CATHOLICS around Australia have used the liturgical season of Lent to restrict their use of social media applications like Facebook. The traditional custom of giving up something for Lent is voluntary; but during his 2019 Lenten message Pope Francis urged the faithful to consider it a gift. “The celebration of the Paschal Triduum of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, the ... Read More »
ON Ash Wednesday, we began our journey into a season of grace when we are marked with ashes indicating that we are ready and willing to celebrate the season of Lent. It is a time when our Lord offers us the discipline of prayer and to become involved in Lenten programs. It is also a time when we commit ourselves ... Read More »
I ONCE worked in a school with a rowing program. I was in awe of the students’ ability to get up long before dawn and be on the water by 5am. Occasionally I would accompany them in the coaches tinny and loved the early-morning freshness of the Brisbane River at dawn. These same students would put their bodies through so ... Read More »
MANY Catholics spend hours pondering what to give up for Lent, but this year, Evangelisation Brisbane is offering something to take up instead – the Lent 2019 Compassion App. Evangelisation Brisbane assistant director Troy Tornabene designed the application. It was the first time Mr Tornabene built an app, but even so, it was released a year ahead of schedule. Mr ... Read More »
A BRISBANE parishioner has launched a heartfelt Lenten appeal for a struggling hospital in the Philippines. Sherry Balagtas was shocked at hospital conditions when her 13-year-old son Miguel was admitted with food poisoning during a family holiday in Palawan province recently. She said the Coron District Hospital was poorly lacking in basic supplies and medicines. “We had to call the ... Read More »
A YOUNG woman who suffered from anorexia as a teenager and a man who found healing from his abusive past have shared their stories for Brisbane archdiocese’s annual Lenten program. Katelyn Ross and John Evans are among the six Catholics from Brisbane who share openly about their experiences of blessings and brokenness for the 2018 program. The stories are told ... Read More »
CATHOLICS across Brisbane archdiocese are being called to join in three days of fasting and reparation at the start of Lent for the victims of child sexual abuse. “Through fasting, we stand in solidarity with the victims of abuse whose much deeper hunger is for healing and peace in their lives,” Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said, coinciding with a joint ... Read More »
This is Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge’s Lenten message ON Ash Wednesday we heard the prophet’s words: “Come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning” (Joel 2:12) – words which echo one of the key themes of Scripture, the theme of lament. Ancient Israel had to make sense of the blood, sweat and tears that so often marked ... Read More »
MARIST Brother Roger Burke’s enthusiasm for spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ is infectious. In more than 60 years as a Marist Brother he has strived to live the Gospel and has always encouraged others to live out their baptismal call. In Jubilee parish, in Brisbane’s inner west, he has been instrumental in adult faith initiatives including the annual ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
