AUSTRALIAN Catholics need to overcome a tendency to hold down excitement and passion about their faith.
MenALIVE co-founder Robert Falzon challenged Brisbane archdiocese’s recent lunchtime Assembly of Catholic Professionals (ACP) to instead have “fire in your life”.
“If we’re not sold out and a hundred per cent convinced and live accordingly no one is going to believe us when we talk about our faith,” he said.
“We might have nice buildings but no one is going to believe us.”
Mr Falzon made the comments to the gathering of more than 100 Catholic professionals at a luncheon on September 15 at the Queensland Rugby Club.
He was a last-minute replacement for guest speaker The Australian foreign editor Greg Sheridan who was unable to attend.
The ACP was created earlier this year by Brisbane archdiocese as a forum for business women and men.
Under the patronage of Arch-bishop John Bathersby, the ACP is enabling Church leaders and lay people to come together as a community to get to know each other and to discuss issues and trends in the life of the Church.
The archbishop, at the inaugural meeting, said he was delighted to welcome those interested to join the new Assembly of Catholic Professionals.
“An important aspect of our faith is to gather in community, and I hope this group will invite meaningful participation in the life of the Church,” he said.
ACP founder and archdiocesan resource development
director Peter de Keratry said the group had gone from strength to strength since its inaugural meeting in March.
“Numbers have continued to grow after each lunch, showing a real appetite for a group like this which gives professionals in Brisbane an opportunity to get to know the Archbishop and other leaders,” he said.
“At the first meeting of the ACP, we had about 50 people in attendance with 90 in June.
“The latest gathering drew more than 100.
“We continue to receive excellent feedback on the Assembly of Catholic Professionals and the speakers involved.
“The speakers for the ACP luncheons have been exciting and the events have been a wonderful way to get connected to the Church.”
Latest speaker, Mr Falzon, held his audience captivated with tales of his challenges as an entrepreneur through the vicissitudes of business life.
He also spoke of his several years in Redemptorist formation as a young man and of returning to a call to spiritual work in the Church by starting the MenALIVE ministry in 2003.
Guest speaker for the ACP’s November 10 meeting will be George Weigel, an American author, and political and social activist. He is the author of the best-selling biography of Pope John Paul II, Witness to Hope.
He serves as Distinguished Senior Fellow and Chair of Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Centre in Washington, DC.
St Vincent’s Health and Aged Care is sponsoring the luncheon.
The organisation’s regional chief executive officer John Leahy said “as a major Catholic health and aged-care provider in the Brisbane archdiocese, we believe it’s important for organisations such as ours to support the ACP”.
“It is from our association with other professionals in the Catholic sector that we learn more about who we are and how best to support each other,” he said.
“At the same time we also strengthen our Christian values.”
For more information on the Assembly of Catholic Professionals contact (07) 3336 9406 or visit http://www.bne.catholic.net.au/acp for information and to register online.
