Remembering Mary MacKillop’s mother Flora
On Sunday 8 May, many families throughout our country will be celebrating the wonder and joy of experiencing motherhood and being mothered. For others, Mother’s Day brings sadness and a sense of loss. In troubled places throughout the world mothers are separated from children, and children are living with the awful memory of losing their […]
Reflecting on illness and death
Life blooms and suddenly… Monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily, we hear news of the death of yet another treasured, loved, Sister and friend. Sadness grips our hearts and minds. It feels as though our dreams and visions for the future are slipping away. Could it be that this Congregation, founded by Julian and Mary, is […]
Easter Reflections 2022
We share with you four reflections for Palm (Passion) Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
The Hope and Faith of Mary MacKillop
Why do you think that everything is hopeless, that no one can take away your own tombstones? Why do you give in to resignation and failure? Easter is the feast of tombstones taken away, rocks rolled aside. God takes away even the hardest stones against which our hopes and expectations crash: death, sin, fear, worldliness. […]
Who was St Patrick?
Ireland has many saints, the stories of whom have come down to us from tradition, often wrapped in legend and myth, but Patrick is different; he tells his own story. His brief autobiography, written in old age, begins with an introduction: My name is Patrick and goes on to recount how at 16 he was […]
A woman ahead of her time
Celebrating International Women’s Day (8 March) is a great impetus for women around the globe to creatively and courageously encourage further, the growing surge for progress in the tussle for recognition and equality.
Lent: A Path of Blessing
… time to allow a fresh new taste of God.A Lenten Poem by Ann Weems American poet, Ann Weems, invites us to view Lent as “time… to let the power of our faith story take hold of us”. Years of “immersing ourselves more consciously in the evolving mysteries of the universe”,[1] and absorbing scientific findings […]
World Day of Prayer 2022
Daily, I witness people from different religions, cultures and backgrounds who come to Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel to pray for their loved ones, to intercede for their needs, healing and consolation, or just to seek some quiet time. I sometimes encounter people who come to me and say “I do not know how to pray. […]
The Struggles and Gifts of Father Julian Tenison Woods
Bear in mind what struggles our life has come through and what opposition it has had. Julian Tenison Woods 1887 This is the instruction on the first page of the 2022 Josephite Calendar and was written by Fr Julian Tenison Woods, two years before his death. I wonder what struggles of which he had been […]
Mary MacKillop’s Experience with Illness
Recently I have heard our culture described as being ‘crippled with emotion and needing intensive care for hope’. There are many types of illness including, physical, emotional and psychological, pervading the environs that we mix in.
World Day of Prayer for the Sick Reflection
Have you ever been hospitalised because of illness or a need for surgery? Such an experience can be overwhelming. Suddenly you’ve lost all control of your identity, free movement, decision making, privacy and body. For most of us, this experience is temporary but for many people it becomes a permanent reality.
Birth of Mary MacKillop – 15 January 1842
In 1891, during a worldwide depression, the people of Melbourne city suffered greatly. Those who were rich lost their investments, those who were poor lost their work, the poorest were homeless and slept on the streets. The Archbishop of Melbourne had a heart for the poor and he talked to Mary MacKillop, the new Josephite […]