Religious Education & Faith Life
On Tuesday 8 August we celebrated the Feast of St Mary of the Cross. Commonly known as Saint Mary MacKillop, she was the first Australian to be declared a saint by the Catholic Church.
Mary was working as a governess in the small town of Penola in South Australia when she met Fr. Julian Woods, the parish priest of the town. Urged by his Bishop, Fr Woods was determined to start Catholic Education in the smaller towns. He recognized the qualities of Mary Mackillop, who had ended up teaching not only her cousins but also the children of the neighbourhood. He supported her in opening a school which was nothing more than an improvised stable! There she started to provide free education.
From then on, Mary MacKillop fulfilled the call to educate the children of families living in what is called ‘the outback’ of Australian towns. Her vocation was to serve the poor and the marginalized.
Mary was joined by other women and together they worked not only in setting up schools. Together with Fr. Julian Woods, she started a Religious Order for women ~ the Rule of the Sisters of St. Joseph, known throughout Australia as the Josephites.
Mary MacKillop faced many difficulties as she met with hostilities from members of her own Order, as well as from priests and Bishops who did not fully understand the spirit of her mission. For some time she was even excommunicated from the Catholic Church, a decision that was revoked after a few months.
Mary MacKillop died in Sydney on August 8, 1909. She was canonized as Saint Mary of the Cross on October 17, 2010 and is remembered all across Australia for the special work she did in bringing an education of so many Australian children.
God of all People,
We praise you for your servant, Mary MacKillop, who gave her life to serve you
in the poor and oppressed.
As she is honoured in our world, may we continue to share her vision.
Help us to recognise, as she did, that the poor of our time will hear the Gospel in the way we serve them.
Be with us as we strive to follow her and carry out our mission of service and care.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Read about St Mary of the Cross MacKillop's story here:
https://www.sosj.org.au/our-story/our-history/
New Building Bricks Campaign - St Helena of the Holy Cross Parish
The Parish is fundraising with a building bricks campaign to raise funds to commence the building of a much needed Parish Centre/Hall. They currently have 9632 bricks with a target of 30,000 to commence the project.
