Begun in 2008, the biannual awards are named in honour of Cardinal Reginald Delargey (1914-79), a former Bishop of Auckland and Archbishop of Wellington who was noted for his work with young Catholics.

The awards aim to provide recognition for ministry workers and supporters of ministry with young people; to educate the community about ministry with young people; to raise the profile of Catholic ministry with young people, and recognise the place of long-term involvement in Catholic ministry with young people.

Sponsored by the NZCBC, the awards are given in various components of youth ministry, including Advocacy; Justice and Service; Catechesis; Leadership Development; Community Life; Pastoral Care; Evangelisation; Prayer and Worship.

"They are an opportunity to acknowledge those wonderful people in our parishes and dioceses who tirelessly give of themselves in so many different ways," says Siobhan Dilly, NZCBC Executive Officer.

Past Delargey Award Recipients
2004: Gil Price, Auckland, Advocacy; Kevin and Helen Plant, Wellington, Leadership
Development; Fr Peter Fahy, Palmerston North, Community Life
2006: Mary Bennett, Palmerston North, Catechesis; Philippa Pidd, Wellington, Advocacy;
Raylene Dwyer RSM, Christchurch, Leadership Development
2008: Kitty McKinley, Wellington, Justice and Service; Br John Paul Wilson FMS,
Auckland, Evangelisation; Susie Jorgensen, Dunedin, Pastoral Care
2010: Br Doug Dawick FMS, Auckland, Pastoral Care; Tina Shore, Auckland, Pastoral Care; Michael O'Sullivan, Michael Buchanan, Kirsty Campbell, Palmerston North, Pastoral Care
2012: Fr Mark Chamberlain, Dunedin, Community Life and Pastoral Care, Fr Frank Bird SM, Auckland, Leadership Development; Ron Allen, Palmerston North, Leadership Development and Community Life
2014: Linda and Paul Darbyshire, Palmerston North, Pastoral Care; Norma Bellamy, Palmerston North, Pastoral Care
2016: Anne and Andy Lovell, Wellington, Evangelization; Joanne Bell, Dunedin, Catechesis, Prayer and Worship; John Rogers, Wellington, Advocacy
2018: Delphina Soti, Auckland, Justice and Service; Pesamino Tili, Dunedin, Community Life

Nominations close on January 17 2020, with the awards expected to be announced at the Takirua 2020: Shaping the Mission conference in Wellington at Anzac weekend.

Click here for full details and the nomination forms

Further information: Please contact Kate Aduna, NZCBC, admin@nzcbc.org.nz

Source

Supplied: David McLoughlin
Communications Adviser, NZ Catholic Bishops
Te Huinga o nga Pihopa Katorika o Aotearoa

Image: aucklandcatholic.org.nz

She converted to Catholicism at the age of 20 and was chosen by Bishop (later Cardinal) Reginal Delargey in the post-Vatican II years to help establish the Young Christian Students (later Christian Youth Movement).

With the encouragement of Bishop Delargey and inspired by the writings and activities of Cardinal Joseph Cardijn's principles for the lay apostolate - "See, Judge, Act" - Jocelyn became heavily involved in the establishment and training of the emerging lay apostolate movement.

She co-founded and was instrumental in the work of the Catholic Overseas Volunteers Service (COVS) as well as Justice and Peace activities.

Encouraged by Bishops Delargey and Mackey, she established the Lay Training Centre over a period of several years in two houses, where young people flatted together and studied at night and weekends after work, focusing particularly on social justice work.

In 1916 Jocelyn published a collection of poems and reflections on her long life of faith and her journey through her later years of failing health, called "Faith and Reflection". In a foreword to this book the late Bishop John Mackey wrote "Jocelyn has been an icon for those who rejoice in the layperson's work … Now in these poems she reveals the depths and richness of her faith."

In recent years Jocelyn has been a resident at the Little Sisters of the Poor St Joseph's Home, in Herne Bay in Auckland.

"We owe a great debt of thanks and gratitude to Jocelyn for her dedication, vision and missionary zeal. Well done thou good and faithful servant," said the bishop of Auckland Patrick Dunn in a Facebook post.

Her Requiem Mass will be celebrated at St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland on Saturday 12 October.

Rosary and Vigil Prayers at St. Joseph's Home Chapel, Little Sisters of the Poor, 9 Tweed Street, Herne Bay on Friday evening at 7.30 pm.

Source

• Supplied: Lyndsay Freer
• facebook
• nzcatholic.org.nz
• Image: Supplied

Like many other parishes in Boston faced with an ever-worsening clergy shortage, St. Mary of the Angels did not have a priest in residence.

Rather than allowing the creaky 19th-century Victorian estate house that doubled as the church's gathering space to stand empty, the parish made the decision to open the doors to laypeople.

I moved into the parish house and into an anomalous existence: I was a 24-year-old woman living in a Catholic church.

In exchange for my bedroom above the office, I helped clean the church on Saturday mornings and set out the coffee and donuts—a veritable second Eucharist—after Mass on Sundays, dutifully cutting the pastries into quarters in an attempt to feed as many people as possible on the parish's nonexistent budget.

I compiled the church bulletin and taught fifth-grade catechesis and performed a litany of other odd jobs and pastoral tasks.

In return, I was given a rare gift: the chance to experience the life of a parish from the inside out.

St. Mary's was unique in two respects.

First, it was profoundly diverse.

Built in 1906 to serve the Irish and German working class in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, it had, for decades, sustained a vibrant community of African American, Afro-Caribbean, Latino, Southeast Asian, and Euro-American parishioners.

A significant portion was first-generation immigrants. Even more striking were the ties of friendship that united members across boundaries of race and culture.

Second, laypeople were the heartbeat of parish leadership.

People weren't just involved. They were empowered.

In some ways, they had to be.

There was no full-time pastor, and no money to pay a large staff.

But the tradition of collaboration was born of more than necessity.

After Vatican II, St. Mary's established an interracial parish council of laypeople who put forth a bold agenda for change at the once isolated, struggling church.

In 1969, they transferred the church's financial accounts to Boston's only black-owned bank in an act of solidarity with the neighborhood's growing African American community.

Collaborative leadership among the parish's laypeople, religious sisters, priests, and neighbors intensified in the 1970s and '80s, when St. Mary's became the epicenter of community peace-building against a rising tide of youth gang violence.

In 2004, when the Archdiocese of Boston targeted more than 80 churches for closure or consolidation, St. Mary's was one of only a few to successfully protest its shuttering.

Parishioners organized a community campaign to convince the chancery that the parish was too vital to the stability of the neighborhood to close.

St. Mary's was a parish that, as the Jesuits like to say, ruined me for life.

It ruined me for clericalism, for racism, for xenophobia.

Most of all, it convinced me that when it comes to building humble, accountable, inclusive Catholic communities, another world is indeed possible—not in a small, self-selecting alternative community of like-minded individuals, or in the kingdom of God, but in an ordinary city parish here and now.

I thought of St. Mary's as I read James Carroll's provocative cover story in the June issue of The Atlantic.

The piece is a kind of lament, an excoriation of the Catholic Church's capitulation to clericalism.

In theological terms, clericalism—the elevation of ordained persons over the laity—is not only an unintended consequence of history, but also a social sin, an idolization of power perpetuated by a constellation of social structures and cultural practices. Continue reading

• Susan Bigelow Reynolds is Assistant professor of Catholic Studies at Emory's Candler School of Theology
• Image: Emory: Chandler School of Theology

Fr Talipope Vaifale, Elaine Harvey and Marcelles Amiatu were commissioned by Monsignor Bernard Kiely, vicar general of the Catholic diocese of Auckland.

The event was well attended by colleagues who took part in the para-liturgy by handing those being commissioned the symbols of their office.

Interchurch Council for Hospital Chaplaincy (ICHC) Regional Chaplain Rev Julian Perkins read a Gospel passage.

Sr Alei Leilua and Fr Christopher Brady were farewelled. They had served for 5 and for 10 years respectively.

Commending the dedication of the assembled chaplains, Kiely said it seemed to him that running shoes were the necessary footwear for hard-working chaplains.

Even in a hospital setting, they travel great distances to bring comfort and reassurance.

In 1996, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference became a foundation signatory of the Trust that established the ICHC.

At its heart, ICHC is an ecumenical association of major Christian churches who work in collaboration to minister to patients and their families who, because of illness, are required to stay in hospital.

ICHC negotiates with the Ministry of Health on behalf of all member churches and appoints and manages all non-Catholic hospital chaplains.

Catholic appointments are made by each Diocese in collaboration with ICHC.

There is a small number of priests around the country who are permanently assigned to a major hospital; they also have parish duties to fulfill.

All other Diocesan priests are committed to providing 24/7 support for Catholic patients who are in imminent danger of dying.

Most Catholic hospital chaplains are lay-people who have been trained and commissioned by their Bishop to spend time with Catholic patients and their families and pray familiar prayers.

They work in close collaboration with either a designated priest chaplain or a local parish to ensure access to Holy Communion and, where necessary, other Sacraments of the Church.

Catholic lay chaplains are also required to be available for ministry to all patients in the hospital and enjoy a constructive relationship with their non-Catholic colleagues.

"If you or a family member are to be in hospital and would like to be visited by a chaplain, then it is often easier to advise the parish office in advance rather than rely on the hospital notification which is often complicated by Privacy Act considerations," says senior Catholic hospital chaplain Tony Lenton.

He said "People may think that some sacraments of the Church, especially Anointing of the Sick, are reserved for the dying but in fact, they are available to all who wish to prepare spiritually and emotionally for what will be a worrying time. Again, discussion with your parish office is advised."

To contact a hospital Chaplain or to get further information visit: https://www.catholic.org.nz/find-us/chaplancies/#section_72

Source

• Supplied: Tony Lenton

Anniversary celebrations are planned for the weekend of October 13-15 in Christchurch.

On Sunday October 15, an Anniversary Mass will be celebrated by Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Martin Krebs as well as Bishops Owen Dolan and Charles Drennan.

Celebrations will also be attended by representatives of countries with which New Zealand has 'twinning programme' arrangements - Tokelau, Tonga, Sri Lanka and Samoa.

Other international guests will include the Council General and International Representative, Tony Muir, and International Territorial Vice-President, Frank Brassil.

"The weekend will be a wonderful opportunity to give thanks to God for all the blessings the Society has enjoyed over 150 years," says Terry Comber, National President of the Society.

"We remember especially our brother and sister Vincentians on whose shoulders we are standing, those caring people who have gone before us over many decades, carrying out their Vincentian vocation often under very trying conditions."

In addition to the Christchurch celebrations, local Conferences of the Society are also hosting local events and celebrations.

The Society has published a special Anniversary publication to mark this major milestone in its history.
The publication includes a visual timeline of the major milestones in its 150-year history, as well as reports about what local Conferences have been doing around the country.

In his message to Members, Cardinal John Dew said: "the Church in New Zealand and New Zealand Society owes an incredible debt of gratitude to the members of the St Vincent de Paul Society who have worked quietly and humbly to care for others in the name of Jesus.

"I offer deep thanks for the way you have been Christ's presence to those who needed a sign of hope and a gift of love and generosity."

The St Vincent de Paul Society is the largest Catholic lay organisation in the world. It is estimated that the Society's 800,000 members work with around 30 million people in need worldwide.

The first Conference was formed in Christchurch in 1867 and has flourished in Catholic parishes throughout New Zealand since then.

Today the Society has around 6,000 members in New Zealand, including associates and volunteers and 135 Conferences.

Source

• Supplied: Anne-Marie McCarten National Executive Officer St Vincent de Paul Society

"There are a lot of challenges that the missionaries face when they go on missions and the Columban Companions in Mission supports their cause through prayers and other methods," say Father Frank Hoare.

"It is compulsory for those travelling abroad to serve missions to learn the language of that particular country and most of them find it hard leaving the comforts of their homes, adapting to the food and even learning the culture."

The Columban Missionary organisation is a governing body of the Columban Companions in Mission. It is represented in 14 different countries world-wide, with most of its missionaries travelling to Asia, Europe and other continents sharing their faith.

Columban Companions in Mission believe in these goals:

* The responsibility of all Catholics for world mission
* The exchange of faith experiences among local churches
* The challenge of the Gospel vision of justice and peace

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Columban Fathers
• Image: Columban Fathers

"It is directed to all the lay faithful that want to know more about their vocation, about their role within the Church," Ana Cristina Betancourt of the Pontifical Council's Women's Section told CNA in Rome.

"So, it is a way of being in contact with what we do day-to-day and that was our aim in having it, to make more known the things that we do, the reflections that we have, the things that we are thinking about and also the guidelines that the Pope is giving the laity to better live their vocations." Continue reading

"It's time for the Church to open its functions to people who are not only celibate men," Mark Deweerdt, a layman among the 12 priests and parishioners who drew up the document, told Reuters.

More than 6,000 people, including in excess of 200 priests signed a manifesto. They are concerned that fewer priests will lead to larger parishes, a loss of their community identity and an ageing, overworked clergy.

"Big parishes are not the solution," Deweerdt said. "We need people in each local parish to lead it, coordinate activities and be there to speak with people. Parishioners should not have to drive many kilometres to attend Mass."

The manifesto said religiously trained men or women should be allowed to take over these unstaffed parishes.

"We don't understand why these fellow believers should not be able to preside over Sunday services," it said.

Deweerdt said the Belgian group had not asked for lay people to celebrate Mass in place of a priest, a reform proposed by Dutch Dominican theologians in 2007 and promptly rejected by the Vatican.

The Belgian Bishops' Conference has not yet responded to the manifesto, which Dewaardt said would be officially presented to it in about a week or so.

Sources

• FaithWorld
• Image: NY Times

The central theme of this document is this - the Church is to be engaged with the world, it is to be its Gaudium et Spes - its Joy and its Hope. The Church is called to offer the world the Joy and the Hope that Jesus offered.

The Second Vatican Council ended on a supremely optimistic note - the Church throughout the world was booming - in vocations to the priesthood and Religious Life, the Church was steadily expanding in numbers and in influence. It was a political force of some significance in Europe and in the emerging nations of Africa and Latin America.

It was strong and ready to embrace the world and confidently present itself as its Light, especially as it recognised the good already in the world.

The Church had already begun to reach out to Communist governments, confident that it could help the people under Communist rule by lightening the weight of the Communist hammer and sickle.

Millions of Catholic faithful around the world felt a new age of optimism had arrived. The Church would emerge from its ghetto, be renewed within and ready to offer its good news to the world and to be hope and joy especially to the millions of needy, poor and rejected people.

Those were heady days of change, renewal, innovation and enthusiasm.

What happened?

As the Church began to gear up for change, the world suddenly changed radically, unexpectedly, and caused the Church to hesitate a bit as it sought to understand what was going on.

At that very time a huge cultural movement was building up - a revolution in the universities, in politics, in popular culture, in music, and in the area of personal and marital relationships. The young called for freedom. This burst forth in the late '60s proclaiming freedom from entrenched authorities like the State and the Church, and freedom from traditional moral restraints.

Two events encapsulate this revolution, the birth control pill in 1961 and Woodstock in 1969.

The sexual revolution had arrived, trumpeting freedom from the moral restraints of the '50s and earlier. Institutions like the Church were seen to be obstacles to progress.

It was not well understood at the time but this new movement in the world nullified to a great extent the standing and influence of the Church. While the spirit of optimism continued for two more decades, the world which Gaudium et Spes addressed had changed radically and was no longer listening.

We still believe we are called to be the Joy and the Hope of the world, but we cannot be so naive as to think the world is listening any more. The Gospel is as counter-cultural as it has ever been. But let us look at what the Church was and is calling us to do and to be. In particular, what is the role of the layperson.

The message of Gaudium et Spes

This is what Gaudium et Spes has said

• The Church is in solidarity with the whole human family. Its opening words have become famous - "The joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well." (No 1)
• The Church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. (No 4)
• All women and men are made in the image of God and therefore they possess a fundamental dignity that is to be respected.
• Sin has broken the natural order of relationships with one another and with our final destiny. Humanity has been wounded by sin.
• In one's conscience is discovered a law, the difference between right and wrong. It is there, in that sanctuary of their conscience, that we are alone with God and hear His voice.
• People are to be free, free to respond to what they know is right and good. Even those who do not believe in God find within themselves this urge to restore right order among the peoples.
• Because all have been redeemed by Christ and belong to the one human race, we must be considered essentially equal. This equality is the ultimate aim of social justice.
• Because we are members of the human race, we are called to participate in human affairs and transcend individualistic goals for the Common Good.
• The purpose of the Church is not political, nor economic. It is religious. But this religious mission gives commitment, vigour and direction in human affairs. In a sense the Church is the sacrament of the world, a sign and instrument of the union between God and the world. (Nos 42/43)
• "The laity are called to participate actively in the entire life of the Church; not only are they to animate the world with the spirit of Christianity, they are to be witnesses to Christ in all circumstances and at the very heart of the community." (No 3)
• The document has an extensive section on principles of social and economic justice, outlining the ways in which the Church can carry out its mission and how the laity can be witnesses to it.
• The document looks forward to a new era of participation in human affairs and, while recognising the autonomy of political life, it wants to bring the Gospel to the everyday structures and affairs of the whole of humanity.
• The Decree rejects any suggestion that the Church's work is only within the Catholic community. It has rejected the "ghetto" mentality.

What has happened since those heady days?

Has the Church affected human affairs and human culture with its Christian witness? If not, is it because the world has changed so much as to deny the Church access to its life, or have the internal scandals of money, secularity and, worst of all, paedophilia, bled the Church of its power and influence and sent it back to the "ghetto", afraid to raise its head for fear of attack.

I will come back to this later.

Clergy and laity

Strictly speaking, there is no laity. Theologically, the division between priest and lay person does not exist.

Baptism is the Sacrament that gives us a share of Christ's priesthood. At the Baptism ceremony we are called "priest, prophet and king" because we share in Jesus' priesthood, in His prophetic role and His kingship.

We must remember in the words of St Peter that we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood and holy nation, a people set apart" (1 Pet 2:9).

Our union with the Risen Christ is a sharing of His risen life, even His priesthood.

We are an anointed, consecrated people, our Baptism confirmed by the sacred chrism we received at our Confirmation. Baptism gives us a Christian dignity. We are, whether we are conscious of it or not, "temples of the Holy Spirit". We should never forget this mystical and sacred understanding of the baptised person.

Sometimes we forget our Baptismal purification and our Confirmation anointing, but it is true. We are made holy by these sacraments and share a deep intimacy with Jesus the Saviour.

As Jesus had a call from His Father, so we share that same call. It is not enough for us to recognise the awesome dignity that has been given us in sharing the priesthood of Christ: we also need to understand that we have been called to share in Jesus' own mission to return the world to His Father - to defeat the power of evil and exhibit the power of love; in brief, to destroy the Kingdom of Satan and establish the Kingdom of God.

Having said that, there is a sense in which we can make a distinction between priests and laity - we need to, otherwise we will end in confusion.

While we all share in the priesthood of Christ by Baptism, the Sacrament of Holy Orders gives a special participation in the ministerial priesthood of Jesus. The difference is Ordination.

Today, we call those ordained "priests", or to borrow the scriptural terms of the early Church, "presbyters" or "elders". Deacons and Bishops also receive Holy Orders.

Those who have not received this sacrament are referred to, imprecisely, admittedly, as laypeople, or "the lay faithful", to cite Canon Law.

The Second Vatican Council called on the lay faithful to take their full place in the life, the liturgy, and the mission of the Church.

The first two have happened.

Laity in the life of the Church

Laypeople are now drawn into the life and governance of the Church at all levels, starting with the parish. All parishes have, or should have, parish councils and finance committees that help the work of the parish and offer advice to the parish priest. They are active in parish groups of all types. One parish I visited not so long ago had 57 different groups.

People helped the work of the parish in instructing children, preparing couples for marriage, for the Baptism of children. They run Bible study groups and faith groups, social justice groups, social activities, maintenance, fundraising, outreach groups of the poor and evangelisation groups, to name a few.

Even at diocesan level laypeople are drawn into many advisory groups. There are paid positions in finance, planning and other administrative structures.

This is repeated at National and international levels, even in Rome, where more and more lay expertise is being drawn into the Vatican departments which were traditionally run by priests and Bishops. In the 50 years since the Second Vatican Council, there has been a revolution in the involvement of laypeople in the life of the Church.

This is perhaps seen most starkly in the field of education where laypeople run all the primary, secondary and tertiary education in this Archdiocese.

But laypeople head most of the charitable and welfare agencies of the Church and, of course, the huge health and aged care sector.

This University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, is unique in that from its very beginning it has been under lay control. Nearly all other Catholic universities around the world were begun and run by Religious Orders and Congregations. In a true sense, NDA is the fulfilment of a call by the Second Vatican Council for the laypeople to take their rightful place in the Church. They have done so right here.

Laity in the worship of the Church

The second area in which the Second Vatican Council has called for the participation of the people is the Liturgy, or the official Worship of the Church, especially in the Mass.

This, too, has been a revolution.

The farreaching reforms of the traditional Latin Mass have changed the face of the liturgy dramatically. Roles that belonged to the priest were handed back to the people, like the roles of acolyte, reader and cantor.

The ministry of acolyte used to be a "minor Order". I received it as part of my path to the priesthood. So were "lector" or "reader" minor Orders.

Now they are ministries open to laypeople. The priest's role has been, in a sense, purified. He is the celebrant, through Holy Orders, and gives the homily as part of the celebrant's presidential role.

He is not the delegate of the people in this role. He is the icon of Christ in Jesus' role as Eternal High Priest, and is so by ordination.

Mission of laity in the world

It is not enough for the lay faithful to be involved in the life of the Church and in the liturgy of the Church.

The Second Vatican Council asked for much more. In fact, it said that the true lay vocation is not in running the Church but in carrying Christ to the world.

The Pope and the Bishops have the "governance" of the Church and need help to do it, but they cannot abdicate their overseer or Episcopal role.

This is what episcopos, the Greek word for Bishop means - an overseer, one who takes responsibility for good and correct Church governance, in accord with its divine mandate and constitution.

When the Second Vatican Council spoke of the role of the laity, it called them to permeate and improve the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel.

"The characteristic of the lay state", it said, is "life led in the midst of the world and of secular affairs. Laypeople are called by God to make of their apostolate, through the vigour of their Christian spirit, a leaven in the world." (No 2 Apostolicam Actuositatem).

And again:

"The laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can she become the salt of the earth" (Lumen Gentium No 33).

So what are you to do?

You are to build up the Kingdom of God in the world, even now.

God's Kingdom has already begun but it is not and never will be fully complete in this world, only when we see Jesus face to face in heaven.

Nonetheless, it has begun. It began when Jesus proclaimed the arrival of the Kingdom of God in the synagogue in Nazareth, His home town.

It began when Jesus announced that the powers of darkness that held the world in their grip of violence and domination were to be overthrown.

Did not Jesus say: "Now judgement has been passed on this world. Now the Prince of this world is to be overthrown" (Jn 12:34)?

And again, "I have seen Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Lk 10:18)?

It began in Jesus Himself. He achieved in His humanity the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God in His freedom, His courage, His nobility in the face of torture and death, in His perfect obedience to the Will of His Father. He showed in Himself the fullness of God's Kingdom and the defeat of evil.

The foundations of the world of violence, exploitation, sexual dominance, cruelty, and injustice began to crumble at the moment of Christ's triumph over death and sin in His resurrection.

We are not to allow the scandals in the Church, nor the rejection of the Church by some as a result, nor the deafness of the world to the Church's message to stop us.

The world needs Christ, His life, love and teachings. If the Church seems powerless now, this powerlessness makes space for the power of the Holy Spirit to change the face of the earth.

It is our Risen Lord who now asks you to look at the world around you, oppose evil and build a kingdom of peace, justice and love now and not be afraid to do so. The Holy Spirit is with you.

The Kingdom of God in the world will not be complete in your lifetime, but it may be close to completeness in you as you grow, like Christ, in love, in peace, in courage and true inner freedom, the freedom that not even prisons can take away.

So what are you called to do?

You are called to create families of love, neighbourhoods of friendliness and cooperation, workplaces where human dignity is respected, businesses that are honest, relationships that are respectful, not exploitative; in other words, a culture of life and love.

You are called to open your eyes to the reality of evil and seek ways to confront it - evils like the unspeakable horror of children used for pornography, the sexual abuse of children that is unbelievably widespread and found principally in families - I am not joking - the desperate poverty of families unable to cope with the stresses of misfortune, who lack enough money to pay their way, the violence of the streets and in the home, the tragedy of drug and alcohol abuse, the slavery of prostitution and the pain of the lonely and the suicidal.

You are called to act personally as a Christ-bearer, a Christopher, and to act with others who will give you courage, ideas and inspiration.

You go where I cannot go

You must take your faith with you and your love of neighbour wherever you go or work, into Parliament House, the hospitals, the corporations, the shops, the schools, the trades, your neighbourhood, your sporting club, wherever you are.

Jesus calls you to be His witness and bring His love to those who suffer.

This is what the Second Vatican Council has called you to do - not just to sit on Church councils or participate in the Sacred Liturgy, as important as these roles are, but to be in the world in order to purify its culture, to oppose evil and to spread the love of Christ. I cannot do this for you.

Where can you find the formation of mind and soul to do this?

Turn to the pages of the Gospel and Jesus will speak to you. He will say to you, "Be not afraid, it is I. Come to me all you who labour and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest. Give me your two fish and your five barley loaves so I can feed the five thousand. You have not chosen me, I have chosen you. As the Father has sent me so I send you. Remain, abide, in my love. Consider the birds of the air, they do not sow nor gather into barns, yet you are more precious in the eyes of my Father than any of them. Rejoice, I have conquered the world."

In regard to specific training of the mission of the layperson in the world, I am afraid there are few courses to help you.

You may find very little of this in your local parish. Read the Vatican documents on this area of the lay apostolate as there are many. Read the social teachings of the Church which applies faith to social affairs. An excellent Compendium of the Church's social teachings is readily available.

A formidable formation programme struggles but still exists in this Archdiocese that I want to put to you.

It is based on a review of daily life. Small groups critique unjust situations in the light of the Gospel and make a commitment to action.

The steps are summed up in three words - SEE, JUDGE and ACT.

It has already produced strong leaders in public life and needs to be revived again if laypeople are to fulfill their special task in the world, as the Church has asked them to do.

In brief, make the Gospels your study text.

Read about others who have gone before you. Find a group of like-minded friends to talk about all this together.

Live a good life, free of sin, and, most important of all, pray. Speak to Christ as your friend, and then listen.

Carry Him in your heart after Holy Communion, then carry Him into the world.

In your family life, cultivate an awareness of the world around you and help your children to understand that they too are called to make a difference in the world, when they grow to maturity, in order to build up the sort of world that Jesus wants.

Sources

• The Record
• Image: The Record