Julian Tenison Woods – 150 Years On!
July 22, 2022
On 16 July 2022, the Sisters of Saint Joseph celebrated 150 years of the Congregation’s presence in New South Wales since their arrival in Perthville in 1872.
What would it be like for Fr Julian Tenison Woods to speak to us in this year of sesquicentenary?
150 years on, this is what I imagine he might say:
Father Julian and the Westbury Letters
June 22, 2022
Father Julian Tenison Woods had a deep connection with Tasmania over many years. As a missioner, he encouraged many young women to join both the Sisters of Saint Joseph on the mainland and the founding group of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.
Aware of the needs in Tasmania, Fr Julian wrote to St Mary MacKillop in 1869:
There will be no such thing
May 6, 2022
Sr Mary-Ann shares a reflection on her favourite quote from Julian Tenison Woods.
Father Julian Tenison Woods’ writings are sprinkling with delightfully lyrical and sometimes pithy pieces. I find myself returning to words he penned in 1880:
Reflecting on illness and death
April 27, 2022
Life blooms and suddenly…
Monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily, we hear news of the death of yet another treasured, loved, Sister and friend. Sadness grips our hearts and minds. It feels as though our dreams and visions for the future are slipping away. Could it be that this Congregation, founded by Julian and Mary, is undergoing transformation? Is something new emerging?
The Legacy of Julian Tenison Woods and the Earth Charter
March 22, 2022
In every generation, voices of prophets remind us that God has charged humans with the care of our common home, Earth. The examples of our first peoples, and of individuals like Francis of Assisi, Meister Eckhart and the Medieval Women Mystics come to mind. In our day, too, we cite Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si’ as synthesising world-wide awareness that our treatment of creation has repercussions for good or evil.
Similarly, can we claim Julian Tenison Woods as a nineteenth-century Australian prophet, a precursor of the current call to respond to the health crisis of our planet, Earth?
The Struggles and Gifts of Father Julian Tenison Woods
February 23, 2022
This is the instruction on the first page of the 2022 Josephite Calendar and was written by Fr Julian Tenison Woods, two years before his death. I wonder what struggles of which he had been thinking.
Father Julian Tenison Woods – Migrants and Refugees
December 8, 2021Pope Francis meets refugees in Lesbos, Greece 2021 (Vatican Media)
Father Julian Tenison Woods understood the plight of the refugee.
Strange as it may seem, many of the early immigrants to Australia were what we might call ‘forced refugees’. As criminals exported to the new colony in the eastern states, they came against their will, leaving the country of their birth and settling in a new land. The schools which Father Julian and the early sisters established were often catering for the children of these parents and other migrants. In poverty they struggled to feed, clothe and educate their children and grandchildren – much as refugees do today.
Father Julian Tenison Woods: A Passion for Education
November 8, 2021
Into the heart of Julian Tenison Woods, God placed a passion for learning.
From his earliest years, Julain thoroughly enjoyed rambling at the seaside, in forests, over rocks or anywhere there was a discovery experience. He was reared in an environment where all lived a productive life with a strong work ethic and where knowledge led to high achievement. This ethic inspired Julian’s priestly ministry until his death.