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All Churches, Parish Office & buildings are
closed until further notice
Parish Office: (07) 5572 5433 (9am – 12pm Mon-Fri). (Prefer phone
contact)
Email: surfers@bne.catholic.net.au
Emergencies: Priest contactable via office phone (after hours, follow menu
prompts)
50 Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters, Queensland, 4226
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E-Newsletter 6th Edition
Sunday May 10, 2020
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Fifth
Sunday of Easter. Year A
Mother’s Day
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Readings
for the Fifth Sunday of Easter A
FIRST READING: Acts 6:1-7
PSALM: Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19. “Lord, let
your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.”
SECOND READING: Peter 2:4-9
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION: (John 14:6). Alleluia, alleluia! I am
the way, the truth and the Life, says the Lord. No one comes to the Father,
except through me.
GOSPEL:
John
14:1-12
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THE PASTOR’S POST
Among the many indulgences that I have
been treating myself to during this splendid isolation is getting into my
books. Not all of them have been my favourite murder mysteries, (why is it that
people who profess an enjoyment of life are so drawn to gory and sinister
murders – a theme for another post, perhaps)? Some of my reading is loosely
connected to my vocation, a sort of professional development exercise, like the
newly published book by Christopher Lamb, who is writing about my favourite man
of our time, in a book called, “The Outsider: Pope Francis and His Battle to
Reform the Church”.
Apparently I am now what is called a
‘Franciscophile’, someone who listens and analyses almost everything that Pope
Francis says and writes, finding very little that does not firstly challenge,
and then reinforce, the things I have come to value and believe about the
Catholic Church and its teachings. Lamb is a journalist who lives and works in
Rome and is privileged to meet with the Pope quite regularly and has observed
at close hand his human touch and his political savvy; he’s seen him in good
and bad times; he has spoken to the Pope’s friends and enemies, and has come to
observe that the Pope does not receive universal popularity, as the general
public would seem to think. Lambs contends that while the Pope does not seek
out controversy, he does not shy away from taking on the tough opponent and
does not accept the mantra that “this is the way it has always been done”.
Since our Church has such a long tradition of doing things a certain way, it is
understandable that there would be some, perhaps many, who disagree with his
attempts to get to the core of our beliefs and practices.
I readily admit that Lamb’s book plays
to my fondness for Francis, so the rose coloured glasses I often wear when
looking at this “man of the ordinary people”, rarely allows me to see valid
criticisms by those who think he is leading us in an unholy direction. But like
Francis, I am trying to see things from a perspective other than my own. Like
Pope Saint John XXIII, he is a man who has tried to “throw open the windows and
let in the fresh air” by reaching out to the faithful on the margins and making
the church a listener rather than a lecturer.
Francis has coined some memorable
phrases such as, referring to the Sacraments as “not end-goal prizes for the
well behaved, but rather vehicles of grace”. He says “a Church that does
not listen shows itself closed to God’s surprises and cannot be credible” and
to a man who felt himself discriminated against as a gay man, he said,” It’s
the noun, not the adjective that matters”. He seems to have the ability to get
right into the marrow of our doubts and dilemmas and sows substantial seeds for
growth, even if at first they shake our previous understanding and certainty.
While his encyclicals and public
proclamations are full of wisdom and sound principals, I find that it’s his
unprepared conversations with journalists or letters to his priests, his
spontaneous reactions to people who gather to see him at St. Peter's Square,
that gives me the richest insights. He has the all-too-rare attribute of
looking like he lives what he says. He does appear to use power so much as
authority when he speaks, much the same as his great teacher Jesus who sort to
serve rather than be served. While all popes are referred to as ‘servants of
the servants of God’, with Francis, I finally get to understand what that looks
like.
Of course I am not so naïve as to
believe that this Pope is perfect, and there are many things I wish he had said
and issues that I hope he will address, but I feel that as long as this man is
driving the train then I am happy to travel wherever he is taking us. I’m not
sure if I’m being too gullible or over-confident, or maybe I am just hearing
things which resonate with my experience. All this from an 83 year old man I
have never met and whom I have never heard speak in English. Could it be that
the Holy Spirit is speaking through this wise Argentinian? Long may he reign.
Fr Peter Dillon PP.
Shutterstock stock photo ID:
1211304220. 2015: Pope Francis. photo by Stefano Guidi
A HAPPY AND BLESSED MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL
Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash
Happy Mother's Day to all Mums.
Different parts of the world celebrate Mother's Day on different dates in the
year, but whatever date it is celebrated. By the way, these celebrations always
cause me confusion - Is it : “Mother's Day,” “Mothers' Day” or “Mothers Day”?
Well, according to my inquiry, Mother's Day is the grammatically correct way.
(Although I am still not entirely sure why that is 😄).
It is no coincidence that Christ used
the image of an unconditionally loving parent to describe an essential, inner
characteristic of God's very nature. What better example of unconditional love
can be witnessed than the love of a mother for her cherished child? Christ
wants us to know and experience the deep and abiding love God has for us, in
calling us God's daughters and sons. This weekend we pray for all
mothers, that they may be blessed for their goodness, kindness and
self-forgetting love.
Let us pray in heartfelt thanksgiving
to God, for all Mums on this Mother’s Day weekend. That God bless them .
For their unconditional love and care. Lord hear us.
For those who have passed into eternal
life, especially all dear-departed mothers, who have gone to their eternal rest
and remain in cherished memory. That they now are enjoying the heavenly and
eternal banquet feast of the Kingdom..... . ………..(PAUSE)…….
A Prayer in Gratitude and Blessing for Our
Mothers
Good and Gentle God, Lord of creation,
we pray in gratitude for our mothers and for all the women who have joined with
you in the wonder of bringing forth new life and nurturing with love,
young lives. Jesus, you became human through a blessed woman, the Virgin Mary.
Grant to all mothers the grace and strength they need to face the
uncertain moments that life often brings us all. Give them the ongoing
strength to love and to be loved in return. Give them the faithful support of
family and friends and the wider community. May they receive peace and joy
through their family and friends. Give them joy and delight in their
families and friends, to sustain them through joys and sorrows. Most of all,
give them the wisdom to turn to you for help when they need it most.
bless all our mothers and grant them the reward of their unconditional love and
kindness.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Author Unknown (adapted by P.
Kelly).
Shutterstock Licensed
stock illustration ID: 1086409397. John 14:6. By TheBiblePeople
FR WARREN KINNE
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50th Anniversary of Priesthood
Fr Warren is celebrating his 50th
anniversary of Priesthood in June. He was due to go on a trip overseas to
celebrate his anniversary around this time, but as with so many plans the
pandemic prevented this. Technology, however, allowed people to keep in touch.
Here is a beautiful video celebrating Fr Warren’s fifty years of loving service
to God and God’s people. Congratulations and many happy returns.
THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED
Jesus said those famous words, “I am
the Way, the Truth and the Life!” This could also be said as, “I am the ROAD,
the TRUE Path and the meaning of truly and fully living.”
Robert Frost, in his poem "The
Road Not Taken," tells about a decision he made:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
During the Last Supper, Thomas and the
other disciples were stunned into silence when Jesus announced he must leave
them. Thomas asked for direction on how to get where Jesus was going. Tenderly,
Jesus answered, "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
Like Thomas, if we follow Jesus and
live according to the values and principles he lived by, and do what Jesus has
done, we too will have truth and life; we will be at home with him and the
Father, now, (as well as - in the future- fully at home with him in Heaven).
The road we choose to take must
be one of faith. To travel the faith road, we must live lives which are “turned
to God,” – that is, dependent upon him for all that we do. Jesus has said that
if we have faith in him, we have faith in the Father, for he and the Father are
one.
Jesus has promised us that with faith
we will be able to do his works. The works of the Father through Jesus were to
teach, heal, and comfort.
The road of Jesus diverges in sharp
ways with many aspects of those who live only by the ways of the world…….
Our Lord’s WAY is certainly a road less travelled. So we ought never be afraid
that we are diverging down a path that is not the ‘trendy’ path, not the common
way of responding to the events of life or the action of others. But the choice
to follow this road will make all the difference.
It is good for us this week to spend
some time reflecting on our lives and our path.
Fr Paul (with material from “Celebrating the
Gospels,” by Gaynell Cronin; photo by Dave on Unsplash)
GOSPEL RESOURCES
Fifth Sunday of Easter: Readings, Commentaries, and
Prayers
In preparation for the Fifth Sunday of Easter. The resources can also be found on the Liturgy
Brisbane website here and will be updated
each week.
In these unique times where our Sunday
Masses have been suspended, you may wish to read the Sunday readings and
associated commentaries at home.
This resource is designed for families
with young children and has been a joint endeavour of Liturgy Brisbane and
Evangelisation Brisbane. An extract from the Sunday gospel is provided, along
with some reflection questions, family activities and a worksheet for children.
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
THE SEVEN WONDERS
A parishioner kindly sent in this
wonderful reflection. It is very relevant after these last few months:
Seven Wonders Of The World
A group of students were asked to list
what they thought were the current Seven Wonders of the World. Though there was
some disagreement, the following got the most votes:
1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher
noted that one quiet student hadn't turned in her paper yet. So she asked the
student if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, "Yes, a
little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us
what you have, and maybe we can help." The girl hesitated, then read,
"I think the Seven Wonders of the World are:
- to touch
- to taste
- to see
- to hear
- to feel
- to laugh
- and to love
The room was so quiet, you could have
heard a pin drop. The
things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are
truly wondrous.
EXERCISING PAST THE CHURCH
We know that we are all missing being
able to gather together in the church buildings for mass. Here is a
little message one parishioner sent in that is heartwarming:
“Hi. I hope you are
all safe and well - It’s amazing the people I catch sight of (from a safe
distance!!). We all miss not going to Mass - I thought I was the only one that
did my exercise walk...
….. past the church.
I have seen quite a
few of you doing the same thing - so we can look in as we walk past, and say Hi
to God thru the windows. Take care ” 
CURRENT PARISH OPERATING PROTOCOL
Just a reminder that, in line with
health guidelines, the office is not open for pop-in visits. The Parish has
phone contact hours Monday to Friday 9am until 12 noon, where we will endeavour
to answer the phone for any inquiries. We are also contactable anytime via
email surfers@bne.catholic.net.au. In the case of emergencies,
there is also the same parish office number (with a button option to press for
emergency contact) for the on-call priest 24/7. The less face-to-face
contact in these times of pandemic, the quicker we hope this situation can
return to “normal.” The Parish phone number is 5572 5433.
FAITH AT HOME: Spiritual Nourishment - Inspired
by the Pastors Post
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Inspired by Fr Peter’s editorial this
week, here are some suggestions for further spiritual reading on Pope Francis’
life and ministry: (Many of these are available for online purchase of
hardcopies or ebooks).
- The Francis Miracle: Inside the Transformation of the Pope and the Church. By John L. Allen Jr.
- The Great Reformer. By Austen Ivereigh,
- Pope Francis: The Struggle for the Soul of
Catholicism. By Paul Vallely
- Who Am I To Judge - A radical Pope’s first year. By James Carroll, 16/12/2013. From the New Yorker Magazine. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/12/23/who-am-i-to-judge
- Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads.
By former Jesuit seminarian and JPMorgan managing director Chris Lowney.
This author was elsewhere quoted as saying: "Here was someone who had
not merely dipped his toes in the Ignatian tradition, he had swum in the
ocean of it, then gone off to teach swimming in other pools." (book
reviewed here)
- Laudato Si (Praise Be to You, Lord!). On Care of Our Common Home. Pope Francis Encyclical. Papal Encyclicals and many official Church pronouncements get their name from the first lines of The document, namely, this groundbreaking letter from Pope Francis starts off saying: ““LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the
words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that
our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life..” http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
And some spiritual reading for Mums and
for the Spirituality of women:
- Momnipotent: The Not-So-Perfect Woman’s Guide to Catholic Motherhood. By Danielle Bean (Author)
- The Reed of God. By Caryll Houselander
(Author)
- Rooted in Love: Our Calling as Catholic Women.
By Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
- Small Steps for Catholic Moms: Your Daily Call to Think, Pray, and Act. by Danielle Bean (Author), Elizabeth
Foss (Author), Lisa M. Hendey (Foreword)
- I Believe in Love: A Personal Retreat Based on the Teaching of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. By Jean C. J. d'Elbée
- Consider the Lilies. By Elizabeth Foss
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May: The Month of Mary Photo by Grant Whitty on Unsplash
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Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
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The Catholic Leader Newspaper
The Catholic Leader
digital edition is now available https://catholicleader.com.au/digital-newspaper-covid19
The flipbook is downloadable in PDF and
printable. First, enter full-screen mode by clicking the ‘full-screen’ button
in the centre of the pages. Using the icons above the newspaper, you can select
print or download.
Alternatively, you can visit the
website: https://catholicleader.com.au/
PARISH FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Our faith sustains us through
challenging times. Now, more than ever, your support is needed to help our
Parish to continue valuable pastoral activities and to provide ongoing
sustainability. To assist you to support the Parish during this time of isolation,
you can give via
http://parishgiving.brisbanecatholic.org.au
We will continue to serve you through
online resources and webcasts. If you are able to continue to support us, we
would be most grateful. For all those who have been making payments via
credit card and those who have donated directly into the parish account, we
thank you. The spirit of generosity is alive in our parish. If you would
like confirmation of your donation or a receipt emailed to you please
contact me at manager.surfers@bne.catholic.net.au
Yours faithfully,
Sonya Slater, Parish Manager
ONLINE PILGRIMAGE PROGRAM FOR CATHOLICS
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In the midst of a global pandemic, the
seeds of hope are stirring for innovations in the living of the faith.
For Brisbane Catholic Martin Brennan, who was inspired by Pope Francis’ Easter
message, this has manifested in the ‘Pentecost Pilgrimage’ – an online
pilgrimage of prayer resources open to faithful across the world via Zoom.
The pilgrimage is a way of
circumventing the effects of COVID-19 on the faithful’s access to the
sacramental life so crucial to the tangible Catholic faith. The Pentecost
Pilgrimage was partly inspired by the Virtual Catholic Conference in early
April that gathered over 65, 000 Catholics internationally for 26 hours.
Over the course of six weeks beginning
on the weekend of Sunday 26th April until Sunday 31 May – Pentecost, pilgrims
will enjoy over 20 talks, which run for 20 minutes, released every Wednesday
and Sunday from internationally acclaimed speakers including Dr Ralph Martin
and Dr Mary Healy. Australian speakers include Archbishop Julian Porteous
of Hobart and Robert Falzon of menALIVE.
Pilgrims
who register their participation will have free access to all talks and
pilgrims will be afforded the opportunity to speak online with some of the
speakers. It is not too late to join.
FASCINATING EARLY HISTORY OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA
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During this time of
pandemic, and with Masses unable to be publicly celebrated, it is interesting
to note that for most of the first thirty years after the First Fleet arrived
in 1788, the Catholic Church in Australia had no Catholic priests to minister here.
The Catholics in Australia in those first thirty years since European settlement, kept the faith and continued to raise their children in the faith
despite the unavailability of priests and in the absence of the Eucharist,
which they held dear, but could not receive. They kept the faith during those
thirty years and when priests were permitted to minister here, they found the
faith alive and well. Thirty years! And in that time, the Holy
Spirit faithfully continued to guide and sustain them. It is a very
timely reminder for us who have been restricted for a few months. It
gives us heart, hope and continued strength to trust in God’s compassionate
care and nurturing love.
Fr. Paul
Here is a bit of
that early history:
The first Catholics to
reside in Australia arrived with the First Fleet in 1788. They were mostly
Irish convicts, together with a few marines. One-tenth of all convicts
transported to Australia were Catholic, and half of these were born in Ireland,
while a good proportion of the others were English-born but of Irish
extraction. Most of the rest were English or Scottish. By the year 1803, a
total of 2086 Irish convicts, nearly all of whom were Catholic, had been
transported to Botany Bay. Estimates are that about four-fifths of these were
ordinary criminals and most of the remainder 'social rebels', those convicted
of crimes of violence against property and landlords. Only a very small number
could be regarded as genuine political rebels: about 600 in the entire history
of transportation, and hardly any after 1803.
The First Priests
Although many Irish
convicts were merely nominal Catholics -- in fact, many were quite irreligious
-- many others diligently and courageously kept their faith alive despite the
fact that, for most of the next thirty years or so, priests were only
sporadically available to provide them with the sacraments. According to the
1828 Census, out of a total Catholic population of about 10 000, there were 374
adults who had been born in Australia and raised in a totally lay environment,
the Catholic faith passed on to them despite the absence of priests. It was not
until 1800 that the first priests arrived in the colony -- as convicts! One of
these, James Dixon, was granted conditional emancipation and permission to say Mass
for the Catholics of Sydney, Liverpool and Parramatta on successive Sundays, a
practice that continued from 1803 until March 1804, when the Castle Hill
rebellion so alarmed Governor King that he withdrew Dixon's privileges. Dixon
soon after returned to Ireland, and Mass was not legally celebrated again in
the colony until Fathers John Joseph Therry and Philip Connolly, chaplains
appointed by the Government in London, arrived in 1820. Their arrival can be
regarded as the formal establishment of the Catholic Church in Australia.
The First Bishop
The first Catholic
bishop in Australia was John Bede Polding. Like the man who prepared the way
for his arrival and who became his first Vicar-General, William Ullathorne, and
like his successor, Roger Vaughan, Polding was an English Benedictine monk.
Polding's dream was to establish a Church founded on monastic ideals, in which
scholarship and sublime liturgy , accompanied by Gregorian chant, would
civilise and convert the new country, just as they had in earlier centuries in
Europe. But Polding's priests were mainly Irish, and this was not their
conception of what the Church should be like. Their efforts, and the efforts of
the Irish bishops who were appointed to other newly established dioceses, soon
combined with Australia's singular geographical and social environment to
subvert Polding's vision.
Irish clergy dominated
Australian Catholic life until fairly recently, and it was not until the 1930s
that Australian-born priests outnumbered them. Irish priests continued to come
to Australia throughout the twentieth century, a few arriving even in recent
years.
Catholic Schools
At least two Catholic
schools were established in the early years of the nineteenth century but
neither survived very long, and it was not until after the arrival of Therry
and Connolly in 1820 that significant development took place. By 1833, there
were about ten Catholic schools in the country. From this time until the end of
the 1860s, Catholic schools received some government assistance under a variety
of schemes, but campaigns for 'free, secular and compulsory' education had
begun in the 1850s and it became increasingly clear that Catholic schools would
not be able to rely on government aid for much longer. Between 1872 and 1893,
every State passed an Education Act removing state aid to Church schools. This
was a turning point for Catholic schools and, indeed, for the Catholic
community in Australia. Bishops and people decided to persevere with the
Catholic system. With no money to pay teachers, the bishops appealed to
religious orders in Ireland and other European countries, and soon religious
sisters and brothers were responding to the crisis.
The Growth of
Religious Orders
There were already a
few religious orders in Australia: as well as the Sisters of Charity, there
were also, among others, the Good Samaritan Sisters, founded by Polding in
1857, and the Sisters of St Joseph, founded in 1866 by Fr Julian Tenison Woods
and Mary MacKillop, now recognised as Australia's first saint. By 1871, these
'Josephites' were running thirty-five schools in the Adelaide diocese. By 1880,
there were a total of 815 sisters from all orders teaching in schools; by 1910
the number exceeded 5000. The sisters not only set up schools in the cities but
also established little parish schools all over Australia, providing a Catholic
education for the children of the bush. Their efforts, with almost no money and
in the face of considerable hardship, were nothing short of heroic. The largest
of the male teaching orders, the Christian Brothers, had 115 brothers teaching
in thirty schools by 1900. Under the influence of the religious orders,
Catholic schools not only survived but flourished; the sisters and brothers
were to be the mainstay of the schools for a hundred years.
RELIGIOUS GOODS SHOP
In celebrating the annual cycle of
Christ’s mysteries, the Church honours with special love Mary, the Mother of
God, who is joined by an inseparable bond to the saving work of her Son. In
her, the Church holds up and admires the most excellent effect of the
redemption and joyfully contemplates, as in a flawless image, that which the
Church itself desires and hopes wholly to be.
The month of May is the "month
which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed
Lady," and it is the occasion for a "moving tribute of faith and love
which Catholics in every part of the world [pay] to the Queen of Heaven. During
this month Christians offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent
and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of
God's mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance" (Paul
VI: Encyclical on the Month of May, no. 1).
Statues, laminated prayer cards, rosary
beads, holy cards, medals, children’s story books in honour of Mary, plaques
and much more are available at the Sacred Heart & St Vincent’s Religious
Goods Shops, enquires phone Pat 0404 805 819
IN OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS AT THIS TIME
FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK: All suffering from the effects of Covid-19.
Also, the following who are ill (not Covid-19): Margaret & George Cook, Charbel Raphael, Angela Duvnjak, Judy Dempsey, Monica Bailey, Rachel Raines, Savannah Ayoub, Lisa Mangan, Colin Virtue, Ann Harris, Ann-Marie Loder, Angel Salvador, Brian Woodgate, Kate Smith, Tricia Baumann, Gus Reeves, Baby Maeve Lombard, Kathy Kiely, Brian Ellsmore, Greg Sharah, Sr. Christine Chia, Kurt and Betty Hilleshiem, Judy Ferraro, Ron Perry, Kim Parkes, Rosslyn Wallis, Jabour Haddad, Yvonne Lofthouse, Maureen Murphy, Helen Bohringer, Peter Walsh, Arthur Haddad, Jean Di Benedetto, Damian Callinan, Patricia Bridge Wienand, Rosemary Wales, Peter Allsopp, Yvonne Campesi, Louis Couch, Steve Wayt, Michael Tracey, Joanne Mooney, Joanne Parkes, Peter O’Brien, Michelle MacDonald, John & Molly Robinson, Mary Kerr, Eileen McCarthy.
RECENTLY DECEASED: Phillipa Hayes, Leo Barry Pearman, Jim Carroll, Nicholas Braid, Yvonne Holt, Nic Angelucci.
ANNIVERSARY: Veronica Bond, Pat Rainbird, Gordon Lepp, Frank Glynn, John McGrath, Leonie Kennedy, Sarah Rolfe, Barry Toomey, Joan McDonnell.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
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A Way Forward to COVID-19
Economic Recovery
Joe
Zabar 05 May 2020 in Eureka Street
When a global pandemic cast a mighty
shadow across Australia, the Prime Minister, premiers and chief ministers
rightly recognised that their duty was to prioritise the health and safety of
their people. But as some of the health concerns ease and our national, state
and territory leaders begin to turn their minds to easing isolation measures, the
focus will soon shift to the challenges of our economic recovery.
The recently released report from the
Grattan Institute on unemployment in a post-pandemic Australia makes for
sobering reading — especially for those in the eye of storm who have already lost
their jobs...
The government’s success in managing
the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was, in part, due to strong collective
leadership, a focus on the common good and the abandonment of ideology or at
least curtailing it...To date, most of the Morrison government’s economic
packages could best be described as ‘economic welfare’. They are measures
designed to limit the impact on the economy of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
recovery phase will very much need to be about stimulating the Australian
economy... That plan cannot simply be one where Australia strives to ‘snap
back’ to what we had before the pandemic: a time of insecure employment, high
rates of underutilised labour, low wage and economic growth. Going back to what
we had before the pandemic should not be the goal; we deserve much better than
that...
In his recent Economic and Financial
Update, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe suggested the best way forward for
Australia is to ‘reinvigorate the country's growth and productivity agenda’. He
went on to say that ‘there is an opportunity to build on the cooperative spirit
that is now serving us so well to push forward with reforms that would move us
out of the shadows cast by the crisis’. ‘A strong focus on making Australia a
great place for businesses to expand, invest, innovate and hire people is the
best way of extending the recovery into a new period of strong and sustainable
growth and rising living standards for all Australians,’ Dr Lowe said.
The Morrison government must now focus
on how best to grow the economy, building on our economic strengths while at
the same time broadening our economic base. The way forward, much like the
response to the pandemic, will require collaboration and cooperation between
governments, unions, business and civil society.
The parameters for reform cannot simply
be traditional economic ones. Instead, they must include consideration of the
common good, so to ensure that the path forward doesn’t simply continue to
perpetuate a society of haves and have nots. The path ahead will require some
tax reform, but not necessarily tax cuts. It will require industrial relations
reform, but not reduced working conditions and job security under the guise of
increased flexibility. Most importantly, it will require leadership that can
imagine an Australia where we have full employment and a standard of living
that is the envy of others.
A new economic vision for Australia is
within reach. We must not miss the chance to reshape the Australian economy —
one which builds on our national strengths and drives innovation and growth for
a fairer and more sustainable country.
Joe Zabar is deputy CEO and director of
economic policy at Catholic Social Services Australia. Find the full Article here
Book Review
Continuing on the
theme of Jesuit spirituality and insight, as touched upon in the editorial
today, here is an interesting book review on Australian women writers, from the
Jesuit publication, “Eureka Street.”
Friends
and Rivals and the ocean in the shell
Andrew Hamilton, 1 May 2020, https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/friends-and-rivals-and-the-ocean-in-the-shell
In her new book, "Friends and Rivals," writer Brenda Niall brings together
four significant Australian women writers. Between them they published works
from the 1890s to the 1950s. Ethel Turner and Barbara Baynton were from NSW.
Nettie Palmer and Henry Handel Richardson were from Victoria, both schooled at
Presbyterian Ladies College.
Their lives spanned
times of great change in Australia and the wider world: the depressions of the
1890s and 1930s, Federation and the two Great Wars. They also wrote within a
changing cultural climate for writers: from the initial combination of an
emphasis on the values of the Bush and reliance on English editors and
publishers before Federation, to later more expansive Australian and
international themes and possibilities.
The thread that leads
Niall to link these very different literary figures is perhaps best caught in
the story she
tells of her grandmother who had come to Australia as an immigrant and
married into a Riverina family. She had a large shell which she used to put to
the ears of her children and grandchildren, asking them if they could hear the
sea. A moment of magic for children in inland Australia.
The image lies at the
heart of Niall’s extensive biographical writing. She asks what creative people
heard, what prepared them to follow it, and where it led them. These subtle
questions are teased out in the flux of relationships over time and space that
shape people’s destinies. They include particularly the unlikely meetings that
have lasting effects, such as the first encounter of Baynton and Turner in a
jewellers shop.
For all four women
reading and writing represented freedom from constraint. Turner, who had lost
her father as a child, came to Sydney with her mother and life with an
unpredictable stepfather. School, wide reading and writing opened a rich world
to explore. The strictures of a poor childhood in rural NSW shaped Baynton’s
desire to write, while Ethel (Henry Handel) Richardson grew up in a family
forced often to move because of financial insecurity and her father’s dementia.
School offered a world of music and literature. Nettie Palmer was raised in a
strict Methodist family, from whose expectations writing gave her space.
Once the desire to
write became central in their lives, each writer faced challenges to find
recognition. Turner and Baynton entered a largely male world. It was popularly
seen as one in which Australian books were written by macho male authors who
celebrated male values of endurance and mateship in stories of the bush. Women
were expected to write improving stories for children.
'If both women had heard the sea within
the shell, they also saw the advantage of the shell as a living space.'
Both Turner and Baynton,
however, were encouraged to write and were published by J F Archibald and A G
Stephens at the Bulletin. Turner’s Seven Little Australians was immediately
successful. Because it was set in the bush and spoke to a young audience it did
not challenge the stereotypes of Australian writing. The success of her book,
however, led her to continue writing on a profitable but limited plane, leaving
her larger dreams unrealised.
Baynton also wrote
stories about the bush, savage ones that undercut the myth of mateship while
focusing on women’s oppression. Only one, strongly edited by Archibald, was
published in the Bulletin. She, like Turner, was at the mercy of her
publishers.
Richardson and Vance
were both familiar with European languages and culture. Only after her musical
ambitions failed after years in Germany did Richardson return to writing, first
translating Scandinavian novels, and then completing her first novel Maurice
Guest, European in its setting and influences. She published it under the male
pseudonym she considered necessary to gain an audience. She then wrote as a
diversion The Getting of Wisdom, a school story whose anti-heroine arrived at
and finished school an untamed rebel.
Baynton and Richardson
were alike in pursuing a style of life that broke with their roots and perhaps
responded to their childhood terrors. Baynton, brought up in poverty and to
drudgery, married into wealth and later into nobility, cultivated the finer things
of life and lived regally. She would never be poor again. Richardson, whose
childhood was one of constant movement and memory of a father who lost control
of his mind, insisted on being called by her nom de plume and instituted a
regime of total control within her household to protect her writing. If both
women had heard the sea within the shell, they also saw the advantage of the
shell as a living space.
In her account of
these four women Brenda Niall enters their writing sensitively and sets it
within the lasting and passing relationships that shaped their lives: to place,
to schools, to husbands especially, wider families, publishers and to
associations that supported women and their rights. To hold this complex story
together also depends on her listening for the sea in the shell, sifting
through the tangible to catch the intangible, and then to find a compass to
guide the telling of the story.
In the games that
words play, compass provides the first two syllables of compassion. This
quality underlies the sure moral compass evident in all Niall’s writing. She
explores with empathy decisions that are occasionally thoughtless or
self-centred, looking to find the strong flow of the stream below this
turbulence, and finding it in rich humanity that transcends its fallibility
and betrayals.
STAYING CONNECTED AND RESOURCES FOR PRAYER AT
HOME
|
Home Resources:
You can visit the Stay
Connected
page on our website to find an extensive list of information and resources to
help during these times of isolation.
Below
are quick links to enable you to stay in touch with our Parish and help you
celebrate Mass from home:
Liturgy for you at Home (produced by
SPP): https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks
Surfers Paradise Parish Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/surferscatholic/
Livestream Catholic Mass (from Brisbane Cathedral, usually
around 10am): St
Stephen’s Cathedral live webcast
Video on Demand of Masses: https://www.youtube.com/user/CatholicBrisbane/videos
Mass for You at Home (free-to-air
TV):
Channel 10, Sundays 6:00 - 6:30am and
on-demand at
https://10play.com.au/mass-for-you-at-home
also available on Foxtel 173 Aurora
Channel
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