Lent Program 2012 - Living Faith (Lenten Program - Diocese of Wollongong Book 7)

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The shorter daily reflections have been written by 17 fantastic clergy, religious and lay contributors from around the world.

Sally Harrison (Author of Legends, Volume 5)

We have now included a sample of each of the psalms. Click the listen now button below. We have intentionally kept the bulk-pricing cost as low as possible to encourage parishes, schools and communities to buy the book on behalf of their communities. If you have any questions, or if you would like to place a phone or email order, please contact us on 02 or email us at orders dow. Please note, if you live in the Diocese of Wollongong, please check with your parish, school, agency or religious order before ordering as they may be ordering copies on your behalf.

Happy New Year and welcome to ! We are also excited to let you know that we are making some changes to Faith Circles which we hope will assist you in going deeper in your relationships with God and one another. As the use of Alpha continues to grow in the Diocese of Wollongong as well as other dioceses around Australia, we are transforming Faith Circles into a post- Alpha Connect Group resource. Whilst retaining key components of the original resource, the new Faith Circles-Connect will become the ideal post- Alpha resource for continuing to build and develop strong community and faith relationships with God and one another.

A greater focus on group members sharing their personal faith story and relationship with Jesus. Evidence has shown that the more we are able to share the story of our relationship with God, the stronger and deeper our relationship with him becomes. We draw encouragement from hearing ourselves naming God's presence in our lives and hearing how God has been present and active in the lives of others. We have therefore taken out the reflection by Pope Francis and replaced it with an opportunity for a group member to prepare a short 5—7 minute sharing on how the Gospel reading connects with their life and relationship with Jesus.

We will continue to base the resource on the weekly Sunday Gospel reading and include points for discussion and prayer. During the Lenten season you might also like to use our Lenten Program- Surrender, which also includes short daily reflections from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday in addition to the longer-form Sunday Gospel reflections, spiritual direction, gospel readings, responsorial psalms, prayers and reflection questions that are traditionally part of the Lenten program for groups. It is an ideal resource for deepening your prayer and reflection during this most special and transformative time.

Copies can be purchased from our online shop dowshop. If you know someone who would like to receive Faith Circles-Connect , ask that they sign up at faithcircles. As a post-Alpha initiative, Connect Groups are easy to begin-just keep meeting fortnightly with your fellow Alpha participants. You gather for some food, discussion and prayer. Faith Circles-Connect gives you the format and reflection questions to assist in these fortnightly gatherings.

For those who have not participated in Alpha yet , starting a small faith sharing group using Faith Circles-Connect remains easy. Just get two or more people keen to share faith and life and pick a time and a place to regularly meet. Sign up for our emails and we will send it to you, for free! You can then print the handout or maybe just read it straight off a smart-phone or tablet! Connect Groups are where those who have completed Alpha go to connect and to grow.

Connect groups are for building and nurturing relationships with Jesus and one another. They are small to mid-size groups that retain the key ingredients of Alpha, especially sharing food, praise and worship and small group sharing. At each Connect Group gathering, a member of the group shares how a Scripture reading connects with their life and relationship with Jesus.

Time is then given for small group sharing followed by prayer with and for one another. Through Connect Groups, the parish ensures that all parishioners are known individually, loved, nurtured and cared for. All Christians are called to work and pray for the complete visible unity that Christ desires for his Church. The use of Candles in the Church comes, not from Jewish worship of the Old Testament, but from the Romans where they were used not only for necessary lighting but also for veneration of the gods, of the dead and of the emperor. From the earliest Christian times, candles were used for evening prayer.

They were also used in funeral processions and burned at the tombs of the dead, especially of the martyrs from the 3rd century ; and lighted before relics of the saints and sacred images 4th-5th centuries. From the same period, candles in great numbers were used to give splendour in churches and particularly around the high altar. From the 7th century there is evidence of candles being used at Mass. They were borne in procession to the altar, carried for the chanting of the Gospel, and placed around the altar.

Only in the 11th century did they make their appearance on the altar itself, a feature which became obligatory in the 17th century. The Church requires that candles used for liturgical purposes be made of pure beeswax. Their symbolism, evocative of the light of Christ, is most in evidence at the Easter proclamation, when the Church is in darkness and the people's candles are lit from the Paschal candle, which is itself lit from the blessed Easter fire.

There is an ancient custom of Church candles being blessed on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord - "Candlemas", which falls each year on February 2nd. The Sign of the Cross is an ancient, prayerful action, made with the right hand moving from forehead to breast and from left to right shoulder, while reciting the following words, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts, which we are about to receive from your bounty.

Through Christ our Lord. Holy God, source of all goodness you show us in Mary MacKillop, a woman of faith who lived by the power of the cross. Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy; for your mercy and for your truth's sake. Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; in forgiving that we are forgiven; and in dying that we are born to eternal life.

O Almighty, everlasting God, eternal salvation of those who believe, hear our prayers on behalf of your ailing servants for whom we implore the aid of your mercy, that with health restored to them, they may offer thanksgiving to you. Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy.

Hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you do we cry , poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, your eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Here is a link to some additional Catholic Prayers. The Church teaches that men and women are equal in dignity. The call to holiness is universal but the paths and means of following this call are different. Women and men are called to be leaven in the world in their daily lives, whatever job, service or hobbies they have.

This can be achieved through building holy marriages and raising families or for some people consecrated life. The role of women in the Church varies, some are mothers, others are consecrated sisters, some stay at home and others work — all these roles are for the life and service of the Church - much like men called to fatherhood, consecrated life or priesthood. Despite the pope's statements, and his acknowledgement that the Church and society has not always defended women's interests, some women continue to feel that the Church has been slow to review her own structures and the actions of her own people in making this teaching a reality.

While Catholics are invited to also participate in Mass on other days, Sunday is the day set down for the whole Church since the first Christians for the celebration of the Eucharist. In our pamphlet pdf Why go to Mass? Anna shares her story: Faith always has something to do with others. Your presence and participation at Mass is a source of life both to you and to the others whom you share with.

The celebration of Sunday Mass in your parish would be the poorer if you were not there. Of course there may be an occasion when it is not possible to attend Mass on Sunday for example, if you were flying internationally and in transit.

At this time it would be appropriate to attend Mass on Monday or Tuesday instead. The Scriptures are a gift from God. Through Scripture, God meets people with great love and speaks tenderly with them. The word of God in Scripture is not simply marks on paper; it is living and active when it is proclaimed in worship, or meditated on in quiet prayer.

Christians believe that God communicates to people through the Bible. The Catholic Church affirms and proclaims that, through inspired writers, God is the author of the Bible. The Bible reveals truth because it has been written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is when we respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, working in our heart and mind, that the Word of God becomes active in our life.

In Sacred Scripture God speaks to us through words that were written at a particular time and place and had an original purpose. To understand the message contained in Scripture there is a need to be aware of what the sacred authors' intentions were at the time they were writing. Factors to keep in mind include major historical events like wars or invasions and the language and culture of both the author and the original audience.

As we know written information is presented in a variety of styles. Poetry and songs are different to stories, or historical accounts. A passionate Hebrew prophet calling for justice or pleading to God in prayer is very different to a list of laws and regulations such as we find in the book of Leviticus or a collection of wise sayings, as recorded in the Book of Proverbs. Sacred Scripture is inspired by God and so needs be to read and interpreted in the same spirit in which it was written.

There are three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it:. It is a collection of different types of literature, written at different times for different audiences for different purposes. It is the story of Jesus Christ as recorded in the gospels that binds the different books into one volume.

God can speak directly to a person through the Bible. Most completely God speaks through the Bible in the Church. The Holy Spirit is the source of life for the Church. This one source has two aspects: Scripture and the living tradition of a trustworthy interpretation of Scripture. This living tradition has been handed down in an unbroken line from the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles reports that the community of fearful but faithful disciples, gathered together after the Ascension of the risen Lord, Lk.

Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name,and the Acts of the Apostles. For Luke, Pentecost marks the beginning of the Church. We know from careful study that the description of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was written in the book of Acts , around 50 years after it is reported to have occurred. For the first followers of Christ the Hebrew Scriptures Old Testament shaped how they understood their experience of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead.

Filled with the Holy Spirit and informed by the living memory of what Jesus did and said, the disciples wanted to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. As the disciples told of the words and actions of Jesus, they shaped the way they told the story to suit those who were listening. This is why we have four Gospels. Each of the four Gospels tells the same story in a different way to suit the people for whom it was written. The first generation of Jewish Christians was made up of those who had known Jesus as he walked the roads of Palestine with him. These people had also experienced Jesus as Lord, risen from the dead.

This generation expected Jesus to soon return in glory and free them from Roman occupation and persecution. As members of the first generation began to die, it became clear that it would be good to collect the stories from those who knew Jesus as he walked the roads of Palestine, and to record the stories in an orderly manner, in the form of a Gospel. As the Church grew, the message of Jesus spread out from Palestine to places around the Mediterranean Sea.

Differing accounts of the life and death of Jesus started to circulate. In time there developed a need to identify which texts were consistent with the teachings of Jesus and the tradition of preaching that had begun with Peter and the other apostles at Pentecost. Inspired by the Holy Spirit and in consultation with the whole Christian community, the Bishops, as successors to the Apostles, made a judgment that some texts were consistent with the mission and message of Jesus and other texts were not.

Divine Renovation

During this early age of the Church, a period that spanned about years, it was also decided that the Jewish scriptures should be added to the writings of the New Testament. Around the middle of the fourth century, the Bible as we know it came into being. Christ taught his disciples. The disciples handed on this teaching to the next generation of Christians through their actions and preaching. God communicates his Word through the Scripture and Tradition.

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The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted by God to the whole Church through the Pope and the bishops in communion with him. The Catholic Church accepts and venerates as inspired the forty-six books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. The Church existed before the Bible. The Catholic Church, founded by Jesus Christ, was teaching and preaching the word of God for many years before a word of the New Testament was written and for the greater part of a century before it was completed.

The truths enunciated by her divine founder were deep in her heart and fresh in her memory; she was busily engaged in imparting these orally to mankind. Christ wrote nothing; neither did He command the apostles to write. He commissioned them to teach His doctrines to all mankind. The apostles fulfilled the command of Christ by their oral preaching.

Peter, Matthew, John, James and Jude, supplemented their preaching by writing. It is well to remember, however, that the Church was a going concern, a functioning institution, teaching, preaching, administering the sacraments, saving souls, before the New Testament saw the light of day. The Catholic Church is not the child of the Bible, as many non-Catholics imagine, but its mother. The canon or list of books which make up the Old and New Testaments was determined by Catholic Church. The declaration of the Catholic Church that the books of both the Old and the New Testaments are all inspired by God constitutes the sole authority for the universal belief of both Catholics and Protestants in their inspired character.

The Catholic Church is the mother of the New Testament. It was written in its entirety by Catholics. If she had not scrutinized carefully the writings of her children, rejecting some and approving others as worthy of inclusion in the canon of the New Testament, there would be no New Testament today. If she had not declared the books composing the New Testament to be the inspired word of God, we would not know it. With the possible exception of St. John, none of the apostles ever saw all the writings which now make up the New Testament.

If the Church had not preserved the Bible, shielding it from the attacks of barbarians, copying it in her monasteries throughout the long centuries before the art of printing was invented, the modern world would be without the Bible. The Catholic Church derives neither her existence nor her teaching authority from the Bible. She had both before the New Testament was born; she secured her being, her teachings, her authority directly from Jesus Christ.

That "the Bible alone privately interpreted is the sole rule of faith" is something not found in the Bible itself. It would exclude from Christianity the countless millions who have not been able to read. A uses a different translation from Australia, U. Parishes may be making adjustments in relations to inclusive language based on a greater awareness of the influence of gendered titles for God and Man and increased scholarship with regard to translations from the Greek and Hebrew of the original text. The origin of following the quote is http: In other words, the RSV is out-of-date.

Unlike the copyright holders of the NRSV, the copyright holders of the ESV have shown themselves quite open to the kind of changes we would need or want to make for Catholic lectionary purposes; and the copyright arrangements for the project are now in place. What will appear in the lectionary will be a modified form of the ESV. This may in time look to the production of a Catholic edition of the ESV, though that is not decided. I know too little of the permission given to the English ordinariate, but I doubt that it will have an effect on the lectionary we are producing.

That would depend on the Holy See. It is very hard to say when the ESV lectionary will be ready for publication. We have all but finished work on the first volume Sundays and Solemnities , and it may be that the first volume will appear before the others. But it depends on how quickly the bishops of the five Conferences get back to us within the process of consultation.

The USA uses a different translation. You can find the Readings, used in Australia on several websites and smartphone apps, including: However, around C. The material excluded was a group of fifteen late Jewish books, written during the period B. E, that were not found in Hebrew versions of the Jewish Scripture. Christians did not follow the revisions of Judaism and continued to use the text of the Septuagint as the Old Testament. Protestant Bibles In the s Protestant leaders decided to organize the Old Testament material according to the official canon of Judaism rather than the Septuagint.

They moved the Old Testament material which was not in the Jewish canon into a separate section of the Bible called the Apocrypha. So Protestant Bibles then included all the same material as the earlier Bible, but it was divided into two sections: However, the books of the Apocrypha were considered less important, and the Apocrypha was eventually dropped from most Protestant editions. The result is that these versions of the Bible have more Old Testament books than most Protestant versions. Christian Bible Reference site http: E are the contemporary method of indicating the time before and after the birth of Christ.

E refers to Before the Common Era and C. E refers to the Common Era. Jesus Christ is the centre of the Catholic religion. Members of the Church are called Christians, not only because they accept what he taught, but also because they believe that through him, God has come to us in human form and we are brought into fuller union with God. While we can know something about God through human reasoning, that knowledge is very limited. God, we believe, sent his Son into the world to make known his love for us in living practical contact.

The life and teachings of Jesus, the Son of God provide a perfect revelation of God's loving purpose for each of us. In him we find answers to the very personal questions that concern each of us. Does God love me personally and is he concerned for me in a big, strange and often cruel world? Can I have confidence that he will hear me if I call out to him? Would his words be words of hope, fulfillment, happiness and peace? You may ask how we can come to know someone who is more than years removed from us in history.

In the first place, the person of Jesus becomes clearer to us as we become more familiar with the writings of the New Testament, and, as we observe the lives of those who are animated by the Spirit of Jesus; lives that are the living embodiment of those writings. It may help in understanding this thumbnail sketch of Jesus if you can obtain and refer to the New Testament as you read these words.

The word 'Gospel' comes from an old English word which means "good news". The good news of what Jesus Christ said and did was proclaimed by his first followers wherever they went. Gradually this was put into writing, and we have four brief accounts of this good news by Matthew Mark, Luke and John. These four writers, the four Evangelists, make it clear that they are giving an account of Jesus and the meaning of his life for each of us.

While they each emphasise a different aspect of Jesus' life and teaching, relevant to the particular community they were writing for, the most important thing in all gospels is Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection, for love of us. And next, the love He showed to us through his ministry; his kind words and deeds. They are not so much a biography since there is very little about his life as a whole. They aim, rather, to give us an insight into his person, and the way that we can share in his Spirit by seeking to become more like him, especially in love and forgiveness.

These four Gospels are treated with great reverence by the Catholic Church and are read aloud to the congregation every Sunday. We know that Jesus' mother was Mary, and that he was conceived by direct action of God. Mary's husband was Joseph. We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and that the news of his birth was first made known to shepherds, who, in a sense represented the people of Israel.

It was soon also made known to some 'Wise Men' from the East, who, in a sense represent the Gentile world. We know that calamity and hardship followed immediately upon his birth, through human wickedness, represented by the jealousy of King Herod, who slaughtered children in the hope of destroying him, and forced the little family into flight as refugees into Egypt. We know that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and favour with God and people.

He learned his lessons, grew up like any other boy, caused some distress to his parents but was obedient to them. He experienced hunger, thirst and tiredness, sorrow and joy. At about thirty years of age he began his public life and picked twelve of his closest followers whom he singled out for special training. Jesus remained a devout Jew all his life. He taught in the synagogues and in the Temple in Jerusalem, but also in houses and streets, on the hillsides and on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

We know that his teaching was noble and beautiful and that he spoke with power and authority. His words are regarded by many as the most noble and beautiful in the whole of human language, and have deeply influenced the thoughts and emotions of millions ever since. He taught with a direct simplicity using many examples familiar to his listeners from the world of agriculture, fishing and nature.

In this way he presented great religious truths in a way that could be understood and remembered by everyone. You may benefit by checking the following references in your New Testament. Jesus spoke about God accepting our sorrow for sin, and forgiving us. Luke 15, 4 - 7 He spoke about the necessity of doing good and beautiful deeds. Luke 13, 6 - 9 He spoke about the meaning of humility and repentance. Luke 18, 10 - 14 He outlined the style of God's love and mercy at great length. He gave life, and forgave sins. The Gospels do not show Jesus as a fanatic, but as a calm, noble and balanced person.

Yet he was strong, fearless, full of energy and zeal, and because of his direct and truthful approach was often hated by the religious authorities. The four Gospels relate that Jesus was kind and loving. He had pity on ordinary people, particularly the sick, the hungry and the poor, and was eager to comfort and cure them. Jesus was also a worker of wonderful deeds that we call miracles since they were above the ordinary course of nature.

Yet the Gospels relate them as facts, witnessed by thousands of people. Sometimes they were carefully investigated by the religious authorities John, Ch.

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He frequently demonstrated power over nature e. Luke 8, 22 Of all his miracles however, the most significant were the raising of the dead, Mark 5, 41 Luke 7, 14 John Only God is the life-giver. So, by giving life, and in particular, by rising from the dead himself, Jesus Christ clearly showed that he was God-made-man.

This appreciation of the divinity of Christ comes through strongly in each of the Gospels. Under oath before Pilate, at his judgment, he stated clearly that he was the Son of God. Mark 14, 1 - We find the clearest and most beautiful testimonies to the divinity of Christ throughout the Gospel of St. John begins with the theme of Jesus as the eternal Word of the Father John 1, , moves through the beautifully developed theme of Jesus as life-giver e. John 6, 48 - 51 and frequently alludes to Jesus' various claims to be identified equally with God.

Ash Wednesday begins the period of Lent during which we are called to prayer and penance as we prepare for the celebration of Easter. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday the Church asks us to observe both abstinence from meat and fasting. For Christians fasting is one of the ways of expressing penance.

The other ways are prayer, self-denial and works of charity. The practice of fasting is given to us by the Church to help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart Catechism All who are 18 and not yet 60 ie. All who are over 14 ie. The tradition of eating fish on Good Friday is a response to the call for all Catholics between the age of 15 and 59 to do Penance.

This does not mean one has to eat fish, there are a variety of other options available when choosing to abstain from meat.

In today's society, a popular commercialisation of "not eating meat" has in many places evolved into having a "fish feast". There is nothing wrong with meat and there is nothing particularly sacred about fish. With regards to fish there are some Christian symbolic references that may be called to mind when fish is prepared and consumed. In Chapter 21 of the Gospel of John the risen Lord feeds the apostles with some freshly cooked fish and bread. There are also other stories involving fish in the Gospels related to large catches of fish and feeding with loaves and fishes.

Ash Wednesday is the day which marks the beginning of the season of Lent, the liturgical period of forty weekdays which precedes Easter. It is a season during which Catholics traditionally examine the course their lives are taking and it calls for a degree of repentance and conversion of heart. It is often accompanied by increasingly fervent prayer and some degree of fasting and self-denial.

In preparation for Ash Wednesday ashes are burnt from palm fronds from the previous year's Palm Sunday celebrations. They are spread over the foreheads of Catholics who attend Mass or a paraliturgy on Ash Wednesday, as a reminder that their bodies are destined to return to dust too, following the deaths of their bodies. This represents a powerful symbol of mortality, and spurs Catholics on to make a genuine effort to live out the spirit of the Lenten season in as dedicated a manner as possible. Ash Wednesday begins the period of Lent - a time of prayer and penance - fasting and abstinence in preparation for Easter.

Here are some links to what the some of the Bishops of Australia have said about Lent, penance, fasting and abstinence as well as some other Lenten Programs and Resources. Prayer and Works of Love. Sandhurst Lenten Pastoral Letter. Lent is in effect the retreat time in preparation for the Easter Triduum - the three days of the celebration of Easter which begins with sundown on Holy Thursday evening and ends with evening prayer on Easter Sunday evening. These two holy days are to be observed each year, regardless of the day of the week on which they fall.

When Christmas Day falls on the Saturday, there are two separate obligations for Catholics to celebrate Mass, one is for Christmas Day and the other is for the Sunday. In the coming years, this will be relevant again in , , , , , , and when Christmas Day will again fall on a Saturday. In these years, where Mass is celebrated on the Saturday evening, it should be the vigil Mass for Christmas Day. In the coming years, this will be relevant again in , , , , , and when Christmas Day will again fall on a Sunday. The first live reproduction of the outdoor Christmas nativity was made by St.

Francis of Assisi for the event he staged in Greccio, Italy, in It was a way of communicating the true meaning of Christmas. The idea proved so popular that it soon spread throughout the Christian world. The story of the nativity comes from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Unable to find any room at the inn, they take refuge in a stable used to shelter animals. Here Jesus is born and laid in a manger filled with hay.

In the hills overlooking Bethlehem an angel tells the shepherds of Jesus' birth. The shepherds carry the richness of the Earth's harvest, and the first to arrive carries a dove, the symbol of peace. The angel, in bringing the message of the birth to the shepherds, is symbolic of the way God reaches out to all mankind with a message of peace. The wise men are traditionally kings with gifts of riches who symbolise how wealth and wisdom come to kneel before a greater King. Baby Jesus in a humble crib is at the very centre, as He is at the centre of life today.

Since the time of St Francis, the practice has spread around the world in pageants, church reproductions, neighborhood rituals, professionally staged plays where huge casts including live animals are utilized, and of course the school plays where sometimes the imaginative interpretation of the script provides highly original versions of the events. While some think of the time between the end of November and Christmas day in terms of shopping days, the start of school holidays or the end of the year and Christmas parties, the Catholic calendar celebrates Advent, the time of expectant faith as we await the birth of Jesus Christ.

In Medieval times Advent was a time of fasting during which people's thoughts were directed to the expected second coming of Christ; but in modern times it has been seen as the lead up to Christmas, and in that context an Advent wreath serves as a reminder of the approach of the feast. The Advent wreath is usually a horizontal evergreen wreath with four candles.

Beginning with the First Sunday of Advent, the lighting of a candle can be accompanied by a Bible reading and prayers. An additional candle is lit each week until, by the last Sunday before Christmas, all four candles are lit. This custom is observed in family settings and at public church services, and we have chosen this as part of our office decoration.

We have also chosen three purple candles and one rose candle. The purple candles, taking the colour once associated with royalty, symbolize Christ as the "Prince of Peace" and are used for Weeks 1, 2 and 4.

The rose candle, for Gaudete Sunday, Week 3, denotes a week of extra joy. Gaudete Sunday anticipates the joy of the Christmas celebration, so its colour is a mixture of Advent purple and Christmas white. There is also a fifth candle in their wreath and this is white.

The Birth of Jesus Luke 2: The Shepherds and the Angels 8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. For a long time Catholics were strictly forbidden from being cremated. It was not that cremation was actually wrong, but that primarily from the time of the French Revolution, cremation had been encouraged as a sectarian instrument by liberal and atheistic movements to promote anticlericalism and, in effect, to deny the resurrection of the body, a belief integral to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Pope Paul VI reviewed the matter in the light of prevailing cultural climate of the mid 20th Century, and decided to lift the ban on cremation, and to prohibit it only when, in the words of Canon Law, "it is chosen for reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching" Can.

In summary, then, the Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body Catechism of the Catholic Church, If you choose to be cremated, the Church teaches that your remains should be treated with the same respect as the decomposed remains of a body, and should be buried or entombed in a suitable place for commemoration of the deceased. You will find a statement on the death penalty in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is available on the Vatican website: The church does allow the use of the death penalty, but only if this is the only way of protecting people against an unjust aggressor.

There has been a significant shift away from the position as stated by the Church in ancient times and most commentators today would consider that the circumstances in modern society do not exist such as to justify capital punishment. Modern society in fact has the means of effectively suppressing crime by rendering criminals harmless without definitively denying them the chance to reform.

The literature on capital punishment is vast. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil, since they encourage people to practices gravely contrary to the moral law. Tobacco and alcohol may be seen as pleasure-giving drugs which have little nutritive value but which are used by human beings because they excite the nervous system and because they give some kind of pleasure to the senses.

The use of pleasure-giving drugs is not in itself immoral. However, under some aspects, their use can be sinful: They can be useful if taken to relieve tiredness or to provide the body with some necessary recreation to the end that it may be a fit instrument of the soul; b If taken in a measure that would be harmful to the body, either because of nicotine intoxication which the drug might cause or because of its tendency to be habit-forming; c When an unreasonable amount of money is spent to provide such drugs, that is, when one spends for the purchase of such drugs the money one would use for the maintenance of one's family or for other necessary or more noble uses.

Every responsible person should hope to die, when the day comes, in a good way. But the Church maintains that dying by way of an act of another person which terminates one's life is anything but good. The crux of the Church's opposition to euthanasia is that is a human life is a greater good than self-determination - the good of the sanctity of human life, that life which God has bestowed on each one of us, can never be sacrificed for the sake of the good of self-determination.

The decision to request that one's life should be ended by means of an active intervention by another person rests on a misconception that a human life can be not worth living. People have made that judgement about themselves and about others for centuries, many choosing to take their own life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Today, with advances in medical technology, the possibility exists for others to intervene to assist people to end their lives, relatively painlessly. But this doesn't make that judgement morally right. On the contrary, it is a clear violation of a principle which all civilised societies have recognised and defended throughout human history.

Christians have been at the forefront of caring for the sick and dying for centuries. Inspiring that service has been a reverence for human life and a love for the God who has created that life and who has sovereignty over it. One only needs to recall his healing of the ten lepers and of the blind man by the Pool of Siloam, whom others had bypassed for many years.

We have been married for nearly two years and have found out that we are unable to have children naturally. What is the church's position on IVF? It is a very difficult situation that you and your husband are facing, and it must be causing you great sadness. The Catholic Church's teaching on reproductive technologies is outlined in a paper from the Life Office of the Archdiocese of Sydney http: To quote from the introduction: Some forms of reproductive technology fail to show adequate respect for the value of human life and the meaning of procreation.

There might be a glimmer of hope for you as there are some ethically acceptable forms of reproductive technology treatment of underlying causes of infertility; low tubal ovum transfer; and possibly GIFT.

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Additional information is available at Fertility Care. In recent times there has been some active promotion of the value of organ donation. This is worthwhile, subject always to ensuring that people are left completely free in what is a very personal and sensitive matter.

The Church is profoundly aware that vital organs may be donated for transplant only after the donor's death. Families need an assurance that death has already occurred and if they are in any doubt about this, as can happen when life support systems are still in place, the hospital authorities should make sure that the medical facts are clearly explained. Donor families must also be supported at the time of the death of their loved one.

They are grieving and have to deal with what is usually an unexpected and traumatic death, while coming to terms with consenting to an organ donation. For a greater range and more in depth response to questions, you may find it helpful to read the Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council's document: I am planning to be married soon and have been asked to provide a recent copy of my Baptism and Confirmation Ceritifcates.

How do I obtain these? To be married in the Catholic Church, anywhere, you will need to provide a copy of your Baptism certificate no older than 6 months. You are asked to provide a "new" copy of the certificate rather than the one that may have been issued on the day of your Baptism , to verify that you are "free to marry" in the Church, as Baptism records is endorsed with marriage details. Or do you remember where you were Confirmed? This is a routine request to Catholic parishes all over the world and parishes are familiar with handling these requests.

For a wedding to be celebrated in the Catholic Church one person in the marriage must be Catholic. The other person might be baptised in another religion or may not be baptised at all. It is not a requirement for a non Catholic to become Catholic in order to marry a Catholic in the Catholic Church. If you are a not Catholic and planning to marry a Catholic, you may find it helpful to read about what Catholics believe. Just contact us and provide your postal address. I am Catholic and my fiancee is Greek Orthodox.

We are planning to get married in the Greek Orthodox church. You should speak with your parish priest who will be able to assist you to request from the bishop permission to marry in the Orthodox Church.

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