CO_November16

LIFE, MARRIAGE & FAMILY
2016 DIOCESAN FAMILY SUNDAY
‘Family: An Oasis of Mercy’
From the Life, Marriage & Family Office
THE SHRINE OF THE Holy Innocents
at Kellyville provided a wonderful
space for the families who attended
this year’s Family Sunday gathering
to explore the theme of ‘Family: An Oasis
of Mercy’.
With the aid of a Pilgrim Family Prima,
each family could prepare to walk through
the Holy Door at the shrine at the conclusion
of the event and gain a plenary indulgence
for the Year of Mercy. To aid this preparation,
programs for children and adults were run
in parallel.
With the sound of babies crying in
the background, Dr Jim and Genevieve
McCaughan spoke to a packed room of
parents about their experience in raising
11 children and how their family reaches out
to the broader community.
Following afternoon tea, Bishop Vincent
Long OFM Conv gave an address on the
relevance of the Year of Mercy and how this
relates to families. Sr Antonine from the
Missionaries of Charity also spoke about the
charism of St Teresa of Kolkata and shared
some insights into how this can be lived out
in family life.
The children’s program provided the
opportunity for children to really delve
into the works of mercy, exploring how
they may be enacted within the context of
the family and beyond, with the help of our
generous volunteers.
A number of Missionaries of Charity
taught the children about the love of God,
and the resulting acts of charity and mercy
that flow forth from this to our neighbour.
With the sisters in their white and blue,
and the Franciscan friars in their grey, the
children were able to see a beautiful witness
of religious life – undoubtedly one that may
inspire future vocations!
Family Sunday was an opportunity for families in the Diocese of Parramatta to come together to share their faith.
Photos: Art in Images.
Bishop Vincent spoke to the children
about the Jubilee Year of Mercy, about
their families, and on a personal note his
own experience of family life, growing up
and as a refugee.
At the conclusion to the event, the
children helped prepare the crowd for
their passage through the Holy Door
by singing, in three-part harmony, the
beautiful Latin hymn Ubi caritas et amor,
Deus ibi est (Where there is charity and
love, there God is).
With this contemplative beginning,
families proceeded to walk through the
door, greet Our Lord in the tabernacle
and venerate the Mercy Cross and Relics
of St Teresa of Kolkata and our diocesan
patron, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop – a
wonderful opportunity as the Year of Mercy
draws to its close.
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NOVEMBER 2016 CatholicOutlook 3