Around the world, the Season of Creation is celebrated from 1 September until 4 October which is also the feast of St Francis of Assisi, known for his love for all of creation. Then on 7 October, we remember the anniversary of the death in 1889 of Father Julian Tenison Woods, who was highly respected for his scientific knowledge and his care for creation. In his history of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, the religious congregation founded in Brisbane by Fr Julian, Tom Boland ponders whether Julian might have seen himself as “the nineteenth century Francis of Assisi”.
Fr Julian’s scientific studies of nature led him to a reverence of the sacred at the heart of all creation, the Creator God, and he often expressed this in poetic language of the day:
The flowers will unveil the hidden secrets of their beauty; the stones reveal their crystalline structure, and the tiniest insect displays wonders of mechanism… All tending to raise the mind to higher and nobler conception of what creation does to declare the glory of its Author.
In his address on 1 September for World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Leo XIV pleaded for healing and peace in a world where there is increasing human suffering and ecological disaster. He encourages each of us to become collaborators in God’s work of creation, and so move “from desert to garden, from division to communion, and violence to peace”.
As Parish Priest in Penola in South Australia, Fr Julian readily combined the care of creation with care for the families of the area and hoped to alleviate suffering. He wrote about the wonders of the stalactites and stalagmites looking like a cathedral in the underground limestone caves of Naracoorte. At the same time, he was attentive to the needs of the people spread across his parish. In particular, he was concerned for the children, their education and their faith and so, 160 years ago on 19 March 1866, together with Mary MacKillop, founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
On his death anniversary, we remember and give thanks for the vision, the courage and the care shown by Fr Julian and for all that has, as a result, evolved during these 160 years.
In her letter to the Sisters after his death, Mary MacKillop wrote:
We must try to honour his memory by imitating his virtues.
Let us imitate Fr Julian’s virtues, care for creation and care for our neighbour, particularly those made poor today.
For further insights, see the eBook, Window on Creation by Carmel Jones rsj on FlippingBook here.
Sr Josephine Dubiel
Congregational Leader