miles.

Accompanied by his auxiliary bishops, Archbishop Tempesta

was in Rome last month to meet with offi cials at the Pontifi cal Council for the Laity, who ap-proved the venues for the event.

“We will begin the main events under the protection of Mary – Copacabana Beach is named after Our Lady of Co-pacabana – at the place where large events have traditionally been held in Rio de Janeiro and that will now have the privilege of hosting these events and wel-coming young people from all over the world,” he said.

Archbishop Orani said he has invited the Pope to visit the Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks the city and to hold a gathering at Maracana Stadium with the nearly 60,000 volun-teers expected to participate in WYD.

Asked about whether confes-sions would be heard in specifi c place similar to what organiz-ers did in WYD Madrid 2011, Father Arnaldo Rodrigues of the organizing committee said the Madrid model would not be possible but that confessions would be heard at various ven-ues across the city. He also said the locations of the catechetical sessions have also yet to be de-termined.

The Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro also said it would ask city offi cials to allow the Shrine of Christ the Redeemer to re-main open around the clock to accommodate the constant fl ow of pilgrims.

Locally you can start getting into the WYD spirit at the of-

fi cial World Youth Day 2013 “One Year To Go” celebration on Friday July 27.

Fr Robert Galea will lead a special praise and worship ses-sion at St Mary Star of the Sea Church in West Melbourne fol-lowed by Mass celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart.

After Mass the celebrations will continue with a huge Bra-zilian Carnivale, giving every-one the chance to experience

the amazing culture of Brazil. This event is open to all those

from around Victoria who want to start getting ready for World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, whether they will be able to at-tend World Youth Day or not. Praise and Worship will begin at 6.30pm and Mass at 7.30pm.

The Carnivale, with food, drinks, prizes and entertain-ment will begin at 8.30pm.

If you are considering joining

the pilgrimage to WYD2013 in Rio and being part of the largest youth event on the planet stay tuned for information sessions that will be happening around our diocese in August.

And make sure you join our Facebook page at “WYD Rio Victoria” to stay in touch with all the latest WYD develop-ments.

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Youth Matters‘Always be joyful in the Lord’ (Phil 4:4)

Welcome for youth leadersTHE second Australian Catho-lic Youth Ministry Conven-tion (ACYMC) will be held in Campbelltown Catholic Club, Sydney, from September 21-23.

It is expected to gather up to 500 participants from around the country who minister with young people in parishes, schools, religious orders, dio-cese, universities, diocese, movements and communities.

Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, recently appointed Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference delegate for youth will attend the convention and meet many of the key youth ministry lead-ers from around the country.

“It will be exciting to be back amongst a special group of

people in Australia who I have missed since World Youth Day 2008”, said Bishop Fisher.

“There have been many great successes since WYD in Syd-ney, and we must continue to build upon them and listen to the Holy Spirit in all we do. The convention is special moment where those in youth ministry can do this”, he said.

Over the past 12 months a local organising committee chaired by Malcolm Hart, Sen-ior Youth Ministry Projects Of-fi cer with the Bishops Commis-sion for Pastoral Life, has been developing the program and preparing for this important bi-ennial convention.

“Our keynote speakers Sr

Hilda Scott, Fr Christian Fini and Mr Shayne Bennett will explore each of the goals of thedocument, and our workshops and expo will provide practi-cal strategies and resources for youth ministry.”

“A full youth band will bepresent all weekend led by Jen Charadia, an experienced Aus-tralian singer songwriter and Wollongong local. We havealso established a liturgy team to create a greater communitysetting for our prayer and lit-urgies, which is central to theformation and support of those youth ministers attending.”

The convention will include presentations on youth mental health issues, social network-ing protocols as well as givingthe opportunity to utilise social networking forums such as Fa-cebook and Twitter for partici-pant discussion and feedback. The Diocese of Wollongong isalso facilitating home stay forparticipants who wish to reduce costs of attendance.

The full program, registrationand further details about the convention are now available atwww.acymc.org. A promotion-al video clip highlighting the 2010 convention and testimo-nies form participants, together with some presentations from the 2010 convention, can alsobe found on the website or via the ACBC youth Ministry You-Tube channel www.youtube.com/abcyouth

ST Patrick’s Youth Group has been running for about fi ve years now. We have a small team of parents/helpers.

We meet twice a term with numbers ranging from 12 to 20.

One of the main attractions is pizza. We start with some yum-my pizza, games and usually include a small refl ection, some music and the occasional mov-ie. We have also had “Bring A Friend” night which is always lots of fun.

Last year we had a live band

play for us in the Parish Centre which was a hit. We are hoping to provide the same this year along with a Trivia Night.

All students from Year 7 to Year 10 are welcome to come along to our group. Cost is $2.50.

If anyone would like more information please contact Sandie Downey on 5941 4169.

All Welcome!Please send your Youth

Group Snapshot to jessd@sale.catholic.org.au.

YOUTH GROUP SNAPSHOT:

St Patrick’s, Pakenham

ARE you an investor? Are you just a “saver”? Either way what have you learned from the Global Financial Crisis and its aftermath?

Can you deal with volatile and diffi cult investment mar-kets any better now than in 2006.

Do you have a better under-standing of the trade-off be-tween risk and returns for vari-ous asset classes?

The recent Reserve Bank Bulletin has an article which throws some light on just how Australians attitudes have changed since 2008.

It’s enlightening reading for those of us who make their liv-ing helping people navigate the investment world, and for in-vestors in general, too.

In the early part of the 21st century, Australia had one of the highest proportions of share ownership across the popula-tion in the world, and probably the highest proportion of direct share ownership.

It was claimed that more than 75 percent of Australian adults owned shares and 45 percent owned shares directly. Statis-tics showed that the proportion of assets comprised of listed shares was 45 percent of total wealth in 2008.

At this time the Australian sharemarket had provided re-turns in excess of 20 percent for four years – something never achieved before. The average term deposit rate over the same time was about 5 percent.

People were willing to ig-nore the risk and many thought that the returns would continue – effectively a “new” normal. People were concentrating their investment assets in the share market.

How things have changed. Households are now taking a far more cautious approach to investing. While over the last 30 years average real returns from the sharemarket have av-eraged 5.5 percent better than the equivalent for term depos-its but in the last three years the reverse is true. Share mar-ket volatility has also increased substantially, as well.

The share of households fi -nancial assets held directly in equities has more than halved. Mind you market prices can be said to account for a fall of 40 percent alone. The balance is made up of other, more con-servative investments made by investors.

The share of assets just held in deposits has increased by 50 percent. Even professional fund managers don’t have as much exposure to the share market – and it’s not their money they’re investing.

Among higher income house-holds the changes are not so extreme. These households can afford a greater tolerance to risk, and it’s these households that invest more in equities, anyway.

The article also cites research of individuals personal risk at-titudes and fi nds that these cor-relate closely with the actual change in investment alloca-tions.

These days it seems more

people are prepared to forego higher returns for the sake of having less risk.

What does this “fl ight to safe-ty” mean? Probably that there may be an overreaction and that investors are looking too much to safety. I have stated in other articles that a well researched and managed equity portfolio is still a great way to go, other than it’s volatility.

People with a short invest-ment time frame should maybe not hold all their investments in the sharemarket. Being too “safe” in investment strategies does come with a cost.

Cash will, after tax and infl a-tion, take you nowhere except backwards. Term deposits are little better. Equities, even with their volatility, have produced better returns over the long term.

Consider your investment horizon when choosing your asset allocation – less than six months means avoid the share market entirely.

A low risk, low reward strate-

gy will not provide an adequate return for a 30 year old who wants to retire comfortably.

A diversifi ed portfolio, while not garnering the maximum re-turns may help provide the ac-ceptable compromise between risk and reward

While we are all a little more conservative than we were, there are still great opportuni-ties to make money by invest-ing in equities. It’s not how much the market changes that’s important, it’s about how much YOUR investments change.

There have been and still are businesses making money for their shareholders all the while that the market is retreating. Don’t make the mistake of be-ing too conservative.

• This report is intended to provide general advice. In preparing this advice, David Wells and EL and C Baillieu Ltd did not take into ac-count the investment objective, the fi nancial situation and particular needs of any particular person. Before making an investment decision on the basis of this advice, you need to consid-er, with or without the assistance of an adviser, whether the advice is appropriate in light of your particular investment needs, objectives and fi -nancial circumstances.

Catholic Life, July 2012 - Page 11

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Quick calendarWhat’s on & whenJulyPeter’s Pence Collection

month27 – Schools Tree Day29 – National Tree Day

AugustCentacare Gippsland collec-

tion month6 – Feast of the Transfi gura-

tion6 – Deadline for August

Catholic Life7 – East region meeting,

Bairnsdale, 10.30am8 – Solemnity of St Mary of

the Cross MacKillop9-11 – Bishop Prowse at

Bishops’ Commission for Mission and Faith Formation meeting, Sydney15 – Assumption of the

Blessed Virgin Mary15 – Catholic Life published16 – Valley region meeting,

St Mary’s, Newborough, noon18 – Diocesan Pastoral Coun-

cil meeting, Sion House, War-ragul, 10am20-26 – Keep Australia Beau-

tiful Week21 – Central region meeting,

St John’s, Trafalgar, 7.30pm22 – Queenship of Mary

September1 – National Wattle Day2 – Father’s Day2 – Annual Father’s Day Ap-

peal for Priests Welfare Foun-dation5-7 – Australasian Catholic

Press Association conference, Wellington , NZ7-9 – Australasian Religious

Press Association Confer-ence, Wellington, NZ8 – Feast of the Birth of the

Blessed Virgin Mary10 – Deadline for September

Catholic Life12 – Offi cial opening of Sion

House diocesan headquarters by Apostolic Nuncio Arch-bishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto14 – Feast of the Triumph of

the Cross17-21 – Sale Diocese clergy

in-service, Corpus Christi, Carlton19 – Catholic Life published21 – National Walk to Work

Day21 – Third term holidays be-

gin21-23 – Bishop Prowse at

National Youth Conference, Wollongong27 – Memorial of St Vincent

de Paul

October1-5 – National Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander’s Catholic Commission confer-ence, Melbourne2 – Memorial of the Guardian

Angels

4 – Memorial of St Francis of Assisi4 – World Animal Day8 – Fourth term begins8 – Deadline for October

Catholic Life8-28 – Bishop Prowse repre-

senting Australian bishops at Synod of Bishops in Rome15 – Memorial of St Theresa

of Avila16 – World Food Day17 – International Day for the

Eradication of Poverty17 – Catholic Life published18 – Valley region meeting,

Lumen Christi eco-centre, Churchill, noon21 – Mission Sunday22 – Blessed Pope John Paul

II

November1 – All Saints Day2 – All Souls Day5 – Deadline for November

Catholic Life6 – Melbourne Cup Day7 – South region meeting,

Leongatha, 11.15am12-18 – National Recycling

Week13 – East region meeting, Or-

bost, 10.30am14 – Catholic Life published17-18 – Heart Region youth

beach retreat, Lakes Entrance18 – Diocesan pilgrimage to

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, 2pm20 - Diocesan Pastoral Coun-

cil meeting, Sion House, War-ragul, 10am 21 – Presentation of the

Blessed Virgin Mary21 – World Fisheries Day25 – Solemnity of Christ the

King26-30 – Australian Catholic

Bishops’ Conference plenary meeting, Sydney27 – Central region meeting,

St Joseph’s, Warragul, 7.30pm

December2 – First Sunday of Advent3 – Deadline for Catholic

Life5 – International Volunteer

Day6 – Valley region Christmas

lunch, Morwell Club, noon6 – St Nicholas Day8 – Immaculate Conception12 – Catholic Life published21 – Summer holidays begin

(primary schools)25 – Christmas Day26 – Boxing Day30 – Feast of the Holy Family31 – New Year’s Eve

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

- Philippians 4:13

Page 12 - Catholic Life, July 2012

Central CatholicBookshop

322 Lonsdale St., Melbourne(Next door to St Francis Church)

Visit our Website at www.catholicbookshop.com.au

Browse through our range of books and sacra-mental and religious gifts, or search for specifi c

items by author, title or keyword.Open seven days

Phone and mail orders welcome. Credit cards accepted.

Phone (03) 9639 0844custserv@catholicbookshop.com.au

Far East Gippsland and its history of isolation

with Patrick Morgan

GGiippppssllaannddHGiissttoorryy

AROUND 1840 graziers on the Monaro were looking for new pastures for their fl ock.

They did not moved directly south into far East Gippsland, as that area was totally forested. Instead the fi rst European ex-plorers entered from the south-west of the Monaro through small passes to the open plain at Omeo.

They then moved down the Tambo River Valley to the lakes, and west to the open plains of central Gippsland. This meant the whole wedge-shaped area east of Lakes Entrance was not part of the development of Gippsland proper.

It has had its own separate history, with its own transport systems, which were not con-nected with the rest of Gipps-land. The coastal road from Lakes Entrance to Mallacoota, now part of the Princes High-way, was a much later develop-ment.

In considering far East Gipps-land we should put out of our mind the artifi cial state border-line running from the source of the Murray River to the coast at Cape Howe. Far East Gippsland is simply the southern exten-sion of the Monaro, where the open high plains end and forest-ed land slopes gradually down to the narrow coastal plain and Bass Strait. This is clearly seen when we drive along the Mon-aro Highway from Bombala to

Cann River today.The rivers, like the main roads

in the region, run north-south. The area has one major artery, the Snowy River, traversing the whole distance from the Mona-ro to the sea. Other shorter riv-ers, like the Brodribb, Genoa. Bemm and Cann, also run north-south.

Warm coastal currents pro-duce semi-tropical vegetation near the coast, including a stand of cabbage trees, normally not found so far south.

The eastern grouping of the Kurnai Aborigines of Gipps-land inhabited the area roughly from Lakes Entrance to Point Hicks. They were known at the Kroatugolung, from which the 19th century term for East Gippsland, Croajingalong, de-rives. Further inland was a no-man’s land were the Bidwelli, a mixed Aboriginal group from the adjacent Kroatugolung. Omeo and NSW south coast tribes lived.

Europeans fi rst came into far East Gippsland in two different ways. Rounding Cape Howe Is-

land was the fi nal leg of coastal exploration south of Sydney following George Bass’s whale boat journey of 1797-98. Ben Boyd and whalers were ac-tive at Eden and Twofold Bay from the 1820s. Joseph Lingard is the fi rst European recorded to have moved into the Genoa River area, called by the local Aborigines Tinnor.

Captain Stevenson set up

camp at Captain’s Point on the Genoa River lakes in 1841. This settlement, called Mal-lacoota, was supplied from the

sea, and had a fi tful history un-til the writer E.J. Brady made it a permanent town from the sec-ond decade of the 20th century onwards.

In the early days the Imlay brothers, Andrew Hutton and Captain Stevenson all tried un-successfully to run cattle along the coast from Eden to the Snowy River.

Later small coastal boats from Lake Entrance ventured east to enter the Snowy River at Marlo, and other small fi shing camps were set up at the Syden-ham and Tamboon inlets. This coastal traffi c formed a high-way on water, as no connected east-west road existed in the early days.

The second method of entry

was overland from the Monaro. During the decades from the 1840s onwards, some grazi-ers at the far south end of the Monaro were squatting in what is now Victoria, for example, the Whittakers at Tubbut and the O’Rourkes at Black Moun-tain. Small towns like Delegate, Bonang and Bendoc grew up in the vicinity.

Other graziers. like the Scotts, looking for land in Gippsland, took their fl ocks south along the Wulgulmerang-Gelantipy track, and then moved west to Gippsland proper. The Scots settled at Delvine Park be-tween Bairnsdale and Sale, and the Whittakers eventually near Traralgon. The borderline be-tween NSW and Victoria was surveyed by Black and Allen in 1870-72.

Very few people have ever lived in far East Gippsland - it is sparsely populated even to-day. This is because it is hard to get into and get around, be-cause it is in a blind spot re-mote for the eyes of authorities in Melbourne and Sydney, and because it has never had any substantial economic activ-ity, like gold mining or power generation or large scale rural industry, to attract a sizeable population.

The only town of any size is Orbost, now 2500 people. It arose as squatting run, set up fi rst by the McLeod family about 1845 on the rich fl ats of the Snowy River.

The town of Orbost devel-oped out of the collection of station buildings in the 1880s, when selectors took up blocks on the productive alluvial fl ats. They grew maize, potatoes and other market garden vegetables which, together with fi sh. were exported by coastal vessels to Lakes Entrance to be trans-shipped to Melbourne, or taken to the railhead at Bairnsdale.

The Snowy River had its own fl eet of small craft for local riv-er traffi c plying from north of Orbost to Marlo.

The rail line, which reached Orbost in 1916, obviated the need for much of the coastal shipping. At the same time the Princes Highway between Bairnsdale and Eden was creat-ed by joining up local roads; its surface was improved enough to allow motor vehicles.

To open up the region E.J. Brady of Mallacoota pressed for a railway line to link up those which already terminated at Orbost and Bombala in the southern Monaro on NSW, but this was never likely to happen.

Strangely far East Gippsland, which was the scene of some activity in the early decades, became more isolated and sep-arate as Gippsland developed, and its centre of gravity moved west.

Whereas in the 19th cen-tury activity was focussed on squatting, lakes shipping and gold mining in the east and north. Later on dairy farming in South and West Gippsland and the power industry in Central Gippsland meant the main ac-tivity was closer to Melbourne, so the more east you were, the more neglected and forgotten you became.

Far East Gippsland has be-come a place where Gipps-landers and others take their holidays in idyllic natural sur-roundings.

The communities of far East Gippsland - small, basic, large-ly self-suffi cient - most resem-bled those of Bass Strait, iso-lated from each other and from the world outside. The vast ex-panses of forest kept them apart and hindered communication, just as the wild seas did in Bass Strait. Both areas remained for many decades in pioneering mode, with accidents and natu-ral disasters a fact of everyday life.

Talking aboutBooks

EARTH AND ALL THE STARS, edited by Ann Rowthorn, published by Resource Publications, dis-tributed by Rainbow Books, paperback, 329 pages, rrp $49.95.

THIS is a quality offering of selected works of some of the greatest writers and thinkers ever to have walked the earth.

The collection dates from the earliest recorded Hindu song which is about 5000 years old to a contemporary poem by a Nigerian teenager.

The works are drawn from Christianity, Judaism, Hindu-ism, Buddhism, paganism and various indigenous religions.

There are prayers, litanies, songs and meditations drawn from every continent and it in-cludes passages from the Bible, ancient Celtic pre-Christian prayers, a prayer credited to St Patrick, and the Canticle of Brother Sun by St Francis of Assisi.

Some of the more famous writers include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fydor Dostoyevsky, Albert Einstein, the Dali Lama, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Emily Dickinson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert Burns and William Wordsworth.

There is also a lot of wisdom from various Asian writers and North American Indian sources.

The author is a passionate en-vironmentalist which shows in some of the works and a tribute to Greenpeace, but putting that aside it is still a wonderful col-lection of works honoring crea-tion.

The book is laid out in fi ve sections – creation stories and refl ections, prayers, poems,

rites and celebrations and bless-ings.

CATHOLIC CURRICULUM – A Mission to the Heart of Young People, by Jim and Therese D’Orsa, published by Vaughan Publishing, distrib-uted by Garratt Publishing, paperback, 283 pages, rrp $49.95 ($39.95 from Broken Bay Institute).

THE authors of this book are well-known to the Diocese of Sale with Dr Therese D’Orsa having previously been our di-rector of Catholic education, and her husband Dr Jim D’Orsa having been heavily involved as a consultant in co-coordinating Bishop Coffey’s pastoral plan Journeying Together and hav-ing been involved in establish-ing the Diocesan Executive and other committees.

This book is the second in a Mission and Education series produced by Broken Bay Insti-tute.

The authors have produced it to reinvigorate discussion in Catholic schools about what it means to have a Catholic cur-riculum as opposed to taking the public curriculum devel-oped by governments and deal-ing with the ‘Catholic’ part by adding religious education, faith development activities and social justice initiatives.

The book clearly sets out the situation in a context which should be easily understood by educators and then offers guid-ance to promote discussion.

The fi rst part of the book pro-vides the scope of the conversa-tion about Catholic curriculum and it is followed by a section which looks at the context of teaching young people in the modern world.

The third part deals with looking deeply at the various key concepts and traditions, it is followed by sections on look-ing in detail at development of the modern worldview and then changes to the worldview of faith.

The book provides no stead-fast answers to the question of Catholic curriculum but opens up many possibilities with many solutions and as such should achieve its aim of pro-voking discussion.

Dr Jim D’Orsa now lectures at Broken Bay Institute, Syd-ney, is a visiting lecturer at Yarra Theological Union and a research associate of the MCD University of Divinity.

Dr Therese D’Orsa is current-ly conjoint professor of Univer-sity of Newcastle and Broken Bay Institute, is a visiting lec-turer at Yarra Theological Un-ion and is an honorary fellow of Australian Catholic University.

Celebrating the earth and stars

Catholic Life, July 2012 - Page 13

Human needs high in Africa

SCORES of people across the Sahel remain in grave danger as the ongoing food crisis unfolds, but where there is support there is hope, Caritas Australia said.

More than 18 million people are in danger across nine West African countries including Burkina Faso, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad, northern Nigeria and northern Cameroon.

Poor rains and rising food prices have combined to keep food out of reach of the most vulnerable, placing more than a million children in danger of severe acute malnutrition – a life threatening condition which could have lifelong effects on their health and cause death.

Caritas Australia CEO Jack de Groot said “There are mil-lions more children, lactating women and elderly who are vulnerable and in need of im-mediate assistance.

“This is a situation that has been developing over months and the international Caritas network has been doing all it can to reach as many people as possible,” he said.

“Where we have been able to work with local communities on an effective agricultural re-sponse they have been able to plant and harvest drought re-sistant seeds, access clean wa-ter, receive medical support and

engage in cash for work pro-grams that contribute directly to food production.

“But the magnitude of the West Africa crisis means there is still an enormous unmet need and we humbly ask for the sup-port of the Australian Catholic community.”

Caritas Australia is support-ing programs making a real impact in Niger, Burkina Faso, war-torn Mali and Chad.

In Niger an estimated 5.5 million are in danger including refugees who have fl ed confl ict in Mali.

The international Caritas net-work has been working with

more than 76,000 of the most vulnerable households; sup-plying food, drought-resistant seeds to farming families, water and sanitation and temporary shelter.

In Burkina Faso at least 1.7 million people are affected. Caritas is working to improve the food security of about 45,000 people in 10 dioceses.

This includes access to food for 7036 poor and vulnerable households and for 21,500 chil-dren, as well as medical care, nutrition and support for the agro-pastoral production of vulnerable households.

world news ... world news ...

A WOMAN in Niger gets a health check for her baby at a medical centre provided by foreign aid.

A Toureg man, a Malian refugee, demonstrates the ‘tippy tap’ method of hand washing installed as part of the emergency hy-giene program in Tiguizefan, Niger.

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - The Cardinals’ Commission investi-gating the alleged theft of pri-vate documents by the Pope’s personal assistant hopes to soon conclude their investigation

The conclusion of the pre-liminary investigative phase, whether it be in an extended or reduced form, must be made public even if, at present, some phases are still under investiga-tion.

The investigative phase will remain open for another 10 days due to testimonies that are still being gathered. However, the inquiry will not be able to exceed those days.

Vatican Press Offi ce director Fr Frederico Lombardi said the commission would refer the case to the Pope.

The lawyer for Paolo Gabri-ele, the Pontiff’s former per-sonal assistant, denied rumors by several newspapers that his client’s health was deteriorat-ing. “I would like to say that he is in good health and that he fi nds comfort in prayer,” his

lawyer stated.The court will take a couple

of weeks before concluding theformal interrogations and thepreliminary custody.

The judge will then have toprepare the case which will de-cide if Gabriele will be releasedor sentenced. The eventual trialwill most likely take place afterin a few months

When asked of the possibilityif Pope Benedict XVI decidesto speak on the case, the Vati-can spokesman said that “thePope is very free and he willassess if it is a case to expresssome spiritual sign or orienta-tion.”

Several newspapers have giv-en unconfi rmed reports of threeaccomplices, including a jour-nalist. Regarding those reports,Fr Lombardi replied: “I havehad no information on complic-ity, but I don’t think it corre-sponds to an exact descriptionof the situation. The testimo-nies don’t imply automaticallythe revelation of accomplices.”

‘Vati-leaks’ reportto be handed down

ROME (Zenit) - The European Parliament has approved a reso-lution condemning the practice of forced abortions and sterili-sations in China.

The resolution made explicit reference to the kidnapping of a Chinese woman named Feng Jianmei who was in her seventh month of pregnancy and forced to abort the baby.

According to a report pub-lished June 3, Feng Jianmei was

beaten and dragged to a vehicle of “family planning offi cials,” while her husband, Deng Jiyu-an, was away at work.

The offi cials also asked Feng’s family to pay a ¥40,000 fi ne. Not having received the amount, they forced abortion, placing the dead baby next to her on the bed. Feng then un-derwent medical treatment in a nearby village.

It is estimated that about 13

million children are aborted in China every year since the one-child policy was introduced in China in 1979.

The resolution encourages the European Commission to reconsider its grants to projects in China to ensure that no Eu-ropean funds are allocated to coercive reproductive health programs and policies as has happened to date.

Forced abortions condemned

Pope revisits place of Vatican 2 workROME (Zenit) - The director of the Vatican press offi ce com-mented on Benedict XVI’s trip today to the house of the Ver-bites in Nemi, Italy, noting that it was a chance for the Pope to visit the place where as a young theologian he worked on docu-ments of the Second Vatican Council.

Young Joseph Ratzinger worked at the spot in 1965.

“The dynamic and prolifi c at-mosphere of study, debate, and prayer created the environment for the plenary meetings of the Council Fathers in Saint Pe-ter’s,” Fr Lombardi explained.

The Vatican spokesman noted that Cardinal Roberto Tucci has recently spoken about similar work that went on in Ariccia, Italy, with the involvement of young Bishop Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John-Paul II) in preparation of Gaudium et spes.

“About 30 of those who par-ticipated in the Second Vati-can the Council are still living, among them Council Fathers

and experts, and their testimo-nies stir up a wave of emotionsin those who, like us (eventhough we were not directly involved), recall that extraordi-nary time of fervor, enthusiasm,and hope,” Fr Lombardi said.

“It is our wish that the 50th anniversary of the Council,which we are preparing to cel-ebrate in October, will be anopportunity to enthusiastically reunite ourselves to that atmos-phere of listening to the Holy Spirit, so that the documents can be re-read today along the lines of the ‘”hermeneutic of re-form,” of renewal in the conti-nuity of the one subject-Church which the Lord has given to us.

“She is a subject which in-creases in time and develops,yet always remaining the same,the one subject of the journey-ing People of God.

“For this reason Joseph Ratz-inger – now Pope – wisely ex-horts us, as a privileged and au-thoritative witness, and expertof the conciliar assembly.”

AN Israeli lawmaker has torn up a copy of the New Testa-ment to protest against the dis-semination of the “despicable book”, which was sent to mem-bers of parliament by a Chris-tian organisation.

MP Michael Ben Ari of the ultra-nationalist National Un-ion opposition party was one

of the Knesset members who received by mail a copy of the “Book of Testaments”.

It contains the Jewish Bible,known to Christians as the Old Testament, and the New Testa-ment, the Gospels and epistles of the Christian faith written af-ter the time of Jesus.

Israeli MP tears up the Bible

Page 14 - Catholic Life, July 2012

For the Young and Young at Heart

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age . . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A RICH American com-missioned a well-known author to write his family history, but insisted that he should ignore some sensi-tive details like the case of Uncle William who led a life of crime and was eventually executed in the electric chair in the 1920s.“Don’t come straight out

and say it,” the author was told. “You’ll have to fi nd some way around it.”

The millionaire was pleas-antly surprised to read what the author wrote.“Uncle William occupied

a chair of applied electron-ics in one of our leading government institutions. He was held to the post by the closest of ties and his death came as a real shock.”

LITTLE Johnny had not spoken a word in the fi rst six years of his life and his family had resigned them-selves to the fact that he was a mute.

Finally one morning he cried out “Mum, this toast is burnt!”

His amazed and delight-ed mother hugged him and asked “Johnny, why haven’t you spoken before this?”“Well,” he replied, “up un-

til now everything has been all right.”

A LITTLE girl was sit-ting drawing a picture and her teacher remarked how beautiful it looked.“Who is that person you are

drawing?” asked the teacher.“That’s God,” replied the

girl.The teacher smiled and

explained that no-one knew what God looked like.“The will in a moment!”

said the girl.

A YOUNG boy came home from school and asked his mother “What is vice?”

She gave him a long ex-planation including the facts of life and how some people choose to lead immoral lives and where that sort of life-style could lead to all sorts of moral depravities.

He thanked his mum for the explanation and she asked why he had asked.“It’s just that I’ve been

made vice captain at school!”

AN intelligent woman, an intelligent politician and the Easter bunny get in a lift to-gether and at the same time they spot a $10 note lying on the fl oor.

Which one of them would bend down and pick it up?

The woman, because there

are no such things as an intelligent politician or an Easter bunny.

A FARMER was in court seeking compensation after the horse he was riding and his dog were hit by a police car,

The counsel for the de-fence asked “After the acci-dent didn’t you tell the con-stable who had been driving the car that you felt OK?”

Farmer: “Yes, I believe that’s right,”

Defence counsel: “And now you are seeking com-pensation for some injuries which you claim you sus-tained in the accident?”

Farmer: “Yes.”The defence counsel sat

down and the farmer’s so-licitor asked “Will you tell his honor the circumstances in which you made the re-sponse.”

The old farmer looked at the judge and said “Just af-ter the accident, my horse was lying on the road with a broken leg and the police-man went up to it and shot it with his revolver.“Then he went over to my

dog which was lying in a ditch, whimpering badly from its injuries and he shot it too.“Then he came over to me

and asked me how I was feeling, so I replied ‘I’ve never felt better in my life!’”

TWO road workers were sitting down by the side of the road having lunch.

One looked at his sand-wich and remarked “Oh no, raspberry jam again. I hate raspberry jam.”

The second worker asked why he didn’t ask his wife to put something else on his sandwich.“Wouldn’t do any good,”

said the fi rst. “I have to make my own lunch.”

AN old man was sitting on the kerb outside the hotel sobbing helplessly.

A policeman asked him what was wrong.“I’m 75-years-old and I

have a beautiful 25-year-old wife at home.”“So what’s the problem?”

asked the policeman.“I can’t remember where I

live,” howled the old man.

DID you hear about the blind man who was given a cheese grater for his birth-day.

He said it was the most vi-olent thing he had ever read.

Time for a LaughBound for Olympic glory

SEEING the London Olympic are on we have decided to give a prize for the best colouring of this picture of women runners. Just fi ll out the form below and post your entry to Catholic Life at PO Box 1410, Warragul 3820. But you will have to hurry as the next issue will be out in only three weeks this time.

HAVE you ever wondered why foreigners have trouble with the English Language?

Let’s face it, English is a stupid language.

There is no egg in the egg-plant, no ham in the ham-burger and neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.

English muffi ns were not invented in England, and French fries were not invent-ed in France.

We sometimes take Eng-lish for granted but if we examine its paradoxes we fi nd that quicksand takes you down slowly, boxing rings

are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If writers write, how come fi ngers don’t fi ng?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of phone booth be phone beeth?

If the teacher taught, why didn’t the preacher praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegeta-bles, what the heck does a humanitarian eat!?

Why do people recite at a play, yet play at a recital? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language

where a house can burn up as it burns down.

And in which you fi ll in a form by fi lling it out, and a bell is only heard once it goes!

English was invented by people, not computers, and it refl ects the creativity of the human race. (Which of course isn’t a race at all)

That is why when the stars are out they are visible but when the lights are out they are invisible.

And why it is that when I wind up my watch it starts, but when I wind up this ob-servation, it ends.

A puzzling language to many

Catholic Life, July 2012 - Page 15

Classifi eds

Bishop’sFamily

FoundationIf you are making or

updating your will, youmay consider leaving a

bequest to the Bishop’s Family

Foundation.

The Bishop’s FamilyFoundation has produced

some easy-to-read bookletsexplaining bequests whichmay be an advantage toread before seeing your

solicitor to prepare orupdate your will.

Copies may be obtained byphoning Pat

on 5144 4991

Do it today and sleepeasy knowing you have

done your part.

Let’s leavesomethingfor those in

need

public notices

VOCATIONSPriests &Deacons

Are you considering a vocation as a priest or

deacon for the Diocese of Sale?

If so please contactDiocesan Vocations

DirectorFr Darek Jablonski

5996 1985vocations@sale.catholic.org.au

wanted known

Catholic LifeYour key to 45,000potential customers.

Ph 5622 6600

Sacred Heart School

BINGOEvery Friday

Morwell RSL Club,Elgin St., Morwell

Eyes down 11am. Ticket sales 10.30amNow 55 games at 20 cents per game.

Further details phone5134 8484 or 5133 7221 (AH)

THANK YOU St Jude. O Holy St Jude Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke yourspecial patronage in time of need.

To you I have recourse from thedepth of my heart and humbly beg you to whom God has given suchgreat power to come to my assis-tance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return I prom-ise to make your name known andcause you to be invoked.

St Jude pray for us and all who invoke your aid. Amen.

prayer

Clearance SaleCancelled

Antiques and offi ce furnitureThe advertised sale of surplus furniture and fi t-

tings from the Diocese of Sale has been cancelled.The antique partners’ desk and an antique cap-

tain’s chair used by all Bishops of Sale have been withdrawn from sale and other items declared sur-plus after the move of diocesan offi ces from Sale and Newborough to Sion House, Warragul, are being held in storage at this stage.

clearance sale

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MOE - St Kieran’s Catholic Primary School in Moe cel-ebrated the Year of Grace by in-corporating it into their break-fast event, a monthly socialgathering attended by students,parents and parishioners.

Religious education co-ordi-nator and St Kieran’s teacherLisa Broeren led the gatheringin prayer, citing the Year ofGrace prayer.

Families were given the Yearof Grace prayer cards to take home. The breakfast was alovely opportunity for familiesto join together for a meal. Thisbreakfast has become a well supported and much enjoyed part of St Kieran’s school life.

Time for the greens

SPECIAL projects offi cer George Brayshaw has retired after seeing the diocese through to its move to Warragul’s newSion headquarters. Mr Bray-shaw has also been chairmanof Bishop’s Family Foundation trustees and a member of the Diocesan Finance Council. Tomark his retirement Mr Bray-shaw, who is a keen golfer, waspresented with a new golf bagby Bishop Christopher Prowseand business manager Jeff Da-vis.

A grace-fi lledbreakfast

Page 16 - Catholic Life, July 2012

Cath L

ife Sale

Child’s Bible - ‘God Speaks to His Children’The Catholic Church’s most successful Child’s Bible ever!

Feed a Child with the Word of God

BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED THROUGHOUT48 Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments

Available for a donation of $7.00A lovely gift idea!

Bolivia

Worldwide, the Church is under attack from atheistic regimes, militant Islam, sects and basic ignorance of the Faith.

The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is able to counter these attacks by supplying Child’s Bibles to children and families

countries where the Church is poor or persecuted.

and distributed 50 million copies of God Speaks to His Children in 172 languages. It is the Catholic Church’s most successful Child’s bible ever! This inspiring book can also teach the

The Child’s Bible is a perfect gift for

Communion. The Bible complements the catechism and children’s rosary booklet also published by ACN and available via our website.

available for a donation of $7.00.

Rosary from the Holy LandSimple in design and yet profound in its

are also available for a donation of $7.00. All proceeds will go towards the work of Aid to the Church in Need for the poor and persecuted Church worldwide.

Lavalla Students rally to a cause

TRARALGON - Lavalla Cath-olic College, Kildare Campus recently held its annual Cause Worth Week.

Students organised and par-ticipated in a variety of activi-ties to raise money the Gipps-land Cancer Care Centre.

Campus director Marco DiC-esare explained “The Cause Worth Week has become an annual event and over the past 10 years has raised in excess of $25,000.

“It is a student-led initiative that students and staff look for-ward to every year.

“Students and staff at the

College know that most fami-lies are touched by cancer in some way and this is our way of helping all those people.”

The week gives the campus community an intense focus on community service and encour-ages students to see themselves as people who can improve the circumstances of others.

It also unites students and staff as they work to raise funds and strengthen their own com-munity in the process.

The activities that took place during the week included House Trivia, which saw Champagnat 5 become the trivia champi-

ons, Guitar Hero proved to be a very entertaining competition and the relay walk and plain clothes day had students and staff walking round the campus oval from 1.30-5pm.

The highlight of the week was the Cause Worth Shaving For activity. This year’s par-ticipants in the shave were Matt O’Toole, Thomas Wilson, Tom Eddy, Lachlan Morland, Sa-rah Beyer, Aaron Frescura and teacher Chris Rea

The total raised for the week was $6137.50.

LAVALLA senior campus students and teachers rallying for a good cause to raise money for charity.

Sale students makenational sidesSALE - Catholic College Sale students have been making their mark on the nation’s foot-ball fi elds with two students se-lected to play for national sides in 2012.

Year 12 student Will Hams was chosen to represent Victori-an Country in the Under 18 Na-tional Championships Round two game against Queensland. Will certainly held his own with two goals and 17 possessions, playing on a wing in the game played at Victoria Park.

Will’s performance assured that he retained his place for the Round three clash with Western Australia to be played at Subi-aco Oval in Perth.

Year 9 student Nash Holmes has been selected to represent

Country Victoria in the Under 15 Australian Football Cham-pionship in Adelaide this week.

Nash was selected as a re-sult of his performances in the V/Line Cup which was heldin Melbourne during the last school holidays. The Gippsland team that Nash represented wasvictorious in the V/Line Cup competition and Nash was se-lected in the Team of the V/Line Cup.

Some 55 players were cho-sen to try out for the VictorianCountry team from this compe-tition.

The college is proud of both of these students and wishes them well in their future sport-ing endeavors.

St Vinnies cannedby St Joseph’s

WARRAGUL - St Joseph’s Pri-mary School, Warragul went can crazy last month!!

More than 1000 cans were donated to St Vincent De Paul in the annual can challenge!

What a fantastic effort from the students and families at St Joseph’s!

During winter each year the students are asked to donate food cans to the St Vincent de Paul Society over a two week period and this year was their highest total yet! One single class of students managed 130 cans alone!

Religious education co-or-dinator Janelle Deguara said “Everyone did an absolutely amazing job, 1000 cans is a

huge effort and it was just sogood to see the interest and ex-citement this challenge bought to our students.”

Two representatives fromthe St Vincent De Paul Societycalled at the school to accept the cans.

They thanked the students and spoke at assembly aboutjust how important the can chal-lenge is for them every year.

The cans are given weekly tomany needy families through-out Warragul.

Students should be extremelyproud of their amazing effortsand feel very happy in knowingjust how important these cansare for so many families in their community this winter.

BEV and Patsy from St Vincent de Paul Society with school cap-tains Sam Fennell and Gemma Wall.

RememberThe closing date for applications for fund-

ing from Bishop’s Family Foundation is August 31.

See www.sale.catholic.org.aufor further details