Nineteenth Sunday of the Year

At this time cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, not unlike many other cities around the world are still in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its Delta variant. Personal freedom is a precious which should not be taken away by unnecessary policing by the state. But, we must remember that personal freedom need not interfere with the preferential option for the poor or the preferential option for the weakest amongst us. We are meant to be in relationship with others and health is a matter of collective responsibility for those most at risk. This is what we mean by the ‘common good’. This was not evident in the ugly and violent demonstrations this last weekend. 

The Edmund Rice Centre launched officially its new research report Refugee Employment Experience: Struggles, Strategies and Solutions on Tuesday 27 July 2021.

The report highlights the refugee perspective on working and looking for work by listening to what refugees themselves say about their job seeking efforts and their experiences in the Australian labour market. The report calls for several changes in how refugees are supported to find employment, including: moving away from the generalist Jobactive model to the provision of more tailored support, shifting the focus of employment support programs from providing training opportunities to creating opportunities to work, and addressing the systemic discrimination refugees face in the labour market.  

Eighteenth Sunday of the Year

Whenever we reflect on the scriptures we face another aspect that makes up the image of the God of Jesus. The question is: will we live into God's image or will we try to force God into our image? Our actions or failures to act; our neglect or violence can obscure God’s image in the world. The first reading gives us a glimpse of an emerging relationship with God. The people in the wilderness were still getting to know this God who had been instrumental in their liberation. Their complaints against God and Moses also reveal another aspect of God and the way God relates to us.