A Hill Too Far?

At a time when the treatment of animals used in sport is under the spotlight, and in this month when countless Australians are captivated by the ‘Race that stops the nation’, it seems appropriate to stop,  ponder and allow ourselves to be inspired by Mary MacKillop’s kindness and concern for both people and animals.

“Another Sister and I were travelling with Mother Mary in Cobb and Co’s coach, which had its full complement of passengers,” one Sister recounted. “When we came to a very steep hill, Mother thought it was too much for the horses. She got out of the coach, and we did also, much against our will, as the hill was very long as well as steep, and, to make matters worse, Mother asked us to join her in saying some prayers for the driver of the coach. He was a most disagreeable man who was swearing at his horses most of the time.  Mother walked to the top of the hill in the best of spirits and provided the driver with some refreshments, as the days was very hot.”

On an ordinary, hot, Australian day, a grumpy man who swore at his horses must have been surprised to be the recipient of such a random act of kindness! “Amazing”, he probably thought, as he chewed on those unexpected refreshments. It raises the question: ‘Who deserves a good deed?’

In our imperfect lives, we all need someone to come along every so often to remind us of the love that underpins everything. Kindness sets up many ripples, and that’s why it is the greatest wisdom.

The above is an extract from The Little Brown Book Too (pages 48-49)

© Sue and Leo Kane 2011

Used with the kind permission of the publishers, St Paul’s Publications

Available online and from some Mary MacKillop Centres.

Download the print version of this reflection (PDF)

Image: Jiawei Shen, who has written:
I have used a pure realist style to portray a scene of Mary MacKillop travelling around Australia by Cobb and Co coach in the 1880s. I based my work on comments by Mary’s biographers about how she never stayed in the one place long, travelling vast distances between Josephite  establishments over rough roads in uncomfortable coaches.
Obtained from: Mary MacKillop: A Tribute © Honeysett Press,  NSW 1995, page 70

Students Called to Action through Stewardship

Students at Mary MacKillop College, Nundah in Queensland, were called to action last week when they celebrated the College’s Penola Day.

At the College, Penola Day (7 October) commemorates the anniversary of the death of Father Julian Tenison Woods. Fr Julian was not only a gifted missionary priest and co-founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph but an eminent scientist and environmentalist. For Fr Julian:

As such, Penola House’s overarching value is stewardship. This is lived by the community through conservation, empathy and inclusivity.

This year Penola House committed the day to preserving the earth through conserving water. The Penola House liturgy invited the girls to imagine what the world will be like if we do not act to preserve all that is sacred. In this instance they acknowledged the importance of water as a “living source” (John 4:10-14) and as a House recommitted to their stewardship of this essential resource. Each girl wrote her commitment and a prayer on water droplets. The droplets were then hung in the plaza to form a community pledge of commitment.

The day centered on raising awareness to the plight of communities in drought-stricken areas of Queensland where water shortage has been unprecedented. Parent, students and staff donated bottles and cases of water which will be distributed to outlying communities in South East Queensland. The community also pledged commitments to practical ways of conserving water at school and at home. The College plaza was alive with fund raising initiatives as girls busked, braided and baked to raise money for those in need.

Penola Day 2019 was a day of awareness, gratitude and a deepening of empathy for the needs of those facing significant hardship. As a generation faced with a future of climate change and uncertainty, the students are keen to continue their commitment to the environment and conservation in the hope of bringing about change.

Mary MacKillop College
Nundah

View photos from Penola Day in the gallery below:

Photos provided by Mary MacKillop College, Nundah. Used with permission.

All Souls Day

All Souls Day is a day for commemoration of all the faithful departed and is observed on 2 November.

The feasts of All Saints and All Souls, which are celebrated one day apart in November, 1 & 2, are the two sides of the same coin. This precious coin is the incredible and all-encompassing love that God our Creator has for all of creation and therefore for each one of us. That unconditional love of the God who is Love carries us from the moment of our conception to our final home with God. As Christians we believe that, like Jesus, we will pass through the gateway of death to that new life in God that is our destiny.

In the earliest Christian scriptures, St Paul, writing to the Romans explicates this belief:

There has long been a tradition in our Church of praying for our dead. At each Mass in the Eucharistic Prayer we pray for them: “Remember our brothers and sisters who have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again. Bring them into the light of your presence”. Mary MacKillop too reminded the Sisters, “Let us not forget our loved ones in our prayers.”

This remembrance in prayer in later times grew into the perceived need for a notion such as purgatory, a state of being purified of anything that might hold the person back from God. Over the ages the mystery of our journey through death to life has taken many forms in our attempt to understand what we cannot know, of what we have no experience. We can only use our imperfect images to try to describe the unknown. St Paul alludes to this when he says:

We are utterly blessed to be fully known by our God and so all our life – our joys, our difficulties, our sufferings, our weakness and sinfulness are surely gathered into the immense love of our God who draws us ever more and more into that love until we come to know fully.

The Opening Prayer of the Mass for 2 November brings together our understanding and our celebration, in Jesus, of the mystery of the life and death of our loved ones and of all our faithful departed.

All Saints’ Day

All Saints’ Day is a celebration of all Christian saints held on 1 November annually.

A young woman whom I know has just celebrated her 44^th birthday. She is the mother of two children. Early this year she was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer. After having undergone months of chemo-therapy and a complete reconstruction of her pelvis she is learning to walk again – a very painful process. Two weeks ago, she learned that the cancer has spread to other parts of her body. How does she face this challenging part of her life’s journey?

Then there are the mum and dad expecting their first child. Early in the pregnancy doctors told them that the little one would be born with severe difficulties. What decision do these parents make when they think about the future of their as yet unborn child, the ongoing care, advocacy and more ……..?

The people in each of these stories are facing their difficulties with hope, sometimes tears, many questions, fear but always with courage and love. They inspire us.

As you read this you will no doubt think of people in your life who have faced or are facing significant challenges as they continue to walk their journey of life.

As we move towards celebrating the feast of All Saints, I would suggest that the stories above, your memories, and many unknown stories call us to reflect on the meaning of this ancient feast.  Originally it was a celebration of all the nameless martyrs of the persecutions, people who surrendered their lives rather than compromise their beliefs.

Just what makes a saint? What is it about a person that we name them as “holy”?

The Gospel for this feast, the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:1-12, gives us the roadmap for this way of living. Jesus calls us to be meek and merciful. He challenges us to hunger and thirst for righteousness and to work for peace. He assures us then that “the kingdom of heaven will be ours.”

Richard Rohr comments that this Gospel gives us an image of what a healed, whole and liberated life looks like. He also comments that, in all his letters, whenever St Paul speaks of “the saints” he means “the people”, “those who have been wounded, walked through the wounding and come out the other side more alive and more whole.” Perhaps being more whole is about being holy?

So who are the saints among us?

They are the ones who stand tall in times of crisis; who reach out to others in times of need. They are women and men of principle, generosity, patience and kindness. They are the ones who are patient, forgiving and understanding.  They are the ones who form us in goodness as they make visible the love of God. These are the ones we celebrate on this feast, together with the saints the Church has publicly named as saint.

And so we ask “all you abiding in the fullness of God’s presence, be with us, rejoice with us, sing praise with us, and pray with us now.

You might like to spend some time with these questions that Sr Dianne Bergant offers for reflection:

Who are the saints in your life?
What makes them holy?
Which Beatitude holds special appeal for you and why?

Annie Bond rsj

Images provided by Sr Annie Bond. Used with permission.

France Inspired by St Mary MacKillop

For the Extraordinary Missionary Month of October, the Catholic Diocese of Versailles, France prepared an online St Mary MacKillop reflection and biography about the life of Mary MacKillop.

Provided below is the Mary MacKillop biography that was prepared…

First canonised Australian saint, co-founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart for the Catholic education of poor children.

Born in Melbourne, the eldest of eight children from a poor family, Mary had to work to support them quite early (16 years old). At 18, she left for Penola in the South East district of the Australian state of South Australia to be a governess. In her free time, she cared for poor or disadvantaged children from the local area, especially those from Aboriginal families.

There she met local parish priest, Father Julian Woods whose Bishop had instructed his priests to open Catholic schools in their parishes. He was unable to hire Catholic teachers. Therefore, he decided to found a new Religious Congregation to do this work and he invited Mary to become its first member.  The project far exceeded their expectations.

In 1866, she became the first Sister of St. Joseph as Father Woods’ new Congregation was called.  In 1867 she moved to Adelaide, the principal city in South Australia, to take charge of a large school there. Many young women joined her and by December 1869, when she made her final vows, there were already 82 sisters managing 23 schools, an orphanage, a shelter for former prisoners, and a House of Providence for vulnerable or homeless women of all ages.

Between 1871 and 1889, the new institute continued to grow even though conflict over its mode of governance led to the excommunication of Mary for five months. Then, after the bishop had lifted his excommunication, she travelled to Rome to ask the pope to approve the statutes of this new Australian Religious Congregation. Even though Rome had accepted it with some modifications, the mode of governance, new for the time, continued to provoke turmoil and division among some bishops.

In 1888, Rome gave formal approval to the Congregation and bishops who wished to retain the older form of governance for their sisters were permitted to do so provided they changed these sisters’ mode of dress and the names of their Congregations.

In 1891, 25 years after the establishment of the Congregation, there were 300 sisters in 80 foundations in nine Australian and New Zealand dioceses.

Until the end of her life and as far as she was able, Mary devoted all her energy to visiting the institutions, accompanying Sisters to new foundations, and instructing them on the most subtle points of their rule and on her methods of education.

She died in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on 8 August 1909 and became Australia’s first canonised saint on 17 October 2010.

Beatrice Trépanier
Head of the Evangelization Department, Catholic diocese of Versailles, France

View the Mary MacKillop biography on the Catholic diocese of Versailles website

View the St Mary MacKillop reflection for Extraordinary Missionary Month here

Media Release: Sisters of Saint Joseph elect new Congregational Leadership Team

The Sisters of Saint Joseph elect new Congregational Leadership Team.

Sydney, 17 October 2019 – The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart has this week elected a new Congregational Leadership Team to take forward the vision and direction of the Congregation for the next six years.  Sister Monica Cavanagh has been elected to be the Congregational Leader for a second term. Sisters Josephine Dubiel, Mary Ellen O’Donoghue, Clare Conaglen and Louise Reeves, also for a second term, will be General Councillors.

The new Congregational Leadership Team was elected by a delegation of 63 Sisters from around the Congregation, during the 27th General Chapter of the Sisters of Saint Joseph held at their Spirituality Centre in Baulkham Hills from 29 September to 15 October. The Members of the Chapter considered the skills, experience and current needs of the Congregation as together they discerned the leadership for the next six years.

The new leadership team look forward to continuing the work established over the previous six years as well and implementing the new directions established at the Chapter. The new leadership team move forward in hope aware that there will be challenges to be faced and opportunities to be embraced.

During the past six years, the Congregational Leadership Team have been working with the Sisters in transitioning to establish new Regional Structures; extending our response to mission through the stream-lining of our Incorporated Works and forming a new Congregation through the journey of fusion.

Another exciting part of our leadership has been the growth of people drawn to live the Gospel with a Josephite heart and the gifts that have come through these connections. Our key focus was to listen to the cry of children, the cry of Earth and restore human dignity to those places where humanity is diminished. The women and men who have made a commitment as Affiliates and Associates bring the Josephite spirit into a bigger sphere of influence.

Works such as Mary MacKillop Today are in a much stronger position to respond to emerging needs that face people with disadvantage today. Restoring dignity and building the capacity of local groups is central to the work of our Incorporated Works.

There has been a heightened awareness to the cry of Earth as Sisters and our ministries have made significant efforts to address the issues related to climate justice. Our sisters in their wisdom years continue to keep their mission hearts alive through many voluntary endeavours.

A special time was the celebration of our Sesquicentenary in 2016 with many events being organised around the Congregation. It was a time to celebrate the lives of our sisters and to give thanks for our Founders Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods.

Congregational Leader, Monica Cavanagh who was born and raised in the small rural community of Allora in Queensland, says that she is humbled to be elected again and looks forward to leading the Congregation as it continues to have a significant impact in communities around the world.

The Sisters of Saint Joseph minster throughout Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Peru, East Timor, Scotland and Brazil. The Congregation was founded in Penola, South Australia in 1866 by St Mary MacKillop and English priest, Reverend Julian E Tenison Woods. The Sisters of Saint Joseph have Ministries that support educational endeavours, prisoner welfare, people living with disability, anti-trafficking and slavery programs, refugees, schools and young people, and indigenous people, amongst other areas.

For more information, please contact:

Kathleen Norman
Communications Manager
Sisters of Saint Joseph
Kathleen.Norman@sosj.org.au
+61 2 8912 2722   +61 438 006 566

Children’s Day Australia

The spirit of Mary and Julian lives on in Catholic Schools where children are focus.

Universal Children’s Day is a celebration of children’s rights, talents and citizenship. It is celebrated on 23 October in Australia and on 20 November around the rest of the World each year.

Mary MacKillop and Fr. Julian Tenison Woods encouraged the sisters to recognise that children as the image of God, had an innate dignity.  At St Thomas More Catholic Parish Primary School, (STM), the place in which I am privileged to minister, this legacy is very visible. Children here are given every opportunity to develop their gifts and talents and to gain an awareness of the richness and wisdom of the culture of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders to our nation.

Andrew, a Gamilorio man, is our AEA, he worked with the Year 3 students as they studied first nations life before colonisation, a topic that covered food, water, shelter, tools and implements. He demonstrated the cutting of a coolamon from a tree using traditional tools, the yarning mats[1], a stone axe, bundi (hitting stick) and stone knife.  He explained the types of trees suitable, many of which are on the grounds of STM. He explained that while the tree is sacred it heals.  He demonstrated how to show respect and thanks to the tree for the gift for the coolamon.  This was done by painting and sticking some of his hair to the tree.  While working Andrew explaining the meaning of what he was doing, it proved to be quite memorable for the students and staff.

Andrew stated that “STM is very unique, as no one has done this in a very long time and as far as I know, no one in Catholic Schools of NSW are using stone axes anymore.”

Another area where the children develop and enjoy their talents is in the arts. One hundred and two children from Kinder to Year 6, and a dedicated band of teachers spent many months at lunchtime and after school learning to working together using acting, dance and music to tell the story of the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Erwin. This was not only the story of a very interesting Australian, but  of man passionate about the environment, something we try to keep in the mind of all members of our community.

It was wonderful to see that both boys and girls were eager to be part of this performing arts activity.  Parents, and grandparents were involved making of costumes and preparing the students for the performance.  The tradition and spirit of Catholic Schools lives on!

This was all part of the national arts competition Wakakirri. Our students were successful in their round and competed in their section final, where they were named the winning story. STM is now in the running to be named the story of the year, a great achievement for the ‘ordinary’ but talented classroom teachers and students.

Niesha Allport rsj

[1] The use of a yarning circle (or dialogue circle) is an important process within Aboriginal culture and Torres Strait Islander culture. It has been used by Indigenous peoples from around the world for centuries to learn from a collective group, build respectful relationships, and to preserve and pass on cultural knowledge.

Student’s Effort Inspired by Girl Rising Story

Malaika Boyall is an amazing Year 7 student from Mount St Joseph’s, Altona (Victoria) who organised a very worthwhile sold out charity screening recently.

Here is the story in Malaika’s own words…

A few years ago I came across the book Malala by Malala Yousafzai. I was really moved by her story and her struggles to continue her education. I love reading and could not imagine my life without books. I even went to see Malala talk in Melbourne last year. It was such an incredible experience to see her in person!

Last Christmas when I was given $100 to donate to a charity of my choice, I didn’t know who to donate it to but knew I wanted it to have something to do with helping disadvantaged girls. I was reading the ‘Girl Rising’ book at the time and I was shocked by the statistics of child marriage and the number of girls out of school, and amazed by the strength of these girls. I researched Girl Rising and saw they had a movie that you could screen.

In the movie Girl Rising The Fifth Anniversary Edition, Girl Rising travels to multiple countries to meet nine unforgettable girls, striving beyond circumstance and overcoming nearly unimaginable odds to achieve their dreams. Girl Rising’s goal is to ensure that girls around the world are educated and empowered.

I knew I wanted to raise money for Girl Rising so I started to work out the costs of screening it so that I could raise lots of money to donate. I started organising things and asking people for advice. I promoted and sold tickets over two months and suddenly I had a whole theatre booked with people to come watch my screening. I organised a raffle with prizes generously donated by Clip’n Climb Williamstown, Sportsgirl and Sun Theatre to raise more money.

Everyone who came and watched the movie said it was an eye-opener and a great cause. I raised over $1300 in total with money from ticket sales, donations and selling raffle tickets. I am super happy that I raised so much money for Girl Rising and that I have sparked awareness in so many households!

Well done, Maiaika!

Nicole Magee
Marketing & Communications Officer
Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College

View the trailer of ‘Girl Rising’ here