
WelCom August 2023
Archbishop Paul Martin sm, Archbishop of Wellington
This edition of WelCom celebrates the appointment of Bishop-elect John Adams of the Diocese of Christchurch. I join with all in the Archdiocese of Wellington and our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Palmerston North in giving thanks for this appointment. The history and connection of our two dioceses are deeply interwoven and I am delighted that the Holy Father has chosen Fr John to lead the diocese. I know Fr John from my time in Christchurch and he is a wise and pastoral priest who continues to strive to find ways of building up the faith community. Please pray for him as he prepares to take up this new role.
Currently I am celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation in many parishes. It is a wonderful Sacrament of the Holy Spirit and to see these young people coming forward to be confirmed within their parish communities is very moving. What strikes me is that all of us are reminded in this liturgy of our own Confirmation. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are ours, the question is how much we are allowing them to grow and flourish in each one of us? They are not just passive elements of our spiritual life, they need to be used so as to develop in us and be fruitful. I encourage you to take some time to reflect for yourselves on the life of the Holy Spirit within your own faith journey, and what that may be asking of you.
When I was a seminarian one of our formators was a priest called Fr Joe Cahill. He was a wise man and he was constantly talking about the need for spiritual reading. Over time I have come to understand what he was talking about. What we feed ourselves with will shape who we become. My sense is that as Catholic people we aren’t doing enough to feed ourselves in this way. Yet there are probably more ways to access spiritual books, articles, podcasts, clips on YouTube than ever before. I want to encourage us all to spend some more time listening to or reading spiritual material. It helps us to reflect on our lives, to understand what we believe, and to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts through these spiritual presenters. If we each ask ourselves ‘how much time do I spend each week doing this?’, it might help us to prioritise a little more time than at present. If you aren’t sure what would be good to read then start with the daily reflections on the scripture which can be found online or in parish bulletins etc or ask others what they are reading. [See recommended online readings below.]
Our Cathedral of the Sacred Heart campaign had a very welcome boost from the government recently with a $2.2 million contribution. This leaves us with $1.8 million to be raised to complete the project. This is a significant amount of money and I am very aware that many people are struggling at this time due to current financial circumstances. However, if you are in a position to make a contribution it would enable us to finish the project and be able to open the Cathedral again. It has been nearly five years since it was closed, and my hope is that the Cathedral will again be a centre for Catholic life in our archdiocese. Any amount would be very gratefully received and you will find the details for doing this within WelCom [p 14].
Yours in Christ
+Paul Martin SM
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
Confirmation is a wonderful Sacrament in which the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are bestowed upon us to be used and developed within our spiritual lives: Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgment, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence, Wonder and Awe.
Recommended online spiritual readings
Word on Fire – Bishop Robert Baron: wordonfire.org
Magnificat – online magazine: magnificat.net
Creighton University Daily Scripture reflections: onlineministries.creighton
Catholic streaming service: formed.org
Ascension Press – Catholic books and digital media: ascensionpress.com
Fr Mike Schmitz – American priest, speaker, author, and podcaster.
Catholic Online – online Catholic library: catholic.org
Food for Faith – NZ resource: foodforfaith.org.nz
Google: Catholic Spiritual reading resources
Going Deeper Podcast – Evangelisation Brisbane Adult Formation Team:
goingdeeperpodcast.buzzsprout.com