If synodality is all about walking together, then that is a perfect description of our first retreat experience. On the weekend of the 1st – 3rd of September, we gathered interested women, deacons, their wives, Sisters and a priest to pray and discern together. We listened to each other’s stories of life, faith and ministry.Continue reading “Feasts of the Heart and Soul”
Category Archives: Deacons
Join us on Retreat
Breaking news! The Instrumentum Laboris has just come out this week, which will guide the Agenda of the Synod of Bishops in October 2023. The term ‘diaconate’ is mentioned twice: Our group, the Australian Catholics Exploring the Diaconate, has been preparing a retreat that responds positively to both of those questions. It will be heldContinue reading “Join us on Retreat”
Handing Down the Ministry
Rev. Nicholas Rundle, 11 May 2023 For Rev. Nicholas Rundle, church ministry is in the family. Quite literally, his mother Rev. Beryl Rundle has handed down her example. And now, Nicholas serves others in a spiritual way, with special attention to their hands. That story will come later, but let’s start with some of theirContinue reading “Handing Down the Ministry”
Women and the Permanent Diaconate? Fears and Hopes
Elizabeth Young rsm, 13 April 2023, First published in The Diaconate, National Association of Deacons of Australia Newsletter, March 2023, Issue 7 Along our journey of life, we all have hopes and fears about the future. We hope for a liveable interdependent Earth. We hope for world peace. We fear the growth of inequality andContinue reading “Women and the Permanent Diaconate? Fears and Hopes”
The ‘Religious Dude’ and Much More!
Deacon Mark Kelly, 23 March 2023 From the navy to the power industry to the education system to the Church, Deacon Mark Kelly has had an interesting journey. Yet all of his experiences have made him who he is, and he “absolutely believes” that the Holy Spirit has been involved in spades. After growing upContinue reading “The ‘Religious Dude’ and Much More!”
Liturgy, Word, Service and Funerals Close to the Heart
Sr Stancea Vichie MSS, 2 March 2023 In 2016, Sr Stancea Vichie MSS was in Rome with the International Union of Superiors General, in a meeting with Pope Francis. It was there that the question arose: as women already function effectively as deacons, could they not be ordained like those women in the early Church?Continue reading “Liturgy, Word, Service and Funerals Close to the Heart”
Interview with Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ
Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ, 9 February 2023 Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ, described as the most senior woman in the Vatican, recently made a whirlwind tour of Australia. She gave talks and interviews with many people, and truly represented the synodal Church preparing for the Synod of Bishops gathering in 2023/2024. I was extremely privileged toContinue reading “Interview with Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ”
Diaconal Formation from the Past, for the Future
Sr Patricia Fox RSM, 15 December 2022 Sr Patricia Fox RSM has had a lifetime of education, formation and church leadership. Lately she went digging back into her history, to several years running the Adelaide Archdiocese Ministry Formation Program. It was not a long time, she recalls, but very significant both for her personally andContinue reading “Diaconal Formation from the Past, for the Future”
Serving the Community brings Happiness
Deacon John Cinya, 25 November 2022 Deacon John Cinya has been with people experiencing material poverty and material wealth. Yet he has found that what really brings happiness is connected instead to our spiritual needs. It is grasped by individuals, “but also exercised in the community”. No matter what you have, when you know thatContinue reading “Serving the Community brings Happiness”
Ministry of the Words
Deacon Mick O’Donnell, 17 November 2022 Deacon Mick O’Donnell is a novelist, but his life makes a compelling and inspiring story of its own. Ordained in 1991, he has had 31 years as a permanent deacon and “is still in love with the ministry.” Back in the 80’s, there were few such deacons in AustraliaContinue reading “Ministry of the Words”
Liturgy on the Margins 