Saint Mary MacKillop Feast Day 2024
August 7, 2024The month of August gives us a special opportunity to focus on the life of Saint Mary MacKillop as we celebrate her feast day on 8 August. All around Australia and beyond, people will be gathering to celebrate the gift of this woman of faith to our Church and our world. A special place of pilgrimage will be at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney, where Mary’s tomb is located. There will be a Mass celebrating the feast of Mary at 10:00am AEST which will be live streamed here.
This feast day we give thanks for Mary MacKillop’s ongoing commitment to the ongoing spiritual and faith development of children and their families. Mary MacKillop’s faith in and service of God were unceasing. Her deep faith in her good God enabled Mary to walk in and through the many obstacles she faced with confidence, hope and perseverance. Mary acknowledged that the presence of God seemed to follow her everywhere and made everything she did and said a prayer. She had that wonderful capacity to find God in both the messiness of life as well as in moments of joy.
Mary MacKillop Feast Day Celebrations 2024
July 25, 2024Mary MacKillop Place, the Sisters of Saint Joseph and Mary MacKillop Today extend a warm invitation to all to celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop on Thursday, 8 August 2024.
We look forward to welcoming everyone, including our pilgrims and supporters, to Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney.
Celebrating St Mary MacKillop’s Feast at Josephite Centres
July 24, 2024
Some of our Josephite Spirituality Centres will be hosting celebrations for the feast of St Mary MacKillop on Thursday 8 August.
Feast of St Ignatius – Finding God in a time of Plague
The medieval town of Manresa sits upon the banks of the Cardoner River, a little north of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. For devotees of Ignatian spirituality and Jesuits, Manresa is intimately linked to the story of St Ignatius of Loyola’s conversion and the place where his famous manual for prayer, the Spiritual Exercises were conceived.
International Day of Friendship – JAG Training Weekend
To the Josephite Action Group (JAG), friendship means trusting in a shared mission that ignites hope and walking alongside each other to spread light for the community.
We were privileged to witness this meaning of friendship at our lastest JAG Training Weekend held at St Joseph’s Baulkham Hills, where old faces reunited, and new connections were forged.
World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly
We always went on a journey to visit my grandparents and my paternal great grandparents. We made a train trip and a further trek in a rail motor. As I reminisce, I thought of these wonderful relatives as ‘old’ but special, and they represent times of gatherings and great excitement. These family elders were the hub of the extended family.
Time brings change and a crumbling of some relationships. This is further exacerbated when the next generation moves on and we can scramble to keep the relationships going. Thankfully we can be among the lucky ones when we do have connections and gatherings.
Pope Francis draws attention to the plight of grandparents who live away from their families and live in another country or state. I have witnessed the longing and loneliness of those who do not enjoy the privilege of the company of their progeny when they are surrounded by others who have constant interaction with their families.
Sea Sunday – Seafarers
July 8, 2024
To commemorate Sea Sunday 2024 on Sunday 21 July and Sunday 28 July, we reshare an article (first published in Tui Motu Magazine) written by Sr Mary Leahy, a Sister of Saint Joseph and Chaplain to Seafarers in Sydney.
Sr Mary writes of the exploitation of seafarers in the global shipping industry and the support needed to keep them safe.
Pastoral Care at Mary MacKillop Place
In July, we pray with Pope Francis for pastoral care of the sick:
The Mission Statement of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart says that they “continue God’s mission by immersing themselves in the midst of life to empower others and bring hope”.
At Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney, it is incumbent on leaders, staff and volunteers to action that statement daily with all who work on or visit the site. One way of doing so is through pastoral care.