8 <strong>Catholic</strong><strong>Outlook</strong> <strong>October</strong> <strong>2011</strong>BISHOP ANTHONY FISHER’S HOMILYSRE Mass for the Confraternity of Christian Doctr<strong>in</strong>eSt Patrick’s Church, Blacktown, 9 September <strong>2011</strong>Does be<strong>in</strong>g a Christian make anydifference to the way we live? Afterall, don’t many non-Christians, evennon-believers, live just as good livesas many Christians? If someth<strong>in</strong>gis good, it is surely good for everyhuman be<strong>in</strong>g, not just Christians orany one particular group.Yet when St Paul talks today ofhis experience of conversion (1Tim 1:1-2, 12-14), it is clear thatfor him it meant the completeupside-down<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong>side-out<strong>in</strong>g ofhis worldview and values. “I usedto be a blasphemer and a persecutorof Christians,” he says, “but thegrace of Our Lord filled me withfaith and love”; hav<strong>in</strong>g been shownmercy I now preach and teach thatmercy myself.For St Paul, one of the firstChristian catechists, the Damascusexperience was so radical he wouldspend the rest of his years talk<strong>in</strong>gabout leav<strong>in</strong>g beh<strong>in</strong>d the oldman and putt<strong>in</strong>g on the new; be<strong>in</strong>gliberated from an old way of lifeand embrac<strong>in</strong>g the new one; be<strong>in</strong>ggrafted on to Christ, imitat<strong>in</strong>gChrist, liv<strong>in</strong>g through Christ andwith Christ and <strong>in</strong> Christ; be<strong>in</strong>g,if needs be, a fool for Christ bythis world’s standards. For Paulthis meant confront<strong>in</strong>g law-abid<strong>in</strong>gJews and philosophically m<strong>in</strong>dedpagans, as well as young Christianswith the radically good and radicallynew Good News.Yet if we Christians do havesometh<strong>in</strong>g different to offer, weneed not deny the wisdom <strong>in</strong> otherreligious traditions or <strong>in</strong> the naturalmorality of human be<strong>in</strong>gs, some ofwhich we can draw upon ourselvesand much of which is the commonground upon which we live andwork with people of all sorts.Once the foundation of Christianfaith was laid, St Paul himself didnot hesitate to build up humannorms and virtues <strong>in</strong> his newChristians. Though he thoughtJesus’ Way was someth<strong>in</strong>g verynew, he readily assimilated whateverwas true from the heritage ofthe peoples he taught.Of course, <strong>in</strong> some ways his taskwas easier than ours. At least thesurround<strong>in</strong>g cultures were essentiallyreligious. Everyone believed<strong>in</strong> God, perhaps too many gods, <strong>in</strong>the afterlife, <strong>in</strong> the requirement topray and live a good life.In our contemporary culture, onthe other hand, God is marg<strong>in</strong>alisedand much of what is offered<strong>in</strong>stead for our valu<strong>in</strong>g is unhelpful,even harmful. The messagescom<strong>in</strong>g from our <strong>in</strong>dustries, polities,academies and media can becorrupt; the reign<strong>in</strong>g ideologies ofconsumerism, <strong>in</strong>dividualism andrelativism wrong-headed; the practicesof the age hard-hearted orsoft-headed, such as credit beyondour means, consumption beyondour credit, sex and drugs as recreations,<strong>in</strong>appropriate <strong>in</strong>carcerationof some troublemakers anddetention of some strangers. Andso Christians today are <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>glycounter-cultural, contra mundum,as this world goes.Yet we are never really aga<strong>in</strong>stthe culture or aga<strong>in</strong>st the world,because we adore the Maker of ourworld and Lord of our history, andwe appreciate all He has given us,<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g our natural environmentand human achievements, the greatphilosophies and <strong>in</strong>stitutions, technologiesand traditions, the familyand workplace and community.If Christians greet the world witha critical m<strong>in</strong>d and the eyes of faith,it is so they can live well <strong>in</strong> theworld, not escape from it, and purifythat world and br<strong>in</strong>g it to God.True Christian morality, weknow, has a profound and persuasiveecho <strong>in</strong> the heart of everyperson, believer and non-believeralike, because it marvellously fulfilsour heart’s desires while <strong>in</strong>f<strong>in</strong>itelysurpass<strong>in</strong>g them.Even <strong>in</strong> the midst of difficultiesand uncerta<strong>in</strong>ties, every persons<strong>in</strong>cerely open to the truth can, byBishop Anthony with the recipients of certificates of 10 years’ service to SRE, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g student SREs represent<strong>in</strong>gCarol<strong>in</strong>e Chisholm College, which has been <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> SRE for 10 years. Photo: Alphonsus Fok & Grace Luthe light of reason and the hiddenaction of grace, comes to recognisewhat is right. And so however muchsome people differ from us andsometimes persecute us, Christians<strong>in</strong> the end have no enemies, excepts<strong>in</strong> and death.Other people, however misguided,are still the image of God forus, still <strong>in</strong>tended by God to be ourneighbours, friends, brothers andsisters, fellow sa<strong>in</strong>ts.There are, dare I say, only tworeligions – <strong>Catholic</strong>s and still-tobe-<strong>Catholic</strong>s– and the still-to-be’sare like catechumens with their footalready <strong>in</strong> the door, already jo<strong>in</strong>edto us, as long as they are seek<strong>in</strong>gthe truth with a s<strong>in</strong>cere heart andliv<strong>in</strong>g as good a life as their lightsreveal to them.So why bother with evangelisationand catechesis and SREand the rest? Aren’t all beliefsequally worthy and all moralsequally s<strong>in</strong>cere? If those without<strong>Catholic</strong> faith can be saved, isn’tignorance bliss? Shouldn’t we justleave them to their own devices,to follow their own lights and f<strong>in</strong>da path for themselves?To which Paul might answer thismorn<strong>in</strong>g: how could you know thegrace and peace and mercy of Godthe Father, how could you experiencethe faith and hope and love ofChrist Jesus His Son, and not wantto share them with others?Can ignorance of God and Hisways, of His plan for humanityand His providential care, of HisIncarnate Son and His redeem<strong>in</strong>gfriendship, of His Holy Spiritand His spiritual gifts, of His HolyChurch and her Word and sacraments:can ignorance of such th<strong>in</strong>gsbe bliss? Surely such ignorance is adeprivation, a terrible loss?And so, says Paul this morn<strong>in</strong>g,God chooses people, sometimesthe most unexpected people, andcalls them <strong>in</strong>to His service, andgives them the faith and hope andlove they need to pass on the faith.At World Youth Day <strong>in</strong> Madrid,which I was privileged to attendwith nearly 300 young people fromthe Diocese of Parramatta, the Popeconfronted the post-modern question:Do we really need foundationsfor our lives? He observed that“There are many who … believethey need no roots or foundationsother than themselves. They take itupon themselves to decide what istrue or not, what is good and evil,what is just and unjust; who shouldlive and who can be sacrificed <strong>in</strong>the <strong>in</strong>terests of other preferences;leav<strong>in</strong>g each step to chance, with noclear path, lett<strong>in</strong>g themselves be ledby the whim of each moment.”Christians, the Holy Fatherargued, have an alternativeapproach to life. We know “thatwe have been created free, <strong>in</strong> theimage of God, precisely so thatwe might be <strong>in</strong> the forefront ofthe search for truth and goodness,responsible for our actions; notmere bl<strong>in</strong>d executives, but creativeco-workers <strong>in</strong> the task of cultivat<strong>in</strong>gand beautify<strong>in</strong>g the workof creation.”“God is look<strong>in</strong>g for a responsible<strong>in</strong>terlocutor, someone who can dialoguewith Him and love Him,” thePope cont<strong>in</strong>ued. “Through Christwe can truly succeed and, established<strong>in</strong> Him, we give w<strong>in</strong>gs to ourfreedom. Is this not the great reasonfor our joy? Isn’t this the firmground upon which to build thecivilisation of love and life, capableof humanis<strong>in</strong>g all of us?”This is the task of the CCDand its SRE teachers: br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>gresponsible <strong>in</strong>terlocutors to God,young people with big questions,search<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong>ds and open hearts,lay<strong>in</strong>g foundations for their livesand giv<strong>in</strong>g w<strong>in</strong>gs to their freedom,so they might build withChrist a civilisation of life andlove for Western Sydney. What anexcit<strong>in</strong>g project is yours! Thanksbe to God for your contributionto that adventure.
Photos:Alphonsus Fok& Grace LuRecipients of the Papal Bless<strong>in</strong>g for 20 years’ service to SRELEFT: Beryl Foster presents Bishop Anthony and CCD Director PaulWorth<strong>in</strong>gton with a special award for the Silver Jubilee of theDiocese. RIGHT: Myrtle Rodricks from Doonside – 45 years’ service<strong>Catholic</strong><strong>Outlook</strong> <strong>October</strong> <strong>2011</strong> 9Build<strong>in</strong>g a civilisation of love and lifeBishop Anthony Fisher OP wasthe pr<strong>in</strong>cipal celebrant for theannual Mass for the Confraternityof Christian Doctr<strong>in</strong>e (CCD)at St Patrick’s Church,Blacktown, on 9 September.The <strong>Catholic</strong> Diocese ofParramatta now has more than1,000 Special Religious Educators(SREs) and helpers who undertakethis vital m<strong>in</strong>istry to <strong>Catholic</strong>students <strong>in</strong> state schools.After the Mass, BishopAnthony presented a number ofservice awards, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g a 10years’ service award to Carol<strong>in</strong>eChisholm College at GlenmorePark, a systemic secondaryschool whose senior studentshave jo<strong>in</strong>ed parish SRE teams.The <strong>in</strong>volvement of the college<strong>in</strong> SRE began 12 years ago <strong>in</strong>the fast-grow<strong>in</strong>g suburb ofGlenmore Park, before Padre PioParish had been established.Veronica Sultana, who wasParish Coord<strong>in</strong>ator at St Nicholasof Myra Parish <strong>in</strong> Penrith,said at least six additionalSREs were needed with twopublic schools set to open.“Our Parish Priest, Fr WimHoekstra, gave me the go-aheadto contact Carol<strong>in</strong>e ChisholmCollege to ask if some of thesenior girls would be will<strong>in</strong>gto take up the call to be SREsat Glenmore Park Primary,which was with<strong>in</strong> walk<strong>in</strong>gdistance of the college.“The Pr<strong>in</strong>cipal, Anne Wenham,gave her support and an expressionof <strong>in</strong>terest was distributed to allYear 11 students. The girls wereprovided with <strong>in</strong><strong>format</strong>ion aboutSRE to help them make a decision,and a tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g session scheduledto help them to understand whatwas <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> teach<strong>in</strong>g SRE.”Veronica said Glenmore ParkPrimary had a large number of<strong>Catholic</strong> students, and <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>itialyear it was decided to provide SREto K<strong>in</strong>dergarten, Years 1 and 2.“We had 30 girls take up thecall to teach SRE. The experiencefor them was well worth theeffort, and their call to help thelocal community <strong>in</strong>valuable.”One of the first students <strong>in</strong>the program was Renee Cutajar(nee Capolupo), now marriedwith two children. Renee saidshe thoroughly enjoyed theexperience of teach<strong>in</strong>g SRE.“We couldn’t wait to walk downto the public school to share thistime with the younger students.The walk back was just as excit<strong>in</strong>gas we would discuss <strong>in</strong> every detailwhat took place that afternoon.“Ever s<strong>in</strong>ce I can remember, Iwanted to be a school teacher.I thought this experiencewould not only give me an<strong>in</strong>sight <strong>in</strong>to teach<strong>in</strong>g but also<strong>in</strong>to teach<strong>in</strong>g Religion.“I was accepted <strong>in</strong>to theAustralian <strong>Catholic</strong> University’sBachelor of Teach<strong>in</strong>g coursewhere I majored <strong>in</strong> Theologyand have been teach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a<strong>Catholic</strong> school for six years.”Today, 52 students fromCarol<strong>in</strong>e Chisholm Collegeteach at Glenmore Park Primary.Students from St Dom<strong>in</strong>ic’sCollege at Penrith jo<strong>in</strong>ed theSRE ranks n<strong>in</strong>e years ago and areteach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> three state schools.St Columba’s High School <strong>in</strong>Spr<strong>in</strong>gwood provides four stateprimary schools with Easter andChristmas assemblies. “Theygive the children an experienceof love and faith by expla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>gthe holy season <strong>in</strong> a way thathelps them understand theGospel message,” Veronica said.<strong>Catholic</strong> schools currentlyparticipat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the SRE program<strong>in</strong> our Diocese are: XavierCollege, Loyola Senior HighSchool, Patrician Brothers’College, McCarthy <strong>Catholic</strong>College, Carol<strong>in</strong>e ChisholmCollege, St Dom<strong>in</strong>ic’s College,and St Columba’s High School.Veronica Sultana is nowthe Regional Coord<strong>in</strong>ator forthe Mounta<strong>in</strong>s Deanery.
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