Faith and Mission

Mary of the Cross MacKillop

On 8 August, we celebrated the Solemnity of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Today, let us focus on Mary’s Spirituality.

Daughter of generous hearted Flora and educated, passionate Alexander from the Scottish Highlands, Mary gradually grew in the faith inherited by generations of believers in the Braes of Lochaber and handed onto her by her parents.

Mary MacKillop embodied the culture of her forebears as her spirituality evolved in the soil of our ancient and thirsty land and Celtic-Australian Church.

With the influence of Fr Julian Tenison Woods Mary further developed a devotional life that involved Joseph who attracted her because of his humility and obedience; the Sacred Heart to whom she turned when in need of care and shelter and the inspiration and witness of John the Baptist. The blue monogram captured her devotional life with the Ave Maria and Jesus, Joseph and John the Baptist.

Joan Chittister gives us an insight into the strong spirituality that exuded her love of God. 

"Mary MacKillop was so possessed by an internal vision of divine goodness that she gives us a glimpse of the face of God in the centre of the human. She gives us the possibility of greatness in ourselves."  Joan Chittister

This spirituality was evident in her trust in the will of God. Mary was further influenced by the Jesuits  who promoted the art of living constantly with a listening, discerning heart so as to find God in all things. Her down to earth and well-grounded approach to God and to life was bolstered by the Australian landscape and its people.

My name in religion is Mary of the Cross.  1867

It was as though there was always an awareness of the difficulties that lay ahead for Mary when she claimed the title “of the Cross”. Mary MacKillop walked in faith and entered into the mystery of the Cross. This utter belief enabled her to deal in an extraordinary way with oppositional people and difficult situations. Her loving heart encompassed the compassion and forgiveness required to live further into the mystery.

"Love of God filled her heart and overflowed to all those around her.                        It was especially tender towards anybody in trouble." Paul Gardiner sj 

As her awareness of God’s unconditional love grew, Mary’s loving heart became enriched and freed and began to overflow into genuine concern for others. For her, God was caring and forgiving of all people without exception.

In leading the Sisters, Mary was very conscious of the need for them to be aware of God’s presence and power working within them, by taking time to nurture this love and enable it to overflow into their compassion, forgiveness, courage and resilience. She often reminded her Sisters about being united with their God so closely that they could become their best selves.

The exemplary manner in which Mary lived among the people captured the values at the heart of her ministry. Respect, hospitality, perseverance, generosity and forgiveness reflect the sacredness of her journey to holiness.

Gospel values were at the heart of Mary’s Spirituality. Let us now listen to the Gospel for her Feast Day:

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’ (Matthew 6:25-34)

St John Baptist de La Salle … pray for us

Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop … pray for us

Live Jesus in our hearts … forever.

Pope Leo – Authentic Human Flourishing

At a recent audience, Pope Leo spoke about the nature of authentic human flourishing. 

“Today, a flourishing life is often confused with a materially wealthy life or a life of unrestricted individual autonomy. The so-called ideal future presented to us is often one of technological convenience and consumer satisfaction. Yet we know this is not enough. We see this in affluent societies where many people are struggling with loneliness, despair and a sense of meaninglessness.”

 

“Authentic human flourishing stems from what the Church calls integral human development, or the full development of a person in all dimensions: physical, social, cultural, moral, and spiritual. This vision for the human person is rooted in natural law, the moral order that God has written on the human heart, whose deeper truths are illuminated by the Gospel of Christ.”

 

"It ensures the freedom to seek truth, to worship God and to raise families in peace. It also includes a harmony with creation and a sense of solidarity across social classes and nations. Indeed, the Lord came that we ‘may have life, and have it abundantly’.”

Australian Catholic Youth Festival – Melbourne 2025

This term, students in Years 10 to 12 will be invited to submit expressions of interest to represent St Bede’s College at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) Melbourne.

ACYF offers an opportunity to encounter Jesus and to encounter one another.

Taking place from the 30 November to 2 December, the festival will open with a special pilgrimage walk from St Patrick’s Cathedral through Melbourne’s CBD and along the banks of the Yarra River enroute to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

ACYF will offer an experience of the sacred through liturgy, prayer and worship, music, and workshops. There will also be keynote addresses and an expo/justice space that will feature the various ways that the life and mission of the Church is at work in the world.

Please contact Ria Greene rgg@stbedes.catholic.edu.aufor further information.

Ria Greene

Deputy Principal - Faith and Mission