Vale Deacon Boniface
July 7, 2019We remember Deacon Boniface (1936 – 2019), a man who lived the spirit of this year’s NAIDOC theme: ‘Voice. Treaty. Truth. Let’s walk together for a shared future.’
Deacon Boniface Perjert was born in Port Keats, Northern Territory in 1936 to Perdjert his Muripatha father and Bullimbi, his Moigabin mother. Boniface was the first baby baptised at the mission run by the Missionary of the Sacred Heart (MSC).
He blazed a trail for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholics to follow as he not only walked between two worlds – Catholic and Traditional – he brought them together. His words and actions spoke loudly to the members of the Wadeye Community – of which he was a deeply loved and respected Elder – but also to the Catholic hierarchy with whom he shared his wisdom on many official occasions.
He was ordained the first permanent Deacon in Australia at Port Keats on 19 July 1974 by Bishop John O’Loughlin, the Bishop of Darwin and in November 1986, Boniface assisted at the Mass celebrated by now Saint John Paul II in Alice Springs when he delivered the famous address to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. He again assisted Saint John Paul II at the beatification Mass for Mary MacKillop in Sydney in January 1995.
A quote from Deacon Boniface:
Reflect more on the life of Vale Deacon Boniface with a tribute by the NATSICC (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council) below:
Article and photo obtained from NATSICC (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council). Used with permission.
Living from the Heart
July 6, 2019This month, as we continue mining the gold from Sue and Leo Kane’s Little Brown Book Too, we are invited to ponder a simple story about Mary MacKillop which provides yet another example of how she lived from the heart.
There were no limits to her love… how do I measure up?
Mary had managed only a very early cup of tea for breakfast before she arrived at the convent in the afternoon. The Sisters had prepared a meal for her. Sister Borgia Healy tells the story:
Just as she was about to sit to the table, a knock came to the door. I went to see who was there and a poor, half-starved, baby clothed old man stood before me. “Would you give me something to eat, miss?” he said. “I can get no work in this town, not anything to eat. I’m very weak.”
Mother Mary followed me to the door, and when she saw the man, she said:
For Mary, that hungry old man was Jesus coming to her door. She often told her Sisters:
Her compassion sprang from her spirit of love and self-forgetfulness.
It knew no boundaries!
The above is an extract from The Little Brown Book Too (pages 32-33)
© Sue and Leo Kane 2011
Used with the kind permission of the publishers, St Paul’s Publications
Available online and from some Mary MacKillop Centres.
Download the print version of this reflection (PDF)
Image of Mary, Sister and poor family: Artist unknown
Fr Julian: Man of Words – Letter Six
July 5, 2019
Father Julian Tenison Woods wrote many articles on scientific subjects.
This month I present an example of the detailed research and time that must have gone into his writing: Palaeontology of New Zealand Part 4, Corals and Bryozoa of the Neozoic period in New Zealand. [i]
This is not a paper that I expect too many people may read in its entirety. Indeed it may not be a subject of interest to too many. It is, however, a valuable insight into the scientific mind of Father Julian and, I hope, may lead the reader into finding other articles of more personal relevance. It certainly shows Father Julian’s ability to apply his observations to areas unfamiliar to his experience.
Mount St Joseph’s Former Students Excel
July 4, 2019“Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College (MSJ) breathes life into contemporary learning, inspires girls to strive to fulfil their goals and celebrates their many talents.”
Here are a couple of examples of past students’ achievements:
Kelly and Lacrosse: Former MSJ student, Steph Kelly (MSJ College Sports Captain 2016) is living her dream and goal of playing lacrosse at the highest level. Steph played in the National Lacrosse Championships over the June long weekend for the victorious Senior Victorian Women’s Team. Victoria defeated South Australia 16-5. Steph was the top scorer in the championship.
Steph is currently on a break from her lacrosse scholarship at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia USA. In Steph’s own words:
Sue Safornos, Sports Coordinator: Supporting Steph to achieve her goals is MSJ’s sports coordinator, Sue Sofarnos. Sue has mentored Steph since she was a student at MSJ and as Steph’s coach in the Under 15 Victorian team in 2012-2013. Sue coached Steph to victory in the Senior Victorian Women’s team. Following in the family tradition, Sue’s daughter Hayley also played in the recent National Championship, being named Most Valuable Player. Sue has just been named as coach for the All Australian Lacrosse Team.
Trudi Camilleri – West End Star: Former MSJ student Trudy Camilleri is now starring in the London West End Theatre production of Queen of the Mist. Trudi is an amazing lady. On 16 August 1993, whilst at MSJ, Trudy was dragged under a bus and had both her legs crushed. She recovered and came back the following year to complete her Victorian Certificate of Education. Trudi went on to study at the Melbourne Conservatorium and even came back to MSJ to teach singing for a while.
Trudi has been living in London for the past 15 years and became involved in Musical theatre about five years ago. Queen of the Mist is a role that was written specifically for her. She is currently in the recording studio recording the cast soundtrack.
We take pride in these former students and congratulate them on their success.
Nicole Magee,
Marketing & Communications Officer
Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College, Altona West, Victoria
Footnote: Heading quote sourced from the MSJ Website
Photos supplied by Mount St Joseph college. Used with permission.
Media Statement: CRA urges Government to do more for Asylum-Seekers and Refugees
July 3, 2019Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) applauds the decision of the Australian Government to rescue eight Australian orphans trapped in Syrian refugee camps.
Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) applauds the decision of the Australian Government to rescue eight Australian orphans trapped in Syrian refugee camps in the recent secret operation. CRA urges the Government to continue to act courageously on behalf of refugees, especially young people.
There are approximately 50 Australian women and children remaining in Syrian refugee camps who are now suffering a backlash from the rescue operation. Accused of being traitors, their lives are in danger. The repatriation of these endangered families needs to be a priority for the Australian Government, for the sake of the physical and psychological safety of innocent children.
Media Statement: CRA urges Government to do more for Asylum-Seekers and Refugees
Mary MacKillop: Patron of Brisbane Archdiocese
June 29, 2019Mary, Patron of the Brisbane Archdiocese
Mosquito plague, high humidity and heat greeted Mary MacKillop and her Sisters when they arrived in Brisbane on New Year’s Eve 1869 – just three and half years after the foundation of the Congregation in Penola. What warrior women they were, with hearts set on fire for God’s mission. Little did they know what indescribable challenge and pain Queensland would be for Mary and the Congregation.
Mary and the Sisters had been invited by Bishop Quinn to set up schools in Queensland, so they came well equipped with the proven Woods-MacKillop system of parish-based schools. They immediately hopped in, opened schools in Brisbane and very quickly expanded their presence to other places in country Queensland.
The story of the journey between 1869 and when the Archbishop John Bathersby petitioned Rome to make Mary MacKillop the Patron of the Archdiocese is told here.
Feast of the Sacred Heart
June 28, 2019Personal Reflection on the contemporary relevance of devotion of the Sacred Heart.
Whilst writing a reflection for the Feast of the Sacred Heart, my memory takes me back to the first time I gazed upon an image of the Sacred Heart. I was about eight or nine years old, living in our humble rental home in North Fitzroy, Melbourne with my parents, brother and sister. My mother placed the image on the pedestal in her bedroom, accompanied with a Legion of Mary brochure and a statue of Our Lady. There she prayed every night that my father’s employment as a railway worker would enable the family to purchase their own home. Eventually this happened when we moved into our new family home in North Carlton when I was 12 years old. The framed image of the Sacred Heart came with us and remained in the family home for the next sixty years! It now resides in my sister’s home to this day.
My devotion to the Sacred Heart has ebbed and flowed over time. During my early years, I did not understand the origins of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Perhaps I was not alone in my experience. In Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods’ time, devotion to the Sacred Heart was primarily one of external devotion. Although the more I reflect on their spirituality through reading their letters and recognised biographies, my appreciation that their deep love of the Heart of Jesus was a central theme in their spirituality which they practised with enduring love.
As we approach the Feast of the Sacred Heart, I revisit the origins surrounding the reasons for the sub-title ‘of the Sacred Heart’ being added to our name as Sisters of Saint Joseph.
Mary Cresp rsj provides a background:
The words: “orientation of the charism was to be perpetuated,” clarified for me the connection between devotion to the Sacred Heart and living the Josephite charism. The connection was evident in the spiritual lives of Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods.
Memories continue to linger as I continue to write this reflection. My mother’s quiet devotion to the loving Heart of Jesus through daily prayer comes to mind. When I entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart in the sixties, my mother often alluded to her image of the Sacred Heart with prayerful gratitude for my vocation. Such was her simple, deep faith and trust in the power of prayer. Prayer for her was a daily activity. Her well-worn Sunday missal, which is in my possession today, reminds me of her devotion to the Indwelling Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Continue reading Sr Yvonne Harte’s article below:
A personal reflection on the contemporary relevance of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Yvonne Harte rsj
Images provided by Sr Yvonne Harte. Used with permission.
Remembering Sister Anne Derwin
June 26, 201910 September 1949 – 23 June 2019
Sister Anne Derwin of the New South Wales Region died peacefully on 23 June 2019 at The Mater Hospital, North Sydney, NSW.
Anne, who became a Sister of Saint Joseph fifty years ago, trained as a teacher of Maths, Science and Religious Education. She taught these subjects at Saint Joseph’s East Gosford, Mount Saint Joseph’s, Milperra and Saint Joseph’s Kogarah, before becoming principal of the Milperra school. Subsequently, she was appointed to the New South Wales Province Leadership Team. Next, she spent six years as Provincial of the NSW Province of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and, at the end of her time in that role, moved on to the directorship of Saint Joseph’s Spirituality and Education Centre, Kincumber South.
She then undertook the management of Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney. Her time there was short-lived for in the year 2007, Anne was elected Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. While she was in that role, she and the Sisters celebrated the canonisation of Saint Mary MacKillop and four Congregations of the Australian/New Zealand Federation of Sisters of Saint Joseph moved towards “fusion” with the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Her contribution to the Congregation she treasured and to religious women and men across Australia, through her presidency of Catholic Religious Australia, impacted in significant ways on the lives of many Religious Congregations and individuals.
Her term of office expired six years ago and since then Anne used her leadership skills and expertise as chair and member of several Boards, and acted as facilitator for Religious Congregations, especially during their Chapters and similar events. As her health declined and she became physically weaker, she maintained her passion and interest in public and current affairs. Even up to her last days, she continued her commentary and reflections on local and world events and, as her illness progressed, her family, friends and religious sisters gathered around her to give her support and share in her wisdom.
We continue to live in gratitude for her personal and leadership gifts, her organisational skills, and her sense of prayer and the presence of her God in her life.
The Mass of Christian Burial for Anne will be held at St Mary’s Church, Ridge Street, North Sydney, on Saturday 29 June at 10am and will be followed by the Rite of Committal at Macquarie Park Cemetery. Saint Mary MacKillop’s funeral Mass was celebrated in this church almost exactly 110 years ago.