Next Tuesday we celebrate the life, gift, mission and charism of Australia’s first saint. As we commemorate her and pray for her intercession, we reflect upon those in our lives who guide us towards God’s unconditional love.
Here is a brief reflection on some of the qualities and gifts of St Mary. How might these inspire in building God’s kingdom?
Mary MacKillop is significant because she:
- Is the only acknowledged saint in the history of the Catholic Church in Australia
- Lived and worked for, and in, Australia
- Died in Australia.
A woman of great energy, vitality and action:
- She stepped outside the expectations religious and secular culture had for women of the Victorian era
- She established an educational system that spread across Australia and New Zealand
- She developed institutions that gave people in crisis a chance at survival and a quality of life
- She tackled major questions of social justice in Australia, cutting across class boundaries and believing in the dignity of all people.
A reflective woman:
- A woman of prayer and compassion
- A woman who forgave her enemies and worked for reconciliation with all of them
- An Australian who values the inner life as well as the active life
- A woman who challenges us to do as she did.
A woman who has inspired others today:
- To work in developing countries
- To look for ways to stand with the dispossessed and alienated
- To realise there are other dimensions in life besides the material
- To rejuvenate their ’frayed spirituality’.
An Australian whose spirit can lead us into the future because:
- She was a realist who faced her inadequacies but believed in her dream
- She calls us all to the tenacity and shows us that hope can triumph over despair
- She responded to all in need and, above all
- She was a human being in love with God and God’s people.
Let us pray this beautiful litany, as written by the late Sr Christine McGinty RSJ:
Mary MacKillop loved God very much and always listened to what God was saying to her in the things that happened in her life. Mary always asked God for help for herself and her family and friends. From her home in heaven, she can join with us, her friends on earth, in praying for anything we need, and so we say: Mary MacKillop pray for us.
We pray for our country Australia that all people will be treated fairly: Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
We pray for people who can’t find work, especially those who have been looking for a long time: Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
We pray for people who are too poor to pay their bills: Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
We pray for people who are sad and lonely: Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
We pray for people who are sick or dying and for their families who are sad: Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
We pray for people who are old and tired, especially those who don’t have a good place to live: Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
We pray for people who have to leave their own countries because of war and trouble: Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
We pray for people who live in families that are unhappy: Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
We pray for the Sisters of St Joseph in their lives and work today: Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
We ask God, who cares for us in every way, to listen to our prayers through the help of Mary MacKillop, who is a Saint of Australia. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen