Speaking of Liturgy

Liturgical Rituals and Popular Film

Hans-Jürgen Feulner explores the depiction of liturgical rites in film. Religion is a key part of life and filmmakers incorporate religious rituals in different ways for different effects. He notes how perspectives and interpretations have changed.
Professor Hans-Jürgen Feulner is professor of Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology at the faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Vienna, Austria. His research focuses include Comparative Liturgiology with the various Eastern liturgical rites, liturgical rituals in film, and Anglican liturgy. He was a member of a Vatican working group on the preparation of a liturgical form for former Anglicans in the three Personal Ordinariates, and was awarded the papal knighthood of St Gregory the Great by Pope Francis in 2015.  More on this topic can be found at https://lit-ktf.univie.ac.at/en/research/research-projects/religious-rituals-in-film. An English article about the Dies Irae in film music will be published in fall 2025 in the open access online Journal Ex Fonte: https://exfonte.org 

Preaching and Initiation

Fr Mike Connors discusses the relationship between preaching and the Church’s traditional mystagogical process of reflecting on the celebration of the sacraments. He encourages preachers to explore and savour the riches of our powerful rites, especially those associated with initiation.
Rev Michael Connors, CSC is a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross.  Trained as a pastoral or practical theologian, he is director emeritus of the John S. Marten Program in Homiletics and Liturgics at the University of Notre Dame in the USA, where he continues to reside.  He is a former team member of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, and author of Preaching for Discipleship: Preparing Homilies for Christian Initiation (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2018).

Sacred Sculptures: Bringing Faith to Life

Linda Klarfeld discusses the creative process, and her own approach to working with communities and artistic commissions.  She explores the relationship between sculpture and spirituality and describes how art can transcend words and speak directly to our hearts.
Linda Klarfeld is a renowned Australian sculptor based in Queensland, known for her figurative works that bring faith and spirituality to life. Trained in Prague, Sydney, and New York, she has dedicated much of her career to creating sacred sculptures that connect modern audiences with timeless religious traditions. Through her work, she seeks to inspire reflection, devotion, and a deeper sense of connection to the divine.  She created the sculpture of St John Paul II with four teenagers outside St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, Australia.

The Roman Catholic Funeral: Celebrating the Mystery of Life in Christ

Chris Ohlsen describes how Christian funerals offer hope because of our shared destiny of eternal life in Christ and discusses ways to build a bridge between the expectations of mourners and the church’s faith in an era of increasing secularisation.
Mr Christopher Ohlsen is currently the Executive Officer to the Vicar General at the Diocese of Broken Bay. He holds a Master of Theological Studies (Liturgy) from the Australian Catholic University and was a recipient of the ACU Centre for Liturgy Scholarship. He was previously the Diocesan Master of Ceremonies for the Diocese of Parramatta. Chris is currently a member of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission.

Preaching at Confirmation

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, SDB reflects on the sacrament of Confirmation and describes his approach to the preparation and preaching of the homily during conferral of this sacrament.
Most Rev Timothy Costelloe SDB is the Archbishop of Perth, Western Australia and the President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. He studied at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome and lectured at Catholic Theological College Melbourne, the University of Notre Dame, Freemantle and Australian Catholic University. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in 2007 and has held numerous leadership positions, especially in the field of education.

The Liturgical Riches of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Cardinal Mykola Bychok, CSsR shares the richness of being a Ukrainian Greek Catholic today, with a particular focus on the history, worship and values of this venerable liturgical and spiritual tradition.
Cardinal Mykola Bychok, CSsR (b. 1980) is a Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) who has served as the Eparch of Saints Peter and Paul Melbourne since the year 2020.  He was made a Cardinal by Pope Francis on 7 December 2024.  Born in Ternopil in Western Ukraine, Cardinal Bychok joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (or Redemptorists) in 1997 and undertook formation in both Ukraine and Poland where he obtained a Licentiate in Pastoral Theology.  Ordained in in 2005, he has worked as a missionary in Russia as well as the Ukraine and New Jersey, USA.  His responsibilities as Eparchial Bishop take in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania

Presiding with style and grace

Fr Brian Nichols discusses the art of presiding and how the best ministers invite people into prayer. He describes some of the qualities associated with good liturgical leadership.
Rev Brian Nichols is a priest of the Archdiocese of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, and is currently Vice-Rector of Corpus Christi Seminary in Melbourne. He also teaches Liturgical and Sacramental Theology at Catholic Theological College (University of Divinity), Melbourne. He holds a Licentiate in Sacred Liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute (Sant’ Anselmo), Rome.

Reflections on a life - Part 2

In part 2 of his interview, Fr Frank O’Loughlin reflects on the way some of the sacraments and rites of the Church are celebrated and comments on Pope Francis’ recent emphasis on liturgical formation and training. 

Reflections on a life - Part 1

Fr Frank O'Loughlin reflects on his life as an academic, teacher and pastor in relation to the implementation of the liturgy in the years since the Second Vatican Council and makes some personal observations.
Rev Dr Francis O'Loughlin was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Melbourne in 1969. He served on the staff of Catholic Theological College in Melbourne from 1977 to 1996, teaching courses in systematic theology and liturgy, following doctoral studies at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, and further study at the Irish Institute of Pastoral Liturgy. He also served as the director of the Diocesan Liturgical Centre in East Melbourne. He has taught extensively in Australia and New Zealand and is widely published.

Gathering the prayers and the people: the Collect in the Liturgy

Professor Gerard Moore investigates the origins of the Collect, an ancient prayer form frequently prayed in the liturgy, and describes its role and some of its main features.
Professor Gerard Moore is Principal of the BBI – The Australian Institute of Theological Education in Sydney. He earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC with a dissertation on the Collect, and has written numerous books and articles on liturgy in scholarly and pastoral publications.