A Laudato Si’ Easter Reflection
March 21, 2024
As followers of Jesus, we are asked to walk humbly on the Earth and to care for the land, the oceans, and all creatures. Pope Francis reminds us in his recent Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum that the time for climate change action is becoming more URGENT.
He has posed the question: “Are we working for a culture of life or a culture of death”?
Earth Hour: A Date to Remember
Do you know why the last Saturday of March each year is significant? Why is it marked on many calendars around the world as a date to remember? Because it is World Earth Hour, a date when we are encouraged to switch off our electric lights, our electronics and conserve energy for an hour from 8:30pm to 9:30pm.
This simple, symbolic gesture shows our support and concern for planet Earth. This year the date is Saturday 23 March as the last Saturday in 2024 falls during the Easter celebration.
St Joseph Feast Day 2024
March 18, 2024
As we celebrate the feast of St Joseph (19 March) – Patron of the Universal Church and the Sisters of Saint Joseph – in this year dedicated to prayer and the synodal pathway, we are called to live and respond with a contemplative heart to what the Spirit is asking of us in the midst of the reality of our lives.
It is about being attentive to the signs of this time, calling us to new pathways and ways of being Church.
Mary MacKillop, Patron of our Diocese of Port Pirie
In the Diocese of Port Pirie in South Australia, there’s a beautiful well-kept graveyard, some seven kilometres out of Port Augusta, with the stunning Flinders Ranges as its backdrop. In good times the roses bloom and the kangaroos keep the lawn mowed and the grave-sites company. But on the area’s outer edge are the older graves of early pioneers – no roses or lawn here, just a few Blackbutt Eucalyptus, Weeping Myall and Saltbush surviving in red, sandy Earth.
On one side is a huddle of three graves, the centre on being that of Sister Laurencia Honner who died as a result of a fire on 11 May 1878, aged eighteen years. The local newspaper described her funeral at the time, the long line of buggies snaking out of town to Stirling North. Notably there is no mention of the grieving Sisters of Saint Joseph, her companions in this isolated, treeless town. Nor do they note the presence of Mary MacKillop who had made the arduous journey of some 350 kilometres by Cobb and Co and then buggy to Port Augusta to be with Laurencia before she died. If we were ever unsure about where Mary MacKillop walked, we can be sure her footprints are here at the grave of Laurencia.
The Gift of Fusion – 10th Anniversary
“Ten years on and I thank God that we took the step when we did,” is one Sister’s observation as we give thanks on the 10th anniversary of the fusion of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Perthville with the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
The Josephite foundation at Perthville on 16 July 1872 was the first in New South Wales, after Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods responded to the request of Bishop Matthew Quinn. Four years later, the Josephite community painfully moved into two separate pathways when Bishop Quinn insisted on having a Diocesan Congregation at Perthville.
International Women’s Day – ‘Women at the Heart’
March 7, 2024
International Women’s Day, held annually on 8 March, is a global day that recognises the resilience, strength, and achievements of women from diverse backgrounds and cultures across the world. Acknowledging this important day allows Mary MacKillop Today to reflect on the invaluable contributions of women within the communities we support and the persistent challenges they still face.
Just like Saint Mary MacKillop, we go where the need is greatest, and even today, we see that women around the world continue to face gender-based discrimination, violence and inequality. Women and girls need equal access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities to strengthen their ability to learn, earn and lead in their communities.
Habits of the Heart
Showing Off
Sr Adrienne, a Sister of Saint Joseph in Aotearoa New Zealand, shows off her green thumb.
My first profession was a change of habit, coming as it did in the latter part of my life.
JJAMM 2024
March 5, 2024
JJAMM (Joseph, Julian And Mary MacKillop) is a gathering of student leaders from Josephite secondary schools around Australia and New Zealand.
Learning, laughter, and leadership. The three core ingredients necessary to complete the JJAMM recipe. The JJAMM team was blessed to welcome twenty-five Josephite schools across Australia and New Zealand for a four-day leadership retreat like no other. We called attendees to cultivate their Josephite charism through the honouring of formidable leaders such as St Mary MacKillop, Fr Julian Tenison Woods, and St Joseph, and use their timeless legacy to inform their own dreams of social justice.