Speaking of Liturgy

Look at us with Māori Faces: Inculturated Images of Mary in the New Zealand Church

Fr Michael Wallace describes some inherited images of Mary depicted in New Zealand churches and how local and indigenous knowledge have been absent in Church art. He describes what Māori images of Mary might include and invites us to consider to what extent our own images of Mary are enculturated expressions of the local community.
Rev Michael Wallace JP, BA, BTheol, MPhil, PhD is the vicar of All Saints Church and Chaplain of Selwyn College, Dunedin, New Zealand. He has worked with students for many years; from 2004-2010, he was General Secretary of the World Student Christian Federation in Geneva, Switzerland. He has degrees in Arts and Theology from Otago and a Master of Philosophy (in Ecumenics) from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD (in liturgical inculturation) from Australian Catholic University. Fr. Michael is married to Julanne Clarke-Morris and they have three children.

Thinking Again about Assembly

Gordon W. Lathrop invites us to ponder the nature of a real Christian assembly in our contemporary virtual world. He discusses how to treasure and promote diverse assemblies and work towards their renewal.</p<
Rev. Prof. Emeritus Gordon Lathrop is the Schieren Professor of Liturgy Emeritus at the United Lutheran Seminary (USA) and a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He has degrees from Occidental College (Los Angeles) and Luther Theological Seminary (St. Paul), a doctorate in New Testament studies from the Catholic University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and honorary doctorates in theology from the University of Helsinki, the University of Iceland, the Virginia Theological Seminary, and Wartburg Theological Seminary.  He is the author of several books, including Holy Things: A Liturgical Theology (Fortress, 1993), The Four Gospels on Sunday: The New Testament and the Reform of Christian Worship (Fortress, 2012), Saving Images: The Presence of the Bible in Christian Liturgy (Fortress, 2017), and The Assembly: A Spirituality. He is a Past-President of both Societas Liturgica and the North American Academy of Liturgy. 

Burning Hearts and Liturgical Formation

Sr Louise Gannon, RSJ, outlines some of the modern challenges of liturgical formation and invites us to explore different approaches, especially a dynamic process of mystagogical reflection. The best experiences invite an encounter with the mystery of God’s presence and inflame the hearts of all the faithful.
Sister Louise Gannon, RSJ is a member of the Sisters of St Joseph Lochinvar, Australia. She has served in a range of ministries in Secondary Schools and in adult faith formation in the Tenison Woods Education Centre Lochinvar. Louise has been in liturgical ministry in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle for many years, guiding the Diocesan Liturgy Council, and until recently as the Manager of Worship and Prayer. She is also a member of the National Liturgy Council, an advisory body to the Bishops Commission for Liturgy of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.  

Space matters: shaping a place for worship

Fr Richard Vosko examines the relationship between churches and the people who worship in them and how worship spaces can help us sense the unexplainable and create unlikely connections. He explores how buildings reflect the community's response to the Gospel message and become symbols of faith in action.
Rev Dr Richard Vosko AIA is an award-winning liturgical designer and consultant whose work is well known internationally. He speaks and writes frequently on topics pertaining to religion and the environment for worship. His portfolio includes 150 completed churches, 13 cathedrals, and dozens of synagogue consultations. His latest book is Art and Architecture for Congregational Worship: A Search for Common Ground (Collegeville: Liturgical Press) 2016 

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