Australian Catholic Youth Festival, Perth

Welcome to the Australian Catholic Youth Festival 2019, Perth.

The Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) is a national gathering of Catholic young people that has been established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC).

It exists to provide young people with opportunities to deepen their relationship with Jesus and to be empowered to be disciples in the world today and to encounter and celebrate the vitality of the church in Australia.

The Festival will use the scripture focus of the 2020 Plenary Council by adopting the theme: “Listen to what the Spirit is saying” (Rev 2:7).

The Perth Archdiocese is hosting this event from December 8 – 10 in the Perth Convention Centre close to the scenic Swan River.

Excitement is building up and so is a movement around Australia for the “Word “has been passed around. Young people are travelling as Pilgrims to Perth’s Holy Ground. They’ll cross Bass Strait and fly over the Nullarbor, and be warmly welcomed by the Youth of WA

They have heard the whisperings of the Holy Spirit and God has touched their hearts.

In 1868, when 26-year-old Mary MacKillop wrote to her Mother Flora, she said: “Believe in the whispering in your own heart”. Mary’s word rings true to the young people of today as they listen to what the Spirit is saying in their hearts.

In his letter to the youth of the world, “Christus Vivit”, Pope Francis writes: “The young are in my heart.”

He challenges them to “Stand up and make your voices known today.” He reminds the young about how important it is for them to have an active role in the Church today and calls them to take risks in following in the footsteps of Jesus with the words:

Australian Catholic Youth Festival Expo 2019

The Encounter Expo will be such a hive of activity at the Festival that the participants will be sure to return to again and again.  It will be an interactive and dynamic space in which they will be invited to encounter the breath of the Catholic Church in Australia in new and unexpected ways.

There will be more than 80 separate stalls at ACYF Expo 2019. Participating Catholic agencies, organisations, religious orders, ecclesial movements and numerous other Catholic groups from across Australia will offer a range of interactive and experiential activities through which to explore the variety of ways by which the Church’s mission in Australia is being carried out.

Highly engaging, informative and fun – the EXPO will be the PLACE to be…

Please continue reading the article here (PDF)

Maree Riddler rsj

View photos in the photo gallery below:

A Day in the Life: Christmas Messages from Committee Chairs

The Sisters of Saint Joseph have committees covering different aspects of the Congregation such as communications and justice.

For this month’s A Day in the Life feature, the Chairs from the Committees were asked to provide a Christmas message. You’re invited to view the messages below:

Congregational Immersion and Discernment of Call (CIDC) Team

The Gift of You and the Gift of Me

Of all the feast days that Christianity celebrates Christmas is the one that has a clear focus on humanity – you and me. We are Gifts – the spark of divinity shines in each one of us. That is what the story of Christmas tells us. That is what the ‘gift-giving’ surely means. We treasure each other as ‘gift’ and at Christmas we have a chance to express this to others as they do to me. Oh how careful I’m becoming with my words in the Christmas card to let another know how she/he is ‘gift’. That is far more important than the ‘present’ accompanying it, I believe.

A simple poem says it:

The Congregational Immersion and Discernment of Call (CIDC) Team send everyone heartfelt blessings and gratitude for the gift each of you are and pray that peace and joy raise your hearts this Christmas.

Katrina Brill rsj

Congregational Communication Team (CCT)

Gathered together, we await the light.

Standing together, we trust in the light.

Praying together, we hope for the light Seeking together, we step into the light.

Singing together, we are blessed by the light.

Wishing each reader a blessed and peace-filled Christmas.

Kath Hitchcock rsj

Eco-Spirituality Team

The Angels greeting to the Shepherds was of course, ‘Peace to all people of good will.’ That’s the greeting the Congregational Eco-Spirituality Team wish for all at this blessed time of Christmas.

Recently commenting on Pope Francis’s 2019 visit to three African countries, Tablet journalist Christopher Lamb summed up Pope Francis’s core priorities as  ‘a seamless garment’ in defence of the poorest and most vulnerable that embraces the protection of the planet.’ (Tui Motu InterIslands October 2019)

That’s the constant refrain of our Team – the interconnectedness of life. As our report to the recent Josephite Chapter noted:

Please continue reading below:

Eco-Spirituality Team Christmas Message (PDF)

Eco-Spirituality Team Members

Josephite Justice Network (JJN)

Confronted by family and global violence, the frightening reality of the arms race, the accelerating wealth gap and the ongoing shattering of lives,
we are blessed by the witness of Pope Francis and all those who call for peace and transformation.

Listening to our First Nations brothers and sisters, who long for truth to be told and their legitimacy recognised, so that we can live as one.
we continue to be blessed by our First Peoples.

With those pushed to the edges of our world and the more than 64 million who remain displaced in this season,
we are blessed in the birth of a child who was himself displaced and who attests to our belief that love continues to be born.

Faced by the absolute futility of a broken political system, which uses human beings as political pawns and denies welcome to those who seek safety on our shores,
we are blessed by the reminder of the Good Samaritan to be neighbour to all.

Faced with the obstacles to justice, equity and kindness which face us in a material-centred world space,
we are blessed by the love and support we find in one another.

In the challenge to care for our common home beyond the disruption and damage of greed and power,
we are blessed by those who call for protection of Earth.

FOR IN ALL OF THIS,
YOU CONTINUE, O GOD, TO BE BORN

Jan Barnett rsj and JJN

International Josephite Associates Leaders Team (IJALT)

Christmas Blessings

A blessing is the gift of God’s grace.

At Christmas we celebrate the greatest gift that God has given us, that of his Son.

We celebrate this Gift in offering God’s grace through words of blessings to others… in a greeting card, a word spoken, an email greeting…

Josephite Associates are truly blessed to share, with many others, in the spirit of Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods. In this season of Hope and Peace we share this blessing with all:

Mary Hemmings

Conference of Josephite Leadership (CJL) Archivists’ Committee

As the Conference of Josephite Leadership Archivists’ Committee reflects on its ultimate mission to safeguard and share the Josephite story, our gift to you this Christmas is a poem preserved in the Sisters of St Joseph Congregational Archives, written by Father Founder, Julian Tenison Woods.

The Committee wishes everyone the best of blessings for a peaceful and joyful Christmas.

The Infant Jesus

CJL Archivists’ Committee

A Raindrop Story

A Raindrop Story…

I love to listen to stories that paint all manner of pictures and that take me along with the characters.

In 1985 whilst on a Renewal programme at Baulkham Hills, we were invited to write/welcome our own sacred myth. We were encouraged to just let it flow without any censoring. A suggested way to begin: ‘Once upon a time…’or ‘Many many years ago…’

This became an amazing experience for me and has been a source of healing and delight whenever I let it into my heart.

With trust I will share it with you:

My Sacred Myth

Many many years ago… too many years ago in fact,
a tiny raindrop fell from the heavens…
O what a great and wonderful night that was! For the whole earth
rejoiced at the birth of that little raindrop.
Where did the raindrop fall? Into a gutter on a cold, dark rainy night.
Who found the raindrop? A black cat
who happened out of bounds.
…he picked up the tiny wee raindrop as he passed the gutter and quite soon was making his presence felt at the back step of a tiny little house set among other little houses, two storey ones, that were often the cause of surprise, pain, fear and love… and many other experiences …too many to record here.
I’ll tell you now who opened the back door – a mother raindrop
with a gentle smile.
She brought in the little black cat , dried it with a towel
and placed it by the fire.
She then attended to this newly found little creature
by placing it in her heart.
Quietly, on tip toe in fact, she made her way over
to the father raindrop who was attending to the other raindrops
In that household.
They all seemed to look up together and what an explosion of love
As they all exclaimed together:
Our new baby raindrop, why not cal her JOY?
At that moment that new little raindrop quivered with joy
And still quivers to this day.
So that you’ll never think this story is lop-sided, I’ll tell you this….
Life for this new little raindrop did not prove to be all joy!!!
In fact, if we really concentrated on our sums, we’d find that the score
would read something like this…
95% sorrow… 5% joy
however, these two totals make up LOVE…

P.S. My mother used to tell me that a black cat brought me in on a rainy night.

Pattie Snudden rsj

Fr Julian: Man of Words – Letter Eleven

Tasmanian Forests: Their Botany and Economic Value [i] was the title that Father Julian Tenison Woods gave the paper he read at the meeting of the Royal Society of NSW on 5 June 1878.

In the paper Father Julian presented his observations of the forests he found in Tasmania from 1874-1876. He described various types of trees in detail and made comparisons with similar trees in other parts of Australia. He described meticulously the process of harvesting and sawmilling of timber, as well as the uses for which it is gathered. At times it is easy to imagine oneself standing among the stately trees and using all one’s senses to paint a picture of the surroundings.

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God is in the Middle of Us

We often hear the question asked: “Where is God?”

Mary MacKillop had no doubt that God was with her, even in her darkest times. In this time leading up to Christmas, we will hear the Scriptural phrase ‘Emmanuel, God-with-us’ many times. We are invited to slow down, ‘smell the flowers’, ponder Mary’s words, and discover our God in the ‘bits and pieces of every day’.

Sometimes, like Mulga Bill on his bicycle, we find ourselves hurtling into the future, or rushing to our next activity. We struggle to be fully present to this moment—the one we are living now.

• Have we paused lately to notice the small signs of changes in the seasons?
• Do we sometimes stop to savour the smell of freshly mown grass? …or to enjoy what is right in front of our noses?

These little reflective breaks can help to keep us in the now. They put us in touch with our ‘good God’.

All the great spiritual writers invite us to try to live in the present. This moment, NOW, is the most important one we have. In fact, it is all we have. When Patrick Kavanagh tells us that “God is in the bits and pieces of every day”, we glimpse the nearness of our God in this precious moment, and in everyday happenings.

Mary MacKillop’s ‘good God’ is a faithful, gentle God who is at home with us. We don’t have to spend our lives seeking God elsewhere.

We light a candle to honour this present moment and to remind ourselves that the ground we are on is holy ground. Called, or uncalled, God is present. We sit in silence. Later on, we might take a long, slow, reflective walk.

The above is an extract from The Little Brown Book Too (pages 136-137)

© 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)

Photo: Advent candles by Sr Mary Ryan rsj. Used with permission.

Raising the Morning Star Flag

On Sunday 1 December 2019, 58 years after it was first raised, the Morning Star Flag was raised again at Mary MacKillop Centre, South Perth.

The event was hosted by Alpheus Meage, with a small number of West Papuan friends and supporters, including Sisters of Saint Joseph, who are strong supporters of the West Papuan cause. In his address, Alpheus thanked the Sisters for giving him a home, and supporting him through the first years that he spent in Australia, as an asylum seeker. He said that the Sisters of Saint Joseph saved his life.

The raising of the Morning Star Flag is an event that happens in other places in Australia and in many other countries on this day.

The West Papuan people look back to the first raising of the Morning Star Flag, as a day of recognition of them as a people, the beginning of their long road to freedom. That day was a day of hope, the beginning of a dream for their homeland, of determining the kind of leadership that would govern their country.

But the people of West Papua have seen their dream brutally shattered, many times over in the last 58 years. Benny Wenda, the Chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), escaped from gaol in Indonesia, where he was beaten and tortured. He now works tirelessly, with support groups, to influence governments and individuals, to support the rightful ambition of the West Papuan people to determine their own future. Benny tries to encourage his people to stay strong:

Let us join with the people of West Papua in their prayer and longing for freedom. God, hear the cry of the poor.

Papua Merdeka! (Free Papua)

Margaret Keane rsj

Visit the ‘Free West Papua Campaign’ website here

Christmas Greetings

As we prepare our hearts in this Advent Season to celebrate Christmas, we pause to remember those for whom this Christmas will be difficult.

Here in Australia, we are very mindful of all those who have suffered in the recent bush fires and those in our rural communities living through one of the most devasting droughts of this era. Across our world we are mindful of all those who are left homeless through poverty; those living in refugee camps; the first nations peoples of the world seeking recognition and respect for their traditions and those working to address the many unjust circumstances that arise out of misuse of power. In such realities, we might be prompted to ask: “Where do we see the events of the Christmas story happening in our world today?”

The stable where Christ is born is to be found in the many refugee camps of the world. The shepherds represent the many women and men who work tirelessly to bring peace across our world. The innkeeper is like us when we can be so overwhelmed by the many calls on our time that we fail to hear the knock on the door of our hearts to be more compassionate and open to the needs of our world. We see the joy of Mary and Joseph as parents welcome their newborn child. Our hearts and minds are stretched by the many people who invite us to widen our tents like the wise men from the East. Each character within the story invites us to explore within ourselves what it means to be the hands and feet and heart of Christ in our world today. This Christmas, let us be attentive to those many places where the vision of the Christ Child is being born today in the generous self-giving of those whose lives are inspired by the story of the first Christmas. Let us celebrate the giftedness of each person we encounter on this Christmas day.

As we pray with those who are struggling in our world today let us be encouraged by these words of Isaiah 11:1 that:

So too on this Christmas day, we celebrate the many women and men who provide a word of hope or an action of love that bears fruit like the many fire-fighters in our country, or the groups organising Christmas packs for women in rural communities. In our world, we see and hear stories of love at the borders where women and men are seeking refugee; the encouragement given to the Indigenous communities at the Amazonian Synod; the voices of those seeking freedom from oppressive regimes and the simple acts of neighbourliness shared in so many ways. These stories are the Christmas story told once again.

Sr Monica Cavanagh rsj
Congregational Leader

Image: Christmas Nativity Scene obtained from Max Pixel. Used with permission.

Bridge for Asylum Seekers

A Message from ‘Bridge for Asylum Seekers’ Ambassador Sr Susan Connelly…

Belmore Park in Sydney has all those old trees, plenty of pigeons, and various patches of grass where people lie in the sun, read, or just sit around yarning. It’s been the site of many a demonstration, and is just far enough away from the ebb and flow of Eddy Avenue and Central Railway to claim the title of a peaceful spot.

People sleep in Belmore Park. Some are regulars, and some are not, like the family of a mother and five teenaged children. They had come from the Middle East where the mother had been tortured for political dissidence. They were all shocked by their plight, their asylum journey and new environment.

Workers from ‘Bridge for Asylum Seekers’ began to engage with them. It was hard to know if the family understood what was said, or even what was happening. Their faces often had a blank expression. The middle child, the most traumatised, took months before finally smiling.

Financial support provided by Bridge was critical, enabling them to settle in, find a place to live and send the children to school. This family are now renting their own house with members variously now working or studying. Belmore Park days have gone.

I have been a Patron of ‘Bridge for Asylum Seekers’ for many years. Bridge was founded in 2003 for the provision of emergency financial assistance to asylum seekers who have no alternative means of support. It has provided support to 2041 people during that time, including single men and women as well as families with children.

Bridge is an autonomous committee of Uniting NSW/ACT and is managed by a pro-bono Committee comprised of legal and refugee experts and community members with a range of relevant skills. Bridge is the largest provider of financial support to people seeking asylum in NSW. The organisation focuses its energies on fundraising and monitoring expenditure of funds rather than administering payments directly. Administration of payments is done through its partner organisation, the Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC) in Newtown.

Adverse policy changes by the Department of Home Affairs mean that people now find it more difficult to get work. This means that they require Bridge support for longer. In 2016 the average support time needed was nine weeks – now it is 20 weeks.

Bridge is a lean, well-managed and professional organisation. Over 95% of total expenditure was directly on asylum seeker support, with the remainder spent on operational costs and awareness-raising activities. Bridge has no office and no paid staff, and its technology and marketing support is provided pro bono.

For the past 16 years, Bridge has raised, administered and successfully acquitted approximately $250-400,000 per annum. Bridge successfully guards against risks associated with the project. They ensure that clients are not receiving any other financial support, that they have legitimate claims for asylum and that funds are not misappropriated. Organisational processes details are available on request.

Bridge helped the family in Belmore Park, just like they helped ‘Sahar’. She is a young single woman who escaped from state-sanctioned, gender-based violence and forced marriage in her home country. Bridge’s financial support meant that she was able to find safe accommodation and was able to travel to legal and medical appointments and to English classes. Her need for Bridge support ended when ‘Sahar’ gained work in hospitality. She is now rebuilding her life in the community and working towards her goals of furthering her education and career. Bridge welcomes the support of like-minded Australians who know that what we do to the least, we do to Christ.

Susan Connelly rsj

Visit the ‘Bridge for Asylum Seekers’ website here