Mission & Religious Education News
Cornerstones
The final Cornerstones session for 2024 will be this Thursday. This will represent the completion of the course for the first group of participants. In addition to being more knowledgeable, they now will have the qualifications to teach Religious Education in the Diocese. There is a mass, presentation and luncheon for these graduates on November 27. Cornerstones has been an excellent program for formation and will continue in 2025 with a new intake.
Opening of the Cathedral
105th anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral is on Thursday, December 12, 11:00am – 12:30pm.
This is a ‘Soft Opening’ Mass for Clergy of the Diocese and Faithful from across the Diocese at 11am to reopen the Cathedral followed by a light lunch in the Cathedral Precinct. It would be particularly good to have staff and student representation from around the Diocese present at this Mass.
Another Important date is;
Opening Mass of the Jubilee Year 2025
Sunday, December 29⋅10:00 – 11:30 am
This mass not only opens the Jubilee Year but also is the official re-opening of the Cathedral.
2025 - Jubilee Year
Pope Francis has decreed that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee, a holy year which happens every 25 years in the Catholic Church. The Jubilee year is called 'Pilgrims of Hope', and it will be a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, a new global debt crisis and the climate crisis. In the Catholic Church, a Jubilee or Holy Year is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. A Jubilee Year is celebrated by the Church every 25 years. This has been the case since 1470, when Pope Paul II changed it from every 50 years. A Pope can also proclaim an Extraordinary Jubilee, like the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy which Pope Francis inaugurated in 2015.
FAQs: Incense
Incense is a symbol of our prayers ascending to God. It also symbolises purification, honour and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Based originally on Old Testament tradition, the use of incense in the Christian liturgy dates back to the fourth century in the east, later spreading to the west. The word incense comes from the Latin incensum ( literally, ‘something burned’) and from incendere (‘to kindle’).
Upcoming Important Church Calendar Days
November
Tue 12 Saint Josaphat
Fri 15 Saint Albert the Great
Sat 16 Saint Margaret of Scotland, Saint Gertrude
Mon 18 Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul
Thu 21 The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Fri 22 Saint Cecilia
Sat 23 Saint Clement I, Saint Columbanus
Sun 24 Christ the King
Mon 25 Catherine of Alexandria
Sat 30 Saint Andrew