SOON after lockdown I spoke with a small group of Year 12 students. I asked them what they had learnt during their interrupted year 12 activities. Without hesitation they spoke of the things that they had taken for granted. COVID-19 has blessed us with the opportunity to consider the things that we easily lose sight of. Perhaps, for example, we ... Read More »
Tag Archives: christmas message
Christmas blessings from Archbishop Coleridge – nothing, not even a virus, can stop the coming of the Lord
THIS will be a Christmas like no other. Restrictions may be eased, but we will still have to cope with registration, distancing, sanitising and all the other things that have become part of our lives through this extraordinary year. We won’t have the crowds at Mass; the parties will be quieter; the sights and sounds of Christmas will be more ... Read More »
Christmas blessings from Archbishop Coleridge: Jesus Christ is the joy for all the people
THERE’S a lot of death around these days – I guess there always is. We’ve had abortion and now euthanasia in Queensland, and right around the world the shadow of death seems long. In such a moment, it can seem forlorn to celebrate life as we do at Christmas. But it’s all the more necessary as the ... Read More »
Aspleycare continues strong tradition of helping those in need during the Christmas period
SPONSORS from Bunnings, Ray White and other organisations donned their Santa hats last week at Aspleycare when they packed 100 Christmas hampers for the homeless. “Our volunteers do all of the pre-work and then the sponsors come in and pack the hampers,” Aspleycare volunteer Clive Smith said. “They’ve supported us, so we want to get them to be involved, and ... Read More »
Classic Christmas Carol Silent Night turning 200, third best-selling song of all time
CHRISTMAS Eve will mark the 200th birthday of the classic hymn Silent Night. The origins of the Christmas carol can be traced back to Austria where the song was first performed on December 24, 1818, at St Nicholas’ Church in the quaint town of Oberndorf in Salzburg. A young Fr Joseph Mohr had come to Oberndorf the year before, and ... Read More »
Welcoming the Prince of Peace
By Bishop James Foley of Cairns DURING 2014 the Middle East has seen violence as vicious and as vengeful as ever before. In Jerusalem itself recently people were axed to death as they prayed in a synagogue. Throughout the year there have been reports and grisly online footage of actual beheadings. Why is this part of the world where Christ – ... Read More »