Families Week Packs - Click through to View

Next week is Families Week, and Centacare Catholic has organised a kit which families can use to celebrate this week.  It’s got lots of activities for children and families, including a Covid-19 time capsule. 

Prime Minister 

-          Always be thankful

-          We are successfully making our way through this significant battle on two fronts – and we’re doing it better than most

-          We have been fighting the virus and we are winning

-          We have been putting in place the economic lifeline

-          We are moving ahead with opening our economy and society

-          The next step is to build the confidence and momentum to get the economy back up and running.  Then we can reset the economy for growth in the years ahead

-          Testing and tracing capabilities containing outbreaks

-          JobKeeper and JobSeeker in place

Three step plan and national framework for COVIDSafe Economy

-          Looking to achieve by July this year

-          Walk before we run

-          To regain the ground we cannot be too timid

-          States will and must move at their own pace

-          There’ll be human error.  No one is perfect.  Everyone is doing their best

-          Cannot allow the fear of going backwards stop us from going forward

-          The plan should see 850,000 jobs restored in the months ahead

Step 1: COVID safe reopening commences with physical distancing & hygiene

-          Gatherings of up to 10 people outside the home and 5 people in the home

-          Work from home if it works for you and for your employer

-          Children back in classrooms

-          Golfers back on the green

-          Boot camps back on

-          Swimmers back in the pool

-          Restaurants reopening (maintaining 10 person restriction)

-          Local and regional travel restrictions eased

-          Funerals and weddings with 10 people

Step 2: Most businesses reopen with physical distancing & hygiene

-          Gatherings of up to 20 people

-          Gyms, beauty therapists, cinemas, theatres, amusement parks, galleries, museums and some interstate travel

-          COVID safe plans in place in workplaces

Step 3: All Australians return to work with physical distancing & hygiene

-          Gatherings of up to 100 people

-          Clearer when we have progressed through the other steps

-          Pubs and clubs will reopen

By July we hope we will have moved through the three steps

-          Timetable is up to the States and Territories – there should be no expectation of step 1 on day 1

-          Movement from one step to the next will rely on:

o   Medical evidence 

o   Widespread testing identifying community transmission

o   Containment of outbreaks

-          5.3 million COVIDSafe App downloads.  It’s the best method

Industry and business

-          COVIDSafe plans need to be in place

-          Reviewing every three weeks

-          A year ago I made a promise – to keep our economy strong, to keep Australians safe and to keep Australians together

Professor Brendan Murphy

-          50 per cent of outbreaks in the last two weeks have been due to Cedar Meats and Newmarch House

-          Very low case numbers other than those cases

-          The virus is still there – we’ve got to be cautious

-          Testing has ramped up 

-          730,000 tests

-          Just shy 6,900 cases

-          2/3 cases have been from returning travellers – we aren’t relaxing those border measures

Step 1:

-          Cautious, gentle, not doing too much at once

-          We are in unchartered territory

-          We don’t want to lose the control we’ve got

-          Every Australian needs to follow the measures

-          Physical distancing all the time, hand hygiene, staying home no matter how mild your symptoms

-          COVIDSafe Plans for the workplace

-          Groups of 10 going out (4 square metre rule still applies)

-          Staying home if it’s alright with the employer

Step 2:

-          Up to 20 people unless there are really good COVIDSafe Plans in place

-          Gyms, beauty theory, some interstate travel might occur then

Step 3:

-          Still a bit of work to be done on steps 2 and 3

-          Opening up most of the economy in a COVID Safe Way

-          More travel around the country

-          Domestic tourism

What are we asking?

-          Keep personal responsibilities

-          Keep distancing

-          We could lose the battle we’ve won so far

Sunday, 19 April 2020

Second Sunday of Easter (Low Sunday) Year A

Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2: 42-47. 1 Peter, 1: 3-9

Gospel: John 20: 19-31

These days of restrictions because of COVID-19 are a special challenge to us.  For so many of our people, all save a handful, there is the question of what is the Church without the Eucharist?  We hear so often that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Church, and here we are in a position of deprivation, with no Eucharist possible.  We must recall of course that the Church in Australia has gone through long periods when the Eucharist was a rare event.  For the first thirty-two years after the European settlement of the colony, there was no priest available who was free to wander through the population exercising his ministry, until Fr John Joseph Therry and Fr Philip Connelly arrived in 1820.  But even much later, and here in our Diocese, there were little settlements in the mid-north and beyond where the people were fortunate to have the priest visit them twice or four times a year.  Places like Port Augusta, Saltia, Blinman in the north, and places like Melrose in the mid-north where Mass would have been celebrated on those rare occasions.  And we ask how does the Church live through us when we cannot congregate.  We know that our buildings are locked, but the Church is still open, because we are the Church.  Christ is the cornerstone, but it is you and I who are the living stones that build up this temple of the Spirit.  We are witnessing a new form of devotionalism in the Church, as hundreds of people tune in, or whatever the verb is, make hits on websites where the Mass is being shown online.  We have hundreds more making these hits than we actually see in Church!  One hopes that a new type of devotionalism does not extend to watching Mass while in bed! 

In today’s Gospel we have the doubting Thomas.  He is a favourite for very many people, because all of us at different times have our doubts.  That is only normal.  I think it is Cardinal Newman who wrote that doubt is the shadow cast by faith.  We do not live with religious certainty; we live by faith.  It is like love, a relationship between a couple.  It is based not on certainty but on faith in each other, just as we base our Christian lives on our faith in the person of Jesus.  Saint Thomas the Apostle, who wouldn’t believe unless he could put his finger in the wounds of Christ, is in a way the Patron Saint of all who struggle to believe what others in the Church seem to accept.  Thomas raised a central doubt – a doubt about the resurrection.  In a Christian community it would be hard to have a more serious doubt.  And Thomas is also the Patron Saint of those who seek the courage and patience to wait for the answer to their questions.  Despite his public doubts, the early Church remained faithful to him.  They did not expel him.  They held on to him in hope for him.  These early resurrection stories reveal that the creation of the early Church took time.  Even after the resurrection events that occurred the week before, eight days later the disciples are still locked up in the Upper Room, for fear of the Jewish leaders.  They are in the Upper Room, and there is symbolism in that, the place of the Last Supper, and they are fearful and locked in.  It took time for the disciples, and the coming of the Spirit, to move from timidity to boldness in their faith.  So we can identify with that ourselves, looking at where we are on our spiritual journey.  There are two pictures of the Church which are given in the First Reading from the Acts of Apostles, and from the excerpt from Saint John’s Gospel.  We are told in the account of the appearance of Jesus in the Acts that “the whole community was gathered together for the breaking of the bread”.  We still do that.  We are told they were “faithful to the teaching of the apostles” and we still attempt to live that.  Their gatherings were marked by miracles and signs, and that still happens in the ministry of the Church, little miracles are taking place every day.  They lived together and shared their possessions.  In a way we still do that.  There is the community of the Church, strengthened somewhat by the present crisis, and our use of the internet, and we share our possessions through agencies like Caritas, St Vincent de Paul, Catholic Mission, and so on.  They went to the temple every day, and we go into the temple of our hearts each day when we pray.  They celebrated the breaking of the bread in their houses, and they shared their food gladly.  At the moment all around Australia people are celebrating the breaking of the bread in a spiritual sense, with spiritual communions.

We gather as a people very true to what Saint Peter describes in his letter when he says “You did not see Him, yet you love Him.”  That is who we are, people who love Jesus, and attempt to see Him in each other. 

There is the picture of the Church in Saint John’s Gospel.  Firstly, they are in the Upper Room, the place of the Eucharist.  Christ appears amongst them.  The Church is always enriched by the presence of Christ.  His greeting is “Peace be with you”, a prayer He utters three times.  It is the resurrection greeting, peace be with you, a peace the world cannot give, and the world cannot take away, because Christ has overcome all things that diminish us.

Jesus then says to them “Receive the Spirit”.  We are to be a people alive to the movements of God in our hearts, alive to the calls God makes upon us, alive to the invitations the Spirit makes for us to grow deeper. 

“Whose sins you shall forgive…” we are to be a community of forgiveness.  So a community of the peace of Christ, of the Spirit, a community of forgiveness.

Christ invites us to touch His wounds.  In the words of Pope Francis, whenever we serve the poor, we touch the flesh of Christ. 

He showed them His hands and His side.  These are central to the meaning of the Church.  His hands denote the works of kindness and justice and mercy.  His side reveals compassion and the love of the Sacred Heart, a love that says “Come to Me all you who labour and are burdened and I will give you rest”.  So in the hands and the side we have symbolised the mission and the compassion of Christ entrusted to the Church, to you and me. 

And He gives His exhortation, “As the Father sent me, so I send you..”.  We are to be a people on mission, to carry the Word of Christ to those around us, to carry it in a way that people see the work of Christ reflected in how we live, and how we serve. 

You did not see Him, yet you love Him.  What thanks can we give for the grace we have received in knowing Christ Jesus?

+ Gregory O’Kelly SJ

My Dear Sisters and Brothers,

The Prime Minister has announced that non-essential indoor gatherings are to be limited to 100 people and outdoor events of more than 500 are prohibited. Given the serious nature of the coronavirus, as a community we are to support these measures as responsible and sensible.

In consultation with the Consultors and Vicars General of the two dioceses, the following actions are directed:

• The temporary suspension of Masses and public liturgies until further notice;
• All other large gatherings are suspended. For further clarification please refer to the diocesan websites or contact your local parish office.

It is a grave decision to suspend Masses. We realise that some churches would have congregations of less than 100, but because of the seriousness of the situation which in all likelihood will become more acute, a clear and concise preventative step is necessary for the sake of the general health of the population.

The decisions being notified in this circular will all be reviewed in light of ongoing medical and government advice.

We are conscious of the difficulties this will create for people planning baptisms, weddings and funerals. These may continue as long as the gathering is restricted to immediate family and close friends, and don’t exceed limits established by the Government.

The principal church in each parish will remain open and the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for Adoration at times determined by the local parish priest.

The Catholics of the dioceses are hereby dispensed from their Sunday obligations until further notice.

We encourage prayer time and reading Scriptures in the home. Details of online and televised Mass services are available at www.adelaide.catholic.org.au and may help deepen devotion on the Lord’s Day.

Priests should celebrate Mass daily by themselves, offering their prayers for the intention of the faithful and the healing of the present crisis.

Priests and deacons should also be available to visit individuals, especially those who are isolated, unwell and vulnerable. This includes administering Viaticum, the Anointing of the Sick and individual Reconciliation, while observing social distancing protocols.

All would be very conscious that these measures are being taken during the Season of Lent. We are going into something of a spiritual desert, and must support each other. The foregoing of the Eucharist is a severe deprivation for a Catholic. We understand that they will cause pain to many, and we put before ourselves at this time the sufferings of Jesus. We pray that appropriate medical solutions will be found for this pandemic and we pray for the peace of Christ among all Christians.

Preparation and celebration of First Confirmation, First Eucharist and First Rite of Reconciliation will be deferred until further notice.

At this stage, it appears that Holy Week services may need to be celebrated privately at the Cathedrals and we are investigating methods for participating in this online.

Again, we pray that the Christian community will act as a strength for all others, and that we will continue to give witness to the Gospel through works of mercy and charity.

The steps outlined above are similar to those undertaken by numbers of other major dioceses in the country. We are joined in a certain solidarity of renunciation.

Because of the introduction of the latest Government regulations, it is necessary to implement these decisions immediately.