Melbourne Catholic

‘Into the Deep’ weekly reflections in Lent We live in a world that often prioritises the ephemeral and the superficial over more meaningful and enduring values. Countless distractions keep us from candid self-examination or quiet contemplation. In Lent, we are invited to turn away from all that distracts us and to reorient ourselves towards God; to examine and reintegrate our lives by focusing on divine rather than human priorities; to plunge into the deep, restorative waters of God’s love and mercy. And we are offered beautiful, ancient tools to help us enter into this gracious season of reflection and preparation—tools of prayerfulness, simplicity and generosity. These weekly reflections are provided as an opportunity to clear some time and space from distractions this Lent and go deeper: deeper into the paschal mystery, deeper into relationship with God, deeper into truth and life.

‘Into the Deep’ weekly reflections in Lent We live in a world that often prioritises the ephemeral and the superficial over more meaningful and enduring values. Countless distractions keep us from candid self-examination or quiet contemplation. In Lent, we are invited to turn away from all that distracts us and to reorient ourselves towards God; to examine and reintegrate our lives by focusing on divine rather than human priorities; to plunge into the deep, restorative waters of God’s love and mercy. And we are offered beautiful, ancient tools to help us enter into this gracious season of reflection and preparation—tools of prayerfulness, simplicity and generosity. These weekly reflections are provided as an opportunity to clear some time and space from distractions this Lent and go deeper: deeper into the paschal mystery, deeper into relationship with God, deeper into truth and life.

‘Into the Deep’ weekly reflections in Lent We live in a world that often prioritises the ephemeral and the superficial over more meaningful and enduring values. Countless distractions keep us from candid self-examination or quiet contemplation. In Lent, we are invited to turn away from all that distracts us and to reorient ourselves towards God; to examine and reintegrate our lives by focusing on divine rather than human priorities; to plunge into the deep, restorative waters of God’s love and mercy. And we are offered beautiful, ancient tools to help us enter into this gracious season of reflection and preparation—tools of prayerfulness, simplicity and generosity. These weekly reflections are provided as an opportunity to clear some time and space from distractions this Lent and go deeper: deeper into the paschal mystery, deeper into relationship with God, deeper into truth and life.

‘Into the Deep’ weekly reflections in Lent We live in a world that often prioritises the ephemeral and the superficial over more meaningful and enduring values. Countless distractions keep us from candid self-examination or quiet contemplation. In Lent, we are invited to turn away from all that distracts us and to reorient ourselves towards God; to examine and reintegrate our lives by focusing on divine rather than human priorities; to plunge into the deep, restorative waters of God’s love and mercy. And we are offered beautiful, ancient tools to help us enter into this gracious season of reflection and preparation—tools of prayerfulness, simplicity and generosity. These weekly reflections are provided as an opportunity to clear some time and space from distractions this Lent and go deeper: deeper into the paschal mystery, deeper into relationship with God, deeper into truth and life. Episode 2: The Woman at the Well

Earlier this year Melbourne played host to the National Catholic Social Services Conference. The theme of which was Serving our Communities with Courage and Compassion. During the conference we caught up with the facilitator of the Plenary Council: Lana Turvey Collins.

‘Into the Deep’ weekly reflections in Lent We live in a world that often prioritises the ephemeral and the superficial over more meaningful and enduring values. Countless distractions keep us from candid self-examination or quiet contemplation. In Lent, we are invited to turn away from all that distracts us and to reorient ourselves towards God; to examine and reintegrate our lives by focusing on divine rather than human priorities; to plunge into the deep, restorative waters of God’s love and mercy. And we are offered beautiful, ancient tools to help us enter into this gracious season of reflection and preparation—tools of prayerfulness, simplicity and generosity. These weekly reflections are provided as an opportunity to clear some time and space from distractions this Lent and go deeper: deeper into the paschal mystery, deeper into relationship with God, deeper into truth and life. Episode 2: The Transfiguration

‘Into the Deep’ weekly reflections in Lent We live in a world that often prioritises the ephemeral and the superficial over more meaningful and enduring values. Countless distractions keep us from candid self-examination or quiet contemplation. In Lent, we are invited to turn away from all that distracts us and to reorient ourselves towards God; to examine and reintegrate our lives by focusing on divine rather than human priorities; to plunge into the deep, restorative waters of God’s love and mercy. And we are offered beautiful, ancient tools to help us enter into this gracious season of reflection and preparation—tools of prayerfulness, simplicity and generosity. These weekly reflections are provided as an opportunity to clear some time and space from distractions this Lent and go deeper: deeper into the paschal mystery, deeper into relationship with God, deeper into truth and life. -- Episode 1: Jesus in the wilderness In this first episode, Ria Greene reflects on Jesus’ time in the wilderness. Ria says that the setting for Jesus’ time in the wilderness offers pilgrims of today a way to critically consider and prepare for the season of Lent by examining what it means for us to live in right relationship with God, with one another, and with creation. Ria has worked in Catholic education for more than twenty years, with a focus on religious education and faith formation, but has also worked as a parish catechist and sacraments coordinator, and has completed further studies in religious education and theology. She teaches a senior religious studies class at St Bede’s College, where she is Deputy Principal.

Josh Lourensz by Melbourne Catholic

Jaynie Anderson by Melbourne Catholic

Kevin Meese from Catholic Mission by Melbourne Catholic

Catholic Social Services Victoria’s new Executive Director Joshua Lourensz joined the Melbourne Catholic podcast this week. Josh has worked over the past decade for a range of social service organisations in policy, governance and direct service provision roles, with particular concern for homelessness and issues pertaining to people seeking asylum. He has been National Coordinator of the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum, a broad alliance of Catholic organisations, schools, parishes and individuals co-convened by Jesuit Social Services and Jesuit Refugee Service Australia. In the podcast, Josh discusses his activism and advocacy work, the universal language of music, as well as his experiences working on Manus Island. You can hear Josh, along with many other activists and social justice advocates at CSSV’s upcoming conference Serving Communities with Courage and Compassion on February 26-28.

This week we speak to Marist Brother Michael Callinan Br Michael served most recently on the Marist Mission and Life Formation Team, following nearly twenty years of leadership in the area of Faith Formation in several Marist schools across Australia. Br Michael has been involved in the ACU Campus Ministry team. In early 2018, Australian Catholic University (ACU) embarked on a new Campus Ministry volunteering program for students. The goal of the program was to create faith-inspired students who would be the next generation of Catholic leaders. “The Frontier Evangelising program was launched with the intention of forming faith-inspired student teams that engage and inspire the wider student community,” said Br Michael Callinan. Br Michael talks about his own faith formation and his work as a Marist brother.

This week on the podcast we speak to musicians Gen Bryant & Josh Angrisano. Gen and Josh are two of the country’s most sought after artists, and they recently came together to record their first collaboration—the song “Revive our hearts”—which they co-wrote especially for the Australian Catholic Youth Festival taking place in Perth this week.

Sacred Heart Mission is so much more than their op shops. Since opening their doors in 1982 to share a meal with the most vulnerable members of the community, they have evolved into an independent non-profit organisation renowned for effectively helping thousands of people experiencing homelessness to rebuild their lives. This week on the podcast we speak to Sacred Heart Mission's CEO Cathy Humphrey. Cathy first joined the Mission in 2002 working across various areas of the Mission including in Aged Care, Sacred Heart Central, Women’s Services and the Rooming House Plus Program. Prior to joining Sacred Heart Mission Cathy worked in the disability, community housing, homelessness sector for over 23 years. Cathy currently sits as a director on the board of Council to Homeless Persons.

This week we speak to Rhyannon Elliott from CatholicCare about the work they do in Victoria and the upcoming Refugee Dads and Kids Weekend. The program aims to support refugee and asylum seeker families from all communities, including: Afghani, African, Burmese, Iraqi, Syrian and others. Find out more here: https://www.ccam.org.au/

This week on the podcast we speak to American writer, public speaker, and leadership consultant Chris Lowney

This week we speak to Professor Gerard Bradley from the University of Notre Dame. Gerard is in Melbourne for a Freedom of Religion seminar and joins us on the podcast to discuss his work surrounding the topic and shares his opinions on the recent Israel Folau scandal.

This week on the podcast we speak to Cardinal John Dew, the Archbishop of Wellington. Cardinal Dew speaks about Catholicism in New Zealand, being a "ordinary Kiwi bloke" and his interactions with Pope Francis.

This week we are joined by Karin Clark from the Mary Glowrey Museum and Rachel Naughton from the Melbourne Diocesan Historical Commission to discuss the 'In Their Footsteps' tour of Melbourne and the upcoming exhibition The Invention of Melbourne: A Baroque Archbishop and a Gothic Architect. Find out more here: http://maryglowreymuseum.info/ and https://www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/the-invention-of-melbourne-a-baroque-archbishop-and-gothic-architect/

This week on the podcast we speak to Archbishop Peter A Comensoli and reflect on his first year in Melbourne.