We had a most enjoyable lunch on Tuesday to acknowledge the 90th birthday of three generous and talented men who have been members of our Friday ‘A Team’ Joining with their spouses, other past and present ‘A Team’ members. Denis Travers founded the team which originally consisted of Gerald Wright (Denis’ uncle) and his friend Vin Molloy. They were joined soon after by Stan Wells. Noel Spinks (who was present on Tuesday) joined as did John Chubb, John Stretch, Graham Newcombe, Ed Porad and Frank Van den Boom.

Gerald is now 95 five. Jack Brolly (March), Vin Molly (April) and Neville Hackett (May 14th) have reached to 90 mark. We extend sincere Congratulations and best wishes!
In acknowledging these three men, we also wanted to thank all our ‘A’ Team members (past and present) for their wonderful assistance to us: Stan, Noel, John Chubb, John Stretch, Graham, Ed and Frank.

On Sunday May 6th, the PFGM celebrates 50 years since Passionist Family Groups began in St Anthony of the Field’s parish, Terrey Hills. The Movement became one of the most significant ministries in which professed and lay Passionists shared significant leadership roles. The first ‘Family Groups’ were such a convincing model of community that despite being a small parish, 26 groups formed in Terrey Hills parish.

Groups included people of different ages, cultires and very often a spouse of different faith, who all found a very practical way of living the gospel – not through discussion but through practical care and support of one another. Interestingly, many people in the groups became involved in parish Committees or groups and wanted more understanding of the new level of faith they were living.

Nguyen Bao Toan
Toan lived with us at Holy Cross since September last year until two weeks ago while engaged in English language studies at ELSPM. Through a process of discernment he acknowledged that while he loved Passionist life, this was not his future. He returned home to his family who live just over an hour from Saigon. Sadly on Tuesday, around 9.30pm, his parents last saw him on his laptop computer and then discovered Toan had lay down on his bed where he died.

Toan demonstrated to us great generosity and care for others and a genuine willingness to help at all times. Various visitors commented on his bright nature and generosity. In particular he was magnificent in his care of his brothers when they had COVID. He was particularly attentive to prayer and his spiritual life. He would have been 27 on April 26th, so it is a sad premature end to his life which he so conscientiously wanted to devote to God. The entire community, but especially his Vietnamese brothers at Holy Cross have been deeply affected by his sudden death.
Fr Dien in Vietnam has been supporting Toan’s family. His body was brought home from the hospital to be in his parent’s home. Dien is ensuring that Toan has a proper ‘Passionist’ burial, beginning with a blessing of the body and coffin on Wednesday afternoon. May he rest in peace.

Pre-Chapter meetings
Every four years, our Province holds a Provincial Chapter to review the previous four years and plan for the coming four years. A new Provincial and Council are elected for the next term. This year our Chapter will be held in Sydney from July 10th-14th. In preparation for the Chapter, Regional Assemblies have been held to allow discussion around areas of interest or concern. This year those Assemblies were held in Sydney, Melbourne and Saigon. From the discussions that took place, a number of questions have been formulated for the next stage of consultation and discussion. That discussion is taking place this week via Zoom.

Toan, one of our three postulants, returned home to Vietnam on Tuesday. He has been with the Passionists for several years, and lived at Holy Cross for seven months. It is never an easy decision to leave and it will be a big adjustment for him back in Vietnam. Toan featured in the Passion play last Sunday, as a Roman soldier.

You may remember that DJ returned home to visit his Dad who had suffered a stroke. His Dad is recovering well, and DJ is planning to return on April 12th. Our third postulant (Thang) was one of the feared Roman soldiers you can see on Page 3.

During his general audience in St Peter’s Square on March 14th, Pope Francis explained that apostleship as understood by the Second Vatican Council produces an equality – rooted in service – among laypeople, consecrated religious, priests and bishops. “Who has more dignity in the Church? The bishop? The priest? No, we are all Christians at the service of others,” he said. “We are all the same, and when one part (of the Church) thinks it is more important than the others and turns its nose up (at them), they are mistaken.”
Vatican II, the Pope said, did not focus on the laity’s relationship with the Church’s hierarchy as a “strategic” move to adapt to the times, but as “something more that transcends the events of that time and retains its value for us today”. The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity states that collaboration between the hierarchy and the laity is essential for the Church to fully live out its mission.

Give him another parish

Joe Grayland is a theologian and a parish priest of the Diocese of Palmerston North, which has been without a Bishop for three years.

This article was published in NZ Cath News on
Monday, March 20th, 2023
At a recent dinner with the Vicar General of an Australian diocese, he quipped, “to the parish priest who has everything, give him another parish.” The five priests seated with him laughed at this. But, as the conversation turned to the realities of our failing diocesan infrastructures, the tone became more serious. Two priests were managing three separate, cooperating parishes, three priests were managing two amalgamated parishes and the Vicar General had one parish. The six priests around the table were managing thirteen parishes with a total of thirty distinct communities between them, doing the work of ten previous parish priests.

A man wanting to irritate an Irishman said, “Did you know that St Patrick was in fact and Englishman?”
“Is that so”, the Irishman responded calmly.
Not satisfied, another man continued, “Did you know St Patrick was an idiot?”
“Ah yes, your mate was just telling me that!”

St Paddy’s day is a special day. Patrick (Maewyn Succat) lived during the fifth century, and is the patron saint of Ireland. He was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at age sixteen. He escaped, but freely returned to Ireland as a priest and is credited with bringing Christianity to its people. Interestingly he was never formally canonised!

The 10th anniversary of Pope Francis pontificate is approaching (March 13th). Here are some quotes from those years.

1. “The Eucharist is “not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”

2. A teenage boy told the pope that he was trying hard to believe in God and be faithful, but that he often struggled with doubt. "What can you say to help me and others like me?" he asked the pope.
The life of faith is a journey, Francis answered. “Journeying is an art because if we're always in a hurry, we get tired and don't arrive at our journey's goal,” he said. “If we stop, we don't go forward and we also miss the goal. Journeying is precisely the art of looking toward the horizon, thinking where I want to go but also enduring the fatigue of the journey, which is sometimes difficult. … There are dark days, even days when we fail, even days when we fall … but always think of this: Don't be afraid of failures. Don't be afraid of falling. What matters in the art of journeying isn't not falling but not staying down. Get up right away and continue going forward. This is what's beautiful: This is working every day, this is journeying as humans. But also, it's bad walking alone: It's bad and boring. Walking in community, with friends, with those who love us, that helps us. It helps us to arrive precisely at that goal, that 'there where' we're supposed to arrive.”

Bruce Lipton suggests that to better understand the opportunity hidden in today’s crises, consider the tale of another world in transition. Imagine you are a single cell among millions that comprise a growing caterpillar. The structure around you has been operating like a well-oiled machine, and the larva world has been creeping along predictably. Then one day, the machine begins to shudder and shake. The system begins to fail. Cells begin to commit suicide. There is a sense of darkness and impending doom.