18 31, May, 2020 C omment catholicweekly.com.au possible was quite special Again, without the co-op- eration of all of the diocesan co-ordinators we could not have constructed the itiner- ary and brought on board so many parish and other com- munities. My first appointment as a deacon was to St Therese Mas- cot. I called in there the night they hosted the relics for Mass and an all-night vigil to a full church and obvious devotion and enthusiasm. I know that was repeated elsewhere. There were challenges. Singapore Airlines losing the relics of the Martins for a few days was a blessing in disguise when The Sunday Telegraph picked up the story and gave the pilgrimage wide cover- age. The bushfires compli- cated things early on causing consternation in Lisieux with Sr Monique-Marie emailing about media reports in France that Australia was on fire and people in Sydney could not Virus could not stop the spread of devotion I feel somewhat inade- quate in finding the right words to convey my per- sonal thanks to all who contributed to, and partici- pated in, the pilgrimage of the relics of St Therese of Lisieux and her parents Louis and Zelie Martin. I am especially grateful for the support and coverage giv- en by The Catholic Weekly and other churchmedia. The story began with some conversations in late 2017 be- tweenMike Deasy, Diocesan Director of Catholic Mission for the Dioceses of Bathurst andWilcannia Forbes, and one-time manager of the Wol- longong Diocesan Develop- ment Fund and his long-time friendWarwick Hansen, of Hansen and Cole Funerals, Kembla Grange and a mem- ber company of the national InvoCare Funerals, Cemeter- ies and Crematoria Group. They had worked togeth- er on the 2002 pilgrimage of the relics of St Therese and the 2013 pilgrimage of the relics of St Francis Xavier. They made a compelling case that Cath- olic Mission underwrite this venture. Without doubt the involve- ment of the various Invocare Brands was crucial to dealing with the logistical challenges of moving the relics through 137 venues in 5 states and ACT in 100 days. Their prepa- ration of the posters and cards was an added andmuch ap- preciated bonus. The constant attention to detail and the extraordinary way in which the Invocare staff andmanagement and team and their collaborators in the funeral industry were able to assemble the where- withal to make the pilgrimage breathe. We could reassure her that the relics would be kept safe. But then the coronavirus and government regulations from about 14 March forced the abrupt cancellation of the latter third of the itinerary. We were able to allow the Carmelites Sisters in both Canberra and Kew to have time with the source of their own inspiration and spiritu- ality. It is a pity that venues in Sale, Hobart, Bunbury and Perth, much of Wollongong, Canberra and Goulburn, Sandhurst andMelbourne were disappointed. Staff of Catholic Mission, the diocesan directors, and es- pecially the communications team of Matthew, Simone and Marcello took on the addition- al work of constructing and maintaining the website and resources. Others provided resources including Debo- rah Robertson for education- al material, Fr Paul Chandler O.Carmwho wrote the prayer and Richard Cootes who com- posed the song. Tracie Hewitt fromCentury Freight did an amazing job in organising transport and as- sisted us to navigate the com- plexity of international freight. Mike Deasy was able to cut through the red tape to nego- tiate with three federal gov- ernment instrumentalities including human bio-security and agricultural bio-security in obtaining permission to im- port human remains and cul- tural heritage in wooden con- tainers. The resources, images and testimonies will remain on the Catholic Mission web- site for a little while yet. I might let Bishop Greg Homeming OCD have the fi- nal word about what the pil- grimage meant: “These three saints show us the integrity of virtue and holiness. The path to holiness is the path of struggle and or- dinary life. It is carried and lived with love, and depen- dence on God. They experi- enced the mercy of the Father and this mercy crafted the way they lived and loved. In this they are of great relevance for us. They have been where we are and have together allowed God to perfect them. Being a family, the Martins prove that the family is the seed ground of holiness and goodness. We can learn from them.” Fr Brian Lucas is National Director of Catholic Mission A panhandler for sacraments T he other week I told you I’d done my best to behave myself during the lockdown, but that the rules seemed a bit inconsistent. For example, I could go to the hairdress- er, but I couldn’t get my eye- lashes dyed, and I definitely couldn’t go to Mass. Now it looks as if we’re tee- tering on the verge of opening our churches again, even if only for small numbers. I will be honest. I am not one of those heroic Catholics who gritted their teeth and tried to enjoy livestreamed Mass. I didn’t make an altar at home. I didn’t learn Latin, read the Church Fathers, or say the Rosary daily. But I read all my local bish- op’s statements carefully, be- cause I wanted to know just what clergy and laity could and couldn’t do. And when I asked around, it turned out that everyone had a different idea of this. I encountered priests who wouldn’t hear individu- al Confessions unless it was part of visiting the sick. But we weren’t made party to the Being cut off from the sacraments, the heart of the Christian life, presents Catholics with a real problem. PHOTO: CNS Australians pray with the relics of St Therese of Lisieux. PHOTO: CNS/KIERAN DOHERTY, REUTERS Cut off from the church’s means of offering graces, what’s a conscientious Catholic to do? ad clerum notices that the local ordinary sends out to the clergy alone, so we didn’t know what priests were being told in private by their bish- ops. Our bishop told us what to do when we can’t receive Holy Communion - but he didn’t actually forbid us to re- ceive Holy Communion. Still, I met plenty of lay people who didn’t think they could even ask a priest for Confession or Holy Communion during this time, which broke my heart. But I also encountered priests interstate and over- seas who got creative, includ- ing drive-by Exposition and Confession, and hygienic Holy Communion outside of Mass. It seems to have been down to the diocese, and also to the individual priest. Some priests decided not to give Holy Commu- nion outside of Mass except to the sick, because it would look like playing favourites. I understand this - but at the same time I don’t under- stand it. People either ask for Holy Communion, or they don’t. You don’t choose; they choose. I can see how inviting people would have been wrong, but respond- ing to a pastoral request from the faithful can’t be all that wrong, and could be done with precautions. The new skill I learned during all this was being a shameless panhandler for the sacraments. I kept ask- ing around for Confession and Holy Communion until I found priests who didn’t send me away. This doesn’t make me morally superior to the peo- ple who stayed at home and offered their deprivation up. It probably makes me a pest and a bad Catholic. But I am a grateful pest and bad Cath- olic, because it’s been great to meet spiritual fathers who were prudent and pastoral. I know this involved health risks, especially for me: I am 50 with poor cardiovascular health. But I live in a largely COVID-19-free part of Aus- tralia. Maybe I would have done things differently if I’d been in the epicentre of an outbreak. I suppose I will find out next time. Dr Philippa Martyr is a Perth-based historian, lecturer and researcher. She can be contacted at: Philip-
[email protected] Fr Brian Lucas Columnist Philippa Martyr