On 9 June 1974, the Minister for Lands in Queensland, the Hon. Mr Wallace Rae MIA, officiated at the ceremony which named the highest peak in the D’Aguilar Ranges, forty-eight kilometres north-west of Brisbane, ‘Tenison Woods Mountain’.

In his tribute to Fr Julian, Mr Rae described Julian as “one of the most picturesque personalities of Australia’s early history”:

He led a strangely varied and adventurous life. He achieved distinction in many totally different spheres. He was a distinguished scientist in separate fields, a noted explorer, a writer and a missionary. But in assessing his achievements he seems to stand most prominently as a mystic and a man of God. [1]

Pope Francis continually reminds us that an essential part of Earth’s ability to reveal God, is its variety. In Laudato Si’ he emphasises the importance of safeguarding different species for the health of creation itself: “Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another” (para. 42). How have we not noticed this same awareness in our reading of Scripture? I see this particularly in I Corinthians 15: 37-41 where St Paul celebrates creation’s variety as giving an indication of its eventual destination: the splendour of eternal life is the fulfillment of what God has sown.

We might say that the many-sided genius of Julian embodied in one man, is an example of God’s love for variety. Here was one who integrated in his being and experience the image of the One who is plural and in action is one. The Hebrew word for ‘God’ is plural – Elohîm. The verb used for Elohîm creating is ‘bara’ – singular. In variety, God, plural-yet-one, is revealed. In Christianity we name the mystery of God, ‘Trinity’.

Mary MacKillop’s biography of Father Woods, Julian Tenison Woods: A Life, was written as a ‘labour of love’ for her former friend and confidant. [2] As we read the account of Julian’s life, we are struck as she was, by the complications that accompany exceptional abilities. From childhood, Julian suffered from being multi-gifted. It is as though the cross is embedded in excess. The beauty of genius must learn the hard lesson of not always being right. In suffering, Julian learnt this.

Yet, in the cross there is glory. We rejoice at the outstanding achievements of Julian. Yes, he was a mountain of a man. But in the words of his friend Father Milne Curran and cited by Mary MacKillop:

Some of [Julian’s] best work was done as an invalid. He loved science for its own sake. He loved nature because it was to him the handiwork of the Master whom he loved. [3]
In his life, Julian Tenison Woods entered into the mystery of God in ways at which we can only marvel. His footsteps followed those of Jesus. He was, indeed, ‘a Man of God’.

Mary Cresp rsj

You’re invited to attend an event on Tuesday 8 October in Kensington, South Australia titled Spotlight on Julian Tenison Woods: His Influence on South Australian History facilitated by Mary Cresp rsj. Find out more here (p. 15).

Footnotes:
[1] T. P. Boland, Quiet Women (Queensland, Refulgence Publishers, 1974), 365.
[2] Mother Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Julian Tenison Woods: A Life, edited by Margaret Press RSJ, Blackburn, Harper Collins, 1997.
[3] As above, page 213.