FORMATION
FORMATION 1999
INTRODUCTION TO FORMATION 1999
In presenting the Formation Programme for
the Order of the Knights of the Southern Cross for the first time, I acknowledge with
gratitude the efforts of my predecessors. In particular, Bishop Peter Connors responded to
the call of Pope John Paul II to have us prepare especially for the celebration of
the Jubilee Year 2000. I am happy to continue that process. Indeed, how could I do
otherwise? In the Bull of Indiction of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 (First Sunday of
Advent, I998), Pope John Paul II wrote ‘The great Jubilee of the Year 2000 is
almost upon us. Ever since my first Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, I have looked
towards this occasion with the sole purpose of preparing everyone to be docile to the
working of the Spirit.’
Accordingly, I have chosen to present this
year's Formation Programme on the theme of the Lord’s Prayer, since the Pope has
suggested that the final year of preparation for the Jubilee be the Year of the Father. In
presenting this Formation Programme, I readily acknowledge that it is based on and
indebted to the liturgical resource Abba Father which has been provided for the Year of
the Father by the Vatican and the Australian Bishops’ Committee for the Year of
Jubilee. The Programme then ends, of course, with reflection on Our Lady. Pope John Paul
II has written of her: 'The joy of the Jubilee would not be complete if our gaze did not
turn to her who in full obedience to the Father gave birth to the Son of God in the flesh
for our sake.’
It is my hope and my prayer that the ideas
presented in this year's Formation Programme will assist us now and will also help us to
celebrate the Year 2000 with faith-filled enthusiasm. May God bless our efforts to come to
know him better.
Bishop Ronald A. Mulkearns
National Chaplain
PO Box 411
Aireys Inlet Vic 3231
FORMAT OF SESSIONS
Acknowledgements
The Scripture quotations used in the
programme are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition copyright ©
1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches
of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Additional material is taken from Abba
Father a liturgical resource from the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, Liturgical
Commission, Vatican City.
FORMATION
PROGRAMME 1999
The Year of the Father
in preparation for the Jubilee of
the year 2000
A Catholic Awareness Programme
Focus: The Lord’s Prayer
SESSION THEMES
‘Hallowed
be Thy Name’
‘Your
Kingdom come’
‘Your
will be done’
‘Give
us this day our daily bread’
‘Forgive
us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us’
‘Do
not lead us into temptation’
‘Deliver
us from evil’
‘Mary,
full of grace, the Lord is with thee’
The Annunciation
