Catholic Outlook Magazine | Lent & Easter | 2023 Issue
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Fr Andrew Bass, Parish Priest of Holy Cross Parish, Granville, celebrates Mass on Christmas<br />
Day 2022 at Holy Trinity Church, Granville. Image: Richard Zaiter/Holy Cross Parish Granville.<br />
A cuppa with the priest<br />
Fr Andrew Bass,<br />
Holy Cross Parish, Granville<br />
STORY MARY BRAZELL<br />
Fr Andrew Bass sees the beauty in the Divine.<br />
His ministry as Parish Priest of Holy Cross<br />
Parish, Granville, since 2015 is focused on the<br />
importance of the liturgy, something he feels his<br />
parishioners respond eagerly to.<br />
“Liturgy, as the Second Vatican Council defined, is<br />
the ‘action of Christ the priest and of His Body which<br />
is the Church’ and ‘is a sacred action surpassing all<br />
others’ (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n.7).<br />
“The liturgy is filled with signs and symbols<br />
all of which portray something more than they<br />
are in themselves, because they reveal to us the<br />
reality of God.<br />
“Often, people are not taught these things and<br />
so they perceive the Mass and other liturgies as<br />
meaningless and empty, but that is because they<br />
have not been shown what it all means. They have<br />
not been given the chance to engage with it, and so<br />
the wonders of it all remain hidden.”<br />
The parishioners of Holy Cross agree. Many have<br />
commented that they feel that now they are not<br />
observers, but active participants at Mass.<br />
“What drew me to his style of ministry was a<br />
willingness to answer questions. If I had a question<br />
such as ‘why does this happen in the Mass?’ or<br />
‘what does this gesture represent?’, he would go<br />
out of his way to explain it,” Parish Business and<br />
Projects Manager John Portelli said.<br />
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