The Lord is closer to us than we are to ourselves, said Plenary Council President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, as he officially opened the First Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, Sunday 3 October at St Mary’s Cathedral.
With more than 750 people present for the occasion, which was livestreamed and watched worldwide, Archbishop Costelloe was joined by Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, Vicar General Fr Peter Whitely VG, Vicar for Education and Adult Faith Formation Fr Vincent Glynn, St Charles Seminary Rector Fr Phillip Fleay, Redemptoris Mater Seminary Rector Fr Michael Moore SM, Salvatorian Congregational Leader Fr George Kolodziej SDS, Fr Peter Bianchini as MC and Deacon Mark Powell assisting.
Cathedral Assistant Priests Frs Garner Vergara and Richard Rutkausakas also joined as concelebrants for the special occasion.
All Perth Archdiocese Plenary Council Members, their families and friends were also present for the Mass which officially marked the start of a nine-month period of discernment for the Catholic Church in Australia.
It comes after three-and-a-half years of preparation, including a significant period of national consultation.
That consultation focused on the question: “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?”
The Plenary Council, the first such event in Australia since 1937, saw more than 278 Members across Australia, including those who must be called and those who may be called, meet online and in person over the following six days, starting Monday October 4. The Archdiocese of Perth has a total of 18 Members, which includes several clergy, lay people as well as the heads of religious orders and organisations.
Continuing his homily, Archbishop Costelloe highlighted that what has always been true in theory and in principle urgently needs to become true in the day-to-day experience of everyone who encounters us.
“We must become, even more than we are already, a community of true disciples,” Archbishop Costelloe said, having previously referenced aspects from the Dogmatic Consitution of the Church document, Lumen Gentium and Saint Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, Novo Millenio Inuente.
“We must become a living icon of Christ who humbled himself, taking the form of a servant.
“We must learn from the One who is meek and humble of heart. We are being sent by Him as He was sent by his Father. If we remain in Him, as branches remain part of the vine, we will bear much fruit.
The nature and mission of the Lord’s Church, is at the centre for the teaching of Lumen Gentium, Archbishop Costelloe explained. Lumen Gentium was promulgated following the Second Vatican Council in 1964. “We are, the Council tells us, the People of God on pilgrimage towards our heavenly homeland, called to walk together in faith, with courage and hope.
“Our response to this call will determine the extent to which we become in practice what Lumen Gentium tells us we are in principle: ‘a kind of sacrament, that is a sign and instrument, of communion with God and unity amongst all people’ (LG 1).
This is, said Archbishop Costelloe, the challenge which lies ahead of us, for surely God is asking us in Australia at this time to rediscover and live more faithfully our vocation to be a Pilgrim People, brothers and sisters in a community of disciples.
“We are on the way – but we are not there yet.”
The Mass to close the first general assembly was celebrated at 10am AEST on Sunday, October 10, and livestreamed from St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane.
The second Assembly is scheduled to take place in Sydney from July 4 to 9, 2022.
The Mass can be viewed at www.plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au