Be Calm and Full of Hope

As we mark the Jubilee year and celebrate the feast of Saint Mary MacKillop, we are invited to reflect on her enduring message: “Be calm and full of hope.” In a world yearning for peace, Mary’s life calls us to be Pilgrims of Hope, walking with faith and nurturing seeds of hope.

Throughout this Jubilee year, many have embarked on pilgrimages — some to sacred sites abroad, others to places of spiritual significance within Australia. Among these is Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney, a sacred space where pilgrims can find quiet in the Chapel and reflect at Mary’s tomb.

The Mary MacKillop Place Museum is hosting a special exhibition, “Fanning the Flame of Hope,” celebrating thirty years of milestones and memories. Visitors are also invited to take part in the Hope Walk Pilgrimage, a reflective journey through Mary MacKillop Place centred on the theme of hope.

Other Mary MacKillop Spirituality Ministry centres across Australia are offering experiences that connect us to Mary’s spirit and encourage us in our own journeys of faith and trust.

Author Christine Valters Paintner, in The Soul of a Pilgrim, reminds us that the Latin root of pilgrimage — peregrini — means “stranger.” Mary MacKillop’s letters reveal her gratitude for the strangers she met along her journeys, whose kindness reflected the face of a Provident God. On her way to Rome in 1873, she wrote:

One touching encounter she describes as she journeys through Europe:

Mary’s journey to Paray-Le-Monial in France with other pilgrims, deepened her understanding of what it means to walk in faith.

On 8 August, pilgrims will gather at Mary MacKillop Place, in cathedrals, churches, and sacred sites across the country to celebrate her life — a life that continues to inspire us to be Bearers of Hope in a world marked by suffering, division, and need. Mary MacKillop embodied an active hope: rooted in God’s providence, sustained by faith, and expressed through compassion and service.

Let us pray:

St Mary MacKillop, Companion of Hope,
Teach us through your example to trust in God’s providence,
To walk with courage even when the path is unclear,
And to be light for others in times of darkness.

Sr Monica Cavanagh
Congregational Leader