Love calls to us throughout our lives, leading us sometimes in directions we might never have expected. This Sunday is Father’s Day, an opportunity to reflect on the ways the love we experience from our earliest days—the love shared within our families—can continue to enrich and shape our lives. These human experiences of love point us to an even greater love, though—to the One who is Love.

This week we share some stories about what it might look like to follow this call of Love—to put our gifts and passions, our life experiences, our family histories and cherished dreams all at the service of a God whose very being is Love.

Sr Deirdre Browne is perhaps best known for writing the much-loved song ‘Come as you are’. As she has followed the call of Love in her life, she has been led on a remarkable journey, in which faith and music, community and service have all combined in rich and unexpected ways.

Coming to his vocation much later in life, Fr Ignatius Tan was recently ordained at St Patrick's Cathedral. He tells us about how he too followed God's call, nurtured by an ever-deepening love of Scripture, a commitment to the poor, and the support and encouragement of the vibrant Christian communities who have embraced him, both in Singapore and in Melbourne.

Last Sunday, as we marked Social Justice Sunday, we were reminded of what Catholic Social Teaching refers to as the ‘preferential option for the poor’—the idea that the call of God's love is perhaps most insistent in the face of human suffering. This year the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has called us to focus especially on the tragedy of domestic abuse, and to work towards a world in which all homes are places of peace and safety, and the life and dignity of each person is honoured and valued. We look at a few of the ways the Church in Melbourne responds the cries of those whose lives have been torn apart by abuse, and seeks to nurture families and relationships that reflect the Good News of Christ.

We also hear from the Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Professional Standards Unit about the launch of its Safeguarding Essentials online training module for all clergy and volunteers.