On the Feast Day of Santa Clara, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB told the congregation of Santa Clara Church, Bentley that their parish was a “treasure in the Archdiocese.”
Parish priest Dennis Sudla had invited the Archbishop to concelebrate the 9.30am Mass to mark the Feast Day of the parish’s patron saint.
The Rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary Fr Michael Moore and Fr Dennis were the other celebrants on the altar of the
newly-renovated church, which was packed with people.
Before the Mass, Fr Dennis welcomed the Archbishop and Fr Moore, the staff and children of the school and principal Mr Richard Win Pe. Fr Dennis told The Record Saint Clare’s relics were dedicated when the foundation stone was originally laid 49 years ago.
In his homily, Archbishop Costelloe said: “One of the things that is very characteristic of our Catholic faith is that we name one of our churches after one of the saints.
“These names are attached to the various churches throughout the archdiocese.
So you all have a special friend in Heaven, Santa Clara.
“You also have someone who is meant to be an example for you together as you live out your faith in this community.”
He added: “As the disciples found out, they did everything to follow Jesus.
“If we were to look to Santa Clara, we would actually find many dimensions … she left everything to follow Christ in absolute poverty.
The Poor Clares today keep that spirit alive in absolute poverty … she and her Sisters sought to live in total silence.”
The Archbishop said that we need to ask what poverty and silence have to do with us today.
“Should we just engage with God and just forget about everyone else?” he asked.
“We have to let go of everything that takes us away from Christ.
Whatever else we have going in the parish community, it must all have its centre in Christ.
“St Francis of Assisi was the one that Santa Clara was imitating. She said: ‘My God and my all’.
“We run the risk of losing sight of what really matters.
“This parish is a place where people really gather to listen to the Lord. You as a community live a poverty of spirit to make sure that Christ is at the heart of our lives.”