The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You

THROUGHOUT the world, engaged couples are reeling in shock. Meticulously planned weddings are unravelling amid the various lock-down policies. The disappointment is crushing and the change in plans come with very real financial consequences. Some couples fear their deposits will be forfeited and others are struggling to find available venues for later dates when – hopefully – this all settles ... Read More »

IT’S a whole new world. Not sure about you but my collective household was pleased to turn the calendar to a new month this week. We don’t mind all this extra togetherness in today’s new world but we’d collectively decided that March went on for what seemed like an eternity and by the time the calendar clicked over, it could’ve ... Read More »

This is a column by Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez published online on March 24 in Angelus, the media arm of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. LENT is always a desert journey that we make with Jesus, who fasted and was tested in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. The prophet Hosea says the Lord leads his ... Read More »

FAMILIES preparing to enter into Holy Week at home due to COVID-19 restrictions have been encouraged to pray together as “the little church” alongside clergy who are celebrating the Triduum rites privately. Liturgy Brisbane director Fr Tom Elich said parishes have been distributing a prayer resource to allow families to spiritually connect with the celebrations of Holy Week, which begins ... Read More »

“EVEN in the midst of our own isolation, we are not alone – that is a truth that can set us free,” St Stephen’s Cathedral dean Fr Anthony Mellor said in his homily at the 8am live streamed Mass. He said in these days everyone was “feeling the heat of the fire”, referring to the first reading of the Mass ... Read More »

DO you ever have the feeling, while reading Scripture, Jesus is speaking directly to you? I can be engrossed in Scripture during my quiet times, when sometimes, almost suddenly, I find myself “stuck” on a word or phrase. Not “stuck” as in questioning, but “stuck” as in glued to those words. They grip me, they hold me; I can’t move ... Read More »

FAMILIES anticipating the need to stay inside the home together to fight the COVID-19 pandemic are being asked to pray together too. Fr Tom McDonough, provincial of the Passionist Fathers in Australia, has encouraged families to find creative ways to assist the elderly, the needy, our members and neighbours in self isolation as a way of loving their neighbour. The ... Read More »

“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20) THIS year the Lord grants us, once again, a favourable time to prepare to celebrate with renewed hearts the great mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of our personal and communal Christian life. We must continually return to this mystery in mind ... Read More »

What would be the carbon footprint of a Catholic bishop in a large and bustling archdiocese? In this two-week series, Emilie Ng uses the carbon footprint of one auxiliary Bishop to explore the three last pope’s teaching on the environment. BRISBANE auxiliary Bishop Ken Howell visited the airport nearly once a fortnight in 2019, but it wasn’t the primary contributor ... Read More »