Vocations Sunday

I have come that you may have life

and have it in abundance

John 10:10

When did you last encourage someone to consider that God might be calling them to serve as a priest?

This Sunday (“Good Shepherd Sunday”, Fourth Sunday of Easter) is celebrated throughout the Church as Vocations Sunday.

In a real sense every Sunday of the year is a day of focus on the Christian vocation to live every moment in relationship with Jesus.

There are as many vocational calls as there are human people. The call of God to you is renewed every day. 


The call of God is not only given to the young as they discern how they will spend their lives. A vocational call is the call of God given to every person every day. If I am nearing retirement and old age is imminent, I am being called to hear anew (or even for the first time) the call of God.


Whatever age or stage of life I am in, God is calling me to live in response to the divine call: God is gifting me anew a life-purpose that is my vocation.

A vocation is not simply a job or even a career to which I am committed. To work in such a way may be a useful contribution to society. I may find this occupation to be satisfying and earn a salary enabling me to lovingly provide for my family. I may even be aware of God using me in this work to assist others or even to spread the Gospel. None of this makes a vocation.

A starting point for a life of vocation is, as Cardinal Newman prayed, a unique call that God gives to me personally. I am created by God for some specific service. 


The heart of this life is personal intimacy with Jesus. It is this ultimate relationship that give meaning to all human life. In this personal and lived relationship I am freed from all superficial compulsions. I am able to see beyond worldly successes and rewards.

In seeking to live in response to God’s Vocational call to me I experience “life, and have it in abundance.”  John 10:10

I will give you Shepherds

Today, Good Shepherd Sunday, there is a particular focus for our vocational reflection. We know that human people cannot live without the Eucharist, and the Eucharist cannot be a reality among us without priests. Today we pray especially for vocations to the priesthood.

We hear much talk about a shortage of priests. While there may be fewer priests in parishes in our diocese than there were forty years ago, there are many more priests today than there were eighty years ago when there was a much greater number of Catholic at Mass every Sunday in the diocese. 


This awareness has prompted pastoral planning to ensure that the Mass and sacraments are available for all the people of the diocese. This process has been a difficult adjustment for both people and priests.

Many people argue that the ‘shortage’ of priests is a sign that the Church needs to change the criteria for ordination to the priesthood. But many other denominations have made these changes and they still face the difficulty of attracting people who are willing to give their lives in ministry. These communities also still struggle with attracting worshippers on Sunday.

Practical solutions are never an adequate response to crises of faith.

The reason that our pastoral plans and practical response cannot resolve the problem of a ‘shortage of priests’, is that we are being invited to consider the deeper issues. 


Thirty years ago when I was considering a vocation to priesthood, the family, parish and school environments saw priesthood as a worthwhile vocation worthy of an entire human life. I am not sure that this environment is still present in our families, parishes and schools.

When did you last encourage a young (or not so young) man, to consider giving his life to God as a priest?  


Have you encouraged your sons, grandsons, godsons or nephews to consider priesthood? Have you spoken to single men (even strangers) whom you see at Mass each Sunday suggesting that God might be calling them to priesthood?

When your children and grandchildren and workmates hear you speaking about priests, do they hear you valuing the priestly ministry that God carries out through these men (who remain his imperfect but willing servants)?

building environments of faith

Today, on this vocations Sunday, let us pray for all priests; that they may be faithful servants of Christ the priest. That they may be loving shepherds. Let us also pray for those discerning a call to priesthood in the seminary. We pray especially for the seminarians of our own Christchurch diocese. We also remember those of our diocese who are in seminaries of religious communities around the world. 

Let us also pray that our own families, schools, parishes and our diocese will be environments of encouragement and support for any parishioner who is being called by God to serve as a priest.

Take a moment to savour Pope Benedict's

Message for World Day of Prayer for Vocations 2011

Holy Land 2012

  

The above image was taken twelve months ago, early one morning, from a hotel room overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The Our Lady of Victories 2010 pilgrimage had not gone as we planned. Thirty pilgrims met with the effects of the Icelandic Volcano in Singapore and, after three days at the airport gate, were forced to return to Christchurch. Four others having arrived in Tel Aviv were forced by their insurance companies to continue with the pilgrimage. These two Holy Land weeks became a full dress-rehearsal for the 2012 Our Lady of Victories Holy Land Pilgrimage.

You are still able to ‘journey with the four 2010 pilgrims’ on the Pilgrimage Blog.

Planning for the 2012 pilgrimage is now underway. You can find more details and contact information at the parish website www.olv.co.nz

You might wonder what a pilgrimage is? Why do we not simply call our travel a tourist trip or an overseas holiday?

Pilgrimages have an ancient tradition. Pilgrims are people who seek to journey with God. While pilgrims do see and do much of what occupies tourists on their travels, we make a point of journeying together with God at a deeper level. Our main goal is not to go places and to see sights, but to grow in relationship with God. We do this by journeying the roads that our ancestors in faith travelled. We pray in the places that were significant for them. We celebrate the Mass every day as the heart of our encounters with God.

The greatest of all Christian pilgrimages is to the Holy Land. This land, and especially the ancient city of Jerusalem is also the great pilgrimage destination for the Jewish people and the Islam faith.  

On our 2012 pilgrimage to the Holy Land we will spend time living in Jerusalem and on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. From these two bases the entire country is easily accessible. (The Holy Land is only the size of Canterbury). Each day we will visit sacred places; the places where Jesus was born and died, the town where he was raised, the site of many of his miracles and preaching. We will walk the Way of the Cross, and pray at the place of the crucifixion and the tomb of the resurrection.

Our journey will also include some other (secular) places of particular historical significance. You may have heard the story or seen the film Masada. We will visit this remarkable place.

Many people who have never left NZ before, will find the pilgrimage an easy way to travel. We will all leave Christchurch together, travelling directly to Tel Aviv. Once you leave Christchurch airport, every detail of the travel is provided for. Busses and tour-guides will meet us and lead us. Our own tour organiser and guide from a local pilgrimage company will travel with us every step of the way. Mike and Suzanne Doolan (the parish pilgrimage organisers) have researched every detail of the pilgrimage and are already liaising with the professional tour guide who will accompany us every step of our journey.

If you are interested in receiving further information please register your interest and request information from Mike and Suzanne Doolan.

You may know of someone else who might be interested in making this journey with us. Please pass on this information to them. As members of a family you might know a parent or grandparent who would appreciate this pilgrimage as a gift. It may be in your power to arrange this for them?

Our Lady of Victories Parish has now organised four pilgrimages to Italy, France, Ireland, England, Spain and the Holy Land. 

We welcome anyone who wishes to travel with us to the Holy Land in April 2012.

parish weekly newsletter

The parish website is updated regularly at www.olv.co.nz

The 'newsletter' button on the website will take you to the weekly parish newsletter.

offline

I was unexpectedly offline this week and was not able to upload the blog. I realised how dependant I / we have become on this technology. My apologies to those who follow the blog regularly.

I will update again tomorrow.

Jesus is risen indeed. Alleluia

Each day now for two Easter weeks, we have recalled the post-resurrection encounters between Jesus and his followers.  Many of the accounts begin in the same way; by reporting that the apostles, and the other disciples of Jesus, seem to be getting back to the dull routines of their (pre-Jesus) lives.

In today's gospel we meet two disciples walking together away from the dramatic Jerusalem events “that have taken place there in these days.” The are unaware of the meaning of the resurrection.

Even when “Jesus himself drew near and walked with them” they “did not realize that he was with them.”  "Their eyes were prevented from recognising him". 

In these days we have (like the disciples) participated in the Holy Week and Easter journey of Jesus. We have recalled his passion, his death, and his resurrection. Now two weeks have passed and we are once again occupied fully with the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of our own lives.

In participating in the powerful liturgies of these days, have we simply recalled an historical event? Have we reduced the reality of God-with-us to the life of a good teacher who gives nothing more than moral mores and laws for life?

If we find ourselves in this situation we are not alone. Perhaps the most common and tragic heresy of people of faith throughout the centuries, is to see Jesus simply as a good ‘life-coach’ who offers eternal rewards to those who jump through the right hoops.

It is likely that these two disciples of Jesus, walking the road to Emmaus, were trying to find some meaning in the Holy Week and Easter journey of Jesus. The scripture tells us that as they walked ‘they were conversing and debating about all the things that had occurred.”  But the reading goes on to add that this conversation was not bringing them joy since “they looked downcast.”

Then, after they welcome Jesus to their home, he celebrates Eucharist with them. In that event “their eyes were opened” and they realize that Jesus is with them anew. In that event everything changes. Now they have encountered the risen Jesus. Their lives are changed forever.

We see an example of one such changed life when Peter boldly stands with the eleven and “raises his voice”  to announce the good news to the people of Jerusalem. As I hear this, something in me wants to caution Peter. “Be careful” I want to say to him. “They will get you too. Go gently Peter!”

But something has happened to Peter. He is now much too fired-up to go gently. He has no fear. He has only love for his Saviour. Only weeks earlier he was the one who denied knowing the Lord. Now he is fearless in the service of his Lord. His preaching is public and passionate. Something dramatic has happened to Peter. Jesus is now no longer simply his personal friend. For Peter Jesus is now not just a potential political leader or business partner. Peter now recognises the risen Jesus to be his Saviour.

As Pope Benedict writes in his new book Jesus of Nazareth Part II:

“…for the disciples the Resurrection was just as real as the Cross. It presupposes that they were simply overwhelmed by the reality, that, after their initial hesitation and astonishment, they could no longer ignore that reality. It is truly he. He is alive; he has spoken to us; he has allowed us to touch him, even if he no longer belongs to the realm of the tangible in the normal way.

“The paradox was indescribable. He was quite different, no mere resuscitated corpse, but one living anew and forever in the power of God. And yet at the same time, while no longer belonging to our world, he was truly present there, he himself. It was an utterly unique experience, which burst open the normal boundaries of experience and yet for the disciples was quite beyond doubt.”   p.246

An eternal reality has transformed Peter’s present existence. He is a new man.

“Now it must be acknowledged that if in Jesus' Resurrection we are dealing simply with the miracle of a resuscitated corpse, it would ultimately be of no concern to us. For it would be no more important than the resuscitation of a clinically dead person through the art of doctors. For the world as such and for our human existence, nothing would have changed. The miracle of a resuscitated corpse would indicate that Jesus' Resurrection was equivalent to the raising of the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 17:11-17), the daughter of Jairus (Mk 5:22-24, 35-43 and parallel passages), and Lazarus (Jn 11:1-44). After a more or less short period, these individuals returned to their former lives, and then at a later point they died definitively.

“The New Testament testimonies leave us in no doubt that what happened in the “Resurrection of the Son of Man” was utterly different. Jesus’ Resurrection was about breaking out into an entirely new form of life, into a life that is no longer subject to the law of dying and becoming, but lies beyond it – a life that opens up a new dimension of human existence. 

Jesus of Nazareth Part II

Pope Benedict XVI Pp243-244

What does this all mean for us two thousand years later. Most of all we realize that Jesus himself is drawing near and walking alongside us. We are not alone. A new dimension of human existence is open before us. When we open ourselves to this gift we are, as Peter was, transformed. We become fearless in the service of Him who is loving us.

This means that we too will face opposition as we stand for justice in the face of evil. Christians will feel great discomfort among those who rejoice at the death of Osama bin Laden. We feel this since the new dimension of human existence cannot be achieved by violence and revenge, especially when it is wrongly called justice.

And so, along with the disciples of Jesus over two thousand troubled and tired years of Christian history, we gather every Sunday at his altar , that we might receive him again in the breaking of the bread.     

The Disciples Peter & John running to the tomb on the morning of the resurrection

Eugene Burnand

John Paul II, William & Kate

Many people I know watched and enjoyed the royal wedding. A number of people I know even had royal wedding parties. However I know a number of Catholics who did not celebrate the beatification of John Paul. Their reasons; they said that John Paul held on to antiquated ideas and did not help the church to move forward.

So why is it that these same people party with the prince and his bride? I have no difficulty with the monarchy, but I am surprised that intelligent people ignore issues in the monarchy that they cannot cope with in the Church.

A couple of obvious examples: 

• if William had been born a female he would not be the second in line to the throne. 
• If Catherine Middleton were Catholic, William would have had to renounce his right of succession to marry her.

What do you think?

Cathedral Update

The fact sheet and photos were received today providing an update of the post-earthquake situation with our Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch Post-Earthquake Stabilisation Fact sheet, 5 May 2011

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, one of the most significant buildings of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, suffered significant damage in the earthquakes that have struck Christchurch since September last year, particularly the magnitude 6.3 earthquake of February 22.

Situation

The Cathedral is currently in a precarious state, and the main dome and the north tower could potentially collapse further should a sizeable aftershock occur. These sections of the Cathedral are therefore a falling hazard, and until stabilised will continue to prevent the adjacent Cathedral College from reopening.

Observed damage

Engineers, suspended from a crane in baskets, have been able to look inside the cathedral. Their brief observations to date include:

Dome & rear of building

The supporting structure of the dome has sustained considerable damage. Indications are that the main columns supporting the dome have settled, and this along with the vertical and horizontal movements during the earthquakes has contributed to the failure of the north arch and the near failure of the south arch. The east end of the building is severely damaged with the entire east wall behind the dome in danger of toppling towards the school. From what we have observed this area is in a very fragile state and would only require a moderate event for this part of the structure to suffer a major structural failure and total collapse.

Main Body

Good news we hope. The main structure appears to be in reasonable shape. This will require confirmation once access can be gained and a more detailed structural investigation undertaken. Columns, ceiling and structure appear intact however the big pipe organ at the back seems to have suffered considerable damage.

Front Towers

Damage to the two towers is evident from the street. What remains of the south tower (right hand side looking from the street) is now reasonably stable with only loose blocks to be removed, although it has suffered quite a bit of damage. The north tower is showing signs that the same failure as has already happened to the south tower could occur. A large section of the front face of the north tower has split away leaving it in a very unstable position. At present this area is undergoing more analysis to determine the best way forward.

Assessment

A full assessment of the damage to the Cathedral is not possible until the building is made safe for entry. Parts of the two front towers and main dome need to be dismantled for this to occur.

Work to be undertaken

Structural engineers and heritage specialists from Opus International Consultants are carrying out a controlled dismantling of these areas. The aims are:

.

To reduce the likelihood of further damage to the Cathedral in the event of a significant aftershock To protect the adjacent school buildings To make safe the Cathedral so that assessors can enter the building and carry out a full assessment

To ensure as much of the Cathedral building as possible is able to be retained and rebuilt should that be a viable option.

Deconstruction

This is time-consuming task. It involves: The recording of heritage features The careful removal of the dome structure down to the sill of the dome windows (and other parts of the building so that as much heritage fabric as possible can be preserved).

Timetable

Partial deconstruction of the north tower and the removal of the bells has already occurred. Removal of the main copper dome and stonework down to the sill of the dome windows, and subsequent stabilisation and weather proofing is expected to occur in stages from the end of May* (This date is approximate and could easily change.)

Expertise and equipment

Removal of the main dome will be completed using a 400-tonne crane - one of the largest mobile cranes in New Zealand. A professional stonemason will also have a key role in the deconstruction process.

Future decision

No decision on the future of the Cathedral will be possible until assessors have completed a full assessment of damage to the inside of the Cathedral and the relevant experts have had an opportunity to study the report and consider the ramifications of the findings.

Media contacts

John Durning 0274 373 286 (Catholic Diocese) 

Karen Wrigglesworth 027 453 0456 (Opus)