Trí
Trí ’s diaconate last Saturday was a wonderful experience. It was
led by a gentle and encouraging bishop Thinh Xuan Nguyen, who
is one of fourteen children. He was born in Saigon in 1973 and
came to Australia with his family as refugees, in 1985. We had
two Vietnamese choirs, a beautiful arrangement of flowers, an
exceptional MC who had to work in a confined space, students
from Our Lady of Mercy Heidelberg who welcomed us, and
aided by Tri’s preparation, much of the ceremony was displayed in both
Vietnamese and English.
Tri’s parents were present at the ceremony,
and his father invested Tri with the deacon’s
stole, which is worn over the left shoulder.
In the background is Deacon Vinh, who was
recently appointed to our community and
parish in Endeavour Hills.

Finding contemplative moments
I shared the reflection below with Tri during his retreat last week and thought
some readers might appreciate it.
It is vital for any of us to decide what we are doing with our life. This is not a focus
on what you have done, or what you might do........but what are you doing now?
Eckhart Tolle, the author of ‘The Power of Now’ says we
need to balance our interior, with the exterior.
"Be at least as interested in what goes on inside you as
what happens outside. If you get the inside right, the
outside will fall into place". (‘The Power of Now’
…)
We need to attend to our ‘inside’ (that’s the real me, not the false ego). This
echoes Jesus’ caution… “What does it profit a person if she/he gains the whole
world but loses her/himself” (Mark 8:36). Many people spend their lives either
living in the past or the future. Tolle says, "To be identified with your mind is to be
trapped in time: it becomes a compulsion to live almost exclusively through
memory (the past) and anticipation (the future)"

Ecclesial Governance and Administration
This week four of our men, Justin Durai-Raj (Hobart), John Auram (Port Moresby)
Joseph Doan (Marrickville, Sydney) and Paul Kien (Pooraka, Adelaide)
have been involved in a workshop held at YTU, Box Hill. The opening prayer
expressed something of the hopes for the workshop.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, Creator of all that exists.
Source of life and growth, of peace and joy, we bless you for
all your sons and daughters. The gifts of governance and
administration are yours, and in your goodness, you share
these gifts with people like us. Please give vision and wisdom
to those engaged in governance; good judgement and
courage to administrators; faith and a sense of justice to all
who work in Church offices. Help us to remember that you
share with us the power to govern and administer, and that
the work we do is your work.
Give us the satisfaction and joy in the performance of this work. Bless us always
with your presence, your insight, your compassion, that we will recognize and
praise you as You really are: the Master of all that we are and do. Blessed are you,
Lord God, who share with us the gifts of governance and administration. Amen.

Pentecost…our new season
It is difficult to explain the phenomenon of attraction or ‘calling’. Each of us has experienced it, but it remains a mystery to us. There are human experiences such as when people meet, seemingly ‘by chance,’ that seem much deeper than coincidence. People from primitive cultures have these kind of experiences all the time. They refer to it as the work of ‘spirits’. Western rational thinking tends not to understand the working of spirits, and maybe most of all the working of ‘the’ spirit.

Despite this, in everyday ways we say things like ‘she has her Mother’s spirit’ or ‘He showed real spirit’ or ‘I felt inspired’. This language reveals that we understand that the spirit of one person can live in another and this is what we celebrate at Pentecost!

Sr Brigid
Brigid celebrated her 60th anniversary of religious profession a
couple of days before Holy Cross. She is not one to seek or want
the limelight. Fr Denis wrote and published a nice
acknowledgement for the occasion which many of you would not
have seen.
“Sr. Brigid CP is currently a member of her Congregation’s General
Council, lives in community with Sr. Karen CP in Melbourne, and is
closely associated with the Province’s own mission through her
participation in the Come Away Retreats at Holy Cross, Passionist Companions and through
her membership of the Holy Spirit Province Formation Commission.
3
Sr. Brigid became a professed member of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion in May, 1965
and after her formation, she trained as a High School teacher in London. She first taught for
13 years in Dublin and then in Birmingham (UK). In 1982 her life took a different turn as she
moved into a social work role within the education sector. This led to her training as a
social worker after which she worked in the UK with children and families in St. Helens and
London until 1995 when she moved into hospital and prison chaplaincy and then into
hospice pastoral care.

Chris’ new book:
Dr Chris Monaghan CP has released the second book in his
series. The first book, See with the Eyes of the Heart, was well
received, and his new release, titled Perspective, continues the journey. The book is
available for purchase through Garratt Publishing, but Chris receives better financial
benefit for the community if it is purchased directly from him. Last Sunday, many
people picked up a copy, and it is available for just $25.
If you’re interested, you can email Chris directly he’ll set aside a copy for you to
collect (chris.monaghan@passionists.com and).
I was fortunate to get a copy when Chris first announced the book's release. I’m
grateful to him - it’s a meaningful reflection on the beauty of everyday li

Chris’ new book:
Dr Chris Monaghan CP has released the second book in his
series. The first book, See with the Eyes of the Heart, was well
received, and his new release, titled Perspective, continues the journey. The book is
available for purchase through Garratt Publishing, but Chris receives better financial
benefit for the community if it is purchased directly from him. Last Sunday, many
people picked up a copy, and it is available for just $25.
If you’re interested, you can email Chris directly he’ll set aside a copy for you to
collect (chris.monaghan@passionists.com and).
I was fortunate to get a copy when Chris first announced the book's release. I’m
grateful to him - it’s a meaningful reflection on the beauty of everyday life and
Scripture, and it’s wonderful to support the work of one of our own.

Jerome and the coins
Jerome continues to enjoy sorting out coins. He
showed me an interesting coin which he
explained that it used to be popular when he
was younger. It says “I am a Catholic, in case of
an accident please notify a priest.” Does anyone
remember that? I’m sorry if you can’t remember
you might still be a kid! Jerome told me how
parents would hide the coin in the clothes of
their kids. Jerome was kind and decided to say to
me “you can keep it if you want.” I kept it because I might need it someday,
otherwise I will keep it for memory. It is good to see how Jerome enjoys sorting out
coins.

Essay on Pope Francis by Tri:
For the next three weeks we will be reading from Tri’s
essay on Pope Francis as we honour him. Thank you Tri
for sharing your essay.
Pope Francis invites members of the Church to be
merciful disciples of Jesus for the contemporary world.
By Van Tri Cao.
Part one of three parts:
Introduction
“Mercy is God’s identity card.”1 Pope Francis expressed this belief this in an
interview with Andrea Tornielli in July 2015. Francis is the 266th Pope of the Roman
Catholic Church. His real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, born on 17th December
1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to an immigrant family from Italy. He is the first ever
elected Pope from Latin America, where he experienced many challenges and
upheavals related to political, economic, and social instability, as well as issues of
social injustice and concentrated power. In the 1970’s, Argentina, where Bergoglio
grew up, went through a period of political and social unrest, with the emergence of
a military government and the mysterious disappearance of many political followers.
These events undoubtably influenced his personality, and his way of acting as Pope

Community activities:
Brian is away on holiday until May 23rd—we wish him a restful and well-deserved
break, as he works incredibly hard. You know what they say: “When the cat’s away,
the mice will play.”
However, on the very day Brian left, Tri, JD, and others were definitely not following
in those playful footsteps. Instead, they were hard at work, cleaning!
In the photo, you can see them tackling a major fridge, freezer and kitchen clean-
out, among many other tasks. So, we can safely say that these “mice” aren’t exactly
playing—perhaps inspired by the great example set by our “cat,” (Brian) who quietly
and willingly does so much cleaning and tidying around the centre, helping make it
feel more like a welcoming home.