PDF version of this parish newsletter here:
Also, you can access an online copy of the newsletter *here*
“Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” (Luke 15:6)
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID: 2167632861 - The unbuilt Monastery Church of the Virgin Mary is an unfinished Gothic building with a completed Baroque bell tower in Panensky Tynec. Photo Contributor: vanGeo
Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022). May she Rest in the Peace of Our Lord.
May King Charles and his family be given strength and consolation.
{Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are shown with Pope John XXIII after the 79-year-old pontiff received her at an audience in Vatican City, May 5, 1961}
PASTOR’S POST. Friend or Foe?
“The facts are always friendly, every bit of evidence one can acquire, in any area, leads one that much closer to what is true.”
- Carl Rogers (American psychologist)
During our recent Convocation (Conference) of priests and deacons of the Archdiocese, Archbishop Coleridge reminded us that, while what we hear is not always comforting and consoling, the facts of a situation are not bad or discouraging in themselves. As much as we may want to hide away from facing challenging situations, we cannot find solutions if we don’t name the problem.
The problem we were facing at the gathering was dealing with the physical, mental and spiritual sustainability of the clergy of the Archdiocese. The facts that we didn’t really like hearing were that we are an ageing, fatigued and overworked group of men who are worried about how to minister to a growing population at the same time as trying to enthuse diminishing congregations. In other words, how do we keep going personally and professionally in a fast-changing faith demographic? How do we fix the vehicle while still driving it? If we keep holding only the problems before us constantly, we will eventually only see things from a negative perspective only. We were encouraged to engage in what was called ‘affirmative enquiry’, which was not simply trying to see things through rose-coloured glasses, but realistically and courageously addressing where we are heading while sifting through and redeveloping all that is valuable from the past. Believe me, not an easy task.
What I discovered is that it takes a lot more energy to find solutions than it does to name the problems. For many of us, we started looking at whose job it was to fix the problems. Before we could see things from a positive and hopeful perspective, we needed to free ourselves from the blame game. Why is it our job to sort this out? Why has it taken so long for us to get to this point? Why doesn’t Rome do something? Surely this is an issue for the Bishops or the younger priests with all the energy. These types of statements were part of the initial conversations, but we felt we were preaching to the choir. At this point, the facts were not showing their friendly faces. In fact, they were glaring at us with big frowns.
It was an uncomfortable beginning just trying to release ourselves from the oppression of seeing the facts as pressure rather than as opportunities for imaginative conversation. We discussed (and sometimes argued) about what really needed changing, what was not negotiable, and whether we should employ a short, sharp ripping-the-band aid approach or let things evolve over time, possibly hoping that if nothing happened, then nothing would change.
I eventually found the optimistic attitude of some of the priests rather contagious, particularly when we were reminded that the Holy Spirit was hovering over us at all times, that this was a time and place in the history of the Church where we have been before, and out of the uncertainty new shoots of growth have come. We were reminded that statistics are simply figures and patterns that form a foundation for new and creative opportunities. While our lives and parishes would look different in the not-too-distant future, we are far from being irreparably broken. I hope I keep believing that as it takes a lot of imagination to keep the facts looking friendly.
Fr Peter Dillon PP
Happy Birthday for last Tuesday Fr Peter.
Safeguarding Sunday 2022
This parish and the Archdiocese of Brisbane are committed to the care, well-being and protection of children, young people, and people at risk in our community. Mindful of the theme for National Child Protection Week, may we work together to ensure all people feel safe and supported. Find out more about the Church's work in this area at www.catholic.org.au/safeguardingsunday
Prayer for Safeguarding Sunday:
Gracious God,
you love and care for all of your children, especially the smallest and most vulnerable.
We entrust to you the lives of children and adults at risk who have been sexually abused,
and whose trust and innocence have been destroyed.
Help us to hear their cries of pain and to take responsibility for those whose lives have been broken.
Help us to recognise the hurt felt by those wounded by abuse, and the failure to be heard.
We pray that with the help of your grace communities and families will find understanding and support, so that now and in the future their wounds may be healed and they may find lasting peace.
Let your grace and love fall gently now upon our children and adults at risk, giving them inner strength, peace and resilience to seek out assistance when required.
We ask this prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.
Amen
National Child Protection Week and Safeguarding Sunday
The Catholic Church in Australia marks Safeguarding Sunday on September 11. This was previously known as Child Protection Sunday, but the Bishops Conference approved the change of name for 2021 to better reflect the Church’s policies and protocols to protect and support children and adults at risk.
The day seeks to acknowledge the immense damage caused by the sexual abuse of children,
including by priests, and religious and lay people within Catholic contexts. It makes a commitment
to practices and protocols that create and maintain safe environments for all people, especially
children and other people who are at risk. It invites people to pray for those harmed by abuse
directly and indirectly.
A series of resources with the theme "Safe and Supported" have been developed by the ACBC
See - https://bit.ly/SafeguardingSunday22
The Church’s celebration falls just after the conclusion of National Child Protection Week, which this year is from September 4 to September 10, and has its own theme of "Every Child in Every Community deserves a fair go." Safeguarding Surveys
As part of National Child Protection Week and Safeguarding Sunday, it would be very helpful if people participate in the two Safeguarding Surveys at the end of this newsletter. While the response to date has been good, National Child Protection Week and Safeguarding Sunday present the opportunity to boost responses to the surveys. In particular, it would be helpful if parishioners with children between 5-12 years of age to complete the Child Safeguarding Survey. The surveys will help to shape the Archdiocesan approach to safeguarding.
SAFEGUARDING SURVEY - For Adults
Parish Safeguarding Survey: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=qPHaAoUgEkOv60RMPA_dqke3H72YlBRMu58oeHs4A9dUMFRQN0IxREMzOElORlIxVjFXSVdVMk83OS4u
Child Safeguarding Survey: (children’s version)
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=qPHaAoUgEkOv60RMPA_dqke3H72YlBRMu58oeHs4A9dURElXRDdIM0gyVUdNWlgwRlhZTjZSSTJQNi4u
Safeguarding Reflection – 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time
In the Catholic Church, Safeguarding Sunday occurs at the end of National Child Protection Week. It
complements the wider Australian commemoration but has a distinctive emphasis.
Safeguarding Sunday was affirmed by the members of the Church’s recent Plenary Council, who in the decrees expressed “our profound sorrow that clergy have abused children and young people and vulnerable adults, religious and lay workers of the Catholic Church, and that religious leaders have failed to act sufficiently to prevent or respond to abuse”. That focus naturally leads to the desire to make amends to the people who were abused and to ensure that in all the relationships with children within the Church, they will be safe. The processes and protocols support that commitment to say “Never Again” to abuse.
National Child Protection Week looks more broadly at children's need for protection. This year's theme is “Every child in every community needs a fair go”. It asks us to reflect on the support children need to grow into confident and trusting adults, free from abuse of every kind. This perspective brings home to us the horror of what was done in the Catholic Church by setting it in the broader need for protection in the Australian community as a whole.
Our effectiveness in safeguarding children depends on changing deep-rooted attitudes, particularly to recognise our own sinfulness and failure to protect children and to be attentive to the vulnerable people in our Church community. The Mass readings focus on this.
We must also make the environment in which they live safe. We do this by ensuring that they are listened to, are accompanied, that they are not vulnerable to predators and protocols of conduct with children is strictly observed.
The Plenary Council “calls on all Catholics to ensure that Church environments are safe
and respectful”. The ways of keeping safe must be imprinted on hands and feet, fences and timetables, and minds. For children, being given a fair go means that they will be safe in the
company they keep and in the activities they do. For adults who accompany them, ensuring that they have a fair go means constant care to keep them safe.
The readings of this Sunday are about the attitudes needed in our Church if we are to keep children
safe.
The First Reading from the Book of Exodus 32:7-14 is part of a story of Israel’s lack of
seriousness and of God’s patience. It stresses the need for constant self-reflection. God had freed
the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and, through Moses, was shaping a community built on worship
and awareness. While Moses is with God on the mountain, the people forget God and make a gold
idol to worship. Moses then pleads with God not to cancel out the people for their fickleness.
On Safeguarding Sunday, the story suggests how great is the sinfulness of a community that allowed the
abuse of children to go unaddressed for so long, how seriously we must protect
children and how firm God’s commitment is to the community despite our sinfulness.
The Second Reading is from Paul’s First Letter to Timothy 1:12-17. Paul entrusted Timothy with the
care of the Christian community in Ephesus. The letter describes how a faithful life should be
conducted in the community. In this passage, Paul stresses the seriousness of following Jesus by
describing his own life. His calling took him from being a blasphemer driven by rage to discovering God’s love in Jesus. He emphasises the importance of attending both to our sinfulness and to God's
even greater love and forgiveness. On Safeguarding Sunday, this reading urges us to keep
before our eyes the horror and betrayal of sexual abuse and of our failure to notice and respond to
it while recognising that from repentance, we will experience more deeply God’s love. Saint Paul’s way is
the opposite of moving on.
The Gospel reading from Luke 15:1-32 also looks at the way we see God and at the attitudes that
should animate us as Christ’s community. These attitudes are set against those of Jesus’ critics who
complain about his eating with sinners. The complaints indicate that the critics believe that they
are not sinners. Jesus tells stories that look at the question from God’s point of view. The
shepherd who goes into the scrub to search for a single lost sheep doesn’t ask how the sheep came
to be lost. Nor does the father, who longs for the return of a son who has wasted the hard-built
security of his father and brother and now returns to find board and lodging, thinking about his son’s
guilt. Both shepherd and father simply rejoice in being reunited with what they had lost.
On Safeguarding Sunday, the Gospel reminds us how attentive we should be to people in need,
including those who have separated themselves from the community. It indicates, too, the level of
care we ought to have for children in the Church and the seriousness with which we should observe
the safeguards. The Parable of the Prodigal Son also points to our special responsibility to seek out
and welcome people who have been abused as children in the Church. Any financial cost we might
bear as a Church in compensating them for their abuse in our care is insignificant
compared to the gain if they again find a home in Christ’s church. The Gospel is about big-heartedness.
(Prepared by Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ).
BEREAVEMENTS -
Please pray for the repose of the soul of beloved
SR MARY JOSEPHINE O’BRIEN IBVM (21st June 1931 – 1st September 2022)
Sister Mary Josephine’s Funeral Mass will be at Sacred Heart Church, Clear Island Waters. Celebrants: Fr Peter Dillon & Bishop Brian Finnigan. On 12th September Monday, at 10.30am
Helen McMeniman, (from Stanthorpe) & Stella Maris, Broadbeach Parishioner
A much loved parishioner of Stella Maris Church, Broadbeach, and also resident of Stanthorpe, HELEN MCMENIMAN, has sadly passed away unexpectedly. Helen was at Mass at Stella just last Saturday night and was her usual friendly, happy self, but sadly had a fall during the night and passed away in hospital on Sunday night. Helen passed away just after 8pm surrounded by her beloved husband Ray, and also Fay, Richard, Terri, Andrew, Jason and all grandchildren Alex, Simon, Daniel and Hannah. Ray was also in hospital at the time recovering from back surgery. This is a terrible shock and very sad for everyone. Our heartfelt prayers and thoughts go out to Ray and all the family at this time of bereavement.
Helen’s funeral Mass will be Thursday the 22nd September at
St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Stanthorpe. At 10.30 am.
May they Rest In Peace. Amen
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, (1926-2022)- Rest in Peace
With the sad news today of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), Queen of Britain and Australia, we recall that in her extraordinary seventy-year reign, She lived through eight pontificates and met five popes and enjoyed a good rapport with the Catholic Church. Queen Elizabeth II last met with Pope Francis at the Vatican in April 2014. The meeting marked the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See. Queen Elizabeth was a devout, church-going Christian and often described as the most recognisable person alive over her long reign.
Queen Elizabeth II met with Pope Francis at the Vatican in April 2014, she gave the pope a food hamper filled with local delicacies and a bottle of Balmoral whiskey. The meeting marked the 100th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the Holy See.
Earlier, In 2012, the then Pope Benedict, having previously met the Queen in his apostolic visit to Britain, sent a message on the occasion of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, saying “Your personal commitment to cooperation and mutual respect between the followers of different religious traditions has contributed in no small measure to improving ecumenical and interreligious relations throughout your realms.”
Queen Elizabeth also met Pope Saint John XXIII (pictured - Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are shown with Pope John XXIII after the 79-year-old pontiff received her in an audience in Vatican City, May 5, 1961.
Queen Elizabeth and Pope Saint John Paul II met several times over the length of the Pope’s long reign.
Pope Francis sent a telegram to offer his condolences to King Charles for the death of his mother, the UK’s longest-serving monarch.
“Deeply saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I offer heartfelt condolences to Your Majesty, the Members of the Royal Family, the People of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.”
The Pope said he joins everyone who mourns her loss “in praying for the late Queen’s eternal rest, and in paying tribute to her life of unstinting service to the good of the Nation and the Commonwealth, her example of devotion to duty, her steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ and her firm hope in his promises.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster paid tribute to her Christian faith and life of unstinting service, The Tablet reports.
“Even in my sorrow, shared with so many around the world, I am filled with an immense sense of gratitude for the gift to the world that has been the life of Queen Elizabeth II,” Cardinal Nichols said.
“At this time, we pray for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty. We do so with confidence because the Christian faith marked every day of her life and activity.”
May she rest in peace, and may King Charles and all his family be given consolation at this time of sorrow.
(Britain's Queen Elizabeth II speaks with Pope Francis during their first meeting on April 3, 2014, at the Vatican. Photo credit should read STEFANO RELLANDINI/AFP via Getty Images).
BRISBANE SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS
Are you seeking some spiritual direction or spiritual accompaniment? There is a list of directors on offer in the Archdiocese, and these can be accessed easily via the website.
https://brisbanecatholic.org.au/life/spiritual-direction/
FIRST FRIDAY ADORATION - PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE
The usual 1st Friday Adoration at Sacred Heart Church will be transferred - This month only - to Friday 9th September (due to confirmations being held last Friday). Adoration time will be Friday 9th September 2022: 7 pm to 8.30 pm.
Enquiries: Helen 0421935678 - "Could you not watch one hour with Me?" Mt 26:40
MARIAN VALLEY
Please come and join us at the Marian Valley on 13.09.2022 for a feast related to Our Lady Of Fatima. The bus will pick up at 8.15 am at the Sacred Heart Church Clear Island Waters. The Cost for the bus fare is $25.00 return for each person. You can secure your seat with a contact name and phone number with Xavier Solomon at 0404 843 260, Madeleine at 0405 252 367 or 5529 1573. All are welcome.
Africa Food Crisis
Drought and conflict in the Horn of Africa have left over 18 million people facing severe hunger. Four consecutive failed rainy seasons have devastated the crops of millions across the region.
We must act now and Make Hunger History.
Your generous donation means our partners in countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Eritrea can respond quickly to support vulnerable communities during this crisis.
Visit www.caritas.org.au/food-crisis or call 1800 024 413 toll-free to donate now.
Initially Prep to Year 3, with an extra year level being added each year until 2026. The school is master-planned to accommodate approximately 550 students. - Website: Star Of The Sea Merrimac and Facebook Page: Star of the Sea
MASS TIMES: SURFERS PARADISE MASS TIMES
***PLEASE NOTE: ITALIAN MASS WITHIN PARISH SUSPENDED UNTIL OCTOBER
The celebration of the Italian Sunday Mass at the Sacred Heart Church Clear Island Waters WILL BE SUSPENDED FOR THREE MONTHS (SEPTEMBER 2022) and will resume regularly as from Sunday 2nd October 2022.
Fr Angelo Cagna, the present Chaplain, will be on sabbatical leave for six months (30 June 2022 - 31 December 2022). Fr Savino Bernardi, a Scalabrinian priest from Sydney, will supply the Italian Sunday Mass for October, November and December 2022. For any other matters regarding the Italian Chaplaincy and Community, Giovanna Santomauro (Mob 0418 198 437) will be the liaison officer.
Golden Weddings Mass - 2022
The Annual Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass will be celebrated with Archbishop Mark Coleridge on Saturday 24th September @ 11:30 am at the Cathedral of St Stephen.
Those celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary, or more, are invited to attend, together with your family and friends. The Cathedral car park will be available. RSVP: Wednesday 21st September 2022
email: cathedral@bne.catholic.net.au
telephone: 3324 3030
Marriage Advice from The Marriage Course
It is a common misconception that relationships break down because of big things, but in truth, it is the small cracks left unresolved over time that can do much more damage. And no relationship is immune from this! Thankfully, two simple but profound words can mend hurt and restore unity – “I am sorry” and “I forgive you.” The hard part is that we may need to say “sorry” repeatedly and “I forgive you” for the same thing! But it’s worth it. Being committed to reconciliation as couples helps us restore the cracks that we cause and build relationships that are strong and enduring.
See https://themarriagecourse.org/
A VOCATION VIEW:
We are called to proclaim God’s abundant love for all people. Become an instrument of that love. Our world needs you! (Luke 15:1-32). To talk to someone about your vocation, contact Vocation Brisbane: 1300 133 544. vocation@bne.catholic.net.au and www.vocationbrisbane.com
STEWARDSHIP REFLECTION -
“Everything I have is yours.” Luke 15:31
Our Heavenly Father gives us everything, including the chance to share in His eternal kingdom. Yet, like the Prodigal Son, we are often lured away by the materialism of our society. Do you really want to turn your back on all that God offers in exchange for material wealth that has no lasting value? God wants us to be happy on earth as well. But, that requires us to freely accept His gift of faith, putting Him first in all things and detaching from our own self-sufficiency.
The vision of Stewardship speaks in every aspect of life, inviting everyone to be thankful, generous and accountable for what each has been given.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE SICK: John Nathaniel Maher, Ray Burton, Shirley Montford, Beryl Dorfield, Joanne Mooney, Patricia Roberts, Jenelle Mullins, John Thomas, Tom Ross, Joanne Parkes, Maria Manuela, Jack Barretto, Kath Kiely, Doug Chester, Kathy Stevens, Nellie Bellinger, Leslie Clarke, Raymundo C. Isaga, Kristy Peat, Leon Mostert, Anna Janiek, Andrew McPherson, Louise Holmes, Don Williamson, Michael & Denise Tracey, Betty & Patrick O’Connell, Margaret & George Cook, Fred Grioli, Lynn Nunan, Elaine Casonati, Michael Murtagh, Kim Parkes, Cecily Cellinan, Kevin Brennan, Margaret Cusack, Fabiola Menzs, Peter O’Brien, Rachel Raines, Mary Jackson, Nenette Csundo, Vince Shanahan, Ilene Simpkins, Claire Perera, Jayani Antony, Panfilo Bantugan, Sandii Wall, Therese Mullins, Michael Connell, Zeb Deane, Miriam Hill, Amando A. Mirasol Jr., Gus Reeves, John & Molly Robinson, Laila Mikael, Jean Di Benedetto, James Goodwin, Scott Mitchell, Malcolm Ward, John O’Brien, Ludwig Mueller, Kent Vince, Colleen Grehan, Carmelita Dulu, Bobby Courtney, Lisa Mangan, Robyn Skein, Kye Oh, Olga Hamshari, Margaret Haerse, Milka Barac, Rodney & Norma McLennan, Lois & Doug Wood, Duncan Dawson, William Franklin, Maria Mihalic, Annie Scicluna, Margaret Thompson, Patricia Moor, Helen Bohringer, Savannah Ayoub, Maeve Lombard, Arthur Haddad, Michelle MacDonald, Mary Kerr. And all suffering from Covid-19 and its effects.
RECENTLY DECEASED: Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), Helen McMeniman, Sr Mary O’Brien, John Smith, Gienna Rufus, Kees Van Grinsven, Bob Hood, Nicole Tierney, Garry Robert Sullivan, Joan Simmonds, Ken Ledster, Les Edmonds, John Joseph Despard, Daphne Andreas, Michael Armstrong, George Busuttil, Brian Edmund Jones, Bruce Smith, Sr Cecilia Anning RSJ, Barbara Arthurson, William Walker, Remi Young, Alan King, Carmen Nicolas, Alvin Smith, Billy Edmonds, Ellen Moffitt, Anne Logan, Noel Watson, Alice Morrasayan, John Tobin, Kwang Hua Lim, John Gerard Robinson Jnr, Joseph Kania, Joe Hilton, John Massingham.
ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH: Veronica and Allen Bond, Phillip Capon, Margaret Corney, Mary Marsh (USA), Maria di Martino, Thomas Edward Holt, Fr Sean Nugent PP, Janina Momont, Mario Pase, World Trade Centre Attack Anniversary (2001), Patrick Mulcahy, Briggita Kelleris, Harry Kelleris, Fanny Macky, Daniel Simpson, Vincent Attard, Edna Foy, Neville John Coorey, Olive May Cam, Anthony Joseph Wienand, Doris Zarb, Andre Joerg Lenz, Antonio Vecardo, Natalie Dundon, Leo Isidore Josephson, Jane Bird.And also: Joseph Francis Wherby, Max Butler, Molly Brennan, Colin Francis Bingham, Joe Dominiak, Carmela Parente, Luciano Fioravanti, Edna Hamilton, Joan Margaret Gibbon, Wladyslawa Dominiak, Bernard William McKay, Timothy Sullivan, Dr Des McGarry, Dean Tamer, Gordon Peter Gillespie, Alfredo Delacruz, Ivy Bosworth, Del Enid Anderson, Antonia Johanna Maria “Tony” de Ruyter, Carol Rose Williamson, Josephine Di Giorgio (2005), Louise Marie Young, Carina Faith Barrington, Bożenna Rayson. Bruck Wheeler, and Wheeler, Westwell and Woodgate Families.
TAKE FIVE FOR FAITH - A name for the ages
This week, the memorial of The Most Holy Name of Mary is commemorated. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is known to us by many names and titles: Virgin Mary, Blessed Mother, Our Lady, Queen of Heaven, Star of the Sea, Mystical Rose, Untier of Knots, Cause of Our Salvation—and the list goes on. Catholics venerate her actual name “Mary” because it belongs to the mother of God. In the Aramaic language that she and Jesus spoke, her name was pronounced “Mariam,” and by some accounts, it meant “bitterness,” as in “bitter tears of suffering.” Mary knew terrible suffering as well as great joy. Whatever you are going through, you can bring it to Mary and call on her for help—by any and all of her names. Say a Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary today. “I did not consider myself worthy to come to you, but say the word and let my servant be healed.” Luke 7:1-10 (443).
SIGN UP FOR "TAKE FIVE" DAILY ww.takefiveforfaith.com/subscribe.
MASK WEARING
The risk of Flu and Covid virus is still present, and there are quite a few vulnerable people in our community, so please consider using masks and hand sanitiser and reasonable social distancing where possible still highly prudent.
Sacrament of CONFIRMATION 2022
Sacrament of Confirmation Celebrated last Friday, September 2 in Sacred Heart Church.
Photos of 2022 Confirmation Celebrations
BAPTISM for Children in Surfers Paradise
Baptism is the first of three Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Surfers Paradise Parish follows the policies of the Archdiocese of Brisbane as it welcomes each person into the family of the Church through the waters of Baptism.
Infants and children are baptised at the request of their parents. Within the Baptism ritual, parents promise to accept the responsibility of training their children in the practice of the faith and to raise their children to understand and live God’s commandments. Parents can request baptism for their child by filling out an enrolment form, available on our parish website www.surfersparadiseparish.com.au Once the online baptism form has been received, the Parish Office will email details for preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism and confirm the online booking.
Sacrament of EUCHARIST - First HOLY COMMUNION 2023
Dates and information for enrolling in First Holy Communion Preparation for 2023 will be available soon.
Sacrament of PENANCE - RECONCILIATION 2022
If you missed the March opportunity for your child to celebrate their First Reconciliation, we would like to offer you another opportunity this year. The First Rite of Reconciliation will be celebrated on Thursday, October 20, 2022, at 5:30 pm in Sacred Heart Church.
Reconciliation is a Sacrament of Healing. Within the Children’s Sacramental Program, Reconciliation, also known as Penance, follows Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion.
The Surfers Paradise Sacramental Team has prepared a program similar to the Confirmation and First Communion At Home Preparation Programs. If your child was previously enrolled in the Surfers Paradise Parish Sacramental Program and received the sacraments of Confirmation and First Communion, there is no requirement for you to complete a new online enrolment form. If you are unsure if your child will be included in the group or interested in your child being included in the next group, please email our Sacramental Coordinator, Cathy Anderson, at andersoncm@bne.catholic.net.au
Children who have made their First Communion in June 2022 are also eligible to participate in this Preparation for Reconciliation.
THIS WEEKEND’S GOSPEL
This weekend's parable of the prodigal son is surely one of the greatest and best-loved parables in the bible. I used to think that prodigal meant bad or misguided but in fact, it means prodigious ... exceeding or excessive ... in that sense all three main characters in this parable are prodigal .. but each I'm different ways... . ... one is excessive in waste and recklessness .. the other is excessive in resentment and grudging slavery and the last is excessive in love and mercy. It's ironic that one of the best-known stories in the bible has yet to fully be grasped for its astounding message about God's love and mercy for us....
++++++++
We only have to look at the situation of Saint Paul, to be overjoyed that God doesn't write-us-off when we make terrible mistakes... even huge ones! .....
Saint Paul was a wonderful disciple and messenger for Christ, and God's Kingdom... but if we had applied merely earthly standards he would have been banished from the Christian life forever, for his earlier merciless persecutions of the Christians. ... and all he had to offer would have been scorned and lost. ... Instead.. he has become the foremost example of how God can make use of even those who have gotten the message so wrong... but who turned back and were forgiven and renewed... and then cooperated, with God's grace, in the wonderful things God was doing. It is Inspiring!
And anyone who witnessed this would rightly rejoice and join in God's happiness, at gaining back a beloved and once-lost son.
"My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours."
The whole parable of the "prodigal son" and the other parables in this section are best explained by the first two sentences of Today's gospel…. …."The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. 'This man' they said 'welcomes sinners and eats with them.' So he spoke this parable to them"
It would seem then, that this set of parables is primarily aimed at all who, like the Scribes and Pharisees, are acting like the resentful, begrudging older son, acting more like 'good righteous slaves' rather than 'well-beloved sons'……. The parable reveals how shockingly resentful the so-called righteous leaders of the time were towards their heavenly Father and how begrudging towards all who turn back to God and seek mercy.
The most striking theme of today's readings is God's infinite mercy. What a wonderful set of readings this weekend.
We are reminded that, first and foremost, we are God's beloved sons and daughters, by virtue of God's great love and not because we have earned this position.
God is an unconditionally loving parent….
We know that a child does not earn the love of his or her parents… They just simply and fully HAVE that love …. It exists from the beginning…. Well before they were even born…. It is there throughout their lives….. It is always there…. Irrespective of the child's actions and choices…..
Naturally a loving parent can get severely hurt by their child's actions…. But they do not stop loving them…. They cannot stop loving their child because it would be like denying their very self…. Which they simply cannot do……
As with an unconditionally-loving parent, God's love for us. … but infinitely more-so
God LOVES us./ God will always love us./ Like a doting parent./ The parable portrays God the Father as an almost foolishly loving and generous parent.
We often call this parable the prodigal son…
I used to think prodigal meant "bad" …. But it simply means prodigious… That is, ."to an enormous or colossal extent...... ...massively overflowing! … And, in that sense … all three men are prodigious! ..(= prodigal)…/
The father is prodigious in his love, his hope.... his generosity and mercy….
And the younger son is sadly prodigious in his wastefulness and recklessness.. But he is also quite prodigious and accurate in his assessment of his father's kindness ...... He knows he has sinned (He realises that now, with shame)…/ The son KNOWS his father is a good and just man who would at least treat him better than the people he was slaving for at the pig-farm, where he found himself starving to death….
Even the older son is prodigious.... in his resentment. and his "working and slaving resentfully"… and all the time thinking that this somehow entitles him to a reward, but ends up just making him bitter and ironically he becomes more distant from his father than the younger, wasteful son.
But at least the younger son realizes his error.
The older son does not even realise his folly.
Fortunately, Jesus, Our brother, reveals to us that The heavenly Father... is the best kind of parent… truly a loving, unconditionally doting and giving Father….. who makes us his children …. We do not earn it …. And it the love God has for us is not diminished by 'undeserving' actions.. although it pierces his heart terribly.... …… …
we wander away from the Father and his love and care at our own peril…. For, we NEED our loving God…..and who knows what will happen if we stray too far and do not turn back….
A less obvious, but profoundly important theme relates to the older son. He is seemingly 'faithful' to his father in his duty, working hard to serve, but very hesitant to celebrate the return of his brother. Why?
Is it jealousy or an “it's not fair” attitude? Is he feeling let down or unimportant? Such toxic thoughts are certainly not aligned with the love his father has for him. 'My son…everything I have is yours.'
How often do we feel like that older son? Do we forget that we are beloved sons and daughters... and not begrudging slaves..... Do we actually believe in what the father tells us: "EVERYTHING I have, is yours."
Let us open our hearts to the Father's love which will fill us with joy.^^
Saint Luke's Gospel today is long and wonderful. First Jesus tells us the reason for eating with sinners and enjoying their company: He knows us and comes very close to us... inviting us to share His life. Jesus explains that seeking out sinners is not a rejection of the just people. It is clear, however, that a truly just person will love sinners the way that Jesus does and the way that Moses did in the first reading. The truly just person wants all people to be saved and perhaps in a special way wants the salvation of those who have wandered far from the truth and from God's love. Being a true son or daughter of God is sharing in the Father's passion for each and every one of his children... God is not even content with 99 saved sheep.. but will not rest until ALL 100 are safely home where they belong.
Saint Luke's Gospel also shows us that we can hope even for those who run as far away as possible from love. The story of the son who takes his inheritance and completely uses it up in wasteful living is a clear teaching from Jesus. Even those of us who wander far from God is very much still longed for! God longs that they will return and be held closely. There is more than one story like this in the Gospel, showing that whenever a sinner wants to return to the Lord, the Lord is always there to receive Him with open arms. How many times? As many times as it takes - because that is the love of God.
Brother and sisters in Christ, you and I are the sinners portrayed in the Gospel. We can choose between the younger son and the older son. Perhaps at different times, we may have been in the position of both of the brothers. We are invited to return to the Lord time and time again. We can turn around each day, each moment, and know that God is always loving us and forgiving us. This is the heart of the Gospel of Jesus: God is compassionate love. God is forgiveness - a countless number of times.
God wants us to know His love, even when we doubt that love. even if we only start to turn back to him because of an initially 'rather pragmatic self-interest,'... May this Sunday give us a full taste of God's love and an ever-deepening desire to live constantly in that care which is fully and completely ours…** This is the unearned possession of all who accept it; our neighbour, our friends; - Those we meet: everyone…
+++++
{References: Fr Paul W. Kelly; ^^Madonna Magazine. http://www.pray.com.au/gospel.php?date=091513; **Monastery of Christ in the Desert. Abbot's homily}
Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID: 78145189 - Lost and lonely lamb - Photo Contributor: David Lade
To listen to the Sunday Mass each week (including homily) from Surfers Paradise Catholic Parish, please visit this link: Liturgy for you at Home (by SPCP) - https:- soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks.
Saint John Chrysostom
“Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness.”
“If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice.”
“Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward & learning to enjoy whatever life has, and this requires transforming greed into gratitude.”
“Be ashamed when you sin, don't be ashamed when you repent [To repent means to have a change of heart and mind. It is not simply a feeling of sorrow, but a spiritual growth away from evil/death and a turning to God/life]. Sin is the wound, and repentance is the medicine. Sin is followed by shame, and repentance is followed by boldness - [Boldness means to beg God for undeserved mercy]. Satan has overturned this order and given boldness to sin and shame to repentance.”
“Not to share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of life; we do not possess our own wealth, but theirs.” Saint John Chrysostom.
“The bee is more honoured than other animals, not because she labours, but because she labours for others.”
“Why not learn to enjoy the little things- For there are so many of them.”
St Cyprian
“You cannot have God for your Father if you do not have the Church for your mother…. God is one and Christ is one and His Church is one; one is the faith and one is the people cemented together by harmony into the strong unity of a body…. If we are the heirs of Christ, let us abide in the peace of Christ; if we are the sons of God, let us be lovers of peace.”…St Cyprian from The Unity of the Catholic Church.
“You who are envious, let me tell you that however often you may seek for the opportunity of injuring him whom you hate, you will never be able to do him so much harm as you do harm to yourselves. He whom you would punish through the malice of your envy may probably escape but you will never be able to fly from yourselves.”
©2022 TrueQuest Communications. TakeFiveForFaith.com; mail@takefiveforfaith.com. All rights reserved. Noncommercial reprints are permitted with the following credit: Reprinted with permission from TakeFiveForFaith.com. Scripture citations from the New American Bible Revised Edition. For more information about “TAKE FIVE” and our regular contributors, go to PrepareTheWord.com.Free daily email and app available online at TakeFiveForFaith.com/subscribe
APPEAL FOR THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE - Caritas International (Catholic)
Ukraine Crisis
Over 2.6 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine, and there have been at least 1,581 civilian casualties.
You can help the Caritas Ukraine staff on the ground to provide families with emergency food, water, shelter and hygiene support.
POPE FRANCIS:
As we approach the end of our lives, the essentials of life that we hold most dear become definitively clear to us. Our whole life appears like a seed that will have to be buried so that its flower and its fruit can be born.
#Peace is primarily an attitude of the heart. It is born of justice, grows in fraternity, flourishes on gratuitousness. It inspires us to serve the truth.
The mercy of God, who has made us brothers and sisters, calls us to be builders of harmony and peace.
I am following with concern and sorrow the situation created in Nicaragua. I would like to express my conviction and my hope that, through an open and sincere dialogue, the basis for a respectful and peaceful co-existence might still be found.
Jesus urges us to enter through the narrow door. This means following him in love, just like those who suffer because of their faith but who continue to pray and love, responding to evil with good, thus finding the strength to forgive.
Without humility we cannot encounter God, we cannot experience salvation, and we cannot even encounter our neighbour, the brother and sister living near us.
To love like Jesus means to serve & give our life. To serve means to put others’ interests first, to fight the cancer of indifference, to share the gifts God has given us. To give our life means to leave egoism behind, to make our lives a gift, spending ourselves for all in need.
Jesus shows us the patience of God, the merciful Father who calls us even at the last hour, who does not demand perfection but heartfelt enthusiasm, who wants to open a breach in our hardened hearts.
The witness of the elderly unites the generations of life. Same with the dimensions of time: past, present and future. The various ages of life are not separate worlds competing with each other. The alliance of the elderly and children will save the human family. #BlessingOfTime
Love goes beyond usefulness, convenience or duty; love generates wonder, it inspires creative, freely-given zeal.
Let us continue to invoke the intercession of Our Lady, so that God might give the world peace, and let us pray in particular for the Ukrainian people.
{Source: https://twitter.com/Pontifex }
Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed.Stock Photo ID: 1259391235 - Armenia. Yerevan. June 25, 2016 Pope Francis visits Armenia. Photo Contributor: GYG Studio
Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed.1524254294 - Stock Photo ID: 1524254294 - Vatican City, October 6, 2019. Pope Francis celebrates a Mass to open the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon region in St. Peter's Basilica. - Photo Contributor: Riccardo De Luca
CO.AS.IT. COMMUNITY SERVICES
is a not-for-profit organisation based on Chevron Island with Head Office in Brisbane, Co.As.It. Community services is a peak body within the aged care and community services industry that has won industry recognition for providing high-quality services and excellent care. October is a month for Seniors Celebration and Co.As.It. Community Services is hosting a Euro Concert to bring the community together. Attached, please find the Euro Concert Flyer.
You can find out more about this event by clicking on the link below.
https://www.coasit.asn.au/events/euro-concert-gold-coast/
RELIGIOUS GOODS SHOPS AT THE SACRED HEART CHURCH AND ST VINCENT’S CHURCH
Orders being taken now at the shops or Parish Office.(email surfers@bne.catholic.net.au)
DAILY MASS BOOK 2023 contains all the texts for Sunday and weekday Mass, including the chants for parts of the Mass. Published in a compact format; the Daily Mass Book is convenient and economical. Printed in two colours throughout, its layout is easy to follow. Runs from Advent to Advent. Price same as last year $27.
BREAK OPEN THE WORD 2023 YEAR A contains readings and psalms for each Sunday with NEW commentary providing fresh and insightful background to the text and assistance on how to read it, along with a section entitled “The Ministry of Reader”. The popular pronunciation guide is also included. Break Open the Word is a vital publication for readers. Price $25.
ORDO 2023 is an indispensable reference for liturgy planning and is the only official ORDO for Australia and New Zealand. The spiral-bound B5 size includes reading references and taglines, responsorial psalms and gospel acclamations. Printed in two colours for clarity. Also available as a digital flipbook. Price $20.
2023 Columban Calendars $10
2023 God’s Word $20
Christmas cards, packet of 8 $2 these are available now.
Additional stock arriving weekly now from now until Christmas.
The Bold and the Beautiful social group
Will meet for lunch at the Broadbeach Bowls Club, 12noon Thursday, 29th Sept. All are welcome.
menALIVE is running a parish men's weekend
“Calling all Men!! A Parish mission for men By menALIVE is being hosted by Corinda/Graceville Parish on the weekend of 15/16th of October. For the brochure, please visit here: See details and Register here
https://www.menalive.org.au/menalive-weekend/
Volunteer Opportunities - English Teachers, Youth Workers & Youth Ministers
The Cagliero Project is an initiative of the Australia-Pacific Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco, providing overseas volunteer experiences for Australians who wish to work with disadvantaged young people.
We are seeking enthusiastic volunteers for January 2023 departure. Our volunteer placements run for 6-12 months and are centred around working with young people in educational settings. We are currently recruiting for volunteers for Cambodia, Samoa, Timor Leste, Australia and the Solomon Islands.
We aim to utilise the skills and talents of our volunteers to provide the best possible contribution to the host community. Our aim is not to ‘help’ but to walk in solidarity with young people and for volunteers and hosts to have a mutual learning experience. We are also present in host communities to be role models - people that young people can aspire to be.
Cagliero volunteers commit themselves to working in the ‘Salesian way’. This means that young people are the central focus in all work. The Salesian way also means approaching life in a joyful way with a loving heart. The experience as a Cagliero volunteer is not about the volunteer but is focused on the people we go to serve. However, serving as a Cagliero volunteer will probably be the most rewarding thing you ever do!
For more information, or to send us an inquiry, follow this link: http://cagliero.org.au/
Applications close October 31st, 2022. Contact: Lauren Hichaaba, Director of the Cagliero Project
Email: lhichaaba@salesians.org.au
MUSICIANS AND SINGERS - PARISH MUSIC MINISTRY
As you have been made aware of recent illnesses, we have a shortage of musicians and singers for our masses. This situation will only get more pressing as time goes on. We are asking anyone interested in being part of the music and singing ministry to let us know. Ministers of music support and uplift the singing of the assembly and support the worship of all present. It is a specific ministry about worship instead of other musical endeavours in other situations that focus on performances. We need people who would be open to going to different churches and different masses to help us fill the weekly rosters.
For more information, please ring Christeen Harth 0439 399 461.
MEDITATION PRAYER GROUP
In the Morris prayer room Tuesdays from 10 am to 12 noon. The Meditation Group would very much like to welcome new members. Please phone Pam Egtberts 0428090703
ART AND CRAFT GROUP - Every Wednesday in the PHC from 9 am until 12noon.
The Group meets in the Parish Hospitality Centre on Wednesdays, 9 to 12.
1. Welcome to three new members over the past couple of weeks; outstanding artists, and a quilter!
2 Plenty of enthusiasm from our existing members involved in creating all sorts of items in the various aspects of what we do - painting, sewing, knitting, beading art, quilting, playing board games, making Rosary beads and lots more.
3. Great news from the Beads table - 500 Rosary Beads are on their way to ARMENIA this week to be distributed across this country. A big thanks to our team who made these!
Come along on Wednesdays, if you would like to dabble in the Arts; great company, plenty of conversation, no experience necessary, all ages and all ideas most welcome.
Activities include art (watercolour, oils, acrylics, pen and ink drawing etc.), as well as various kinds of Craftwork (Knitting, Embroidery, Crocheting, Cardmaking, Sewing etc.), making Rosary Beads (later sent to the missions), and any other activities that individuals may have an interest in. We come together to enjoy each other's company in a relaxed environment. New members, both men and women, are most welcome to join. For further information, phone John 0412 759 205 or the Parish Office.
Praying the Rosary - Our Lady’s Statue in the Parish
OUR LADY’S STATUE
Details of the Statue of Our Lady which is going around the Parish. If you would like to have her in your home and say the Rosary: Please contact Maxine or Pat on 0412 519 404
The Roster for the next nine weeks are:
12/9/2022 Eyline and Nardine Merrimac
19/9/2022 Garry & Rudi Camera Benowa
26/9/2022 Maxine & Pat Sela Main Beach
4/10/2022 Maxine & Pat Sela Main Beach
10/10/2022 Merla Nario & Rodney Anthony
17/10/2022 Merla Nario & Rodney Anthony
THE SACRED HEART BRIDGE CLUB- (20 Years Young)-
Meets at the Sacred Heart - Parish Hospitality Centre, Fairway Drive, Clear Island Waters.
Playing Bridge keeps your brain active and increases your social network! So why not give us a try?
Learn to play Bridge at “Our Friendly Club” - Free Lesson. “Introduction to Bridge”
Is Easy to learn the format. No previous card-playing experience is necessary. All are welcome.
For more information and to enrol, please phone: Cheryl 5538 8821 or Mob 0417 772 701
Worldwide Marriage Encounter:
A weekend experience for married couples, priests and religious, away from the distractions of everyday living. Take time out of your busy schedule to invest in your most precious asset and revitalise your Sacrament. This is a unique opportunity to reconnect, rekindle and refresh your relationship. It allows you to grow in your relationship with your spouse or community. Our COVID-SAFE live-in weekends will be held from Friday evening, 14 October, to Sunday afternoon, 16 October (including Mass) at Santa Teresa, Ormiston. For bookings/details, contact Maria and David Murphy: 0481 307 821 qldbookings@wwme.org.au Watch Archbishop Mark Coleridge’s support video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o_Wp6qGB44 - Information website: www.wwme.org.au
EXERCISE CLASS - LOW IMPACT - FOR HEART HEALTH -
Spring has sprung! Join Rochelle for a fun, functional exercise class at Casey Hall. Low impact cardiovascular exercises for heart health, improve strength and balance- an all-around fitness class for over 65’s. Stretch and strengthen the whole body, make new friends and feel great. Tuesday mornings @9.30 Beginners welcome. Contact Rochelle for further information on 0438 333 308.
COMMUNION TO RESIDENTS AT NURSING HOMES. HELP IS STILL NEEDED!
We have had to reduce our visits with Holy Communion to the residents at Nursing Homes and urgently require more people to assist with this service. Can you spare 3 hours per month for this important Ministry?
Listed below are Nursing homes with their Day and time of visitation.
Lady Small Haven, Benowa. Tuesdays 9.30 am to 11.00 am
Merrimac Park Private Care, Merrimac. Wednesdays 1.30 pm to 3.00 pm
Bupa Nursing Home, Merrimac. Thursdays 9.30 am to 11.00 am
Tricare, Mermaid Beach Nursing Home, Mermaid Beach Fridays 10.15 am to 12.00noon
Tricare, Cypress Gardens Nursing Home, Clear Island Waters. Sundays after 9.00 am Mass Sacred Heart to twelve-Noon
For further information, ring the Parish Office or Maxine Sela on 0421051193.
YOGA AT THE PARISH HOSPITALITY CENTRE-
Join us for our friendly class in the Parish Hospitality Centre next to the Parish Office. Classes run every Tuesday at 10:45 am. Learn to relax, yet gain greater flexibility, inner strength, body awareness and concentration, all while increasing your breath support and general wellbeing. Ruth is an IYTA accredited instructor with wide experience and runs a caring, carefully monitored one-hour session costing $10 (new attendees need to arrive by 10.30 am to prepare adequately for class). For more information, call Ruth on 0421338110.
Position Vacant – Cleaner- The Gap, Brisbane
Applications are open for the above position at the Gap Parish. The position is part-time, working approximately 8 hours per fortnight cleaning both the Mater Dei Church & St Peters Chanel Church.
If you are interested, please contact the Gap Parish Office on 3300 6099 or email poa.thegap@bne.catholic.net.au or Fr Terry mobile 0438 946 000 - nuevat@thegap.catholic.net.au (16/9)
Position Vacant – Pastoral Ministry Coordinator - Sunnybank Parish
Applications are open for a position at Sunnybank Parish.
This is an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic, committed person to join the Parish team and assist them with the coordination of a variety of pastoral ministry programs.
The position is permanent part-time, 28 hours per week, with the days of work to be negotiated.
For additional information, please visit the Archdiocese of Brisbane website https://clientapps.jobadder.com/68451/aob-internal-career-opportunities/548356/pastoral-ministry-coordinator-sunnybank-parish - Applications close: 14 October 2022
The Archdiocese of Brisbane has standards of conduct for workers to maintain a safe and healthy environment for children. Our commitment to these standards requires conducting ‘working with children checks’ and background referencing for all persons who will engage in direct and regular involvement with children and young people (0 - 18 years) and/or vulnerable adults. The organisation is fully committed to child safety and has zero tolerance for abuse of children or vulnerable adults.
ADULT FAITH - The Tribunal of the Catholic Church and its pastoral role in respect of marriage nullity cases (part I) - Fr Paul Kelly.
According to the Scriptures, Jesus taught:
“Have you not read that from the beginning, the Creator ‘made them male and female…. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)
The Catholic Church respects and protects the sanctity of marriage and presumes that every marriage entered into is valid. The Church presumes that a loving union of heart and mind between a man and woman is intended to be created in marriage between a man and woman, to the exclusion of all others, and that this communion is open to bringing forth children and providing for their care, upbringing and education.
COMPASSION, HEALING AND TEACHING HIS BELOVED PEOPLE -
Jesus ministered to people around him through how he taught, healed, showed mercy, and offered God's love. All people were treated with respect and dignity by Jesus, who recognised them as truly his brothers and sisters and as beloved adopted children of his Heavenly Father.
Jesus told parables about the loving Father who runs to embrace and welcome back his lost son when that son returns (seemingly half-heartedly) after his life has been wrecked by terrible mistakes and decisions. Jesus also taught the beautiful parable of the shepherd who is not content with ninety-nine sheep, who were safely in his care, and who continues to search until the one lost sheep is found and carried joyfully back to the safety of the fold.
Fr Paul Kelly.
SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF POPE FRANCIS’ GROUNDBREAKING LETTER - LAUDATO SI’ - An excerpt from the Pope’s groundbreaking Encyclical.
50. Instead of resolving the problems of the poor and thinking of how the world can be different, some can only propose a reduction in the birth rate. At times, developing countries face forms of international pressure which make economic assistance contingent on certain policies of “reproductive health”. Yet “while it is true that an unequal distribution of the population and of available resources creates obstacles to development and a sustainable use of the environment, it must nonetheless be recognized that demographic growth is fully compatible with an integral and shared development”.[28] To blame population growth instead of extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues. It is an attempt to legitimise the present model of distribution, where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can never be universalized, since the planet could not even contain the waste products of such consumption. Besides, we know that approximately a third of all food produced is discarded, and “whenever food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor”.[29] Still, attention needs to be paid to imbalances in population density, on both national and global levels, since a rise in consumption would lead to complex regional situations, as a result of the interplay between problems linked to environmental pollution, transport, waste treatment, loss of resources and quality of life.
51. Inequality affects not only individuals but entire countries; it compels us to consider the ethics of international relations. A true “ecological debt” exists, particularly between the global north and south, connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment, and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time. The export of raw materials to satisfy markets in the industrialised north has caused harm locally, as for example in mercury pollution in gold mining or sulphur dioxide pollution in copper mining. There is a pressing need to calculate the use of environmental space throughout the world for depositing gas residues which have been accumulating for two centuries and have created a situation which currently affects all the countries of the world. The warming caused by huge consumption on the part of some rich countries has repercussions on the poorest areas of the world, especially Africa, where a rise in temperature, together with drought, has proved devastating for farming. There is also the damage caused by the export of solid waste and toxic liquids to developing countries, and by the pollution produced by companies which operate in less developed countries in ways they could never do at home, in the countries in which they raise their capital: “We note that often the businesses which operate this way are multinationals. They do here what they would never do in developed countries or the so-called first world. Generally, after ceasing their activity and withdrawing, they leave behind great human and environmental liabilities such as unemployment, abandoned towns, the depletion of natural reserves, deforestation, the impoverishment of agriculture and local stock breeding, open pits, riven hills, polluted rivers and a handful of social works which are no longer sustainable”.[30]
52. The foreign debt of poor countries has become a way of controlling them, yet this is not the case where ecological debt is concerned. In different ways, developing countries, where the most important reserves of the biosphere are found, continue to fuel the development of richer countries at the cost of their own present and future. The land of the southern poor is rich and mostly unpolluted, yet access to ownership of goods and resources for meeting vital needs is inhibited by a system of commercial relations and ownership which is structurally perverse. The developed countries ought to help pay this debt by significantly limiting their consumption of non-renewable energy and by assisting poorer countries to support policies and programmes of sustainable development. The poorest areas and countries are less capable of adopting new models for reducing environmental impact because they lack the wherewithal to develop the necessary processes and to cover their costs. We must continue to be aware that, regarding climate change, there are differentiated responsibilities. As the United States bishops have said, greater attention must be given to “the needs of the poor, the weak and the vulnerable, in a debate often dominated by more powerful interests”.[31] We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family. There are no frontiers or barriers, political or social, behind which we can hide, still less is there room for the globalisation of indifference.
Acknowledgement of Country - This is Kombumerri Country - The Traditional Custodians of this region.
We respectfully acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First People of this country. We pay our respects to the Kombumerri people, who are the traditional custodians of the land, waterways and seas upon which we live, work and socialise throughout this Catholic Parish of Surfers Paradise. We acknowledge Elders, past and present and emerging, as they hold the memories, traditions, culture and hopes of our Indigenous people. We pay tribute to those who have contributed in many ways to the community's life. We affirm our commitment to justice, healing, and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
(see further: The Kombumerri People and https://kombumerritogetherproject.com/digital-resources/yugambeh-language/)
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