Fr Rob Galea prays for Sydneysiders in lockdown

By Mary Brazell, 29 July 2021
Victorian-based priest Fr Rob Galea is seen during a special edition of the Diocese of Parramatta's Worship Wednesday. Image: Diocese of Parramatta/Facebook

 

The Diocese of Parramatta’s latest initiative, HOME Ground, is off to a great start, with internationally renowned singer-songwriter Fr Rob Galea encouraging those in lockdown across Western Sydney to turn to God in praise.

Fr Rob Galea, who has performed across Australia and in front of the Pope at World Youth Day, led a special edition of Worship Wednesday that was livestreamed to hundreds of people on Facebook.

The HOME Ground program encourages people to remain positive and faith-filled in lockdown, with a variety of online gatherings featuring conversation, music, talks and prayer over the next four weeks.

Fr Rob, who is currently a priest of the Diocese of Sandhurst in Victoria, explained that he understood how difficult lockdown has been for many of us, and how hard it has been to keep up our routine of worship.

“There are times when we can feel the presence of the Lord, but a lot of worship, very often, is a sacrifice. it is something that we have to command our soul to do,” he said.

“Whether you are in lockdown or not, whether your life is good right now or not, whether you are struggling right now or not, whether your family is all together or your relationships are working out right now or not, God still deserves our praise. And let us never forget that.

“God is good and He deserves our praise no matter what.”

Fr Rob then performed a few songs, saying although he was providing entertainment, the purpose of Worship Wednesday is bringing our hearts to the Lord.

“Lord Jesus, when we look to You, no matter what we are going through, the difficulties, the struggles, you are going to be with us, you are going to give us the strength,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s hard because we don’t know what to say to the Lord, we don’t know how to worship the Lord, but that’s ok. God doesn’t want words from us, he wants our hearts.

“This is what we can do at this moment – just offer God our brokenness, our hearts, our imperfection, and this is where he wants to meet us.”

During the livestream, hundreds of people tuned in from across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, as well as from across NSW and even some international viewers.

“Thank you Fr Rob. We need more of u during these troubled times it gives us all HOPE [sic],” said one viewer.

“”Command our souls to worship”… thanks for the tip Fr Rob [sic],” another viewer wrote in the chat.

“Thank you Fr Rob, this is exactly what i needed! God Bless [sic],” commented another.

Tonight, HOME Ground will host its first “Be MET Night”, a gathering for people of all ages to congregate online, enjoy music, pray together, and get to know each other through ‘ice-breaker’ questions. There’ll also be special guests and advice on surviving lockdown from mental health specialists.

The Zoom link for tonight’s Be Met at 7.30pm is :  https://dioceseofparramatta.zoom.us/j/93757796555 . To view the whole schedule of events, visit parracatholic.org/homeground.

Watch Fr Rob Galea’s Worship Wednesday session in full below:

 

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