19 MAY 2022
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Edition #383
PERTH VOLUNTEERS GIVE FLESH TO THE COMMANDMENT ‘LOVE AS I HAVE LOVED YOU’
Volunteers from Catholic parishes and agencies throughout the Archdiocese of Perth. PHOTO: MICHELLE TAN.
Volunteers share in the very Spirit of God, reaching out to others to impart – and at the same time discover – that in the love of God, we are never truly alone. The message was part of a homily delivered by Bishop Don Sproxton at St Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday at a special Mass to mark National Volunteer Week (16 – 22 May) – a Mass attended by volunteers from parishes and Catholic organisations throughout Perth. The Church in Australia, Bishop Sproxton noted in his homily, employed 220,000 people, making it one of the largest employers in the country, but its true reach could only be measured by including the many people who gave of their time voluntarily to help their fellow humans in need. “You can see what a mighty impact our people have on the life of this country,” Bishop Sproxton told the congregation. “Today, in this Eucharist … we are honouring those who among us
give of their time, and give in many, many ways to those in our society who are in need. “And the need might not just be material – the need, many times, is that need of friendship.” Bishop Sproxton recounted meeting a volunteer several years ago named Maria from Personal Advocacy Service (PAS), an archdiocesan agency that has been working with – and advocating for – people with intellectual disabilities since 1989. In its groups throughout Perth, PAS pairs people with intellectual disabilities with their own special volunteer, leading to mutual sharing and lasting friendships. Maria’s friend, someone Maria had been working with for over 30 years, had recently passed away. “So, I asked her, ‘What will you do now?’ And she said because this person had become so much a part of her life, she was wanting to go through the service (again) to find somebody else to support for however
many years she had left,” Bishop Sproxton recounted. The Gospel of the day was drawn from the same section of John in which Jesus gave himself both in the Eucharist and in the washing of his disciples’ feet. “In the context of that gift of the Eucharist, he did this extraordinary sign – he gave this extraordinary sign to us,” Bishop Sproxton said. “This, I think, is a reminder to each of us, as we now come very close to the end of this season of Easter, that we, as disciples of the Lord, are called, in our own way with our own gifts, to make ourselves available for others … “When he was lifted up on the cross, in St John's mind this was the moment when Jesus was glorified by the Father, when he gave everything; he gave everything as a sign of love to us. Full Text available at
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