THE Year of Grace was officially launched in the Sandhurst  Diocese at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo, on Pentecost Sunday, May 27.

Bishop of Sandhurst Leslie Tomlinson said in his homily, that during the Year of Grace “we are called to give witness to Jesus in the world, not through following a program but rather through a frame of mind that will influence us in daily life, as we contemplate the face of Christ.”

“The Bishops of Australia have dedicated this next 12 months a Year of Grace, calling all of us in the course of our daily lives and in our involvement with Church to be conscious of the grace which surrounds us, the heightened awareness of God’s blessings in our lives, and to give gratitude for the way that God sustains us day by day,” he said.

He said the Year of Grace was not a structured program and called on parishioners across the Diocese to take part by placing the Year of Grace prayer (available in parishes and printed right) prominently in their homes, and to pray it often.

“Jesus’ mission was to proclaim God’s love to the world,” he said. “Let the whole of our undertaking, the whole of our activity as members of the Church be put under  the scrutiny which asks, ‘How does this witness the mission of Jesus to the world?’”

“The Year of Grace invites us to become more and more aware through our prayer of the presence of Christ in our lives and in the way we are blessed through that continuing presence.”

Sandhurst Diocese Year of Grace co-ordinator Margaret Mary Flynn lit a specially blessed candle at the Pentecost Mass, which she had brought back from a Year of Grace Co-ordinators’ Conference when they met in Sydney last month.

Margaret Mary met with co-ordinators of the Year of Grace from every Australian Diocese in Sydney on May 7-8 to share resources and discuss plans and progress for the roll-out of the Year of Grace in their dioceses. The gathering coincided with the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Monday 7 was a working day, with lots of fruitful and inspiring discussions and meetings. It was an opportunity to contribute feedback on the webpage, www.yearofgrace.catholic.org.au, and to pick up great new resources and ideas to bring back to our dioceses.

On the Tuesday, the group visited the tomb of Mary McKillop and had an opportunity to pray there before the Bishops joined them for Mass.

The eighth day of every month is  kept specially by many people at St Mary’s shrine, so the beautiful chapel was packed as the Bishops proceeded in and took their places.

The main celebrant was Archbishop Coleridge of Brisbane. 

Each co-ordinator was called to receive a Year of Grace candle to take back to their diocese as a visible symbol of the Australian Church’s commitment to a year of prayer and faithful following of Jesus.

The Year of Grace is not about doing – it is about being. It is to start afresh from Christ, to spend time with him in prayer, liturgy and scripture.  It is to respond to Blessed John Paul’s call to “put out into the deep.”

By Margaret-Mary Flynn
Year of Grace Co-ordinator