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RADIO VATICANA REPORT:
Early Sunday morning, Rome was woken to the sound of song as thousands of young
boys and girls from the Catholic Action group wound their Caravan of Peace
through the city’s streets on route to St. Peter’s Square. In two thousand
cities across the world other young people, like them, were also marking the
International Day of intercession for peace in the Holy Land.
“We want to bring the joy of our faith onto the streets”, Noemi, a young girl told Pope Benedict, joining him at the window of his study for the annual release of two white doves following the midday Angelus prayer. In prepared remarks, she spoke of Catholic Action’s commitment to reflect, even in silence, on the value of peace, recalling those children who are born into difficult situations and of how their group is sponsoring a detention centre, as an alternative to prison, for underage girls in Bolivia.
"We ask you to pray with us for our parents, teachers and priests so that we may be formed to be witnesses and peacemakers”, she concluded. Then two young people, together with Pope Benedict, released the two doves, a gesture the Holy Father described as a " sign of peace for the city of Rome and the whole world" and on seeing that the doves at first seemed to want to go back inside, he jokingly added: "They want to stay in the Pope’s house."
The International Day of intercession for peace in the Holy Land was born from the desire of some Catholic youth associations, in communion with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and involves churches of the 5 continents. Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa is the Custodian of the Holy Land. He says “the first that we as Christians could and should do is refer all of our aims for peace to God. Peace means relations, good relations among us and our relations should start first and foremost from our relations with God”. “The youth have the responsibility to build a mentality and culture of peace in the next generation. This is a very important moment”.
Earlier in his reflections before the Angelus Pope Benedict spoke of the Sunday Gospel where we hear how the unclean spirit recognizes Jesus as the “Holy One of God”. He said: “For man, authority often means possession, power, control, success. For God, however, authority means service, humility, love”.
Pope Benedict also marked World Leprosy Day encouraging “all those affected by this disease, as well as their caregivers who, in many ways, are committed to eradicating poverty and marginalization, the real causes of the persistence of the infection”.
And finally he recalled that on Thursday, February 2, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, the World Day for Consecrated Life. To mark the occasion, Pope Benedict will preside at Vespers in St. Peter’s Basilica at 17.30, together with members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=558612
Pope: True authority is humble service in loveRADIO VATICANA REPORT:
“We want to bring the joy of our faith onto the streets”, Noemi, a young girl told Pope Benedict, joining him at the window of his study for the annual release of two white doves following the midday Angelus prayer. In prepared remarks, she spoke of Catholic Action’s commitment to reflect, even in silence, on the value of peace, recalling those children who are born into difficult situations and of how their group is sponsoring a detention centre, as an alternative to prison, for underage girls in Bolivia.
"We ask you to pray with us for our parents, teachers and priests so that we may be formed to be witnesses and peacemakers”, she concluded. Then two young people, together with Pope Benedict, released the two doves, a gesture the Holy Father described as a " sign of peace for the city of Rome and the whole world" and on seeing that the doves at first seemed to want to go back inside, he jokingly added: "They want to stay in the Pope’s house."
The International Day of intercession for peace in the Holy Land was born from the desire of some Catholic youth associations, in communion with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and involves churches of the 5 continents. Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa is the Custodian of the Holy Land. He says “the first that we as Christians could and should do is refer all of our aims for peace to God. Peace means relations, good relations among us and our relations should start first and foremost from our relations with God”. “The youth have the responsibility to build a mentality and culture of peace in the next generation. This is a very important moment”.
Earlier in his reflections before the Angelus Pope Benedict spoke of the Sunday Gospel where we hear how the unclean spirit recognizes Jesus as the “Holy One of God”. He said: “For man, authority often means possession, power, control, success. For God, however, authority means service, humility, love”.
Pope Benedict also marked World Leprosy Day encouraging “all those affected by this disease, as well as their caregivers who, in many ways, are committed to eradicating poverty and marginalization, the real causes of the persistence of the infection”.
And finally he recalled that on Thursday, February 2, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, the World Day for Consecrated Life. To mark the occasion, Pope Benedict will preside at Vespers in St. Peter’s Basilica at 17.30, together with members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=558612
Pope: True authority is humble service in loveRADIO VATICANA REPORT:
In his Angelus
reflections this week Pope Benedict XVI spoke of Sunday’s Gospel where we hear
how the unclean spirit recognizes Jesus as the “Holy One of God”. He also marked
World Leprosy Day, joined his prayers to the International Day of intercession
for peace in the Holy Land and together with the young people of Catholic Action
Italy, released two white doves as a sign of peace above the city of
Rome.Below a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy
Father’s Sunday Angelus reflections:Dear brothers and sisters!
This Sunday's Gospel (Mk 1.21 to 28) presents us with Jesus, on the Sabbath day, as he preached at the synagogue at Capernaum, the small town where Peter and his brother Andrew lived on the lake of Galilee. In his teaching, which arouses the wonder of the people, following the liberation of "a man with an unclean spirit" (v. 23), who recognizes in Jesus as the "saint of God," that is, the Messiah. In a short time, his fame spread throughout the region, which he travels announcing the Kingdom of God and healing the sick of all kinds: word and deed. St. John Chrysostom observes how the Lord "alternates the speech for the benefit of those who listen, moving on from wonders to words and again passing from the teaching of his doctrine to miracles" (Hom. on Matthew 25, 1: PG 57, 328).
The word that Jesus speaks to men immediately opens access to the will of the Father and the truth about themselves. It was not so, however, for the scribes, who struggled to interpret the Holy Scriptures with countless reflections. Furthermore, to the efficacy of the word, Jesus united the signs of deliverance from evil. St. Athanasius observes that "commanding and driving out demons is not human but divine work ', in fact, the Lord "distanced men from all diseases and infirmities. Who, seeing his power ... still doubted that he was the Son, the Wisdom and Power of God? " (Oratio de Incarnatione Verbi 18:19: PG 25, 128 BC.129 B). Divine authority is not a force of nature. It is the power of the love of God who created the Universe and, in becoming incarnate in His only begotten Son, in coming down to our humanity, heals the world corrupted by sin. Romano Guardini writes: "The whole life of Jesus is a translation of power in humility ... Here is the sovereignty that lowers itself to the form of a servant" (Power, Brescia 1999, 141,142).
For man, authority often means possession, power, control success. For God, however, authority means service, humility, love; it means entering into the logic of Jesus who stoops to wash the disciples' feet (cf. Jn 13.5), who seeks the true good of man, who heals wounds, who is capable of a love so great as to give up his life, because he is Love. In one of her Letters, Saint Catherine of Siena writes: "We must see and know, in truth, with the light of faith, that God is the supreme and eternal Love, and desires nothing else but our good "(Ep. 13 in: The Letters, vol. 3, Bologna 1999, 206).
Dear friends, on Thursday, February 2, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, the World Day for Consecrated Life. With confidence we invoke Mary Most Holy that she may guide our hearts to always draw from divine mercy, which frees and heals our humanity, filling it with every grace and benevolence, through the power of love.
I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at this Angelus prayer. In this Sunday’s Gospel we hear how the unclean spirit recognizes Jesus as the “Holy One of God”. Let us pray that, despite the distractions of life and the apparent progress of evil, we may continue to put our faith in the Lord Jesus who is “the way, the truth and the life”. I wish all of you a good Sunday. May God bless you!
POST-ANGELUS
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today, in Vienna, the beatification takes place of Hildegard Burjan, a lay woman and mother, who lived in the nineteenth and twentieth century and is founder of the Society of the Sisters of Caritas Socialis. We praise the Lord for this beautiful testimony of the Gospel!
This Sunday marks the World Day of Leprosy. In greeting the Italian Association of Friends of Raoul Follereau, I would like to extend my encouragement to all those affected by this disease, as well as their caregivers who, in many ways, are committed to eradicating poverty and marginalization, the real causes of the persistence of the infection.
I remember also the International Day of intercession for peace in the Holy Land. In profound communion with the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land, we invoke the gift of peace for this land blessed by God
I greet with affection the Italian-speaking pilgrims, especially the faithful who came from Taranto, Bari and Civitavecchia, and the numerous children of Catholic Action of Rome, accompanied by the Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini, with their teachers and family. Dear children, this year you gave birth to the "Caravan of Peace". Thank you and I encourage you to take everywhere the peace of Jesus.
And now we release the doves, which the young people have brought as a sign of peace for the city of Rome and the whole world.
A blessed Sunday to all!
http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=558581
AMERICA : PARISH TWINNING TO HELP POOR COUNTRIES
International
Parish Twinning
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ARCHDIOCESE OF WASHINGTON RELEASE: International
parish twinning provides an opportunity for a parish to develop a relationship
with a “sister parish” in a foreign country. The relationship is two-way as both
parishes grow through the sharing of experiences and faith. The relationship is
two-way as both parishes grow through the sharing of experiences and faith. Our
archdiocesan experience reflects what the U.S. bishops wrote about twinning:
“These bridges of faith offer as much to U.S. parishes as to their partners. We
are evangelized and changed as we help other communities of faith” (USCCB,
Called to Global Solidarity: International Challenges for U.S. Parishes, 1997).
About 30 parishes (21%) in the archdiocese are now
engaged in international twinning involving parishes, schools, health clinics,
and water and sanitation projects. Some of the twinning involves relatively
frequent visits to the twinned parish or project (one or more visits per year),
while in other cases the contact is less frequent. Parishes decide what they can
do depending on their own circumstances.
See the list
of parishes in the archdiocese with an international twin.
For more information about parish twinning, please
contact Anthony Bosnick, archdiocesan Director of Charity and Justice, at (301)
853-5340.
Twinning
Opportunities in Haiti
Several archdiocesan parishes have long-standing twinning relationships with parishes in Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with an average annual household income of about $350 US. Haiti is overwhelmingly Catholic (80%), and the Catholic Church in Haiti is a powerful influence. Many Haitians have come to the Washington area to live and form a vibrant community here. These various factors have made Haiti a natural international twinning opportunity for archdiocesan parishes.
Several archdiocesan parishes have long-standing twinning relationships with parishes in Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with an average annual household income of about $350 US. Haiti is overwhelmingly Catholic (80%), and the Catholic Church in Haiti is a powerful influence. Many Haitians have come to the Washington area to live and form a vibrant community here. These various factors have made Haiti a natural international twinning opportunity for archdiocesan parishes.
In 2006, in order to further support twinning in
Haiti, the archdiocese began a twinning relationship with the Diocese of
Jérémie. Seven archdiocesan parishes now twin with parishes in that diocese,
while another eleven twin in other areas of Haiti. We continue to encourage
twinning with the Diocese of Jérémie and elsewhere in Haiti, as well as with
other areas outside the U.S. that parishes have chosen based on their own
connections and desires.
The archdiocesan Haiti Twinning Committee meets
monthly to support parishes with twins in Haiti. They can help you with
information and support as you consider establishing a twinning relationship
with Haiti. Please contact either of the co-chairs of the Haiti Twinning
Commmittee—Pat Labuda or Cynthia Bowie.
Twinning
Opportunities Elsewhere
A number of archdiocesan parishes are involved in twinning relationships in Latin American and Africa, such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Ghana and Togo. These often stem from relationships that a pastor or parishioners has with people or communities in these places. If such relationships already exist, they can be the basis for the establishment of a twinning relationship. Keep in mind that these twinning relationships should be embraced by the parish and not be the special project of only one or several people. For a twinning relationship to be enduring and most effective, it needs to go beyond just a few people in the parish.
A number of archdiocesan parishes are involved in twinning relationships in Latin American and Africa, such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Ghana and Togo. These often stem from relationships that a pastor or parishioners has with people or communities in these places. If such relationships already exist, they can be the basis for the establishment of a twinning relationship. Keep in mind that these twinning relationships should be embraced by the parish and not be the special project of only one or several people. For a twinning relationship to be enduring and most effective, it needs to go beyond just a few people in the parish.
Opportunities
in Russia
A new twinning opportunity has recently opened up in Russia with the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow. There is a great need there, and we especially want to encourage parishes to consider twinning there to help the Latin Church rebuild its parishes and diocesan facilities after decades of suppression under communism. Only 1 percent of Russia’s 150 million inhabitants are Roman Catholics, so there is great need for help from outside the country to help rebuild the Church there.
A new twinning opportunity has recently opened up in Russia with the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow. There is a great need there, and we especially want to encourage parishes to consider twinning there to help the Latin Church rebuild its parishes and diocesan facilities after decades of suppression under communism. Only 1 percent of Russia’s 150 million inhabitants are Roman Catholics, so there is great need for help from outside the country to help rebuild the Church there.
The Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow
serves Catholics in the 1,015, 451 square miles spanning the region between the
Polish border and the Ural Mountains, Ukraine and the Arctic Circle. Their
seminary is reopened and has been educating priests since 1994. Local Catholics
are not yet able to support their own priests and parishes.
Parishes can help in a number of ways, such as
support for a priest or helping to rebuild facilities. For example, $5,000 will
help support one priest for a year and $10,000 will support a parish for a year.
Funds are also needed to help rebuild the seminary that was closed during the
time of Soviet suppression.
For further information, contact the Archdiocese of the Mother of God directly, or
Anthony Bosnick.
Getting
Started and Some Guidelines
Parish twinning is a wonderful way for a parish to respond to Christ's call to be at service to the least of these in our midst. Guidelines to help you get started with an international twinning relationship in your parish follow. A number of dioceses in the U.S. follow these guidelines.
Parish twinning is a wonderful way for a parish to respond to Christ's call to be at service to the least of these in our midst. Guidelines to help you get started with an international twinning relationship in your parish follow. A number of dioceses in the U.S. follow these guidelines.
- Form a parish Twinning Committee.
This committee will nourish, foster and oversee the twinning relationship. The committee is in charge of raising awareness and funds in the parish, planning and leading mission trips, and exercising financial oversight of all the funds donated. The parish twining relationship should not be the personal project of one or two parishioners. - Listen to the people and support a project.
Projects which parishes in the archdiocese are currently engaged in include sponsoring feeding programs, building high schools, sponsoring children for school, supporting clinics, running medical missions, building churches, etc. For the sake of financial transparency and accountability, parishes should not simply give a check to the twinned parish, trusting that it will be put to good use. Rather, parishes should engage in an ongoing dialogue with the priest, pastoral counsel, leaders in the community and parishioners at their sister parish about their needs and the projects that they would prioritize. The people in countries like Haiti know far better their needs than we do. Listening must come first. - Establish Bishop-to-Bishop accountability.
The Department for Charity and Justice is coordinating international twinning arrangements. Please notify the department about any twinning relationship you wish to begin. The department will inform Cardinal Wuerl about the arrangement so that he can consider the proposal and notify the bishop in the diocese where the twin project is located about the arrangement. That bishop has the prerogative to accept, change or reject the proposal depending on his assessment of the local situation. If this is the case, the local parish will be notified and can make changes if needed. This process has been requested by the local bishops to help them keep tack of the activities in their dioceses. - Request a budget.
Once a project has been decided upon, ask for a budget and then for regular financial reports from the local pastor, until the completion of the project. - Ask for receipts for all purchases over $100.
The Archdiocese of Washington seeks financial accountability at home and in its work abroad. International twinning experience here and in other dioceses has shown the importance of financial accountability. It is for this reason that we ask parishes to be open with their twin about their need for accountability and assure that their donations are being used for the intended purposes.
Parishes twinned in the Diocese of Jérémie will be asked in the future to submit a short, annual financial report to the Archdiocese of Washington summarizing how much money they have given and for what purposes. These parish reports will be compiled into a report which will be submitted each year to the Bishop of Jérémie.
Please contact the archdiocesan Department for
Charity and Justice with any questions or concerns you have about international
parish twinning. Contact Anthony Bosnick,
or call 301-853-5340.
http://site.adw.org/international-parish-twinning
http://site.adw.org/international-parish-twinning
AUSTRALIA : ST. MARY MACKILLOP HONOURED - AUSTRALIA DAY
Catholic
Communications, Sydney Archdiocese REPORT
27 Jan 2012
Josephite Sister Maria Casey, the Archdiocese of Sydney's Vicar
for the Religious and former Postulator for the Cause of Mary MacKillop was
awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her efforts in making the case for
canonisation to the Vatican. But Sr Maria insists the award is not about her but
instead honours and recognises Australia's first saint.
"When I first heard that I was to be given the award, I was extremely surprised and also a bit ambivalent for this is not the kind of thing I look for. But then I decided the award was being given in recognition of Mary MacKillop and the high esteem and love in which she is held, not only by the Church but by Australia at large," Sr Maria says.
Fr Paul Gardiner, SJ also received an OAM yesterday for his work during his more than two decades as Postulator for the Cause before handing over the reins to Sr Maria. But like Sr Maria he does not regard the honour as a tribute to his own efforts at making the case for sanctification of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
"I'm just a moment in the cause of Mary. People had worked at it for a long time and when I came into the picture a great deal of work had been done by other people," he says.
Now 88 years old, Fr Gardiner hopes his and Sr Maria's OAM awards will remind Australians of the importance and holy character of Australia's first saint, and firmly believes the awards were given based on the legacy of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop's holy character rather than on the work in establishing the case for canonisation to the Holy See.
Fr Gardiner, who lives in retirement in the picturesque town of Penola, SA, site of the first school founded by Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods, was appointed the Vatican Postulator for the Cause in 1984. The next two and a half decades were spent in meticulous research in Rome as well as Australia. In 2001, he was joined by Sr Maria who was appointed Vice Postulator.
Author of "Mary MacKillop: An Extraordinary Australian", Fr Gardiner was responsible for documenting the first miracle attributed to her intercession which was approved by the Vatican in 1993, paving the way for her beatification and eventual canonisation.
After Fr Gardiner's
retirement in 2008, Sr Maria took over the role of Postulator, researching
collecting testaments to Mary MacKillop's holiness and closeness to God as well
as documenting the second miracle and presenting evidence for divine endorsement
to the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Both Fr Gardiner and Sr Maria participated in the historic canonisation of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop in Rome on 17 October 2010. The following year, the pair were together again, choosing to spend 8 August, the Feast Day of Australia's first saint, in prayer in Penola.
Sr Maria has no plans for any special celebrations to her OAM award. Her thoughts today were instead with Josephite Sister Elizabeth Murphy, former congregational leader, who will celebrate her Diamond Jubiliee marking 70 years of professed on Sunday, 29 January.
Sr Maria is flying to Perth tomorrow to be take part in Sr Elizabeth's Jubilee several hundred other Josephite sisters. Former pupils of Sr Elizabeth and their families will also participate.
Now almost 90, the celebrations will take the form of an afternoon tea and prayers and will give many Josephites a chance for reunions with other sisters from all corners of Australia.
"I am very much
looking forward to the Jubilee and seeing Sr Elizabeth and many other friends at
the celebration," says Sr Maria.
The following is a list, courtesy of Ramon A. Williams, of other leading NSW Catholics who were honoured in yesterday's Australia Day awards.
Member of the Order of Australia (AM):
The Hon Jennifer Margaret Boland, Kirribilli, for service to the judiciary through the Family Court of Australia, to legal education, and to the community, particularly through social welfare organisations; Director, CatholicCare Foundation (formerly Centacare), since 1999 and Board member of Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College from 1995-2002
Richard Haddock, Bronte for service to business through executive roles with financial institutions, to the law, and to the community, particularly as an adviser to the social welfare organisations of the Catholic Church in Australia; Chairman Sisters of Charity Foundation; Chairman of CatholicCare; Chairman, the Curran Foundation; Chairman of Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund; Member Finance Committee and Investment Committee, Archdiocese of Sydney and Hon Treasurer, Caritas Australia.
George SMITH, Warriewood, for service to the sport of Rugby Union football as a player at the national and international level, and to the community; Ambassador, St. Vincent de Paul Youth Reach Program; fundraiser for Tongan victims of the 2009 Tsunami; supporter, George Gregan Foundation and coordinator, 'Money Can't Buy' experience to raise money for the Queensland Flood Relief.
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
Susan Carr, Narara, for services to youth through Girl Guides Australia, teacher, Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School, The Entrance.
James DOYLE, Russell Vale for service to the community through the Sisters of Charity Outreach Foundation; Business Manager, Remote and Rural Group, Sisters of Charity Outreach Foundation; Treasurer, Sisters of Charity Outreach Foundation, 1989-2002.
Lady (Joan) Hardy, Potts
Point, for service to the community through support for a range of
charitable organisations; member of the Advisory Board, Mackillop
Foundation.
John Kean, Northbridge for service to the community through education, medical research, trade and charitable organisations; Council Chairman, Loreto College, Normanhurst; member of the Foundation Board, St Ignatius' College, Riverview; supporter of the Sisters of Charity.
Sister Mary Leahy, rsj Bellevue Hill, for service to pastoral care as the Chaplain of the Stella Maris Apostleship of the Sea since 1993 and Sister of St Joseph offering pastoral care to the Merchant Navy Association and the Merchant Navy Sub-Branch, Returned and Services League of Australia.
Madeleine Le Surf for service to the community of Manly; foundation Member, Parish Caring Service, Manly Freshwater (Catholic) Parish, Special Minister of Communion; co-founder of the Manly Soup Kitchen formerly known as the Manly Winter Food Service.
Dr Kerry Moroney, Narrabri for service to rural medicine, and the community of Narrabri; general practitioner and Visiting Medical Officer, Narrabri District Hospital and active member of Narrabri's St Francis Xavier's Catholic Church.
Dr
John Roarty, Point Piper for service to medicine, particularly through
contributions to St Vincent's Clinic, Co-Founder and Chair of the Implementation
Group formed to create St Vincent's Clinic, St Vincent's Hospital; Executive
Director and Board Member, Honorary Visiting Officer, St Vincent's Hospital,
1955-1992 and President of President, St Vincent's Clinic Foundation,
1998-2003.
Barbara Ryan, St Leonards, for service to the community through the St Vincent de Paul Society; former President, St Vincent de Paul Society New South Wales; former member of National Council and Trustees Council; member of Aged Care Board; President, Matthew Talbot Homeless Services from 2006-2008 and Matthew Talbot Hostel volunteer over several decades.
Dr Margaret Stuart, Lane Cove for service to medical research as a biotechnologist; founding member of the Endocrine Laboratory, Biochemistry Department, St Vincent's Hospital.
Associate Professor Peter Thursby, North Rocks, for service to medicine in the field of vascular surgery, and serrvice to the Concord Repatriation General Hospital; Chairman, Medical Appointments Committee; Member, St Joseph's Campus Regional Advisory Board.
Dr John Tierney, East Maitland, for service to the Parliament of Australia, to education, and to the community; Patron, St Phillip's Christian College.
Julia Young, Harwood Island, for service to the community of the North Coast as a supporter of mental health service delivery, Eucharistic Minister, St Mary's Parish Maclean; Liturgy Leader; Member, St Mary's Bereavement Team.
http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2012/2012127_1802.shtml
27 Jan 2012
Sr Maria Casey at the Canonisation of
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop in
Rome
"When I first heard that I was to be given the award, I was extremely surprised and also a bit ambivalent for this is not the kind of thing I look for. But then I decided the award was being given in recognition of Mary MacKillop and the high esteem and love in which she is held, not only by the Church but by Australia at large," Sr Maria says.
Fr Paul Gardiner, SJ also received an OAM yesterday for his work during his more than two decades as Postulator for the Cause before handing over the reins to Sr Maria. But like Sr Maria he does not regard the honour as a tribute to his own efforts at making the case for sanctification of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
"I'm just a moment in the cause of Mary. People had worked at it for a long time and when I came into the picture a great deal of work had been done by other people," he says.
Now 88 years old, Fr Gardiner hopes his and Sr Maria's OAM awards will remind Australians of the importance and holy character of Australia's first saint, and firmly believes the awards were given based on the legacy of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop's holy character rather than on the work in establishing the case for canonisation to the Holy See.
Fr Gardiner, who lives in retirement in the picturesque town of Penola, SA, site of the first school founded by Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods, was appointed the Vatican Postulator for the Cause in 1984. The next two and a half decades were spent in meticulous research in Rome as well as Australia. In 2001, he was joined by Sr Maria who was appointed Vice Postulator.
Author of "Mary MacKillop: An Extraordinary Australian", Fr Gardiner was responsible for documenting the first miracle attributed to her intercession which was approved by the Vatican in 1993, paving the way for her beatification and eventual canonisation.
Fr Paul Gardiner
Both Fr Gardiner and Sr Maria participated in the historic canonisation of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop in Rome on 17 October 2010. The following year, the pair were together again, choosing to spend 8 August, the Feast Day of Australia's first saint, in prayer in Penola.
Sr Maria has no plans for any special celebrations to her OAM award. Her thoughts today were instead with Josephite Sister Elizabeth Murphy, former congregational leader, who will celebrate her Diamond Jubiliee marking 70 years of professed on Sunday, 29 January.
Sr Maria is flying to Perth tomorrow to be take part in Sr Elizabeth's Jubilee several hundred other Josephite sisters. Former pupils of Sr Elizabeth and their families will also participate.
Now almost 90, the celebrations will take the form of an afternoon tea and prayers and will give many Josephites a chance for reunions with other sisters from all corners of Australia.
Sr Maria Casey
The following is a list, courtesy of Ramon A. Williams, of other leading NSW Catholics who were honoured in yesterday's Australia Day awards.
Member of the Order of Australia (AM):
The Hon Jennifer Margaret Boland, Kirribilli, for service to the judiciary through the Family Court of Australia, to legal education, and to the community, particularly through social welfare organisations; Director, CatholicCare Foundation (formerly Centacare), since 1999 and Board member of Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College from 1995-2002
Richard Haddock, Bronte for service to business through executive roles with financial institutions, to the law, and to the community, particularly as an adviser to the social welfare organisations of the Catholic Church in Australia; Chairman Sisters of Charity Foundation; Chairman of CatholicCare; Chairman, the Curran Foundation; Chairman of Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund; Member Finance Committee and Investment Committee, Archdiocese of Sydney and Hon Treasurer, Caritas Australia.
George SMITH, Warriewood, for service to the sport of Rugby Union football as a player at the national and international level, and to the community; Ambassador, St. Vincent de Paul Youth Reach Program; fundraiser for Tongan victims of the 2009 Tsunami; supporter, George Gregan Foundation and coordinator, 'Money Can't Buy' experience to raise money for the Queensland Flood Relief.
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
Susan Carr, Narara, for services to youth through Girl Guides Australia, teacher, Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School, The Entrance.
James DOYLE, Russell Vale for service to the community through the Sisters of Charity Outreach Foundation; Business Manager, Remote and Rural Group, Sisters of Charity Outreach Foundation; Treasurer, Sisters of Charity Outreach Foundation, 1989-2002.
Sr Maria Casey knees before the Holy Father
at the Canonisation Mass in Rome
at the Canonisation Mass in Rome
John Kean, Northbridge for service to the community through education, medical research, trade and charitable organisations; Council Chairman, Loreto College, Normanhurst; member of the Foundation Board, St Ignatius' College, Riverview; supporter of the Sisters of Charity.
Sister Mary Leahy, rsj Bellevue Hill, for service to pastoral care as the Chaplain of the Stella Maris Apostleship of the Sea since 1993 and Sister of St Joseph offering pastoral care to the Merchant Navy Association and the Merchant Navy Sub-Branch, Returned and Services League of Australia.
Madeleine Le Surf for service to the community of Manly; foundation Member, Parish Caring Service, Manly Freshwater (Catholic) Parish, Special Minister of Communion; co-founder of the Manly Soup Kitchen formerly known as the Manly Winter Food Service.
Dr Kerry Moroney, Narrabri for service to rural medicine, and the community of Narrabri; general practitioner and Visiting Medical Officer, Narrabri District Hospital and active member of Narrabri's St Francis Xavier's Catholic Church.
Mary Mackillop Vatican banner
Barbara Ryan, St Leonards, for service to the community through the St Vincent de Paul Society; former President, St Vincent de Paul Society New South Wales; former member of National Council and Trustees Council; member of Aged Care Board; President, Matthew Talbot Homeless Services from 2006-2008 and Matthew Talbot Hostel volunteer over several decades.
Dr Margaret Stuart, Lane Cove for service to medical research as a biotechnologist; founding member of the Endocrine Laboratory, Biochemistry Department, St Vincent's Hospital.
Associate Professor Peter Thursby, North Rocks, for service to medicine in the field of vascular surgery, and serrvice to the Concord Repatriation General Hospital; Chairman, Medical Appointments Committee; Member, St Joseph's Campus Regional Advisory Board.
Dr John Tierney, East Maitland, for service to the Parliament of Australia, to education, and to the community; Patron, St Phillip's Christian College.
Julia Young, Harwood Island, for service to the community of the North Coast as a supporter of mental health service delivery, Eucharistic Minister, St Mary's Parish Maclean; Liturgy Leader; Member, St Mary's Bereavement Team.
http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2012/2012127_1802.shtml
EUROPE : RELIGIOUS SISTER MAKES SOLEMN PROFESSION
CATHOLIC
HERALD REPORT:
Sister Elizabeth Burgess,
centre, is pictured after her solemn profession at St Cecilia’s Abbey in Ryde,
Isle of Wight
Sister makes solemn profession at Cecilia’s Abbey in
Ryde, on the Isle of Wight
By Staff
Reporter on Thursday, 26 January 2012
Sister Elizabeth Burgess,
centre, is pictured after her solemn profession at St Cecilia’s Abbey in Ryde,
Isle of Wight
The solemn profession of Sister Elizabeth Burgess at St
Cecilia’s Abbey, in Ryde on the Isle of Wight on January 6, the feast of the
Epiphany, was a celebration of joy, thanksgiving and song.
Sister Elizabeth joined the Benedictine community at Ryde six years ago when she was 19. Bishop Crispian of Portsmouth, who has not been well, delegated his role to Fr Abbot Cuthbert Brogan of Farnborough, who was accompanied by the two young juniors from his community.
Sister Elizabeth belonged to the Oratory parish in Oxford and five Oratorians were present, including the Provost Fr Daniel Seward who preached the homily.
Canon Thomas Farrell of Coventry, Fr Finbar Kealy, prior administrator of Quarr, Fr Nicholas Spencer, also of Quarr, and Fr John Redver-Harris of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham were also present in the sanctuary.
After the Creed Sister Elizabeth came forward with a lighted candle singing in Latin “Now with all my heart I follow you… I seek your face.” After pronouncing her vows she sang the traditional threefold Suscipe with arms held up in prayer and signing the chart of her vows on the altar, she received the monastic cowl and then prostrated for the Litany of Saints and the Prayer of Consecration. She then received the black veil, gold ring and book of the Divine Office.
Sister Elizabeth’s mother died when she was a novice and so her profession ring is her mother’s wedding ring. Sister Elizabeth then placed her two joined hands between those of Mother Abbess, to signify her obedience, after which she received the kiss of peace from each member of her community.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/catholiclife/2012/01/26/sister-elizabeth-makes-her-solemn-profession/
Sister Elizabeth joined the Benedictine community at Ryde six years ago when she was 19. Bishop Crispian of Portsmouth, who has not been well, delegated his role to Fr Abbot Cuthbert Brogan of Farnborough, who was accompanied by the two young juniors from his community.
Sister Elizabeth belonged to the Oratory parish in Oxford and five Oratorians were present, including the Provost Fr Daniel Seward who preached the homily.
Canon Thomas Farrell of Coventry, Fr Finbar Kealy, prior administrator of Quarr, Fr Nicholas Spencer, also of Quarr, and Fr John Redver-Harris of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham were also present in the sanctuary.
After the Creed Sister Elizabeth came forward with a lighted candle singing in Latin “Now with all my heart I follow you… I seek your face.” After pronouncing her vows she sang the traditional threefold Suscipe with arms held up in prayer and signing the chart of her vows on the altar, she received the monastic cowl and then prostrated for the Litany of Saints and the Prayer of Consecration. She then received the black veil, gold ring and book of the Divine Office.
Sister Elizabeth’s mother died when she was a novice and so her profession ring is her mother’s wedding ring. Sister Elizabeth then placed her two joined hands between those of Mother Abbess, to signify her obedience, after which she received the kiss of peace from each member of her community.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/catholiclife/2012/01/26/sister-elizabeth-makes-her-solemn-profession/
ASIA : INDIA : BUSINESS MAN BUILDS HOMES FOR POOR
UCAN REPORT:
Businessman builds homes for poor families to break down religious barriers
A scene in the ‘Sauharda Village’
A Catholic businessman marked India’s Republic Day
yesterday by establishing a small community in a Karnataka state village for
poor people from different religions.
“Poverty has no caste or creed barriers. Similarly, values of caring and sharing have no religious borders,” said Eric Correa, founder of Sauharda Nagara (village of harmony), a hamlet comprising 34 homes, in Muragoli, near Mangalore.
Correa yesterday handed over house keys to 11 Hindu, 11 Catholic, nine Muslim and three Protestant families during a special ceremony.
He said the families were chosen through a lucky draw involving nearly 650 applicants.
Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza of Mangalore, who blessed the houses, hailed Correa’s gesture as a “model message” to those trying to divide people along religious lines.
The prelate said peace and harmony used to prevail in Karnataka until about 10 years ago. “But in recent years the state has become a land of mutual hatred and attacks.”
Karnataka, in the south of the country, has seen several attacks on Christians by right-wing Hindu groups during the past few years.
Correa said he decided to establish the community after becoming frustrated with the tension existing among people on account of religion.
“If poor families could come together they would be better disposed to share and care for each other,” he explained.
Correa, who runs an electrical generator business, has spent 30 million rupees on the project.
He said he plans to build 64 houses in another village soon.
He said he had experienced “an internal call of conscience” to help the homeless.
Rohidas Kulal, a Hindu beneficiary, expressed happiness that he can now live under his own roof. He said he had been living in a rented room with his wife and two children.
Ashiq Mohammad, a Muslim resident, said religious divisions have made people forget how to relate to other others.
He said the hamlet will help its residents live in harmony.
“When one is sick or meets with an accident no one will look at their religion,” he added.
“Poverty has no caste or creed barriers. Similarly, values of caring and sharing have no religious borders,” said Eric Correa, founder of Sauharda Nagara (village of harmony), a hamlet comprising 34 homes, in Muragoli, near Mangalore.
Correa yesterday handed over house keys to 11 Hindu, 11 Catholic, nine Muslim and three Protestant families during a special ceremony.
He said the families were chosen through a lucky draw involving nearly 650 applicants.
Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza of Mangalore, who blessed the houses, hailed Correa’s gesture as a “model message” to those trying to divide people along religious lines.
The prelate said peace and harmony used to prevail in Karnataka until about 10 years ago. “But in recent years the state has become a land of mutual hatred and attacks.”
Karnataka, in the south of the country, has seen several attacks on Christians by right-wing Hindu groups during the past few years.
Correa said he decided to establish the community after becoming frustrated with the tension existing among people on account of religion.
“If poor families could come together they would be better disposed to share and care for each other,” he explained.
Correa, who runs an electrical generator business, has spent 30 million rupees on the project.
He said he plans to build 64 houses in another village soon.
He said he had experienced “an internal call of conscience” to help the homeless.
Rohidas Kulal, a Hindu beneficiary, expressed happiness that he can now live under his own roof. He said he had been living in a rented room with his wife and two children.
Ashiq Mohammad, a Muslim resident, said religious divisions have made people forget how to relate to other others.
He said the hamlet will help its residents live in harmony.
“When one is sick or meets with an accident no one will look at their religion,” he added.
AFRICA : SOUTH SUDAN : RELICS OF DON BOSCO BRING HOPE
CISA
REPORT:
RUMBEK January 27, 2012
(CISA) -The Superior of the Sudan delegation of the Eastern Africa Province
of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr Ferrington Rayen, has said that the presence
of the relic of St Don Bosco in South Sudan means that Don Bosco is part of the
new beginning of the new nation, South Sudan.
RUMBEK January 27, 2012
(CISA) -The Superior of the Sudan delegation of the Eastern Africa Province
of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr Ferrington Rayen, has said that the presence
of the relic of St Don Bosco in South Sudan means that Don Bosco is part of the
new beginning of the new nation, South Sudan.
Fr Rayen said this on Wednesday January 25
during the Eucharistic celebration with the relic of St Don Bosco in Tonj
Mission of the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek.
He described the presence of the relic of St
Don Bosco as a pilgrimage of faith and a very historic event.
Fr Rayen encouraged South Sudanese to build
their country in Christ and with Christ, explaining that St Don Bosco was in
South Sudan to give hope to the people journeying towards a great future.
Fr. Rayen recalled the three values St Don
Bosco embraced in his ministry among the youth, that is, work, bread, and
heaven, challenging the youth to shun idleness and laziness and to work hard for
their livelihood.
He described Don Bosco as an attractive saint
leading people to Christ and called on the faithful to have Christ and the
mother Mary at the centre of all plans towards nation building.
Meanwhile, the Parish Priest of Tonj Mission,
Fr James Pulickal, prayed that the visit of St Don Bosco will bring blessings
upon the leaders, the youth and all families in South Sudan.
The Diocesan Administrator of Rumbek, Fr.
Fernando Colombo, expressed his solidarity with the religious and faithful of
Tonj Mission, praying that the visit of St Don Bosco bring to South Sudan and to
Rumbek Diocese renewal in faith, hope and good deeds especially among the
youth.
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : 4TH IN ORD. TIME: SUN. JAN. 29, 2012
| Deuteronomy
18: 15 - 20
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| 15 | "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren -- him you shall heed -- | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, `Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, or see this great fire any more, lest I die.' | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | And the LORD said to me, `They have rightly said all that they have spoken. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | And whoever will not give heed to my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | But the
prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him
to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall
die.'
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TODAY'S SAINT : ST. GILDAS THE WISE
St. Gildas the Wise
Abbott
Feast: January 29
 Information:
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He was son to a British lord, who to procure him a virtuous
education, placed him in his infancy in the monastery of St. Iltutus in
Glamorganshire. The surname of Badonicus was given him, because, as we learn
from his writings, he was born in the year in which the Britons under Aurelius
Ambrosius, or, according to others, under king Arthur, gained the famous victory
over the Saxons at Mount Badon, now Bannesdown, near Bath, in Somersetshire.
This Bede places in the forty-fourth year after the first coming of the Saxons
into Britain, which was in 451. Our saint, therefore, seems to have been born in
494; he was consequently younger than St. Paul, St. Samson, and his other
illustrious school-fellows in Wales: but by his prudence and seriousness in his
youth he seemed to have attained to the maturity of judgment and gravity of an
advanced age. The author of the life of St. Paul of Leon, calls him the
brightest genius of the school of St. Iltut. His application to sacred studies
was uninterrupted, and if he arrived not at greater perfection in polite
literature, this was owing to the want of masters of that branch in the
confusion of those times. As to improve himself in the knowledge of God and
himself was the end of all his studies, and all his reading was reduced to the
study of the science of the saints, the greater progress he made in learning,
the more perfect he became in all virtues. Studies which are to many a source of
dissipation, made him more and more recollected, because in all books he found
and relished only God, whom alone he sought. Hence sprang that love for holy
solitude, which, to his death, was the constant ruling inclination of his heart.
Some time after his monastic profession, with the consent, and perhaps by the
order of his abbot, St. Iltut, he passed over into Ireland, there to receive the
lessons of the admirable masters of a religious life, who had been instructed in
the most sublime maxims of an interior life, and formed to the practice of
perfect virtue, by the great St. Patrick. The author of his Acts compares this
excursion, which he made in the spring of his life, to that of the bees in the
season of flowers, to gather the juices which they convert into honey. In like
manner St. Gildas learned, from the instructions and examples of the most
eminent servants of God, to copy in his own life whatever seemed most perfect.
So severe were his continual fasts, that the motto of St. John Baptist might in
some degree be applied to him, that he scarce seemed to eat or drink at all. A
rough hair-cloth, concealed under a coarse cloak, was his garment, and the bare
floor his bed, with a stone for his bolster.
By the constant mortification of his natural appetites, and crucifixion of his flesh, his life was a prolongation of his martyrdom, or a perpetual sacrifice which he made of himself to God in union with that which he daily offered to him on his altars. If it be true that he preached in Ireland in the reign of king Ammeric, he must have made a visit to that island from Armorica, that prince only beginning to reign in 560: this cannot be ascribed to St. Gildas the Albanian, who died before that time. It was about the year 527, in the thirty-fourth of his age, that St. Gildas sailed to Armorica, or Brittany, in France: for he wrote his invective ten years after his arrival there, and in the forty-fourth year of his age, as is gathered from his life and writings. Here he chose for the place of his retirement the little isle of Houac, or Houat, between the coast of Rhuis and the island of Bellisle, four leagues from the latter. Houat exceeds not a league in length; the isle of Hoedre is still smaller, not far distant: both are so barren as to yield nothing but a small quantity of corn. Such a solitude, which appeared hideous to others, offered the greatest charms to the saint, who desired to fly, as much as this mortal state would permit, whatever could interrupt his commerce with God. Here he often wanted the common necessaries and conveniences of life; but the greater the privation of earthly comforts was in which he lived, the more abundant were those of the Holy Ghost which he enjoyed, in proportion as the purity of his affections and his love of heavenly things were more perfect. The saint promised himself that he should live here always unknown to men: but it was in vain for him to endeavor to hide the light of divine grace under a bushel, which shone forth to the world, notwithstanding all the precautions which his humility took to conceal it. Certain fishermen who discovered him were harmed with his heavenly deportment and conversation, and made known on the continent the treasure they had found. The inhabitants flocked from the coast to hear the lessons of divine wisdom which the holy anchoret gave with a heavenly unction which penetrated their hearts. To satisfy their importunities, St. Gildas at length consented to live among them on the continent, and built a monastery at Rhuis, in a peninsula of that name, which Guerech, the first lord of the Britons about Vannes, is said to have bestowed upon him. This monastery was soon filled with excellent disciples and holy monks. St. Gildas settled them in good order; then, sighing after closer solitude, he withdrew, and passing beyond the gulf of Vannes, and the promontory of Quiberon, chose for his habitation a grot in a rock, upon the bank of the river Blavet, where he found a cavern formed by nature extended from the east to the west, which on that account he converted into a chapel. However, he often visited this abbey of Rhuis, and by his counsels directed many in the paths of true virtue. Among these was St. Trifina, daughter of Guerech, first British count of Vannes. She was married to count Conomor, lieutenant of king Childebert, a brutish and impious man, who afterwards murdered her, and the young son which he had by her, who at his baptism received the name of Gildas, and was godson to our saint: but he is usually known by the surname of Treuchmour, or Tremeur, in Latin 'Trichmorus. SS. Trifina and Treuchmeur are invoked in the English Litany of the seventh century, in Mabillon. The great collegiate church of Carhaix bears the name of St. Treuchmour: the church of Quim per keeps his feast on the 8th of November, on which day he is commemorated in several churches in Brittany, and at St. Magloire's at Paris. A church situated between Corlai and the abbey of Coetmaloon in Brittany, is dedicated to God under the invocation of St. Trifina.
St. Gildas wrote eight canons of discipline, and a severe
invective against the crimes of the Britons, called De Excidio Britanniae, that
he might confound those whom he was not able to convert, and whom God in
punishment delivered first to the plunders of the Picts and Scots, and
afterwards to the perfidious Saxons, the fiercest of all nations. He reproaches
their kings, Constantine, (king of the Danmonians, in Devonshire and Cornwall,)
Vortipor, (of the Dimetians, in South Wales,) Conon, Cuneglas, and Maglocune,
princes in other parts of Britain, with horrible crimes: but Constantine was
soon after sincerely converted, as Gale informs us from an ancient Welsh
chronicle. According to John Fordun he resigned his crown, became a monk,
preached the faith to the Scots and Picts, and died a martyr in Kintyre: but the
apostle of the Scots seems to have been a little more ancient than the former.
Our saint also wrote an invective against the British clergy, whom he accuses of
sloth of seldom sacrificing at the altar &c. In his retirement he ceased not
with tears to recommend to God his own cause, or that of his honor and glory,
and the souls of blind sinners, and died in his beloved solitude in the island
of Horac, (in Latin Horata,) according to Usher, in 570, but according to Ralph
of Disse, in 581.[6] St. Gildas is patron of the city of Vannes. The abbey which
bears his name in the peninsula of Rhuis, between three and four leagues from
Vannes, is of the reformed congregation of St. Maur since the year 1649. The
relics of St. Gildas were carried thence for fear of the Normans into Berry,
about the year 919, and an abbey was erected there on the banks of the river
Indre, which was secularized and united to the collegiate church of Chateauroux
in 1623. St. Gildas is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on the 29th of
January. A second commemoration of him is made in some places on the 11th of
May, on account of the translation of his relics. His life, compiled from the
ancient archives of Rhuis by a monk of that house, in the eleventh century, is
the best account we have of him, though the author confounds him sometimes with
St. Gildas the Albanian. It is published in the library of Fleury, in Bollandus,
p. 954, and most correctly in Mabillon, Act. SS. Ord. Saint Bened. t. 1, p. 138.
See also Dom Lobineau, Vies des Saints de Bretagne, (for. an. 1725,) p. 72, and
Hist. de la Bretagne, (2 vol. fol. an. 1707) and the most accurate Dom Morice,
Memoires sur l'Histoire de Bretagne, 3 vol. fol. in 1745, and Hist. de la
Bretagne, 2 vol. fol. an. 1750.
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SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/G/stgildasthewise.asp#ixzz1ks5mtM00
