Pentecost 2023
The love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 The feast of Pentecost (28 May) invites us to be attentive to the movement of the Spirit acting in and through our lives.
Easter Message 2023
Let us rejoice in the gift of Easter and the blessing of hope it brings. This message of hope is especially important in our world today impacted by war and natural disasters. We see so many refugees risking the journey in search of a new life free from poverty, oppressive governments, climate change and […]
Uluru Statement from the Heart: Basic Truths
It was wonderful to receive a message from Sr Denise McKay recently describing the overwhelming sense of gratitude experienced by all those who attended the historic South Australian Voice to Parliament. They witnessed the Bill pass through both Houses of Parliament, with the Governor signing the Act into law “before our eyes”. In the hopes […]
“We Say Sorry” – National Apology to Stolen Generations
Today (13 February) we commemorate the first-ever national apology made by a Prime Minister (Kevin Rudd) to initialise in 2008 the Australian Federal Government’s rehabilitation, justice, and reconciliation agenda for Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, and the tens of thousands of Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their families during Australia’s assimilation era. […]
Australia Day 2023
As we celebrate Australia Day, we reflect on all those Australians who have dedicated their lives in service of their sisters and brothers, our everyday heroes and heroines. Many will be recognised in Australia Day citizen awards and others will formally become Australian citizens. Australia Day provides us with the opportunity to reflect upon what […]
October Prayer Intention: A Church Open to Everyone
Each month, Pope Francis asks for our prayers for a specific intention. For the month of October, the prayer intention is for a Church open to everyone. We pray for the Church ever faithful to and courageous to preaching the Gospel. May the church be a community of solidarity, fraternity and welcome, always living in […]
Social Justice Sunday 2022
History says, don’t hope On this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime The longed-for tidal wave Of justice can rise up, And hope and history rhyme.Seamus Heaney As we watch the directions taken by the newly sworn-in Australian Government, we experience encouraging anticipation that hope and history might rhyme more closely.
Saint Mary MacKillop Feast Day 2022
A Message from Sr Monica Cavanagh, Congregational Leader, Sisters of Saint Joseph. Greetings for the feast of Saint Mary MacKillop (8 August). As we join in celebrating Mary MacKillop’s feast this year, we are called to embrace the values that were at the heart of all she did. Her deep love for those she […]
Pentecost 2022
One of the joys of my recent participation in the International Union of Superiors General’s (UISG) meeting in Rome, was the deep sense of the Spirit moving in and among us. On a number of occasions, we were asked to pray the Our Father in our own language. This profound experience drew me into the […]
Let’s Take A Stand For the Church Today – It’s What Mary MacKillop Would Do
Surging wonder and gratitude were unexpected feelings for me when I saw the picture of Mary MacKillop hanging on the walls of St Peter’s Basilica on the day of the canonisation, 17 October 2010. World recognition of the workings of God through this woman was an awe-inspiring thing indeed. In her Ministerial Statement made to […]
Feast of Saint Joseph 2021
Sr Monica’s video message. Feast of Saint Joseph (19 March) Be creatively courageous like Joseph.Pope Francis, Patris Corde, No. 5 On 8 December 1870, Pope Pius IX declared Saint Joseph as the Patron of the Universal Church. Pope Pius IX was the Pope with whom Mary MacKillop met in Rome in 1873. On 8 […]
Australian Catholic Youth Festival, Perth
Welcome to the Australian Catholic Youth Festival 2019, Perth. The Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) is a national gathering of Catholic young people that has been established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC). It exists to provide young people with opportunities to deepen their relationship with Jesus and to be empowered to be disciples […]