Bishop Brian Mascord has released updated directives for parishes (27 May 2020) as a result of the changing Government protocols dealing with COVID-19. We have created a page on our website dedicated to the latest guidance from the diocese outlining its role in preventing the spread of the virus in our communities. The diocese will always act in accordance with the guidelines of health authorities and update its advice as necessary.
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Each Sunday at 9am AEST, we will be continuing to broadcast Sunday Mass online with Bishop Brian and other clergy from Lumen Christi Catholic Parishes, Wollongong. You can watch them above or on our YouTube Channel or Facebook page.
These online Masses give parishioners throughout the Illawarra, Macarthur, Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands (and everyone else watching from around the world) the opportunity to join with their bishop and make an act of spiritual Communion together as a diocese.
Lumen Christi Catholic Parishes Wollongong are also livestreaming weekday Masses from the Cathedral House in Wollongong Tuesdays—Fridays 12:10pm. These Masses are celebrated by clergy from Lumen Christi, including Bishop Brian and our vicar general, Fr Bernard Gordon. You can watch these Masses on the Lumen Christi YouTube Channel.
It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an act of spiritual Communion which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion means uniting one’s self in prayer with Christ’s sacrifice and worshipping him in his Body and Blood. Acts of spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.
During this period of time where Masses in the diocese are suspended, parishes are going to need the financial support of parishioners more than ever as their overhead costs will not change. As the vast majority of parishioners give physically to their parish in the first and second collection baskets during Mass, we are encouraging all parishioners to join the electronic parish planned giving program. We have created a page on our diocesan website with two simple options for parishioners to give to their parish electronically.
During these times of uncertainty and isolation, nourishing our faith becomes even more important. Through spending time with God and with one another we find the hope, comfort, guidance and certainty that our loving God and Father wants to share with us. Jesus wants to be with us and care for us during these days.
On this page you will find resources for:
There are many ways that you can enable the mission and vision of the diocese. One way is to consider a gift. A gift that will teach, serve, help and heal.
Give today
The daily readings are taken from the lectionary which divides much of the Bible into three years worth of readings.
Weekly radio program and podcast developed by the diocese all about faith, hope, love and life.
Award winning magazine celebrating the good things happening in Catholic culture and life in the diocese.
Opportunity to explore life and the Christian faith in a friendly, open and informal environment. Alpha is an experience!
Free weekly faith-sharing small group resource to help to build and develop community and faith.
Popular pocket-sized book with beautiful artwork and daily reflections for Advent and Christmas.
Popular book and music resource for Lenten groups and individuals. Includes beautiful artwork and daily reflections.
Provides music recommendations for Mass as well as tonnes of liturgical resources and information.
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Our diocesan logo is theologically rich and very succinct. As a hand, it depicts our mission as a diocese and as individuals within the diocese, of bearing (bringing, carrying) Christ’s love to one another and to the world around us. In this, we are the hand of Jesus Christ, and we are offering ourselves to him so that he might work through us.
We can be the bearers of his love only as a response to his call and in the strength of his grace. We are reminded of this in two ways—through the symbol of the dove (the Holy Spirit) also present in the logo, and by the incorporation of the cross that segments the logo. The presence of the cross is a reminder that bearing the love of Christ will inevitably cost us if we live it authentically. However, in the way that the Cross is the portent of redemption and life—an echo of the tree of life in the book of Genesis—so becoming bearers of the love of Christ will also bring us to life.
The four fingers of the hand also represent the four regions of our diocese. The first is blue representing the beautiful water of the Shoalhaven. The second is a blue and green combination representing the waters and escarpment of the Illawarra. The third is green depicting the hills and plains of the Macarthur. The fourth is dark green illustrating the forests of the Southern Highlands.
