Parish Bulletin
PARISH NEWS
AUSSIE MARY
Over 10,000 recognised saints have honoured God and inspired Christians in our 2000 year history, many of them women. And of course there are countless others known only to God. Illustrious female saints include St Teresa of Avila, and St Therese of Lisieux and the great saint of living memory, St Mother Teresa of Calcutta. But Australians particularly are inspired and in awe of one of our own: St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, whose feast day on August 8th takes precedence over the regular Sunday Mass.
Born in Fitzroy and baptised at St Francis church in the city, she is as Aussie as one can be. In the face of antagonism and opposition, she rolled her sleeves up and focussed on what was really important. A sister of her order, sums up Mary’s spirituality thus:
God’s Spirit wove the threads of her circumstances into a spiritual fabric resilient enough for her tumultuous times and ours. It is spirituality tough and tender, simple and practical, grounded and mystical. It led Mary to seek and serve God at the margins of Australian society, where poor people struggled in the remote outback and sordid slums of the rapidly growing cities.1 [Joan Healy rsj, – Mary, a Pioneer of Passionate Australian Spirituality, 2010]
Grounded, immersed with sleeves rolled up in the community, Mary MacKillop was a strong woman with a sense of humour who had her own share of heartbreak and was prepared to meet people of all flavours where they were at. On horseback, carriage, train and by ship she travelled widely across Australia and the world enlisting and befriending people of all faiths and none. Her focus was constantly on bringing Jesus’ compassion to the poor, marginalised and disenfranchised.
No better standard bearer can be found for strong women rising up and making their voices heard in modern Australian workplaces, homes, churches and society than Mary MacKillop.
Deacon Mark Kelly
CONFIRMATION REMINDER
WORKSHOP 1
Our first workshop will be held this Wednesday, August 4th in St Ita’s School Hall commencing at 7pm. Also on Thursday, August 5th in St Joseph’s Church at 4pm or 7pm.
Please bring along your completed preferred Confirmation Mass form for the Sacrament of Confirmation and your choice of Confirmation name and sponsor’s name form.
Workshop 2 will be on the following week the 11th and 12th of August at the same venues and times.
COMMITMENT MASS
There will be Commitment Masses this coming weekend, please make sure you book for Mass on Try Book on the following link before 3pm this Friday August 6th as this site is closed for Mass booking after this time: https://www.trybooking.com/BTHTG You should already have received this link via email or your school.
Please remember to bring your Commitment Enrolment form to one of these Masses.
For all enquiries please contact Therese on: 0499 116 428
