The recent National Liturgy and Music Conference featured an active Good Samaritan presence, with Sisters and an Oblate hosting workshops in which they shared their deep love, knowledge and experience of the liturgy, while also coming away enriched by the keynote speakers and participants.
By Debra Vermeer
More than 350 people from across Australia and the South Pacific took part in the conference in Adelaide from 1-3 October under the theme, ‘Pilgrims of Hope – Transformed through Sacrament and Song’.
As part of the partnership between the National Liturgical Council of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and the Australian Pastoral Musicians Network (APMN), the conference offered keynote sessions led by Rita Ferrone, Father Ricky Manalo CSP and Father Richard Leonard SJ.
Rita Ferrone, an award-winning liturgical theologian from the US, spoke about how ‘Our pilgrimage of hope reconnects us to the gift of the liturgy’, while Father Ricky Manalo CSP, a Filipino-American composer and theologian, shared how his roots in devotional music and intercultural ministry reinforce the universal call to praise.
Father Richard Leonard SJ, bestselling Australian author and pastor, focused on liturgy’s radical potential to evangelise, saying that baptisms, weddings and funerals “are ripe moments to reawaken faith”.
Breakout sessions were presented by practitioners from across Australia and Fiji on topics as wide-ranging as: the meaning of baptism in the life of a Catholic Christian; the RCIA; sacred music for funerals; walking with and mentoring young people on the journey of faith; liturgical art and architecture; the role of music in a synodal Church, and more.
Daily morning prayer, evening prayer and the conference Mass highlighted sacred music from Australian composers and well-known music from the tradition of the universal Catholic Church. There was also an engaging evening of story and song.
Four Sisters of the Good Samaritan took part in the conference. Sisters Elizabeth Murray, Elizabeth Brennan and Jill O’Brien presented a workshop together on the Prayer of the Church, while Ursula O’Rourke led a workshop on ‘Living the Liturgy’. Good Samaritan Oblate Beth Riolo, along with colleagues from the Diocese of Wollongong’s Catholic Education Office, led a workshop on Aboriginal enculturation in the liturgy.
From left: Good Samaritan Sisters Jill O’Brien, Elizabeth Brennan and Elizabeth Murray. Photographer: Fiona Dyball.
Elizabeth Brennan said she found the conference energising, with “some high teaching moments”, especially from the keynote speakers, and the workshops “full of encouragement”.
“As I have reflected on the days in Adelaide, I find myself revisiting conversations I had with two young people and one older person who were self-funded attendees to a costly conference. Two had travelled from Queensland and one was from Adelaide. What touched me deeply about these people was their deep faith, their love of Church and their dedicated commitment to serving the People of God in their parishes,” she said.
“The conference was called, ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. Indeed, these three, along with others, inspired great hope for the future of the Church.”
Elizabeth said that throughout the conference, she was particularly interested in the marrying of liturgical action and music.
“I heard and was confirmed in my belief that: liturgy is ritual action and event done by all; liturgy, well executed, makes the sacred present; and there is a yearning and hunger in our assemblies for the liturgy to be the source and summit of our spirituality,” she said.
“In the area of liturgical music I heard again that: sound theological text in song is critical to the message; text and music need to match the action; the text needs to be as inclusive as possible, acknowledging cultural needs of the worshipping community; the music is not about performance or entertainment or observation; the journey for a better and more complete repertoire of appropriate music for the vernacular liturgy is ongoing.”
Ursula, who is the Director of Liturgical Formation at Queensland’s Holy Spirit Seminary and a sessional lecturer in Liturgy at Australian Catholic University, said the workshop she led, on ‘Living the Liturgy’ was about “seeing liturgy as a ritual activity, but also a human activity, and understanding that what we do together is in communion with each other”.
“We celebrate the mystery of Christ and who we are as Church when we come together in all the different liturgies, whether it’s a baptism of a baby, or marriage, or anointing of the sick or whatever,” she said.
“It’s not just what we do with the liturgy on a Sunday but also how we live it from Monday to Saturday. How do we listen to the people in our neighbourhood, or our community or our family? How do we respond to needs? How do we witness to the Gospel? We have to make it real in our lives.”
Ursula said the focus on First Nations cultures throughout the conference, as well as the contribution from participants from Fiji and New Zealand, highlighted the importance of making liturgy a part of the culture.
“I think over the past 30 or 40 years we’ve become much more conscious of that, so that culture is not some kind of add-on, but is integrated into the liturgy, and it enriches everyone.”
She said the active presence of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan at the conference reflected the importance of good liturgical scholarship and practice within the Congregation.
“As a Congregation we’ve put a lot of emphasis on the liturgy and some of us have been given opportunities to study it. It’s good to be able to contribute in different ways, as liturgy consultants and at these conferences, and in other areas,” she said.
“But it’s also good at these conferences to be refreshed and hear different perspectives about how liturgy is being practised and lived.”
Meanwhile, Good Samaritan Oblate Beth Riolo attended the conference in her role as the Professional Officer for Environment and Liturgy in the Catholic Life, Education Mission Team with Catholic Education in the Diocese of Wollongong. Beth co-presented a workshop on Aboriginal enculturation in the liturgy.
“We showcased what we’ve been doing utilising Aboriginal symbols and culture into some of the liturgical experiences across our schools,” she said.
“For the past two years we’ve been celebrating a Year 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Graduation Mass, which has been an opportunity to recognise and celebrate those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who have stayed on to the end of Year 12.
“We’ve incorporated a smoking ceremony as part of the gathering and we use a lot of Aboriginal symbolism throughout the Mass, in the offertory, as well as the message stick during the Gospel, Aboriginal music and language.
“It’s been interesting to see the families’ pride and joy on their faces when they see Aboriginal culture incorporated into the Mass. It’s really quite lovely. Our bishop, Brian Mascord, has used local language in the greetings and one of my colleagues, Tim Hart, has written music in the local Dharawhal language in consultation with elders, so it was wonderful to share all that in the workshop.”
Beth said she found the conference an uplifting experience. “I’ve attended the past few conferences the APMN has put on and it’s always a really nice networking experience,” she said.
“Being with like-minded people who are looking for ways to enlighten and heighten engagement in liturgy, to make it a bit more accessible for people, is always great. We talk about the liturgy being the source and summit of our Catholic faith, but we don’t always experience that. Any opportunity to get together and ask how we can make this more relevant and more engaging for people is always a positive thing.”
This article was published in the November 2025 edition of The Good Oil.
