Rosary Novena

Above: Charbel Raish with Bridget Sakr promoting the  9-yay Rosary Novena to Our Lady Help of Christians, the patroness of Australia

What a month May has been! Wow, so much has happened this last month, which the Church dedicates to Our Lady, Mary. Earlier this month. I sat down with Bridget Sakr, from heartFELT, to talk about the nine-day Rosary novena she has been promoting, leading up to the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians for Australia. Over 6,500 people committed to praying the novena totalling almost 60,000 rosaries for our nation. Praise be to God! Looking forward to working more with Bridget. To know more about her work please visit heartFELT.community.

Unbound Conference

Above: Neal Lozano with Charbel Raish

Also, in the month of May, we were at the Unbound Conference, with Neal Lozano, hosted by the Servants of Jesus Community in Seven Hills. Neal gave two conferences over two weekends. The first weekend was targeted to leaders who want to help assist people with healing, by following the guidelines in the book Unbound. The second weekend was open to the public, so he was able to really give people an introduction to what unbound ministries is and describe the five keys model which he uses. There was so much enthusiasm throughout these two events.

Thanks to the Servants of Jesus Community, based in Seven Hills, for inviting Parousia to take part in this conference. Parousia has obtained a production and distribution license for some of the Unbound ministries titles by Neal Lozano and now has them available on our website for purchase. I encourage Catholics to learn more about Neal Lozano and his Heart of the Father Ministries website, as he and his wife do very important work. I had the privilege of interviewing Neal for our Parousia Podcast back in April, so please check out that interview too!

Above: Neal Lozano spoke to a sell out audience for his Unbound Conference

Teachers Bible Retreat

Another great highlight this month was the two day Bible retreat with teachers from Sydney Catholic Schools. I delivered an intensive course covering the overview of the bible, based on the timeline put together by Jeff Cavins and Ascension. We went through the program Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible and the teachers loved it! There was so much enthusiasm from the group to learn more about the Bible and incorporate what they learnt in their classrooms. I am very excited about the possibilities of this course being spread across the school system. Please pray for this to happen!

Above: Anna Nuzzo also joined the retreat singing a few songs. The group of teachers on retreat with Charbel for the overview of the bible.

Anna Nuzzo in Australia!

We were very excited to welcome Anna Nuzzo to Sydney ahead of the tour with Fr Chris Alar. Anna has accompanied Fr Chris with parish missions in the United States and we thought it was fitting to have her with him on this trip. She is accompanying Fr Chris Alar for Sydney and Melbourne. In addition to the Fr Alar talks, she also has done some events herself, including a mother’s morning tea event and a women’s retreat. She has cantored for Mass at Concord West, spoken at parishes and also recorded a few interviews, all in addition to her events alongside Fr Chris Alar while in Sydney and Melbourne. It has been great getting to know Anna and her love for Our Lady and the Church.

Above: Charbel with Anna Nuzzo upon her arrival into Sydney. She got to see the iconic Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge as the first destination of her tour.

She has been described as having an ‘angelic voice‘ and is extremely talented. She has a true gift of singing and songwriting and is using her gifts and talents to move people’s hearts and help them pray through music. I recorded a Parousia Podcast with Anna earlier this year and had a follow-up, in-person interview while she was here. Anna has performed in the Vatican, at the International Shrine of Divine Mercy and across the Holy Land, Europe and other countries around the world. Please visit her website at www.annanuzzo.com to learn more about this very gifted speaker, singer, and songwriter.

Above: Anna Nuzzo gave a very moving Women’s Retreat at Marymount Mercy centre earlier last month.

Chris Padgett visits Sydney

Above Left: Chris Padgett filming for the Parousia Academy. Above Right: Charbel with Chris outside of St Thomas Beckett Church, Lewisham.

We had a nice surprise having Chris Padgett visit Sydney in May. The Sydney Centre for Evangelisation brought him out for a two-week tour. Parousia had the privilege of being able to interview Chris for our Parousia Podcast, as well as having him film a whole course for the Parousia Academy. Chris is a professor at the Catholic online university and has written over ten books. He converted to the Catholic Faith twenty-four years ago and has nine children. He did an amazing job delivering an intensive course which we have called ‘An Introduction to Evangelisation‘. Be on the lookout for the release of this one!

He was so much fun to have around for a few days and he has a great love for God and His Church.

We were very pleased to be able introduce Chris and Anna to each other, as they met for the first time while here in Sydney. I hope they can keep working together in the United States moving forward. Thanks so much for all your support and prayers. We will have a special feature of Fr Chris Alar’s tour in the next newsletter, so look out for that.

May God Bless you and your family.

Charbel Raish – Director

Bible Portico

– (Hardcover)

This book offers visual resources to help understand the Bible better:

• Timelines of salvation history, from Abraham to the present day.
• Maps for the most significant events in the story of the People of God up to the first expansion of the Church.
• Graphics explaining each of the books of the Old and New Testaments in the Catholic canon.

Bible Portico is thus a reference-work that complements currently available editions of the Bible, handbooks on Sacred Scripture, Bible study books, Religious Education and catechism textbooks, and in general any teaching and learning material related to the Word of God

When Protestants Argue Like Atheists: 12 Weird Ways That Anti-Catholics Mimic Secular Skeptics

– Trent Horn (Paperback)

Protestant apologists are usually our partners when it comes to defending the existence of God, the inerrancy of Scripture, traditional moral absolutes, and many other important truths. When arguing against atheism, they shrewdly call out the logical fallacies, double standards, and dirty tricks of skeptical critics.

But then, too often, they turn around and use the same tricks to attack Catholicism.

In When Protestants Argue Like Atheists, Catholic apologist Trent Horn looks at twelve areas where anti-Catholic scholars and polemicists mimic the methods they otherwise decry in anti-theists. Citing the work of both classic and contemporary Protestant figures, he shows how, when defending mere Christianity, they quickly object when skeptics shift the burden of proof, or appeal to fake history, or harp on the morality of the messenger instead of the truth of the message. And yet, when trying to take down Catholicism, they seem to have no problem employing these same shady tactics and others.

Not only does Trent unveil the hypocrisy and logical weaknesses of such tactics and show you how to refute them—he points out ways that Catholics, too, sometimes imitate the worst arguments of atheists. The result is a much-needed elevation of discourse, for all sides, on these all-important subjects related to Christian truth and our salvation.

Goals, Gold, and God: Stories from the Ice

– Dan McCoy (CD)

Dan McCoy was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, but that didn’t discourage him from setting and accomplishing his goals. At just 16 years old, he was selected as a teammate on the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team, and shortly after, he participated in the 2014 Sochi, Russia Paralympic Games where he won the gold medal with Team USA. Even after this success, McCoy praised God for this accomplishment and is thankful for his faith. Join Dan McCoy as he shares his life living with a physical disability, and how God worked to turn his greatest challenges into his greatest blessings.

Cryptic Crusade – Douglings Adventures: Book 3 (Paperback)

The third book in the Douglings Adventures series. 

The Douglas family travels to a wedding in the Colorado mountains, looking forward to a great celebration. But when a close family member is abducted, the eldest children suspect a shadowy figure who has been lurking in the darkness. With the help of their daring and enthusiastic new friend, St. Teresa of Avila, the children will work together to unveil the truth as they enter “The Interior Castle” and infiltrate the dark fortress of their enemy’s very soul.

Who Do You Say I Am?

– (Parousia On Demand)

The film features the latest scientific research presented by faithful Christian scientists and researchers.