This Sunday 12 June we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. The mystery of the Trinity truly is the mystery that holds all others together. This week, we take a look at this divine mystery, wondering how this doctrine came about and the challenges early Christians faced in trying to understand the God of love. We also take a look at how the doctrine of the Trinity is actually something to get excited about, a fundamental part of the very, very Good News of Christ.

Last week we also celebrated Pentecost Sunday. Interestingly, on Pentecost Sunday 1887, St Thérèse of Lisieux told her father she wanted to join the Carmelites. The beautiful story from her autobiography is an opportunity to reflect on the ways in which the Spirit moves not just with drama but also quietly and in hidden ways.

Reflecting on the culture of binge and streaming services, an important question to ask is how to exercise discernment and ‘finding God in all things’, even our entertainment. One of our contributors, Fr Nathan Rawlins, asks whether pop culture simply preys on our frailties or whether there is hope to lead people into a deeper relationship with God through it.

In terms of popular culture, celebrating the ways in which art captures the good, the true and the beautiful is always important. Since we are celebrating Trinity Sunday this weekend, the celebration of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we take a look at three films that provide excellent depictions of fatherhood, the vocation of which is to reflect the fatherhood of God.

And in the lead up to Refugee Week 2022, Catholics are being invited to participate in a prayer service on Monday 20 June, to pray for those who need healing after the harrowing experience of displacement.
 
Celebrating our family of faith

Later this month, on the weekend of Sunday 26 June, we will be marking our 175th anniversary as a Diocese with a special Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral. This eucharistic celebration will highlight the unfolding life of the Archdiocese through the worship, prayer and music of our people. That weekend also marks the conclusion of the 10th World Meeting of Families, and so following the Mass, stick around for lots of food, fun and festivities around the Cathedral grounds!
 
Don't miss out!
 
Trinity Sunday: Celebrating the mystery of God’s love
On Sunday 12 June, we celebrate the feast of Trinity Sunday. Unless we know a little about the history behind the words we use to describe God as Trinity, it is easy to dismiss the belief as concerned with divine mathematics. It really celebrates something much deeper: the intimacy of God’s presence to us in our world and in the Church through Jesus.
 
 
Why the Trinity is something to get excited about
Darrell W. Johnson’s book ‘Experiencing the Trinity’ is an excellent little introduction to why we should get excited about this strange doctrine.
 
 
The Little Flower: When the Spirit works quietly
On the feast of Pentecost 1887, the young Thérèse of Lisieux would ask her father permission to enter Carmel and become a nun. While the Spirit sometimes comes with great drama and force, as the apostles experienced, he also moves quietly, like in a hidden conversation between a father and his daughter.
 
 
Fathers in film: 3 excellent depictions of fatherhood
It’s no secret that there is a shortage of films doing justice to fathers. Especially in sitcoms, men are frequently depicted as lazy, incompetent, developmentally stunted or stupid. In honour of Trinity Sunday, we remember that God is 'Father', Son and Holy Spirit, and that fathers have the noble vocation of reflecting the fatherhood of God. Here we take a look at three excellent depictions of fathers in film: men who embody virtues to aspire to.
 
 
Now streaming: Finding Jesus in popular culture
To evangelise well, we have to meet people where they are. For those disciples with eyes to see and ears to hear, popular culture—be it video games, TV series, or graphic and written novels—can provide just the common ground we need to discuss the kerygma and bring it to others, moving us from Disney to discipleship.
 
 
Online prayer service for Refugee Week
Catholics across Australia are being invited to participate in a special Refugee Week prayer service, which will be streamed online on the evening of Monday 20 June.
 
 
‘The Trinity ... is about the intimacy of God’s presence to us in our world and in the Church through Jesus.’
 
 
Andrew Hamilton SJ
On the Trinity
 
Upcoming Events
 
God and Beer Presents: Passing on the Faith to Our Families (with Dr Andy Mullins)
Tuesday 14 June 2022
6.30pm–8.30pm
An initiative of the Knights of the Southern Cross, God and Beer brings together people of all ages from across the south-east suburbs several times a year. The Catholic Christian faith has been passed from generation to generation for nearly 2000 years but suddenly, in the modern west, it seems ...
 
 
Celebrating 50 Years of CTC: ‘How Do We Know Christ Now?’
Friday 17 June 2022
9.30am–12.30pm
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Catholic Theological College (CTC) is offering a free online conference focussed on the critical question: ‘How do we know Christ now?’. Explore how we know the same Christ more authentically and powerfully today through a special keynote presentation and workshops led by the CTC staff ...
 
 
The Knights of the Southern Cross Second-hand Book Fair!
Saturday 18 June 2022, 10.00am
– Sunday 19 June 2022, 4.00pm
The Knights of the Southern Cross are running a second-hand book fair. Come along, find a bargain and support the charitable work of the Knights! There will also be DVDs, LP/Records, video games, board games and more. Donations welcome! If you have good books, records, games, DVDs, etc. you would ...
 
 
Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre open days
Saturday 18 June 2022
10.00am–4.00pm
Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre (MMHC) East Melbourne a place of inspiration and vitality, manifests and promotes the spirit and charism of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop and the Sisters of Saint Joseph. MMHC provides, through education, hospitality and charitable works, opportunities for all to experience and be challenged by ...
 
 
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) Workshop with Fr Elio Capra sdb
Saturday 18 June 2022
10.00am–3.30pm
Is your RCIA making disciples of your catechumens and candidates? After two years of pandemic, is it time for your parish RCIA practice to be reenergised and refreshed? Does your parish have a missionary culture of accompanying catechumens and candidates? Clergy, all parish RCIA team coordinators and members—emerging and experienced—and ...
 
 
Online Prayer Service for Refugee Week
Monday 20 June 2022
6.00pm–7.00pm
Catholics across Australia are invited to participate in a special Refugee Week prayer service, which will be streamed online on the evening of Monday 20 June. The prayer service is being jointly hosted by the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office and the Office for Justice, Ecology and Peace —both ...
 
 
Anima Education Presents: An Introduction to Theology
Monday 20 June 2022
7.00pm–9.00pm
This online series will look at not only what Catholics believe, but how it is that they got there. How did Catholics get from hints at the plurality of God in the Scriptures to the doctrine of the Trinity? How did the early Church first work out the knotty question ...
 
 
Celebrating 175 Years of the Diocese of Melbourne
Sunday 26 June 2022
11.00am–12.00pm
This year marks 175 years since the erection of the Diocese of Melbourne! Come and celebrate at a special Diocesan Mass with Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, with specially commissioned music from our local Indigenous brothers and sisters and the various migrant communities who have made the local Church of Melbourne ...
 
 
The Outsider Pope: Where is Francis Leading Our Church?
Monday 11 July 2022
5.00pm–6.30pm
This latest Helder Camara lecture will feature The Tablet’s Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb. Founded in 1840, the weekly journal is a hugely influential voice amongst the 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide. Joining in 2009 from the Daily Telegraph, Christopher Lamb also appears regularly on TV news around the world. In his ...
 
 
NCEC Conference: The Future is Listening (Save the Date)
Sunday 4 September 2022, 10.00am
– Wednesday 7 September 2022, 5.00pm
The 2022 National Catholic Education Conference is taking place this September, and a limited number of Super Early Bird registrations are now available. The National Catholic Education Commission hosts a conference every four or five years in a major Australian city. Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) is proud to host ...
 
 
P.S. Before you go . . .
 
Celebrating our family of faith
This year marks 175 years since the Diocese of Melbourne was established. Our family of faith has much to celebrate since our beginnings in 1847! Archbishop Peter A Comensoli is inviting everyone to come together on Sunday 26 June 2022 at 11am for a special Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, which will feature specially commissioned music performed by our various ethnic communities. That weekend also marks the conclusion of the 10th World Meeting of Families, and so following the Mass, make sure to stick around for lots of food, fun and festivities around the Cathedral grounds!
 

This newsletter is published by the Communications Office
of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.
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