Jonathan McCallum knows he will spend years researching the question: what does it mean to celebrate liturgy well?  

The 30-year-old former religion teacher from the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is several years into his Master of Theological Studies at the Australian Catholic University (ACU). He is this year’s recipient of the annual ACU Centre for Liturgy Postgraduate Scholarship. 

“It offsets some of the financial burden, but it connects me with a collegiate community of people who are interested in liturgy,” Jonathan says. “It has already been a great opportunity to expand my professional network.”  

He is looking at how penitential celebrations, particularly liturgies seeking forgiveness at Lent and Advent, can help young people have a deeper connection to God. But this is about far more than academic pursuit; it is about something deeply personal.

“Liturgy is the common experience of all Catholics,” Jonathan explains. “There is an element of shared worship in our life. I would say it is the defining characteristic of the Catholic experience.”

At the same time, he is quick to point out that no two people experience it the same way. 

“There is obviously so much diversity and expression in liturgy. Whether you are a student at school or someone who is approaching the end of your life, the way you engage with liturgy is very different,” Jonathan says. 

“The time that I feel most a part of the church is when I am gathered together with people celebrating, worshipping God and offering my time, my gifts, whatever I have, back to God in this specific, organised way. 

“My understanding of why I love it will be very different by the time I finish my study,” he says. 

At 12 years old, Jonathan had already decided what he thought about Mass. “I thought it was very boring,” he says. 

That began to change around the age of 21 when he decided to see what Church was like as a young man.

“I was very lucky to have some great experiences of really well celebrated liturgy, but also some great communities that really welcomed me,” Jonathan recalls.

“It made me see it’s not just about the act of going but it’s about the approach you bring to it, as well as the people you share those experiences with. 

“The big realisation that my study has prompted is this idea that the most important thing for everyone in the liturgy is participation. We are called to fully, consciously, and actively participate in what’s going on.” 

Jonathan is very passionate about young people not just going through the motions during liturgy at school. 

“How can we encourage you to bring whatever you have of yourself to this celebration in a way that it allows you to express what you are going through in your life to God? But also reflects your life to you and allows you to contemplate: How am I going? How can I change my life, convert my whole self to be more kind, more loving, more full of hope?” 

Today, Jonathan is the Diocese’s Education Officer, Formation for Mission, working closely with schools to strengthen their Catholic identity and faith life. He says well-prepared liturgy can bring young people closer to God, especially when they are invited to shape it themselves. 

“Let’s say a Year 12 group go on a retreat for three days. The preparation of that might involve those students composing prayers of intercession that reflect what they’ve experienced on the retreat,” he says. 

“I ran a retreat where the students painted candles that were then involved in the procession and incorporated their life and their experience into what we were celebrating.

“A really critical part, if it’s celebrated well, is inviting the participation of the people of God into what is happening,” he says.

Jonathan is very hopeful about the future of liturgy and the next generation.  

“What I am hearing from young people is that there is a desire to seek out these opportunities for contemplation, for reflection, for times of silence and encountering mystery,” he says. “That is a real reaction against some of the societal pressures and norms that we’re seeing.” 

“There are more and more people my age and younger coming to Mass. You’ll see statistics from the Rite of Election where new Catholics are received into the church and baptised at Easter. I think there is a genuine desire for something more.” 

Jonathan’s journey back to the Church was shaped by people who welcomed him and involved him. Stories like his do not happen by chance. 

It is a good reminder that the future of liturgy and the life of the Church will depend not only on those who study it, but on communities willing to embrace and encourage the next generations. 

If young people are searching for something more, Jonathan’s experience and his studies highlight just how important it is for our Diocese to be ready to welcome them.