Sister Mary Comer Receives Medal of the Order of Australia
January 26, 2023
Congratulations to Sr Mary Comer rsj who received a Medal of the Order of Australia in this year’s Australia Day honours list – for service to the community including in her role as the founding director of Centacare Bathurst.
We share a profile of Sr Mary published on 26 January 2023 in The Catholic Weekly.
Plus a profile on the work of Sr Mary in the Western Advocate.
Australia Day 2023
January 25, 2023
As we celebrate Australia Day, we reflect on all those Australians who have dedicated their lives in service of their sisters and brothers, our everyday heroes and heroines. Many will be recognised in Australia Day citizen awards and others will formally become Australian citizens.
Australia Day provides us with the opportunity to reflect upon what is best in our nation, the values at the heart of our story – the care of those most disadvantaged, the spirit of egalitarianism, the support of one another in times of adversity and the welcome of the many cultures that now call Australia home.
Sisters Celebrate Diamond Jubilee – 60 Years of Religious Life
January 23, 2023
Over 30 Sisters of Saint Joseph from across the Congregation celebrated their Diamond Jubilee in January marking 60 years since their first profession. Twenty-one of the Jubilarians were able to gather and acknowledge the event at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney where they also celebrated with fellow Sisters, family and friends.
Those Sisters who were not able to attend were remembered, particularly the 12 Sisters from this profession group now resting with God.
Alexander MacKillop – Father of Mary MacKillop
January 20, 2023
Mary MacKillop’s father Alexander MacKillop was born in the Lochaber district of Scotland in 1812. He died in Hamilton, Victoria (VIC) on 19 December 1868 and is buried there.
Alexander had studied for the priesthood in Rome and for a short time in his homeland in Scotland. However, as he said, “it was not God’s will that I be a priest”, and so in 1838 he migrated to Australia to start a new life.
Remembering the Beatification of Mary MacKillop
January 18, 2023
The Beatification of Mary MacKillop was a historical time for Australians. The naming of a saint born and raised in Australia brought great joy, not only to Catholics, but to many others who had come to know and admire her.
Weatherwise, 19 January 1995 was grey, threatening to rain. In contrast, the prevailing atmosphere was one of pure happiness. You felt it everywhere! This positive atmosphere had also been at the magnificent vigil-concert/display at the Sydney Domain the evening before.
Mary MacKillop’s Cross from the Beginning
January 13, 2023
We celebrate the birth of Australia’s first canonised saint and co-founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Mary MacKillop, who was born on 15 January 1842.
Mary MacKillop’s whole life, almost from the time of her conception to her death, was overshadowed by the Cross. Father Geoghegan, priest at St. Francis’ Catholic Church, Melbourne, gave her mother Flora a relic of the Cross said to have been found by Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine, to wear until her child was born. She would have explained to her daughter the significance of the Cross she had worn day by day during her pregnancy.
Sisters Celebrate 50 Years of Religious Life
January 9, 2023
Sr Monica Cavanagh, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, joined six fellow Sisters in January to celebrate their Golden Jubilee marking 50 years since their first profession.
The Sisters travelled from across Australia and Peru, gathering with family and friends, to acknowledge their religious life journeys and ministries in education and social justice, parish pastoral care, religious leadership, and working with rural communities.
Epiphany: Christmas Camels
January 6, 2023
When asked to write about the feast of 6 January called ‘Epiphany’, I discovered that Eastern and Western Churches emphasise different aspects of the theme ‘manifestation’, which is the meaning of the Greek word ‘Epiphany’.
Eastern Churches focus on God’s manifestation of Jesus’ divinity at his baptism and at Cana, where he begins his public ministry. In the West, selected Mass texts highlight the early Church’s conviction that Jesus Christ has significance for all humankind. The gospel of Matthew 2:1-12 narrates the story of the Magi, an encounter between Jesus and three Oriental Wise Men, who, borne by camels, deliberately seek Jesus, bringing gifts and paying him homage.
The commencement of the Western Church’s Epiphany Mass leads towards that gospel of Matthew 2:1-12, a narrative unique to Matthew’s gospel, revealing its author’s intent to portray Jesus as the fulfilment of Israel’s prophecies. The collect prayer invites the assembly to “behold the beauty of sublime glory” embodied in Jesus.