In a world where vocations ministry is no longer about attracting big numbers to individual congregations, the Passionists, Franciscans, Dominicans and Capuchins recently got together to host a ‘Religious Life Discernment Weekend’ with the intention not of promoting their individual charisms, but rather their collective vocation, which each has vowed to live in different ways, writes Luke Bulley CP.

Pope Francis calls us to care for our common home, telling us, as people of faith, that living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience, writes Karen Oxley of the Josephite Justice Network.

A range of new Catholic podcasts have hit the streets in recent months, offering opportunities for spiritual reflection and nourishment, engagement with the big issues of the day, and support for families.

Religious were well-represented in the winner’s circle of the Australasian Catholic Press Association awards with the Sisters of the Good Samaritan’s e-publication, The Good Oil, taking out the top award for overall excellence and other honours going to publications from the Jesuits, Redemptorists, Marists, and Columbans.

It was definitely ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ for the Franciscan Fathers at this year’s blessing of the animals at Australian Catholic University’s Brisbane campus, thanks to an eclectic turnout including dogs, cats, police horses, chickens, ducks and an alpaca, The Catholic Leader reports.