The Other Mary
August 7, 2023
In the Gospel of Matthew, we are told that “towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.” (28:1) Earlier we had been told that, after Joseph of Arimathea had placed the body of Jesus in a new tomb and sealed it, “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb”. (27:61)
Now, there are so many Marys in the Gospels that one scholar even suggested that Mary was not a name but a title given to a number of women in the New Testament, signifying a particular function in the early Christian community. Whatever about that, there is a certain mystery about “the other Mary” who figures at the end of Matthew’s Gospel.
By metaphoric leap and midrashic application, I want to apply it to St Mary MacKillop, since we begin to understand her if we see that she, like any other of the saints, is a saint precisely because she is a witness of the Resurrection; she was and is a woman who sat and sits “opposite the tomb”, a woman who went and still goes “to see the tomb”.
In going to see the tomb, we are told, the two Marys meet an angel who says to them, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.”
Mary MacKillop, An Example and Inspiration
We know that a saint is someone whose life is lived in intimate union with God, and for God, accepting God’s will in all events of life. (One’s life is examined to be considered worthy by the Church to be honoured and imitated). This is what Mary tried to do throughout her 67 years of life, and she also urged her mother Flora to be a saint.[2] Living holy lives would seem to be in the DNA of the MacKillop family, as their lived history demonstrates.
Mary MacKillop’s Virtues, Values and Time in Arrowtown, Aotearoa New Zealand
How do Mary MacKillop’s virtues and values inspire the happenings of everyday life?
Sr Margaret Mary Sexton wrote:
Mary MacKillop’s Example of Charitable Speech
In our world of instant news and information, we are constantly confronted by stories that judge other people. Our media, including social media, gives us conclusions without much examination of facts.
Mary MacKillop goes to London and Paray-le-Monial
July 24, 2023
To celebrate 150 years since Mary MacKillop embarked on her first overseas journey (March 1873 – December 1874), the Sisters of Saint Joseph share reflections and details from Mary’s travels to and from Europe – sourced from Mary’s letters and Congregational Archives.
When we celebrated Easter week earlier this year, we were powerfully reminded of pain, isolation and fear all embodied in the women who went to the tomb. The Angel told them “Do not be afraid!” Their pain gave way to hope and, later, joy when they knew that Jesus had risen and visited them.
I was drawn then to read again the excerpts from Mary MacKillop’s diary from August to mid-October 1873. Mary had been in Rome to endeavour to have the Constitutions for the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart approved. The revised Constitutions were eventually completed with the assistance of several priests in Rome and sent to Pope Pius IX for approval. It was expected that the process would take quite some time.
Synods, Councils, and the people of God
When Australian Catholics learned that they were to have a Plenary Council in 2022, most had a fair idea that it would be about a formal gathering of Church leaders. Not long after when they learned that they were to be involved in a Synod, there was some hesitancy about the terminology.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia the words ‘Synod’ and ‘Council’ are synonymous. Both refer to ecclesiastical gatherings for the discussion and decision of matters relating to faith and morals. In Canon Law (Editions 1983 and onwards), however, the role and authority of Synods are spelled out in Canons 342 – 348 while Councils are covered in Canons 439 – 446. The importance of Synods to the People of God in the modern world, came to the fore as a result of Vatican II (see below).
Stepping it up with the Stompers
Inspired by Mary MacKillop’s motto to ‘never see a need without doing something about it’, a team from the Sisters of Saint Joseph in North Sydney is making every step count to raise money for First Nations students undertaking their tertiary studies.
It’s part of a larger Congregational fundraising campaign to support the work of Mary MacKillop Today’s First Nations Tertiary Scholarship. Sisters and staff are coming together to raise funds and seek donations by participating in Stadium Stomps, Women’s World Cup Sweeps, Sausage Sizzles and Cent Sales.
Be Fierce for Fair on the Feast Day of Australia’s most loved Saint
July 21, 2023
Jane Woolford, CEO of Mary MacKillop Today, invites the Josephite family to celebrate Saint Mary MacKillop’s Feast Day on 8 August as a united community who believe in being fierce in the face of adversity and fair where there is injustice.