When Jesus sent out the seventy-two, He sent them ahead of Him, in pairs, into every town and place He himself intended to visit. They went without purse or bag. They went in trust. And they returned with joy.
I keep coming back to that number.
On 7 March in Palmerston North and 8 March in Hastings, seventy-two people gathered for our first Diocesan Hubs. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. I think it’s an invitation — from the Lord who knows every name — to notice that something has begun.
These gatherings were the first of their kind for our Diocese. Simple in structure, deep in spirit. Dr Cameron Surrey opened with Sacrosanctum Concilium paragraph 1 — the Council’s statement of purpose: to impart ever increasing vigour to the Christian life of the faithful, to foster unity among all who believe in Christ, and to strengthen whatever can help call the whole of mankind into the household of the Church. It was a grounding moment. Before we could speak of liturgical renewal, we needed to remember why — that reform in the Church is always in service of mission, always oriented toward encounter with the living God.
From there, we turned together to paragraph 7 and its beautiful truth that Christ is not absent from His Church. He is present — in the Eucharist, in the sacraments, in the Scriptures, in prayer, and wherever two or three are gathered in His name. People sat in small groups and listened. They prayed. They shared what resonated. They spoke carefully, generously, honestly. And something moved — the way things move when the Holy Spirit is given room. The rhythm was simple: begin with Come Holy Spirit, read, listen, respond, listen again, discern. Not a formula, but a posture. A small school of attentiveness. It reminded us that conversation in the Church, at its best, is not argument or performance — it is gift.
Dr Cameron then led us into paragraph 48 — the call to conscious collaboration. Not passive attendance. Not strangers or silent spectators at the mystery, but participants in it. Offering ourselves, together with the Immaculate Victim, drawn day by day into deeper union with God and with one another.
What struck me most was not the numbers, but the hope in the room. People came from different parishes, different starting points, different stages of faith. The conversations were honest — including questions about who wasn’t in the room, and the tensions that are real in Church life. Brokenness and hope sat side by side, which is perhaps exactly as it should be. And again and again, across both cities, people named the same thing: a desire to go deeper.
Seventy-two. Our first step.
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name. Jesus answered: do not rejoice in this, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
That is the deeper ground of our hope. Not in what we accomplish or organise or gather. But in the astonishing fact that we are known, called, and sent — by name — into a world that needs the presence of Christ.
Come and go deeper with us.
The Diocesan Hubs continue — in Manawatū–Whanganui and Stratford on 30–31 May, and back in Palmerston North and Hawkes Bay in August. If something in this piece has stirred you, don’t let it pass. Join us for the online session, come to a future Hub and bring someone with you.
Vatican II Deep Dive Online sessions to explore the Council documents more deeply between our Diocesan Hub gatherings. To register your interest and find all upcoming dates, visit tumanako.pndiocese.org.nz/diocesan-hubs.
We keep going, in trust.
