It was an absolute privilege to attend the Diocese of Parramatta synod in October 2023. Since then, I have been eagerly sharing my experiences with everyone I meet. My heartfelt congratulations go to Bishop Vincent and the entire Synod team for their exceptional planning and execution of such a historic event. The fact that we, the Syro-Malabar Eastern Rite Catholic Church, also got an opportunity to participate in the event, truly reflects the inclusivity of the Parramatta diocese. On behalf of Fr Mathew, our chaplain, and the entire Syro-Malabar community, I wholeheartedly thank Bishop Vincent, Qwayne Guevara and the entire Synod team for welcoming us to the Synod.
At a personal level, the synod experience was an eye-opener. It made me understand the individual responsibility we all share towards our fellow beings. I learnt that we, the Catholic Church as a whole, must stand united in addressing the trauma of the past and that our Mother Church needs renewal. This means understanding God’s love more deeply and working for our families, the faith formation of our children, the youth who are distant, the underprivileged, the sick, and those who are depressed or addicted. It also means the renewal of ourselves.
When the Synod concluded, I found myself pondering my role and what the Holy Spirit is asking of me now. After much prayer and thought, I realised that the Holy Spirit is guiding me to share my Church’s faith formation experience to the Parramatta Diocese and contribute in any way I can. So here I am, humbly sharing our experience.
As many of you know, the Syro-Malabar Catholic community is the second largest of the 23 Eastern Catholic rites, and originates from Kerala, India. We have almost 50 parishes and 75,000 faithful in Australia, predominantly working in healthcare and IT. St Alphonsa Syro-Malabar Catholic Parish Parramatta is one among the 50 in Australia, is still in its infancy. We celebrate Holy Mass daily at the church we hire, St Michael’s, Blacktown South. Despite facing various challenges, not having our own church where our faithful can celebrate Holy Mass freely, we have a success story to share.
We conduct catechism classes for our children from Kindergarten to Year 12, and currently have 370 students attending one-hour long catechism classes every Sunday. This success owes much to the mercy of the Parramatta Diocese and the school authorities, and we are forever grateful for their kindness.
Our catechism classes are not during the Holy Mass, but before or after. There’s a systematic approach to catechesis with a dedicated syllabus for each class. The classes are engaging, involving various activities that our children enjoy. Our volunteer catechists are dedicated and receive regular refresher training. I am proud to say that our catechism centre instils a love for the Holy Mass and the Church in our children, without any parental pressure. By the time they complete Year 12, they have developed a deep love for their church, Holy Mass and their faith is formed. They then become a part of the active parish youth team.
The Syro-Malabar Eparchy in Australia has 42 catechism centres like this, educating 7200 children in the faith every Sunday.
Acknowledging the Parramatta Diocese’s remarkable achievements in providing high-quality Catholic education, I am deeply impressed by the positive impact its schools have had on shaping our future generations. In the spirit of synodality and mutual learning, we extend a warm invitation to any parish or school faith formation leaders to visit our catechism centre. We are eager to engage in a collaborative exchange of experiences and resources, embracing the synodal pathway of learning from one another. Our experience has taught us the critical importance of early childhood in faith formation, and we are keen to share our insights in this area.
I believe that by following the Holy Spirit’s call to ‘walk together’, the Syro-Malabar Church in Parramatta and the Diocese of Parramatta can collectively improve our approaches to nurturing the faith of our children. It is time we do ‘a new thing’, something different to what we’ve done before, for our own renewal and for our future generations to come.
Pressy Tom is the Principal for the Catechism Centre of St Alphonsa Syro-Malabar Catholic Parish, Parramatta.
The Diocesan Synod Report summarising the Synod and its outcomes was released to the people of God in the Diocese of Parramatta on Friday 1 December. To read and download the document, and for future updates, visit the Synod website: https://parracatholic.org/synod2023/
