Making A Difference – A Reflection on St Mary MacKillop
Never see a need without doing something about it.Mary MacKillop In 1866, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, Mary MacKillop founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart and opened a school to provide free education for the children of Penola, South Australia. From this small beginning, Mary went on to establish Catholic […]
The Foundations of the Josephite Charism across NSW
Our First Three Seedbeds The story of the presence of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in New South Wales (NSW) grew from three distinct seedbeds – with the planting of the Josephite charism by our pioneering Sisters. These small seedbeds were planted with love, grew out of the soil of trust in God’s Providence and […]
Listen to the Voice of Creation
I have heard their cry… I know their sufferings… Come, now! I will send you… I will be with you. Ezekiel 3:1-12 The most overused word in the journalists’ lexicon these days is ‘unprecedented’. We hear of ‘unprecedented floods’, ‘unprecedented bushfires’, an ‘unprecedented drought’ – all the ‘unprecedented’ impact of climate change on women, men, […]
Father Founder – A Tasmanian Connection
In education these days, there is a practice where a teacher may use a ‘provocation’. This is an object or artefact, a photo or a poem that is a stimulus for thought and discussion. A launching pad for learning. In writing this reflection, and thinking about Father’s Day (4 September), and the role of Julian […]
Mary MacKillop Place – Out of the Ordinary
At the heart of Mary MacKillop Place located in North Sydney, New South Wales, is the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel. The Chapel was built in 1913 in memory of Mary MacKillop and shortly after, it was dedicated by the Archbishop Michael Kelly in 1914. Mary’s body was exhumed from the Gore Hill Cemetery and reinterred […]
Looking forward to the next 150 years at Perthville
The Sisters of Saint Joseph marked the 150th anniversary of when the first Sisters of Saint Joseph arrived in Perthville to begin ministry in New South Wales on 16 July 2022. The first community of sisters, Teresa MacDonald, Joseph Dwyer and Hyacinth Quinlan, and an enquirer, Ada Braham, arrived at Perthville near Bathurst at the […]
Celebrating Our Wisdom People
As Pope Francis requested, we celebrate the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on 24 July to coincide with the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne on 26 July. To honour this day, I would suggest that we light three candles. I happily share with you the three candles that would top my list.
Celebrating 150 years in NSW
The Sisters of Saint Joseph celebrate 150 years of the Congregation’s presence in NSW since their arrival in Perthville on 16 July 1872. The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, was founded by Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Tenison Woods in 1866 in Penola, South Australia. Its first ministry was the opening of a […]
Responding to a Call
The phone rang as I was locking up the house before going to Saturday night Mass. It was the bishop wanting to know if I would go to a country town, 400 kilometres away to train people in leading Liturgy of the Word with Communion. The parish had recently lost their priest, with no replacement […]
Feast of the Sacred Heart
For us as Josephites, celebrating the feast of the Sacred Heart (24 June) is intimately connected to God’s compassionate love. The Constitutions of the Sisters of Saint Joseph remind us: Mary MacKillop believed that God’s compassionate love symbolised by the Sacred Heart would become a reality for her sisters and the people with whom they […]
First Adelaide school opens in 1867
On 2 July 2022, the Sisters of Saint Joseph will celebrate 155 years since the opening of the first Josephite school in Adelaide, South Australia. “What,” they say, “can you expect from colonial girls, without any knowledge of a religious life, and no one to train them?”[1] Writing to Sister Mary MacKillop, Father Julian Tenison […]
Australian National Pilgrimage 2022
In the Footsteps of Mary MacKillop – Bookings for Australian National Pilgrimage Now Open Mary MacKillop Place and the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart are delighted to welcome back pilgrims to its popular Australian National Pilgrimage: In the Footsteps of Mary MacKillop. The next pilgrimage will be running from 18 – 29 […]