The Year of Grace – a nation-wide initiative of the Australian Catholic Bishops – will run from Pentecost this year (May 27) to Pentecost 2013.
It is  not a program; it is actually a push to do less, but to do what we do with more depth!
It’s about learning to see God’s presence in all that we do, how to become more prayerful and hone our spiritual side.  It’s about “starting afresh from Christ”,  the motto the Bishops have chosen.
It’s hoped it might be almost a year-long “retreat”, like walking the Camino – a journey back to basics.

Archbishop Mark Coleridge, inviting the whole Church of Australia to join the Bishops in this year of prayer describes the Year of Grace as “A holy time, given by God, to start afresh from Christ,  contemplating his face, and listening to his word, that he may heal our wounds, overcome all our divisions and make us rich in hope, so that we may show forth his face and speak his word to the world in new ways”.

Parishes have been invited to join this journey of prayer through the Year of Grace  brochure,  distributed earlier this year, and available from the Year of Grace  office at the Chancery.

The Year of Grace  website www.yearofgrace.catholic.org.au, is up and running, and material and resources will be added as the Year is launched and then progresses.
Meetings are already underway in the Diocese to work out the next steps on a Parish and school level.  Be prepared for more information and resources to become available as the plans for the year unfold.

It is hoped that by Pentecost 2013, the Catholic Church people of Australia will have found a refreshed and renewed faith that’s established on an   awareness of Grace – God’s presence in our everyday lives.

By Glen Avard
Colbinabbin