Julian Tenison Woods – A Reflection
October 5, 2023
Each year as the anniversary of the death of Julian Tenison Woods approaches (7 October), time can profitably be spent reflecting on various aspects of his life and spirituality, particularly in regard to how this can be relevant today.
In the lead up to the coming referendum in Australia, some of Julian’s writing on Aboriginal Australians seems particularly relevant. Below are some excerpts from his writing, presented with an invitation to spend time relating his thoughts to the upcoming referendum question.
Josephites share the Laudate Deum call to action
Laudate Deum (‘Praise God’) is Pope Francis’ new apostolic exhortation published on 4 October 2023 addressing today’s environmental and human challenges.
The Holy Father focuses on the situation of climate change in Laudate Deum, which is styled as a follow-up to the 2015 Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’.
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has shared a summary which can be viewed here and we share details below – Laudate Deum: Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis – Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Prison Chaplaincy
Sr Virginia writes about her ministry and experience as a Prison Chaplain.
I have worked as a Prison Chaplain for nearly four and a half years; three years at Long Bay Correctional Centre, and currently at Lithgow in NSW, a maximum-security prison for adult men.
I see my role as ‘walking alongside’ the men, while they discover (or recover) their own inner resources and answers, which will help them navigate their own unique path. I try to open a space where there is no judgement, just some compassion and understanding.
I am also a Chaplain for all staff who work onsite. It is a challenging environment, and the potential for trauma is much higher than most people would face in their workplace.
Mary MacKillop goes to Scotland
To celebrate 150 years since Mary MacKillop embarked on her first overseas journey (March 1873 – December 1874), the Sisters of Saint Joseph share reflections and details from Mary’s travels to and from Europe – sourced from Mary’s letters and Congregational Archives.
When Mary MacKillop went to Rome to seek Papal approval for the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, she also spent time in the United Kingdom. During her stay there, the idea was mooted that she should visit Scotland – the homeland of her parents and many Scottish relatives and friends now resident in Australia. Mary, however, felt that her emotional link to Scotland was not sufficient reason for her to go there.
It’s our future – let’s make it RAD!
September 25, 2023The Josephite Risk and Dare (RAD) Conference 2023
Mary MacKillop Place opened its doors to more than a hundred young people across Australia and New Zealand to attend this year’s Risk and Dare (RAD) Conference. We gathered as Josephites – and as social justice allies – to energetically accept our call to action and confront the challenging experience of what it means to live the Gospel in the 21st century.
For the young attendees, on fire with the urgency and thirst for a fair deal for all, the call of Jesus to bring good news to those who are poor and to work for freedom for those who have been oppressed, found practical expression in the listening, learning and action-packed experiences of our days together.
For whom am I a beacon?
Surely if humans are fortunate enough to live longer than the age of producing and rearing of offspring, there must be a purpose. We know that elderhood is a distinct phase in life that many of us achieve through the grace of longevity. It involves completing the previous stages of childhood, adolescence and adulting. Elders are those who have lived the joys and sorrows of life and who have accumulated a wealth of knowledge and insights that can only be acquired through years of experience.
At the Journeying into Conscious Eldering Conference held earlier in the year, facilitator, Karon Donnellon rsm, invited the participants to consider the qualities that stand out as vital for Sisters of Saint Joseph when considering conscious eldering. We agreed that ageing is a natural process that involves decline and physical changes and we spoke of conscious eldering as getting older with intention, self-awareness, resilience and grace. It involves finding meaning and purpose addressing the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of ageing. It is an opportunity for growth, wisdom and personal transformation through self-reflection, relational connectedness and generativity.
Josephite Companions Day – A Champion Companion
A Josephite Companions Webinar held on 2 September 2023 saw Annie MacKillop, Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop’s sister and constant companion, recognised as the ‘first’ or ‘original’ Josephite Companion. Guest Speaker, Sr Judith Mary Geddes, detailed the life and times of Annie who supported and walked the journey with Mary and the Sisters of Saint Joseph.
Formerly a teacher, Sr Judith undertook research in the Sisters of Saint Joseph Archives uncovering diaries and little-known correspondence between MacKillop family members, and in doing so wrote her book A Faith-Filled Family – Mary MacKillop’s Sisters and Brothers. It is a story of an ordinary close-knit family whose religion helped them through some difficult times. Alexander and Flora had come from Scotland to settle in Australia with Mary being the eldest of eight children who were well educated by their father and filled with the love of God learned from their mother.
A Visit with Father Julian Tenison Woods
With Fr Julian Tenison Woods’ anniversary of death on 7 October, I am drawn to reflect on a visit I made to his grave at Waverley Cemetery [1] earlier this year.
Perhaps it was because the weather was so good that day that I followed a sudden impulse to travel across Sydney by train and bus with only my phone as a guide. When I entered the gates of the cemetery, I was amazed to see so many headstones spread out across the hillside below me. The further I walked the more I felt enfolded by so many stories from the past.