Mission
National Week of Prayer and Action for Asylum Seekers
16-23 June 2019
Over the next two weeks, Australian Catholic Schools will come together to support the work of the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CASPA) by encouraging school staff and students to connect with our brothers and sisters across the country in solidarity and prayer during our National Week of Prayer and Action for Asylum Seekers.
The last Australian Census (2016) documented that about 26% of Australian residents were born overseas. That means a quarter of our population are first generation migrants. Of the global displaced population, there are 25.4 million who are refugees.
The top five countries of origin make up 68% of refugees worldwide: Syria, Afghanistan, South, Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia. Children made up an astonishing 52% of the world’s refugees in 2017. The facts present a startling picture of our reality, people seeking asylum are dying at sea aboard boats which were vehicles of hope, and have become vehicles of death.
The Catholic Church stands together with all people journeying towards a better future; people seeking a more dignified life for themselves and their families. These brothers and sisters of ours are trying to escape difficult situations to find some serenity and peace; they are looking for a better place for themselves and their families, but instead they find death or imprisonment.
Pope Francis urges us to consider and challenge the way we view each person and the inherent dignity they hold. He acknowledges that “every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age”.
"Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them"
Matthew 8.20
The Lord entrusts to the Church’s motherly love every person forced to leave their homeland in search of a better future. This solidarity must be concretely expressed at every stage of the migratory experience, from departure through journey to arrival and return. This is a great responsibility, which the Church intends to share with all believers and men and women of goodwill, who are called to respond to the many challenges of contemporary migration with generosity, promptness, wisdom and foresight, each according to their own abilities. In this regard, Pope Francis affirms that “our shared response may be articulated by four verbs: to welcome, to protect, to promote and to integrate”.
Join us in prayer for those people who seek asylum on our shores;
Jesus help us to open our minds, to learn about people seeking asylum, the difficulties they face and the treatment they are receiving when they come to Australia.
Jesus help us to open our hearts, to share our love with people seeking asylum all over the world and especially in Australia.
Jesus help us to open our hands, to give real help to those who are seeking asylum in whatever way we can. Jesus help us to open our whole selves, to receive the gifts that people seeking asylum in Australia bring to us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen
Mater Dei Primary - Year 5 Mass in the Marian Centre
Last week, we welcomed Year 5 students and their invited guests, from Mater Dei Primary School to celebrate their first class Mass of the year. It was a fabulous opportunity for them to engage in learning about the significance and symbolism of the elements within the Marian Centre.
Mrs Amelia Bright |Acting Leader of Mission