Goodbye Gippsland
February 14, 2023
After 120 years of faithful, loving service, on Tuesday 31 January, 22 sisters including Victoria-Tasmanian Regional Leader, Sr Sue McGuinness, made their way to St Joseph’s in Warragul, Victoria for a farewell from the Diocese of Sale.
Sr Madeleine White’s move to Melbourne at the end of 2022 marked the end of the Josephite presence in Gippsland. At the time, Bishop Greg Bennet expressed a wish to celebrate with and thank the sisters for their service to the Diocese. This was a day of joy and celebration but also tinged with sadness. Bishop Greg joked that he had failed his KPIs by losing the three last sisters in the Diocese after he arrived.
“We Say Sorry” – National Apology to Stolen Generations
February 13, 2023
Today (13 February) we commemorate the first-ever national apology made by a Prime Minister (Kevin Rudd) to initialise in 2008 the Australian Federal Government’s rehabilitation, justice, and reconciliation agenda for Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, and the tens of thousands of Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their families during Australia’s assimilation era.
The National Apology to Stolen Generations was a life-giving experience for all Australians who participated. The apology itself, with its strong foundation in the Young Christian Workers maxim of “see, judge, act”, provided a prophetic act of reconciliation.
Continual Good Light
February 8, 2023
Recently, my brain has lit up like a lightbulb through counselling study, and the latest New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC) and National Centre for Religious Studies (NCRS) documents. It has been fascinating to define sexuality, and it’s led me to reflect…
How does it link with Christianity and Saint Mary MacKillop?
Why is understanding sexuality important?
Diamond Jubilee 2023 Reflection
The Jubilarians who recently celebrated their Diamond Jubilee in January, share a reflection inspired by Joyce Johnson Rouse’s ‘Stand on the Shoulders’ and Josh Groban’s ‘You Raise Me Up’.
Golden Jubilee 2023 Reflection
The seven Sisters celebrating their Golden Jubilee in 2023, gathered at Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel at North Sydney to celebrate with family, fellow Sisters and friends at their Mass of Thanksgiving on 5 January.
In welcoming those gathered to celebrate, the Celebrant Fr Mark McGuigan acknowledged the journey each Sister had undertaken to arrive at this day.
Waitangi Day 2023
February 5, 2023
Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty of Waitangi signed in Aotearoa New Zealand
Seen as New Zealand’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840 at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands, in Te Ika a Maui, (the North Island) of Aotearoa (New Zealand). The document outlines the principles to which Māori Chiefs and British officials made a political agreement to form a nation-state and establish a government.
The Treaty was made and signed to deal with the quickly changing circumstances in New Zealand. More and more Europeans were acquiring land from the Māori to establish commercial operations. The settling population was rapidly growing, bringing along uncontrolled crime and violence. There was a perceived threat of French or USA colonisation and the British wanted to get in first.
Word of God Sunday 2023
February 3, 2023
An industrial Chaplain retells an incident where a young man came to him at work stuck in his pain between having a financially beneficial job and being more present to his wife.
The chaplain welcomed him, listened to his dilemma and then wondered aloud if the young man felt stuck between his head and his heart. His response led the chaplain to suggest to the young man that he listen to his heart. This invitation was sufficient to enable the young man to begin his inner exploration which an hour later led him to his own answer and to peace. No sermon, no lecture, no teaching was required.
On Sunday 5 February, we are invited by Isaiah (58:8) to let our “light shine like the dawn” which suggests that means acting justly. Then as related in Matthew (5:16), Jesus reiterates this teaching saying “let your light shine in the sight of all”.
‘Circling’ with Fresh Courage
February 2, 2023
Written for World Day for Consecrated Life which is on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord – 2 February 2023.
Recently, nine Sisters of Saint Joseph gathered at Mission Bay, Auckland, in Aotearoa New Zealand. We sought to respond to God’s call, “Enlarge the space of your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly, lengthen your ropes and make firm your pegs”. [Is 54:2]
Across these four days we were dedicated to conversations in ‘Circle’* leadership which created a space where we committed to the crucial importance of listening to each other and God’s movement within ‘our Josephite tent’.