Scripture Scholar, Very Rev. Dr Brian Boyle EV, shares a reflection on the Readings of Easter Sunday.

"The readings for Easter Sunday invite us to reflect particularly on the theme of participation. We listen to one another and in doing so open ourselves to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. All of us by virtue of our Baptism are qualified to contribute to this process of listening."

It’s a modern-world irony that the custom of giving eggs, symbols of the Risen Christ, at Easter has become a commercialised practice that can bring short-term joy to some, while possibly seriously harming others, and causing long-term harm to our environment.

As Catholics, we know that purchasing is always a moral act, and want to make ethical purchases, but how can we know a good egg when we see one?

The Chair of Catholic Social Services Australia, Francis Sullivan,  has weighed in on the Federal Budget, staying that the budget does not address long-term systemic problems.   “The  ‘us and them’ divide has never been more obvious and the lack of leadership never more glaring,”  he writes.  

The Association for Supervised and Clinical Pastoral Education in Victoria will conduct a part-time unit in the second semester of 2022.

CPE is one of the most highly recognised programs of supervised education for provision of spiritual and pastoral care and is rarely available outside the metropolitan area. It carries extensive credit in tertiary religious and theological study programs. It is highly recommended for anyone contemplating working in pastoral or spiritual care especially in a professional role, or in a volunteer capacity, and for those working in other helping professions.

New to our Diocese, Fr Jophin Joy is a Holy Spirit Father originally from Kerala, India.  He joins priests from his community, Fr Vijay Bandanadam, Fr Shibu Pezhumthottathil and Fr Uday Marenini to serve in Sandhurst where he is Assistant Priest at St Brendan's Shepparton.  

Fr Jophin introduces himself and shares some thoughts about his mission in Sandhurst. 

Fr Uday Marneni is serving as Assistant Priest at Wodonga.  He's a priest of the Apostolic Life Community of Priests in the Opus Spiritus Sancti based in Hyderabad, India, known as the Holy Spirit Fathers.  Fr Uday joins fellow priests from his community, Fr Vijay Bandanadam, Fr Shibu Pezhumthottathil and Fr Jophin Joy, to serve in the Diocese of Sandhurst. 

Fr Uday introduces himself.  

As the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine escalates, Jesuit Mission’s Ukraine Emergency Appeal is contributing to deliver 24/7 vital services on the ground to people in need.

With over 10 million civilians displaced, including over 3.6 million refugees fleeing Ukraine, Fr Marius Talos SJ, Director of JRS Romania and partner of Jesuit Mission, is welcoming an intake of refugees like never before. “The first need is to welcome these people,” he said.