Feast of St Francis Xavier
Sr Virginia shares a reflection for the feast of St Francis Xavier, 3 December, missioner in Asia and formerly patron of Australia. I first ‘met’ Francis the day I entered religious life in 1963 and received the religious name ‘Xavier’. It was the day Paul VI became Pope. Soon after, the local parish priest loaned […]
Feast of All Souls
Every moment in life has the potential to be a ‘God-moment’, as Mary MacKillop reminds us: “There where you are you will find God” (1871). Perhaps the most obvious of these moments are those of birth and death. Have you ever been present at either? Personally, I have yet to witness a birth, even that […]
Julian Tenison Woods – Encouraged by Saints
We celebrate the feast of All Saints on 1 November with a reflection by Sr Jan Tranter. Drawn to priesthood from youth and struggling to his goal, Julian Tenison Woods was encouraged by three priests who are now recognised or on the path to be recognised as saints. Venerable Ignatius Spencer, St Peter Julian Eymard […]
Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross
You may have noticed recent media references to “childless cat-ladies”. By and large, these have been politically spiked, positive neither to women or cats. For a start, the woman of whom I write today was definitely not ‘childless’, for she, Saint Helena as the Church honours her, was the mother of Constantine the Great, the […]
Celebrating St Mary MacKillop’s Feast at Mary MacKillop Place
St Mary MacKillop’s feast day is a momentous occasion, and to those of us blessed to call Mary MacKillop Place our workplace, we prepare to ensure everything runs smoothly for the large number of pilgrims who celebrate the feast each year. Every team at Mary MacKillop Place has a crucial role, from organising liturgies to […]
Mary MacKillop Feast Day Celebrations 2024
Mary MacKillop Place, the Sisters of Saint Joseph and Mary MacKillop Today extend a warm invitation to all to celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop on Thursday, 8 August 2024. We look forward to welcoming everyone, including our pilgrims and supporters, to Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney.
Feast of St Ignatius – Finding God in a time of Plague
The medieval town of Manresa sits upon the banks of the Cardoner River, a little north of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. For devotees of Ignatian spirituality and Jesuits, Manresa is intimately linked to the story of St Ignatius of Loyola’s conversion and the place where his famous manual for prayer, the Spiritual Exercises were conceived.
Feast of the Sacred Heart 2024
Greetings for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2024 The Feast of the Sacred Heart (7 June) marks a special day in the life of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. When seeking approval for the Institute from Rome, the Sacred Heart was part of the official title bestowed upon the new Institute. For us […]
St Joseph Feast Day 2024
As we celebrate the feast of St Joseph (19 March) – Patron of the Universal Church and the Sisters of Saint Joseph – in this year dedicated to prayer and the synodal pathway, we are called to live and respond with a contemplative heart to what the Spirit is asking of us in the […]
Communion: Feasts of All Saints and All Souls
The liturgical cycle invites us to walk through the Paschal Mystery each year. As it draws towards an ending and a new beginning, we are also invited to reflect on the mystery of the whole living community of which we are a part. Christine Valters Paintner (2023) suggests remembering those who walked this earth before […]
Feast of the Triumph of the Cross
For the feast of the Triumph of the Cross celebrated on 14 September, Sr Katrina Brill shares a Personal Reflection. Most days in cosmopolitan Auckland, I would see in my daily outings the symbol of the cross – hanging from a car mirror, around a girl’s neck, as a marker for death on a road, […]
A Favourite Christian Feast – The Assumption of Mary, Mother of God
Do you have a favourite Christian feast? St Mary MacKillop claimed the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or Mother of God) as hers.[1] This feast has its origins in Jerusalem before the end of the fourth century. The early Christians held Mary, the loving and courageous Jewish Mother of Jesus, as one of their […]