Catholic Outlook July 2016

Homily of Most Rev Vincent Long
Van Nguyen OFM Conv for the
Liturgical Reception and Solemn
Mass of Installation as the fourth
Bishop of Parramatta.
THE BISHOP'S HOMILY
Most Rev Vincent Long OFM Conv
CONTENTS
THE BISHOP’S HOMILY
DIOCESAN NEWS
CATHOLIC YOUTH
PARISH PROFILE
CATHOLIC EDUCATION
2-3
4, 7, 10-13,
22-23
5-6
8-9
14-16
Dear friends,
The clergy and Catholic people
of Parramatta have been waiting
for a long time and here I am, only five feet
and a half though. After 19 months without
a bishop, you have been given one in the
person of a Vietnamese Australian and a
former boat person. Perhaps, you can add my
appointment to the list of surprises that Pope
Francis has done.
I am very honoured and humbled by this
appointment and grateful for the opportunity
to serve the Church in Parramatta during this
time. As guided by my motto “go further into
the deep” (Lk 5:4), I have taken many leaps of
faith before, including the one that launched
me, literally, on to the Pacific Ocean.
Now, I am about to be cast into the deep
interior of Western Sydney, all the way to
the beautiful Blue Mountains and the fertile
plains of the Hawkesbury River. I cannot
help but feel daunted by what lies ahead.
Nevertheless, I make bold to move forward,
trusting in the sustaining power of God
and the support of many people and fellow
ministers of the Gospel.
There is an African adage that says, “you sit
on the old mat to weave the new one”. Already
one finds here a richly textured tapestry of a
young, vibrant and diverse Diocese. So I will
sit on an old mat that others have woven,
perhaps with a bit more comfort than I would
on this generous cathedra.
I am indebted to my predecessors and
others who, like the wise master builders Paul
talks about in the second reading, have laid
a solid foundation (1 Cor 10). I honour this
legacy and want to build on it.
Although I can only walk in my own shoes,
I would like to be like the steward who brings
out of his storeroom treasures both old and
new (Matt 13:52). It is together as bishop,
clergy and people that we will listen to what
the Spirit is saying to us in our context (Rev
2:28) and discern how to live and witness as
disciples of Christ.
To say that we are at a critical juncture is
probably an understatement. What we are
witnessing as the people of faith is the flood of
secularisation that has washed away much of
the Church we’ve known and loved. We have
been battered and bruised.
Hundreds of clergy, which included Archbishops and Bishops from across the country, celebrated
the Mass of Installation of Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv.
PHOTO: GIOVANNI PORTELLI
We’ve been reduced in numbers and status.
What is more, we have to admit with the
greatest humility that we have not lived up to
that fundamental ethos of justice, mercy and
care for those who have been hurt by our own
actions and inactions.
And so in the eyes of many, whatever aura
of respectability we’ve got left has evaporated
with the sexual abuse crisis. The Royal
Commission has been a lightning rod, an
uncomfortable spotlight, but hopefully a
catalyst for transformation.
I’d like to think of this critical juncture as
analogous to the biblical exile to which as a
former refugee I have a personal affinity. The
exile was about facing the death of the old and
giving birth to the new. The biggest lesson they
learned was seeking God’s justice for the poor
and the lowly. They learned to be a society in
which the care of the most marginalised was
Left: Youth participants from Catholic schools
in the Diocese of Parramatta came together to
form the Captivate Choir. Above: Bishop Vincent
embraces his mother during the Offertory.
PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS FOK
to be the essential distinguishing feature.
As your new bishop, I’d like to think of my
role as that of the prophets who accompany
their people in the exile, point to them the
signs of the new Kairos and lead them in the
direction of the kingdom.
I am committed to the renewal of the
Church patterned on the paschal rhythm of
Christ: the Church that dies to worldly power,
privilege, clericalism and rises to humility,
simplicity, equality and servanthood; the
Church that might be smaller, poorer and
humbler but, hopefully, more of a light and a
sacrament of God’s love to the world.
The Scriptures we have heard tonight speak
of a radical vision of love, inclusion and
human flourishing. That vision is enshrined
in the prophecy of Isaiah. God’s people, he
proclaims, include foreigners who join
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
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Publisher:
Most Rev Vincent Long OFM Conv
Bishop of Parramatta
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Deadlines:
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20-21
BISHOP'S DIARY
1 JULY: Mass with St Pauls Catholic College on the occasion
of Foundation Day, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta
3 JULY: Mass for 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time with
Commissioning of World Youth Day Pilgrims, 6pm at St
Patrick’s Cathedral
15 JULY: Vespers of the Memorial of St Bonaventure with
Religious of the Diocese, 5.30pm at St Patrick’s Cathedral
20-22 JULY: Attend meeting of Australian Catholic Social
Justice Council – Justice, Ecology & Development
24 JULY: Solemn Mass for 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time,
11am at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta
27 JULY: Civic Reception with Parramatta City
31 JULY: Mass for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 6pm at
Our Lady Queen of Peace, Greystanes, followed by WYD
2016 In-sync (local celebration of World Youth Day, Krakow).
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2 CatholicOutlook | JULY 2016
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