Newsletter 5: 30 March 2021

Dear Colleagues,

As we ready ourselves for the Easter celebrations in this Holy Week, one cannot but help to reflect on where we were this time 12 months ago. Lock downs were in place across the country and our normal Easter ceremonies were celebrated online or on television. The extent of the pandemic globally was not yet evident but the impact in some countries had all Australians on edge as to the potential for devastation. Travel overseas and interstate had ceased, schools had moved to offsite learning, and thousands of businesses had closed. There was only hope for a vaccine and experts varied in their reckoning as to how long it would take for one to be developed effectively and safely. Yet despite all of this, there remained among so many Australians a real sense of care for one another and trust in our medical experts and elected leaders.

For us this year to be looking forward to gathering again safely in our Parishes to celebrate Jesus rising together, is a joy the pandemic has helped remind us to cherish. Indeed, the pandemic itself is an Easter story in so many ways, as it is laced with times of dread and despair, conquered through courage, fortitude, hope and faith in God. This Easter time in 2021, when new life has been afforded humanity, heralds a new challenge for developed nations like Australia, in supporting our immediate neighbours in southeast Asia, Melanesia and the Pacific in vaccinating people and rebuilding economies.

In his recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti Pope Francis quotes St Francis of Assisi in commencing his reflections and teaching on the necessity for us to love all people like our own brothers and sisters. At this critical point in human history, Pope Francis urges us to look beyond the norm.

“God has created all human beings equal in rights, duties and dignity, and has

called them to live together as brothers and sisters”.

As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus this Easter, may these words of the Holy Father be contemplated in prayer and action.

Lord, Father of our human family,

you created all human beings equal in dignity:

pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit

and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter,

dialogue, justice and peace.

Move us to create healthier societies

and a more dignified world,

a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war.

May our hearts be open

to all the peoples and nations of the earth.

May we recognize the goodness and beauty

that you have sown in each of us,

and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects,

and shared dreams. Amen.

Happy Easter!