catholicweekly.com.au 4 NEWS 17, May, 2020 THE CATHOL IC BOOKSHOP YOU’VE BEEN WAI T ING FOR WWW.VERITATIS.COM.AU Best Selling Titles Fast Delivery $5 Flat-Rate Shipping FOR INDIVIDUALS, SCHOOLS AND PARISHES e:
[email protected] P: 03 7001 8099 • Full time, 38 hours per week • Pennant Hills based The Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay, under the leadership of Bishop Anthony Randazzo, serves the People of God in the northern regions of the city of Sydney, the North Shore, Peninsula and NSW Central Coast. Home to more than 223,000 Catholics, and covering an area of 2,763 square kilometres, the Diocese comprises 26 Parishes, 36 Primary Schools, 8 Secondary Schools, 4 Early Learning Centres, and 5 Family Centres. We are seeking a Director, Office for Evangelisation (Evangelisation Director) to support the Bishop to achieve his pastoral priorities. As the Evangelisation Director, you will provide strategic direction and lead the Office for Evangelisation to meet present and future opportunities for Christian mission. The Office for Evangelisation works across the areas of Pastoral Planning, Sacramental Life, Liturgy and RCIA, Life, Marriage and Family; Catholic Life, Mission, and Faith Formation; Catholic Youth and Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. The Office for Evangelisation works closely with the parishes of the Diocese and provides significant support as they carry out the mission of the Catholic Church. Key Selection Criteria Applicants are required to provide a written statement which addresses each of the selection criteria listed below. Suitability for the position will be assessed against the following criteria: • A personal commitment to Catholic teachings, faith, ethos, values and mission of the Catholic Church; • Tertiary qualifications in theology and in particular Catholic theology or a related discipline; • A thorough understanding of the Catholic Church, its mission and its unique challenges and opportunities; • Proven experience in planning and implementation of evangelising practices in Diocesan and Parish contexts; • A strong understanding of current issues in the Church in Australia and abroad in relation to evangelisation, Parish life and ministry, and outreach to the unengaged; • A proven ability to provide leadership in a large, complex and diverse organisation; • An ability to work with, distill and explain pastoral research and statistics; • Experience working in close collaboration with Parishes and agencies of the Catholic Church; • Previous responsibility for an evangelisation function and demonstrated success in evangelisation outcomes; • Ability to sustain effective, positive and influential relationships across a broad range of stakeholders. For an information pack or enquiries, please contact
[email protected] The successful applicant must be eligible to work in Australia; hold a current unrestricted drivers licence; and will be required to undertake a pre-employment National Police History Check. You can view this job at www.catholicjobsonline.com.au Applications close: Sunday, 24 May 2020 DIRECTOR, OFFICE FOR EVANGELISATION Pennant Hills, NSW POSITION VACANT height-adjustable garment rack Father says he can keep everyone safe from possible virus transmission. “Someone said it will take Priest prepares for future A WAGGA parish priest has been creatively preparing for the day he can welcome his flock back to church, includ- ing making his own portable shield for the safe distribution of Holy Communion. Fr Thomas Casanova CCS, of West Wagga Catholic Par- ish, said that the sorrow of many faithful who cannot receive the Eucharist due to social distancing restrictions and social isolation require- ments is a real problem. And many priests continue to be distressed about the sep- arations as well. “I saw a comment on social media from a priest saying, ‘Let us have our sorrow, don’t tell us we shouldn’t be sad about this”, and he’s right,” Fr Casanova said. “I have seen people in tears about the church closures ... Just two days ago an elderly lady was crying to me about missing the Mass and Holy Communion,” he said. “They love being able to see the live-streamed Masses and hear the homily clearly, but it’s not an experience of Mass. “First and foremost we are fed by the Holy Eucharist as the source and summit of our Christian life and so this is a tragedy. “Spiritual communion is not a replacement but a long- ing for real, physical, Holy Communion”. After reading reports about the difficulties envisioned at Holy Communion time when churches are re-opened for Masses, the perspicacious priest came up with a clever $31 hardware store hack. Using a packet of clear PVC sheets, cable ties, and a three months to get a shield in production and I said ‘Rub- bish, just go to Bunnings’.” His invention proved pop- ular on Facebook with people impressed by his ingenuity and some keen to copy the idea. “I think the reason some people showed delight in that is not just over the thing it- ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues West Wagga’s Fr Thomas Casanova and, inset, his Communion screen. self, but because they haven’t heard us [clergy] saying much about us wanting the sacra- ments back as much as you do and are hungry to get this happening as fast as we can,” Fr Casanova said. It’s not his only creative idea. Popular with his parish- ioners is a Eucharist ‘compass’ with a spiritual communion prayer and needle which can be pointed in the direction of the nearest tabernacle. He’s also still a familiar face to them and spent countless hours driving over Holy Week and Easter. On Good Friday and Holy Saturday he did a drive-by blessing of homes with a relic of the True Cross and Apos- tles. On Palm Sunday he deliv- ered sanitised and blessed palms to about 60 homes and on Easter Sunday, bottles of Holy Water. “Everything I’m doing is with a view to the sacraments being restored and things that can put people in touch with the sacraments and sacra- mentals,” Father Casanova said. “Our bishop said to be as creative as possible in bring- ing the grace of Christ to peo- ple and I take that as a signal from him to say let’s do what- ever we can to reach people. “But it needs to be sacra- mental, not virtual. Virtual is ok, but it’s not enough.” IS MASS ONLINE OBLIGATORY? FR FLADER P19