1. The Daily Soul
With the unfolding pandemic have come new ways of communicating, working together and focussing on the wellbeing of ourselves and others. Welcome to the first edition of The Daily Soul to complement the Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools Office communication newsletters. This offering aims to provide a source of spiritual nourishment that will support the efforts being taken to transition ourselves and our students in this new era. It will provide, periodically, support for personal prayer, worship, reflection, pastoral care and wellbeing. It will also provide resources that can be used in the RE and Ministry classroom or sent on to student cohorts. In this first edition, we focus on the historic suspension of the public celebration of the Holy Mass and look to our pastoral leader Bishop Greg Homeming for understanding and guidance.
On the morning of March 18, 2020, our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison announced the first of a series of regulations around the size of public gatherings which would have far-reaching effects on the Australian community and our way of life. The Catholic Church was not exempt and by the end of that day, Bishop Greg joined his fellow Bishops across the Country in communicating the cessation of Sunday Masses and the lifting of the obligation of the faithful to attend these. As we continue to hear, this is an unprecedented time of disruption in the world. Where will we turn for strength and direction in these times?
The Bishops of Victoria in their announcement concluded with these encouraging words:
"All of this is happening during the Season of Lent, a time of preparation for the Easter mysteries. While we are invited to be self-sacrificial at this time, we must remember the words of Jesus upon appearing before his disciples after his resurrection: Again and again he said ‘peace be with you.’ (Jn 20:19) Let us not panic, nor be anxious, nor reduce ourselves to caring only for ourselves. This is a time to be sensible, practical, prayerful, and to share Christ’s peace with those who are struggling to feel calm and safe. Thank you for all your patience, prayers and resilience."
As with online/blended learning, our attention now turns to alternative ways to keep the Lord’s day sacred and focus on the value and importance of prayer in our lives. Bishop Greg’s Mass on Sunday morning can be watched live or in our own time. His first offering of online Mass on Sunday 22 March has been watched by over 2000 viewers and is sure to become part of the Sunday morning ritual for many in the Diocese.
From Bishop Greg’s homily that day we heard:
- “We are also being challenged by this Gospel to think outside the square.
- Jesus’ teaching to his disciples - No one has sinned, no one has caused this man to be born blind. These things just happen. And there will be many people asking “Why is this virus spreading throughout the world? Is there a reason? Has somebody done something wrong? And Jesus’ answer is ‘get out of the square’. Because that way of thinking is quite false…. This virus is a natural thing…. Finding a point of blame is not helpful.
- We need to think communally. This is the Gospel way of thinking. We need to think in terms of love and care for others.
- The fundamental challenge of the present time is - where do we find God in the midst of it? God is there to be found if we look. Because when we look we see needs, when we look we see God.
- We cannot live confined in a box, because if we look beyond ourselves… Australia will be a better country.”
(Bishop Greg Homeming 22 March, 2020)
Find this Mass every Sunday by visiting the Lismore Diocese Website and following the links.
Staff and students are invited to name the things they would like to pray for each day so that we may be united. These can be offered up through the completion of this simple form. By naming the intentions for our prayers we develop a keener sense of purpose in our prayer and invite the intercession of others to hold up our intention to God. The Daily Soul will be developing innovative ways of inviting others into this intercession. We have switched off the email capture function in this survey so your prayer intentions will remain completely anonymous.
Sing along or just listen and reflect to the comforting words of this original Wildfire composition.
Hold On was written by Wildfire as a response to a challenging season in a school community in 2019. The core message of the song is one of enduring and unshakable hope. We wanted our staff and students who were struggling and hurting to know that they were never alone. In 2020 we want the same thing. The Daily Soul reminds us that Jesus is always with us, never letting go and holding on to us through everything.
For more Wildfire music check out the Proclaim Lismore Wildfire Spotify playlist, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
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Proclaim Lismore Staff