Pope Francis declares a Year of St Joseph
Have you ever thought of St Joseph as a creatively courageous father? That is how Pope Francis described Joseph as he announced a Year of St Joseph (8 December 2020 – 8 December 2021) in honour of the 150th anniversary of Saint Joseph being named as patron of the Universal Church. Having celebrated the 10th anniversary of Mary […]
Walking Together with Open Eyes
United Nations (UN) Human Rights Day – 10 December When I was working in Kenya in 2004, I had the opportunity to visit a slum school and was greeted by 7-year-old Ashuru, who companionably took my hand and showed me around, introducing me to his friends and leading me into his classroom – a simple […]
Training Weekend for JAG Leaders
Josephite Action Group (JAG) Training Weekend – November 2020 Saturday (29 November) saw many veteran JAG volunteers and some new volunteers meet at St Joseph’s Spirituality Centre at Baulkham Hills to develop skills to host refugee families on a weekend away at Telford Recreational Centre at The Royal National Park in 2021. We began with […]
Retreats
Josephite sisters and many others take an opportunity each year to move away from the busyness of their ordinary daily life. They choose to retreat from the surface of life – to become centred and still. Their focus is to deepen their relationship with God. The Mary MacKillop Spirituality Ministry (formerly known as the Spirituality […]
Christmas Messages for 2020
Regional Leaders and Sisters representing their regions, have provided Christmas messages for you to reflect on and enjoy… The Story of the Pohutukawa Tree The following is a story of the Aotearoa Christmas Tree which is new to me! After much reflection I found the connection to the traditional Christmas story. I’ll leave you to […]
Reflection on Mary MacKillop
The Queensland Sisters of Saint Joseph were honoured to have Bishop E. J. Cuskelly as chaplain. Frank Fletcher MSC in one of his memorial lectures likens Cuskelly’s spirituality to the description by E.E. Cummings: Here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud, and […]
International Day of People with a Disability 2020
St Anthony’s Family Care supports children and young people with disabilities to achieve their greatest potential. St Anthony’s Family Care (SAFC) support children and young people with disabilities through our ‘EPIK’ Disability Services, an acronym for Encouraging Potential in Kids. Our commitment to deliver EPIK services goes hand in hand with the mission of the […]
Wilcannia Sisters Amalgamate with North Sydney Josephites 1902
Sisters of the Diocese of Wilcannia Amalgamate with North Sydney Josephites Among the many twists of history and blessings of divine providence associated with the Sisters of Saint Joseph, is the story of those sisters who were appointed from The Vale (Perthville) to several small towns in western New South Wales. This is their story. […]
Advent 2020
Advent Reflection. Take a moment to close your eyes and go on a journey of remembering. Think back to when you were a little child and some special event was to occur in the very near future. You may have been awaiting a birthday or a holiday or Christmas. As you remember, tap into the […]
Birth of Fr Julian Tenison Woods
From Southwark, England to Southport, Tasmania. On 15 November 1832 in Southwark, England, Henrietta St Eloy Tenison, wife of James Dominick Woods, gave birth to a son, Julian Edmund Tenison Woods. As in any family the birth of a child is received with great joy and perhaps even wonder at what this child might do […]
Rural Ministry
The Constitutions of the Sisters of Saint Joseph reminds us that Mary and Julian in founding the Congregation were responding to needs they perceived in the ‘misery and wretchedness’ of the ‘bush children’ and ‘the afflicted poor’. In the book, Ten Years in the Bush, 1866 we read that Julian “thought it (Penola) was a very […]
In the Footsteps of Mary MacKillop
For the past twenty-five years, the Sisters of Saint Joseph have invited people to participate in the ‘Australian National Pilgrimage: In the Footsteps of Mary MacKillop.’ Unfortunately they have not been able to offer this opportunity of journeying with Mary in 2020. Mary reminds us that ‘We are but travellers here.’ You are invited to […]