Window on Creation
April 22, 2024
“Living in harmony with nature and with God gives us full happiness and purpose,” thus said Father Julian Tenison Woods in 1887.
For Fr Julian, fullness of life meant the integration of science and religion. He sensed that the future of Earth depends on the realisation that all creation is in relationship, and that we human beings are irrevocably inter-connected with the natural world. In this he echoed the sentiments of St Francis of Assisi whom Pope Francis brought to our attention in 2015 when he gave the world Laudato Si’. Pope Francis showed us that St Francis’ way of living simply and sustainably was in solidarity with Earth and her peoples.
Today we know our Earth is in trouble.
A new resource has been created as an invitation to all who care about the future. The reader is invited to look at our world, as if out a window, with St Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis, and Fr Julian.
Mary MacKillop College Kensington opens new Tenison Centre
April 8, 2024
Mary MacKillop College is located in Kensington, South Australia, the suburb where St Mary MacKillop lived and worked for many years. The College is an incorporated work of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.
Mary MacKillop College proudly announces the completion of the Tenison Centre, an innovation hub designed to inspire curiosity, unleash creativity and evoke collaboration. The Tenison Centre is dedicated to Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education for girls.
Julian Tenison Woods on Transcendent Evolution by Supernatural Selection
December 30, 2023
Father Julian Tenison Woods’ deep spiritual devotion to Mary and his profound connection to God through the natural world, were not mere facets of his life; they were sources of his vitality and inspiration.
Nature (or ‘Mother Nature’), like Mary the Mother of God, is a (‘sacramental’) sign of God’s grace which allows God’s presence to flow into us. Fr Julian found solace and revelation in both Mary’s maternal embrace and the nurturing beauty of nature. His life’s work in the natural sciences was more than an academic pursuit; it was a testament to the belief that all of creation offers glimpses of the infinite beauty of its Creator. Fr Julian’s reverence for Mary and for nature’s Creator breathed life into his very being, his ‘soul’, allowing him to provide his spiritual children insight into the interconnectedness of faith, science, and the world around us.
A Letter from Father Julian Tenison Woods
November 8, 2023
To mark the birth of Father Julian Tenison Woods on 15 November 1832, Sr Carmel Jones imagines a letter written by Fr Julian on his birthday…
As I sit here today on my birthday, pen in hand, I am drawn to reflect back on my life and thank God for the many graces with which I have been blessed.
I am certainly grateful for my parents, James and Henrietta, who gave me the gift of life, and for the many and varied experiences that came with growing up with my family in England. I was blessed to be able to follow my deep desire for priesthood which led me from London to France and then to Australia. I am also grateful for the way my life was so enriched by my love of science and the environment.
Father Julian: Man of Many Virtues
October 6, 2023
“Jesus wept!” This simple verse speaks volumes of the inner life of Christ. The effects on those around were not lost – “See how he loved [Lazarus],” they said (John 11:35). Soon after the death of Father Julian Tenison Woods on 7 October 1889, Mary MacKillop, on behalf of Mother Bernard, Mother General, wrote to the sisters, referring to ‘the gentle spirit of our Father Founder’:
Celebrating the Life of Julian Tenison Woods
October 5, 2023
On 7 October, the Sisters of Saint Joseph celebrate the life of Julian Tenison Woods, our Father Founder. Mary MacKillop wrote to the Sisters on the occasion of his death:
Julian Tenison Woods – A Reflection
Each year as the anniversary of the death of Julian Tenison Woods approaches (7 October), time can profitably be spent reflecting on various aspects of his life and spirituality, particularly in regard to how this can be relevant today.
In the lead up to the coming referendum in Australia, some of Julian’s writing on Aboriginal Australians seems particularly relevant. Below are some excerpts from his writing, presented with an invitation to spend time relating his thoughts to the upcoming referendum question.
A Visit with Father Julian Tenison Woods
September 25, 2023
With Fr Julian Tenison Woods’ anniversary of death on 7 October, I am drawn to reflect on a visit I made to his grave at Waverley Cemetery [1] earlier this year.
Perhaps it was because the weather was so good that day that I followed a sudden impulse to travel across Sydney by train and bus with only my phone as a guide. When I entered the gates of the cemetery, I was amazed to see so many headstones spread out across the hillside below me. The further I walked the more I felt enfolded by so many stories from the past.