Enter Galilee

 

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.

Mark 1:12 - 15

As a principal I had extraordinary opportunities for renewal. Many years ago I attended the ELIM course run by the Parramatta CEO and during which we were privileged to spend a week with Frank Anderson MSC, composer, musician and theologian. Later I completed an intensive Italian language program at the Instituto Galileo Galilei, a theological summer school, the Sedes Sapientiae in Louvain and another summer school in theology at Christ Church College in Oxford. What a joy it was to meet colleagues from across the globe sharing a common interest and passion. My return to work was always preceded by an expectancy and a refocusing of my energy - and a certainty that I would meet the goals I had set myself.

There is nothing like being invigorated by the experience of a retreat, a thrilling and imaginative conference, travel or adventure, of a significant gathering of your family and friends. There is also the sense of relief that comes after a period of fasting or anticipation. Whatever that enlivening episode might be, we emerge from the chrysalis of that experience with a desire, often a compelling desire, to share it with others. Indeed we have colleagues who have attended the Ecce Homo Institute in Jerusalem or the LA Religious Education Congress and who have returned with renewed vigour.

Following a somewhat lengthy 40 days in the desert (the number 40 in scripture often goes hand in hand with lengthy periods of testing, for example, Moses, Jonah, Ezekiel and Elijah, and, from the Resurrection to the Ascension), Jesus returns to Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel. The renewal that Jesus experiences in the wilderness is a provocation to his ministry. Jesus emerges with a clarity of purpose, with courage and determination. Sustaining that energy into his ministry was his relationship to his Father in prayer (see Mark 1:32f, 6:31, 9:29).

While the extraordinary opportunities are very rich in experience, they also stand side by side with the ordinary, life-giving, transformative moments that occur by happenstance or planning: birthday celebrations, expeditions to (Tasmania's) East Coast, walking the beach with our dogs here in Penguin, a day's reflection with a school staff, planning with our team, eating marvellous food, cracking a bottle of Janz - just because, getting messages from old friends, the birth of a new grandchild.

One more ordinary opportunity that can strike home is this liturgical season of Lent. In the northern hemisphere from which it originates, Lent signals the lengthening (hence 'lent') of days as spring begins. The daily readings provided in the lectionary are a deeply rich source of encouragement, self-reflection and focus. Now is the time to set our goals, to let go of the parts of our lives that no longer give us life, ready to leave the 'wilderness' and to enter the 'Galilee' of everyday life. The five weeks of Lent lead us to the Cross, and ultimately, to the Risen Christ.

 

Peter Douglas

 

An extract from Cardinal Pell’s Prison Journal, Volume 1

 

The author describes how solitary confinement during Holy Week was helped by phoning friends, the BBC’s Songs of Praise and praying for his fellow prisoners

 

SUNDAY, 3 March 2019 THIS IS THE FIRST Sunday for many decades, apart from illness, that I have not attended or celebrated Sunday Mass – probably for more than seventy years. I wasn’t even able to receive Communion.

The first reading in the breviary today has Job’s troubles just beginning. It all lies ahead for him… I took some consolation from Job, because his good fortune was restored in this life, unlike the good Lord’s, and I still believe that the only just verdict for the judges is to quash the convictions. …..Muslim chants floating into my cell. I wonder who he is….I am not sure what religion he follows as he claims to be god or a messiah. A bit noisier tonight with at least one fellow shouting out in distress.

Fidelity to Christ and his teaching remains indispensable for any fruitful Catholicism, any religious revival. This is why the “approved” Argentinian and Maltese interpretations of Amoris Laetitia are so dangerous. They go against the teaching of the Lord on adultery and the teachings of St Paul on the necessary dispositions to receive Holy Communion properly.

Called unexpectedly for a medical check this morning. All was well, although my blood pressure (standing 120/80) was low, as I suspected, because I was feeling a little lethargic.

God our Father, I pray for all my fellow prisoners, especially those who have written to me. Help them all to see their true selves; indeed, help me, too, to do this better myself. Bring all of them some peace of mind, especially those who most certainly do not possess it. EASTER SUNDAY, 21 April 2019 I CANNOT REMEMBER the last time I did not celebrate Easter with a community or in a church. This has probably been my invariable practice since before I reached the age of reason. I have celebrated the Easter ceremonies as a priest for nearly fiftythree years. But not this year. When phoning friends and family during my exercise spells outside (the only permitted time to phone), I was asked a number of times whether I was able to attend Mass, receive Communion during the Triduum, or even participate in an ecumenical service. My answer was no.

I was not able to prepare the Easter candle outside the cathedral affirming that all time, all ages, all glory and power belong to the (risen) Christ.

I was not able to turn in the sanctuary to face the congregation and see the light from the newly lit candles spread slowly but surely in fits and starts through the dark vault of the cathedral… I renewed my baptismal promises quietly to myself, not with the newly baptised and the cathedral congregation. And, of course, I could not consecrate the bread and the wine or receive Communion. EASTER MONDAY, 22 April 2019 WHILE I COULD FIND very little religious television on Good Friday, this was not the situation on Easter Sunday, and I watched every program as a religious substitute for the real thing…The English program Songs of Praise was a beautiful Easter service celebrated in St Mary’s [Anglican] Church, Portsmouth, UK, many hymns, with a couple from Handel, including “My Redeemer Liveth”… The news clip of the Holy Father’s Easter Sunday Mass in St Peter’s Square showed an immense congregation filling even the Via della Conciliazione. It is strange that Christian programs at Easter don’t address the central message.

I have spent a good part of the last three days opening letters of support and Easter greetings. They nearly always promise prayers, which is consoling, and often contain good advice, prayers, poems, or holy cards.

I found today something of an anticlimax after yesterday’s feast, so when one message urged me to remember that each day passed meant that one less remained, I was heartened.

 

Extract from The Catholic Herald (January/February 2021) p. 26