Page 4 - Catholic Life, October 2010
God’s grace at work in saints
Toasted Jesus?
WHAT next? A United States entrepreneur is marketing a toaster which sears the image of Jesus on each slice as it toasts. The Jesus toaster is retailing for $39.95. Inspired by the Florida woman who claimed several years ago that a toasted cheese sandwich miraculously ended up with an image of the Virgin Mary on it (that half-eaten sandwich sold for $28,000 on eBay!!) he originally decided to make toasters which created various sporting logos. However, exorbitant licensing fees made him shelve that idea and he decided he would market the Jesus toasters and had 3000 made in China.
Off to Holy Land
SALE parish is having a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from mid-February to early March. It will be led by administrator Fr Bernard Buckley. There are some places left on the pilgrimage after a few had to withdraw for various reasons. If you are interested in taking part contact Fr Buckley on 5144 4100.
More saints?
INTERESTING to see the conjecture on who might be the next Australian saint. Latest suggestion is Sr Irene McCormack, a West Australian religious sister who was murdered in Peru by the militia in 1991. The Church in Peru is pushing for her to be officially recognised as a martyr which is one of two ways sainthood can be recognised. There is also a suggestion that Catholic Women’s League
founder Mary Glowery’s name could be put forward. A talented doctor, she became a religious sister and went to work in India. A popular from years gone by but apparently with no organisation to push her Cause is Caroline Chisholm who did wonderful work with migrant girls in the early days of Australia. Chisholm had brief national recognition when she appeared on the $5 note but once the $1 and $2 notes were axed in favor of coins, she was replaced by the Queen. It appears that protocol demands that the ruling monarch should appear on the lowest denomination banknote and so Elizabeth II’s image went from $1 to $5.
Not again
WE mentioned a couple of months ago the error by a Catholic publication which claimed a schoolgirl heading to Rome for the canonisation was a “descendant” of Mary MacKillop. It has happened again with another capital city publication running an article on one of Mary’s “descendants.” Both papers obvious don’t know what the word means because the woman in the latest article is a distant relative, but is definitely not descended from Mary.
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OVER hundreds and hundreds of years the Church has singled out a bewildering array of people we now call saints. If we read their life stories no two are alike. Some of them lived lives of great heroism and bravery, others virtually lived and died in obscurity. Some lived lives of poverty, some lived in the highest castles in the land. Some were mystics, locked in lives of contemplation, others were activists, reformers in the world in which they lived. Some died peacefully while others died in painful execution. So many of them died so long ago, in different times, in different cultures. What do they have to offer us today? Now that Mary MacKillop is joining that list, as Australia’s first saint, what that means to you and I takes on added significance. By and large, saints were ordinary people who accepted an extraordinary responsibility and did their very best. They were not perfect. Rather, at whatever time they may have lived, in whatever circumstances they found themselves, we see in their lives the Gospel come alive in a special way. We do not seek to glorify them but to acknowledge and praise the wonder of God’s grace at work in them in such a remarkable way. And to remind ourselves that that same grace is offered to each of us The fact is, we need people like Mary MacKillop. We need saints. We need heroes and heroines. We need people who dedicate their lives to serve others, who reflect the best in humanity. In Australia, people like Caroline Chisholm, Mum Shirl, ‘’Weary’’ Dunlop, Fred Hollows and Mary MacKillop are people who can inspire us to greater things, who call us to a deeper response, who remind us of what is important and enduring in life. What inspires us most in our own spiritual journeys is not clever ideas or theories about holiness, but holy people to whom we can look for example and encouragement. Such people are walking gospels. They show us how the gospel can actually be lived out in daily life. Their lives also, then, become another source of gospel wisdom. Saints can be role models. While we have some remarkable role models in the saints of the past, still inspirational today, role models for our own world, our own circumstances are perhaps even more urgently needed. Thank God that the grace of
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Reflections by Jim Quillinan
God is still active, is still inspiring and working in remarkable men and women in our midst. And in us, if we let it! Mary and her followers have been extraordinary examples of living gospels in this country, working at the grassroots of people’s lives. They continue Mary’s keen eye and compassion for the marginalised. From the early times of European settlement across this country, they shared the burdens of coping with its isolation, huge distances and remoteness. They were often the first to bring education to the more remote areas. Those conditions were often harsh and extraordinarily difficult. They continue to help the most vulnerable, including the aged poor, people released from prison, and children who find themselves in so many situations of need and difficulty which seems such a hallmark of life at this restless and often uncaring stage of history. Like Mary, they follow in the footsteps of Christ, meeting people where they live and work and rejoice and suffer, where they seek to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Under Mary’s continuing inspiration, they live out the Gospel message in practical ways by impacting on the ordinary moments of life. Under Mary’s continuing inspiration they work to be a visible presence of the love of God. Mary was an activist – she travelled far and wide in the cause of bringing the good news of Gospel to this country in such practical ways. She was not crushed by opposition, by the lack of resources in the face of such huge and unremitting
needs. She is an example of courage and persistence. But it is easy to forget that her last years restricted her travels - rheumatism and strokes had made old age very difficult, she was confined by her illness, but her life was still inspired with her unswerving belief that God was her companion, that God walked with her – her life still burned with her passion for the ways of God. If we need proof that Mary was a saint, if we need to see a miracle, just look at the legacy this passion has inspired in those who continue to follow her. Do we still need saints today? What can we take today from Mary MacKillop’s life? Her commitment to social justice and equality might be sufficient; surely Australia would be a better place if we continued to follow Mary’s example. But there is even more. People like Mary MacKillop help us focus on Jesus and his ways, they help us see what his message looks like for us today, in this culture, in this place at this time. After all, the Church defines faith as ‘a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, making oneself a disciple of him…to think like him, to judge like him and to live as he lived (GDC #53*). We could well benefit from looking at Mary MacKillop who knew this land and this people but who above all was open to the grace and the belief in the practical power of God to enliven and work in an ordinary life. After all, the same God offers the power and wonder of that same grace to each of us! *General Directory for Catechesis: Rome 1998
Officer students shine OFFICER - The bar was set high as over 200 audience members flooded to the small St Brigid’s School in Officer for the performance “Blame It on the Boogie”. All 56 students performed an item within their class groups. The concert also featured the school’s guitar group, Irish dancing, solo vocalists, drama and the very popular school choir. The concert was choreographed by the school’s music teacher Cathy Edwards. Principal Ken Gale said “It
was a great opportunity to showcase our performing arts curriculum to parents and the wider school community.” “It is definitely one of the highlights of the year and it is a pleasure to say that every child in the school was involved. The response from the school community has been outstanding.” The school concert has been a great achievement for the small Catholic primary school that only opened its doors at the beginning of 2010.
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