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 […]
Mary MacKillop Feast Day Celebrations 2023
Mary MacKillop Place and the Sisters of Saint Joseph extend a warm invitation to all to celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop on Tuesday, 8 August 2023. “Mary MacKillop Place is a sacred site unlike any other because Mary lived, died and is buried here,” says Sr Monica Cavanagh, Congregational […]
Birth of John the Baptist
We commemorate the Birth of John the Baptist on 24 June. Only Luke tells about John the Baptist’s birth. In the other Gospels, Matthew, Mark and John, John the Baptist is already an adult when he comes into the story. He appears as a man of God, a prophet trusted by the people to whom […]
Feast of Saint Joseph 2023
Greetings on the feast of Saint Joseph. Currently, the Church worldwide is engaging in the Continental Phase for the Synod on Synodality. As Patron of the Universal Church, we might pause to reflect on the spirit of Synodality in the life of St Joseph. The word ‘synodality’ means ‘walking together’. Through the Gospel stories, we […]
Epiphany: Christmas Camels
When asked to write about the feast of 6 January called ‘Epiphany’, I discovered that Eastern and Western Churches emphasise different aspects of the theme ‘manifestation’, which is the meaning of the Greek word ‘Epiphany’. Eastern Churches focus on God’s manifestation of Jesus’ divinity at his baptism and at Cana, where he begins his public […]
Feasts of All Saints and Souls
The feasts of All Saints and All Souls are celebrated on 1 November and 2 November respectively. Over the first two days of November, we are invited to pray with and for everyone. We can pray with one another and the saints, as we are also reminded to remember and pray for all departed souls.
Mary MacKillop Feast Day Celebrations 2022
Mary MacKillop Place and the Sisters of Saint Joseph extend a warm invitation to celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop on Monday, 8 August 2022. “After two years of disruption due to COVID, we look forward to welcoming pilgrims and supporters to Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney,” says Sr […]
Feast of the Sacred Heart
For us as Josephites, celebrating the feast of the Sacred Heart (24 June) is intimately connected to God’s compassionate love. The Constitutions of the Sisters of Saint Joseph remind us: Mary MacKillop believed that God’s compassionate love symbolised by the Sacred Heart would become a reality for her sisters and the people with whom they […]
Celebrating June Feast Days with Mary MacKillop
During the month of June, we have the opportunity as followers of Mary MacKillop, to recall and celebrate the great feast days of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (24 June) and St John the Baptist (25 June). Our Josephite constitutions expresses Mary’s hope that: God’s compassionate love, symbolised for Mary MacKillop by the Sacred Heart, […]
Feast of St Joseph 2022
Joseph, a Man who Engaged with his Neighbours Over these past few weeks, we have seen and experienced the gift of being a neighbour as Ukrainian families flee into neighbouring countries. Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus knew this experience when they were forced to go to Egypt fleeing the wrath of Herod. In Australia […]