Over two nights in October, parish liturgy teams and school teachers from across Melbourne gathered at the Catholic Leadership Centre to begin their preparations for Advent and for a new liturgical year. Guest speaker Ria Greene explained that the centrality of the kingdom of God is a particular feature of Matthew’s gospel, emphasising the teaching of Jesus rather than his actions. This results in a more ‘reflective and didactic account’, designed to keep its audience focused on the kingdom at a time when evidence of God’s reign was often hard to discern—an emphasis that is still relevant today, particularly in a climate that is often hostile to the church. Read more >

Lent offers an invitation to actively reorientate ourselves to God, because for Christians, God—and the one who was so loved, Jesus—is the heart and the soul of life. We are offered beautiful and ancient tools to help us enter into this time—tools of being prayerful, of living more simply and living more generously. Parishes are invited to download these free and easy-to-use resources for prayer and discussion throughout Lent, including these weekly podcast episodes exploring the gospels through art and prayer.

Saturday 16 February --- More than 150 people from various parishes across the Archdiocese of Melbourne gathered at the Catholic Leadership Centre to attend a seminar in preparation for the Season of Lent and Holy Week. The day included two keynote presentations and 10 workshops for participants to choose from that focused on scripture, prayer, music, service and outreach.

The Bishops Commission for Liturgy has prepared a series of guidelines on reverent reception of Holy Communion. The following guidelines are based on the Catholic Church’s liturgical norms and offered in order to encourage reverent reception of Holy Communion in the Latin Rite, under the form of consecrated bread and wine, as the highpoint of sacramental participation in the Celebration of the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian life [cf. Vatican Council II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (1963) art. 10].

In 2017, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, through the Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Life released a document providing Guidelines for the Celebration of the Sacraments with People with Disability. The guidelines draw upon the Church’s rituals and experience in ministering to or with people with a disability. To help unpack and implement the Principles, a number of practitioners working in parish, school, healthcare and pastoral care networks across the Archdiocese of Melbourne were invited to reflect on how parishes and workplaces can work towards creating more inclusive environments for people with disability. 

A selection of helpful resources for those preparing prayers and liturgies for various groups. Most of these resources are readily available online and links have been provided.