It makes God-sense at the Stable

Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, 7 December 2023

Recently, Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green OSPPE, was, literally, celebrating Confirmations at the back o’Bourke in outback New South Wales. The day was 46 degrees, and everyone was melting. In the evening he was scheduled to go to Wanaaring – an even more remote locality – for 5pm Mass. The Bishop was told that for various reasons, most parishioners had cancelled, and only 2 were planning to come. The people in Bourke suggested that he cancel too. After all, Mass would be in a corrugated iron hall that amplified the heat. But no, the Bishop decided, for even these two people he would travel to Wanaaring.

A 2 hour drive later, the Bishop was setting up for Mass when a car drove up. It was one of the parishioners who had said she wasn’t coming. Yet at 81 years of age she had driven nearly 3 hours from her station on unsealed roads. When the Bishop asked what she was doing there, she said, “I just needed to come to Mass today.” So they celebrated together, with 4 parishioners in the end. After a “beautiful supper”, they all went home, the woman travelling back through the darkness of the night on the dirt.

This story is a perfect example of Bishop Columba’s ministry. For him, it reminds him of Jesus’ words: “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt 18:20) His sacramental ministry is “so important” and “has a very deep meaning” for people that have little access throughout the year. For him to travel all that way “is not natural, it is crazy. It doesn’t make economic sense, but it makes God-sense.” And it made God-sense for the woman, who came away nourished and refreshed. The Bishop knew that he was meant to be there.

In his own life, Bishop Columba has experienced the power of liturgy and that “the Mass matters on all different levels”. He grew up in Forbes, a farming town in the west of NSW. Following his mother, a music teacher, young Murray (as he was called then), learned organ and by year 10 was playing at several different churches each Sunday. He joined the Royal School of Church Music and would go on “organ crawls” with friends around the Central West. Murray would also daydream about different scenarios for his future that included working, family life and priesthood. But after a while he realised that in every scenario except the priesthood, he was the same young age. In his priestly dreams, however, he was all ages. This prompted him to discern his vocation and he had a look at a few religious orders.

In 1997, he was ordained a priest in the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit, taking on the religious name of Columba. His first posting was to a small town of 300 people called Tarcutta. It contained a tiny church with no musicians, so Fr Columba had to start from scratch. With his musical background and the Order’s strong liturgical charism, he got to work. Fr Columba would lead the first hymn and find good reflection music on CDs. He also found beautiful vestments to try to “lift the whole thing a little bit more.” In all his small rural placements, he would “do what I can to make it a special liturgy to befit an encounter with the Divine.”

Columba was then ordained a Bishop in 2014 for the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes, his home territory. This position has brought even more opportunities for ministry with people in isolated areas that he loves. From this vantage point, the Bishop sees the value in the diaconate as a real ministry of service and presence. While this may sound simple, he says, “If we could do it properly, we’d have to build a lot of new churches!” To be truly part of the community involves giving up something of ourselves. “Having that presence to people at the least is a great inspiration. At its best it is a model, a witness to really being Christ to other people.”

And of course it involves liturgy. “That is the beautiful thing about liturgy here. It doesn’t matter if it is in the Cathedral or wherever, but it is the same praise of God. The palace and the stable. Our Lord came to the stable, and it is extremely fulfilling to do that.” Bishop Columba reflects on his eventual retirement and how he will look back on life. “These are the things that I remember and will have the greatest impact. I’ve done a few special things in the Church in my life, but nothing tops that.” Thank you, Bishop, for your love for people and ministry on the margins.

Prayer Network