He is Risen! The darkness of the Church at the Easter Vigil was brought alive by the light of the Paschal candle. On this night of all nights we celebrated the glory of Christ’s resurrection. It is a ceremony rich in symbolism and joy. Having experienced and remember the Passion story through Holy Week our hearts burn with joy and excitement. Our hope is renewed as we recognise that Jesus resurrected lives with us. This annual celebration of the Lord’s resurrection is one of our earliest. It goes back to the first generation of Christians. In fact for the first …
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Our journey of change culminates now from learning like the women at the well, to understanding like the blind man who received his sight, and from understanding to change like Mary, Martha and Lazarus. These events are indelibly written to our hearts that will result in transformation of heart mind and soul and body, like Jesus as transfigured. We will become a new creation, like a new butterfly exiting the chrysalis, ready for its journey of life. As Jesus makes his triumphal entry, there is a foreboding of the sacrifice to come. How quickly the crowds attitude will change in …
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Charles Plumb, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!” “How in the world …
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Lent is a season to retreat from what is normally the frantic pace of life to pause, take stock and restore or develop good habits. There are many things that we as Catholics do during the season of Lent. These practices are not about us and doing things (or not doing things) to check off a list. We do them to open ourselves up to God and help us to be missionary disciples of Jesus. Practices are divided into three ‘types’. Fasting is one of the Lenten practices. Catholics over the age of 7 and under 60 are required …
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Akl Catholic Justice Peace Commission media release on 2020 Budget
NEWS RELEASE 1 May 2020 Dr Kevin Shore has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of the NZ Catholic Education Office, replacing Mr Paul Ferris QSM, who is retiring at a date to be set later this year. Dr Shore will be Chief Executive of both NZCEO and the Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools (APIS). Dr Shore is currently the Principal of St Peter’s College, Palmerston North, and previously Principal of Cullinane College, Whanganui. He has a Doctorate of Education, a Masters in Educational Administration, a Post Graduate Diploma in Technology Education; and an NZ Civil Engineering Certificate …
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FRIDAY 13 MARCH 2020 URGENT UPDATE issued by the NZ Catholic Bishops under the advice of Fr John O’Connor, Acting Director, National Liturgy Office. Tēnā koutou katoa friends The National Liturgy Office and NZ Catholic Bishops have received important new advice today from the Ministry of Health. This advice specifically says we should desist with “the sharing of communion cups and shared holy water, and hand shaking.” Having received this, we are now updating our previous advice on these matters. We now ask that: At the Sign of Peace, people should avoid shaking hands or other contact with one another, …
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12th March 2020 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Aotearoa New Zealand, At this time in particular we feel the powerful call to be people of peace. This beautiful concept is foundational in all religions, and in our shared Abrahamic tradition it is richly expressed through words such as Salaam and Shalom. If we allow it, the call to peace crosses all divides and draws not only our thoughts and actions towards non-violence, but also our hearts and prayers towards God. It is at such times as this that as people of faith we particularly consider what it means to be …
Read More about New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Interfaith Relations reflects on the tragedy of 15 March in Christchurch last year