In December 2015, we opened the doors of mercy at our Sacred Heart Cathedral to mark the beginning of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. In this Year of Mercy, the Church was commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel. (Misericordiae Vultus12)
In this Holy Year, we look forward to the experience of opening our hearts to those living on the fringes modern society itself creates. How many uncertain and painful situations there are in the world today! How many wounds borne by the flesh of those who have no voice because their cry is muffled and drowned out by the indifference of the rich! ... Let us open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters who are denied their dignity, and let us recognise that we are compelled to heed their cry for help! (MV 15)
Key to this call to be a door of mercy are the many connections made in the community by those who minister as Chaplains to those in prison, to those in hospitals, to the seafarers who come to our port, to those in our armed services, to those who work in industry and to the thousands of students who attend university. Our chaplains are the face, hands and heart of Christ in this place. Their ministries provide a listening ear and pastoral care to those who come.
Fr Richard Shortall sj travelled in a motorhome, the length and breadth of our diocese as our Missionary of Mercy (MoM), bringing God’s mercy to those who sought it. He was our MoM on wheels to be the face of God’s mercy going out to meet people where they are, listening to their stories and offering them the love and forgiveness of God, however that may be appropriate. (MV 18) I hope you enjoy Fr Richard's story on page 4.
Our Social Justice and our Ecumenical and Interfaith Councils sought ways of reaching out to the wider community by hosting events around domestic violence, the ageing, those who struggle with mental health and connecting with our Muslim neighbours. By attempting to give a voice to the marginalised, we joined with our ecumenical friends in many of these outreach initiatives.
We have continued the great tradition of Faith Formation in our diocese, established in the early nineties by the Sisters of St Joseph under the banner of the Tenison Woods Education Centre, honouring the pastoral goal accepted by the 1992/93 Synod that ‘in every parish of the diocese all the baptised have the opportunity and formation to make their contribution to the life and mission of the Church’. Many formation opportunities invited people to deepen continually an understanding that is faithful to Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Some of these stories are featured on pages 28-32.
Once again the Office of Life and Faith has assisted those who minister to families in parishes. Special Religious Education, Sacramental Programs, Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Seasons for Growth (Grief and Loss Program), Relationship Education and Family Community Faith Co-ordinators serve to connect parish and school communities. Key to all these ministries is the building of relationships so that discipleship has a face and a name. Jesus called his disciples by name and we must do likewise.
Key to all of this activity in the diocese is the role of our Communications Team. We are now present in print and on the website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Each month 45,000 copies of Aurora are inserted into local papers so that God’s mission in this place is proclaimed to as wide an audience as possible. Jesus missioned to those he met using the tools of his day and we are missioning to those we meet, using the latest technological tools. Some interesting statistics are included on page 9.
So I trust our year has been one which reflects mercy:
Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy.
The time has come for the Church to take up the joyful call to mercy once more…Mercy reawakens us to new life and instils in us the courage to look to the future with hope. (MV 10)