ARCHBISHOP John Bathersby of Brisbane is calling for a faith renewal among Catholics that would ‘once again see our … churches filled to overflowing, not only at Christmas and Easter but on every Sunday of the year’.
‘That is my dream, and I hope you can help me make it a reality for the archdiocese in 2005,’ the archbishop said in his pastoral letter for Advent.
In the letter, which will be read in parishes throughout the archdiocese on November 27-28, Archbishop Bathersby reminds us that Advent ‘asks us to prepare for the greatest event in the history of the world, the coming of God to us as a helpless child in a manger’.
He urges us ‘not to waste [Advent’s] superb message of God’s arrival in our midst’.
‘Today, however, without in any way diminishing its immediate importance, I ask you to place this Advent in an even wider context,’ he said.
‘As archbishop I would like to try to shape the next seven years (God willing) into one big Advent of preparation for the coming of Christ into the life of the entire archdiocese.
‘I ask you to join me in that project.’
The ‘next seven years’ covers the implementation timeframe for the Let Your Light Shine document setting out the vision and priorities for the archdiocese flowing from Synod 2003. The archbishop is also due to retire in seven years.
