Many resources, if we give them an opportunity, can help our relationship with God to go deep over this time.
Personally, I have joined the Pentecost Pilgrimage. It has been so inspiring doing daily walks and listening to amazing speakers that have encouraged me in my relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Heart 2 Heart by Bishop Christopher Prowse is another beautiful retreat that I have taken part in.
See an extensive list below of incredible opportunities, plus a forward by Louise Gannon rsj:
We all have our favourite ‘go to’ resources that nurture and sustain our faith during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While we are making available a range of resources that we hope will go some way to responding to our diverse needs, the most important call in this experience is to focus our prayer on the Word of God from each Sunday and the Prayer of the Church. There is opportunity within crisis and we encourage you to seize it.
This is a time to revel in and deepen our appreciation of the great gift, as Christians and Catholics, of being in communion with each other as baptised members of the Body of Christ, brothers and sisters in life and prayer. We are not alone.
It is also a time for patience and grace in our response to our isolation from the ordinary experiences of daily life and the liturgy of the Church. As someone said one recent Sunday, this is the time for us to ‘Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord’ in supermarkets and the Church community.
Please keep your eye on this section of the website for further updates as the COVID 19 crisis continues to unfold. More importantly let us keep our eye on each other.
Louise Gannon rsj, Diocesan Manager Worship and Prayer. 25 March 2020
5th anniversary of Laudato Si'
16-24 May 2020 is Laudato Si’ Week which honours the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical on care for our common home. The theme of the week is “everything is connected”. Join worldwide participation through the following resources:
- Pope Francis' video invitation to mark this event with a week of prayer
- Global Prayer for Laudato Si' Week
- Digging into Laudato Si' a free, online EarthBeat feature series from National Catholic Reporter
- More from Earth Beat which focuses on stories of climate crisis, faith and action and contains a range of resources and the possibility of receiving a weekly update.
- Earth as Art. When you no longer want to hear or read any more about COVID-19, enjoy the beauty of your home planet. Watch stunning satellite images in a 4-minute video
- Landcare resource forwarded by the Sisters of St Joseph Lochinvar. Hunter Region Landcare Network has a beautifully illustrated audio recording of local bird calls, to enjoy in this time of seclusion. Sr Patricia Egan’s niece, Henrietta Mooney who works for Hunter Landcare, is the illustrator.
- Pope Francis Earth Day reflection
- 2020 Earth Day Prayer "Defending the Beauty of Life”
General resources
- Liturgical and scripture resources from the Australian Catholic Bishops website
- Liturgist Diana Macalintal from Liturgy.Life in the US offers a range of great free resources, especially about praying the Liturgy of the Hours as a way to sustain common prayer in this time of isolation
- Also from the United States, the One Call Institute has created a resource hub for parishes and schools. Some people may find this interesting. Access is free, and the site is regularly updated
- Liturgy Brisbane online newsletter is a regular publication that contains a range of resources
- Free Film Streaming is currently available from The Work of the People, a subscription based community offering a safe place to discover our humanity and divinity
- Easter Hope & Pentecost Expectation Resource Kit is available through Emmaus Productions who are offering video and music resources to support families and communities during this extraordinary time.
- Journey is a weekly Catholic radio program developed by the Catholic Diocese of Wollongong. You can listen anytime and subscribe to weekly shows by email.
Faith Formation Online
As we find ourselves increasingly isolated and perhaps ultimately locked down, this is a wonderful opportunity to engage in faith formation. You will find some wonderful online opportunities listed in the Adult Faith Formation section of our diocesan website. Find something and enjoy it.
Additional resources from external providers include:
- Heart to Heart eSeminar each Tuesday and Thursday at 2.00 pm. Join Archbishop Prowse from the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn as he reflects on Psalm 42 verse 7, "deep calling unto deep" and explores "the depths of God speaking to the depths of humanity" especially during this time.
- Join people across the globe for the Pentecost Pilgrimage, a 6-week virtual pilgrimage, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Sydney. It features new videos released each Sunday and Wednesday, focusing on who the Spirit is and how the Spirit works in our lives and the world. Pilgrimage is currently underway so join today!
- Metanoia: A Journey with Christ into Conversion is a 10-part documentary series produced by The Ministry of the Wild Goose and 4PM Media. Each episode is 30 minutes long and accessible to everyone online at no cost
- Evangelisation Brisbane has made available a free download of a wonderful document by renowned scripture scholar, Fr Bill O’Shea, titled The Mind and Message of Mark
Families and children
- Children's Liturgy Co-ordinators and Family Educators may like to use the following Google Slide Prayer Presentations provided by Sydney Catholic Schools for upcoming feasts. They are appropriate for K-6 and Years 7-8:
- CathKids provides many resources to help engage children
- Liturgy of the Word for Children can be found on the Melbourne website
- Magnifikid provides downloadable resources, particularly for children aged 6-12
- Sunday Gospel Reflections are available from Loyola Press in a range of formats suitable for families and various age groups
- Sunday Readings and Family Prayer is an online resource site from Liturgy Brisbane in collaboration with Evangelisation Brisbane. Readings and prayer resources are updated weekly.
- Evangelisation Brisbane has a range of resources
- Family Fun from Loyola Press
- Making Jesus Real is an engaging process that some of our schools have been using for some time. Isolation might be an opportunity to have a look and explore all that is on offer. Parents may find the following episodes made by our very own Natasha Brotherton valuable: 12, 13, 17, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27. Once you’ve found these you will no doubt discover more.
- Time with Jesus is a new audio resource which helps children imagine themselves in bible stories with Jesus. It can help children to interact with Jesus in their imagination.
Liturgy
Mass
Music
- Fr J. Michael Joncas (composer of On Eagles Wings), has released a new song titled Shelter Me to respond to the challenges of COVID-19. An interview with Michael can be found in this article, which includes a performance of the song and a link to the sheet music. This music is available for free from GIA until March 31, 2021
- From J. Michael McMahon: The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada has compiled several free downloadable collections to address various needs and pastoral situations. The first of these collections was Hymns in Times of Crisis, which provides some useful resources for the current coronavirus crisis. The copyright holders of these texts have graciously agreed to allow limited use of these hymns.
- Listen to a free Spotify playlist, Psallite Music for Consolation, Hope and Healing, provided by Liturgical Press.
Prayer
Reflection
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