Photographie
de Mary MacKillop prise en 1869.
Mary MacKillop holding a copy of her Life Vows, 1869
Sainte Mary MacKillop
Cofondatrice des sœurs de
Saint Joseph du Sacré Cœur (+ 1909)
Première sainte australienne, née en 1842 à Melbourne.
Mary MacKillop (15 janvier 1842 - 8 août 1909) est canonisée par Benoît XVI le
17 octobre 2010, quinze ans après sa béatification par Jean-Paul II. La vie de
mère Marie de la Croix, son nom de religieuse, a été marquée par son amour des
plus pauvres, ainsi que son caractère pionnier en matière d’évangélisation.
Mary MacKillop a par ailleurs fondé la communauté des sœurs de Saint-Joseph du
Sacré-Cœur, aujourd’hui la congrégation la plus importante d’Australie. (Radio
Vatican)
Homélie
de Benoït XVI - en italien
Le 17 octobre 2010, dans son homélie, évoquant Mère Mary MacKillop, première sainte australienne, Benoît XVI a signalé qu'elle "se consacra comme jeune femme à l'éducation des pauvres sur le terrain difficile et prenant de l'Australie rurale... Elle pourvut aux besoins de chaque jeune qui lui était confié, sans considérer ni sa condition ni sa richesse, lui fournissant une formation aussi bien intellectuelle que spirituelle. Malgré de nombreux défis, ses prières à Saint Joseph et son inépuisable dévotion au Sacré-Cœur de Jésus, auquel elle dédia sa nouvelle congrégation, ont donné à cette sainte femme les grâces nécessaires pour rester fidèle à Dieu et à l'Église. Par son intercession, que les disciples d'aujourd'hui continuent à servir Dieu et l'Église avec foi et humilité!". (source:VIS 20101018 800)
En conclusion de la messe de canonisation, Benoît XVI a donné en exemples de vie saint André Bessette et sainte Mary MacKillop, qui "sont des images vivantes de l'amour divin..., des modèles de vie chrétienne". (source: VIS 20101018 240)
"La vie de la Bienheureuse Mary MacKillop témoigne de son ouverture à l'action de l'Esprit Saint: elle exerce les fruits de bonté, de charité et de maîtrise de soi face aux nombreux obstacles."
Elle faisait partie des patrons des JMJ de Sydney en 2008.
"Une des figures éminentes de l’histoire de ce pays est la bienheureuse
Mary MacKillop, sur la tombe de laquelle j’irai prier un peu plus tard,
aujourd’hui même. Je sais que sa persévérance dans les adversités, ses
interventions pour défendre ceux qui étaient traités de manière injuste et
l’exemple concret de sainteté qu’elle a donné, sont devenus source
d’inspiration pour tous les Australiens. Des générations d’Australiens lui
doivent leur reconnaissance, ainsi qu’aux Sœurs de Saint-Joseph du Sacré-Cœur
et à d’autres Congrégations religieuses pour le réseau d’écoles qu’elles ont
créées ici, comme pour le témoignage de leur vie consacrée."
Benoît XVI, Government House - Sydney, Jeudi 17 juillet 2008
"Il nous vient immédiatement à l’esprit la foi qui a soutenu la
bienheureuse Mary MacKillop dans sa forte détermination à éduquer les pauvres
en particulier"
Benoît
XVI, Barangaroo, Sydney, Jeudi 17 juillet 2008
"Je vous répète les paroles que la bienheureuse Mary MacKillop a prononcées quand elle venait juste d’avoir vingt-six ans: 'Crois à ce que Dieu murmure à ton cœur!'."
Benoît
XVI, Hippodrome de Randwick, Samedi 19 juillet 2008
Elle a été béatifiée le 19 janvier 1995 à Sydney par Jean-Paul II.
Voir le site des sœurs de St Joseph du Sacré-Cœur - en anglais, congrégation qu'elle fonda avec le père Julian Woods en 1866.
À Sydney en Australie, l’an 1909, Marie-Hélène MacKillop (Marie de la Croix), vierge,
qui fonda la Congrégation des Sœurs de Saint Joseph et du Sacré-Cœur, et la
dirigea au milieu de difficultés et d’épreuves sans nombre.
Martyrologe romain
Sa devise: Ne jamais voir
un besoin sans chercher à y répondre.
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10266/Sainte-Mary-MacKillop.html
Statue of Mary MacKillop, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Avoca Street, Randwick, Sydney
Statue
of Mary MacKillop, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Avoca Street, Randwick,
Sydney
HOMÉLIE DU PAPE BENOÎT
XVI
Chers frères et sœurs,
Aujourd'hui, place
Saint-Pierre, se renouvelle la fête de la sainteté. C'est avec joie que je vous
souhaite cordialement la bienvenue, à vous qui êtes arrivés ici, même de très
loin, pour y prendre part. J'adresse mes salutations particulières aux
Cardinaux, aux Evêques et aux Supérieurs généraux des Instituts fondés par les
nouveaux saints, tout comme aux délégations officielles et à l'ensemble des
autorités civiles. Ensemble, cherchons à accueillir ce que le Seigneur nous dit
dans les Saintes Ecritures qui viennent d'être proclamées. La liturgie de ce
Dimanche nous offre un enseignement fondamental: la nécessité de toujours
prier, sans jamais se lasser. Parfois, nous nous lassons de prier, nous avons
l'impression que la prière n'est pas si utile à la vie, qu'elle est peu
efficace. C'est pourquoi, nous sommes tentés de nous consacrer à l'activité,
d'employer tous les moyens humains afin d'atteindre nos objectifs, et nous
n’avons pas recours à Dieu. Jésus, en revanche, affirme qu'il faut toujours
prier et Il le fait à travers une parabole particulière (cf. Lc 18,
1-8).
Elle parle d'un juge qui
ne craint pas Dieu et n'a de considération pour personne, un juge qui n'a
aucune attitude positive, mais qui recherche seulement son propre intérêt. Il
ne craint pas le jugement de Dieu et ne respecte pas son prochain. L'autre
personnage est une veuve, une personne qui se trouve en situation de faiblesse.
Dans la Bible, la veuve et l'orphelin sont les catégories les plus nécessiteuses,
parce que sans défense et privées de moyens. La veuve va voir le juge et lui
demande justice. Ses possibilités d'être écoutée sont presque nulles, parce que
le juge la méprise et elle ne peut faire aucune pression sur lui. Elle ne peut
pas non plus faire appel à des principes religieux parce que le juge ne craint
pas Dieu. Cette veuve semble donc privée de toute possibilité. Mais elle
insiste, elle demande sans se lasser. Elle est importune et ainsi, à la fin,
elle réussit à obtenir le résultat du juge. C'est à ce moment-là que Jésus fait
une réflexion en utilisant l'argument a fortiori: si un juge inique
se laisse, à la fin, convaincre par la prière d'une veuve, Dieu, qui est bon,
exaucera d'autant plus celui qui le prie. Dieu, en effet, est la générosité en
personne, Il est miséricordieux et Il est donc toujours disposé à écouter les
prières. Donc, nous ne devons jamais désespérer, mais persévérer toujours dans
la prière.
La conclusion du passage
évangélique parle de la foi: «le Fils de l'homme, quand il viendra,
trouvera-t-il la foi sur la terre?» (Lc 18, 8). C'est une question qui
veut susciter en nous une croissance de la foi. Il est en effet clair que la
prière doit être une expression de foi, autrement il ne s'agit pas d'une
authentique prière. Si un homme ne croit pas en la bonté de Dieu, il ne peut
pas prier de manière vraiment adaptée. La foi est essentielle comme fondement
de l'attitude de la prière. C'est ce qu'ont fait les six nouveaux saints qui
sont aujourd'hui proposés à la vénération de l'Eglise universelle: Stanisław
Sołtys, André Bessette, Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola, Mary of the
Cross MacKillop, Giulia Salzano et Battista Camilla Da Varano.
Saint Stanisław
Kazimierczyk, religieux du XVe siècle, peut être pour nous aussi un
exemple et un intercesseur. Toute sa vie est liée à l'Eucharistie. Tout d'abord
dans l'église du Corpus Domini de Kazimierz, dans l'actuelle
Cracovie, où, aux côtés de sa mère et de son père, il apprit la foi et la
piété; où il prononça ses vœux religieux chez les Chanoines Réguliers; où il
travailla comme prêtre et éducateur, attentif au soin des nécessiteux. Il était
cependant particulièrement lié à l'Eucharistie à travers l'amour ardent pour le
Christ présent sous les espèces du pain et du vin; en vivant le mystère de la
mort et de la résurrection, qui, sans effusion de sang, s'accomplit durant la
Sainte Messe; à travers la pratique de l'amour du prochain, dont la Communion
est la source et le signe.
Frère André Bessette,
originaire du Québec, au Canada, et religieux de la Congrégation de la
Sainte-Croix, connut très tôt la souffrance et la pauvreté. Elles l'ont conduit
à recourir à Dieu par la prière et une vie intérieure intense. Portier du
collège Notre Dame à Montréal, il manifesta une charité sans bornes et
s'efforça de soulager les détresses de ceux qui venaient se confier à lui. Très
peu instruit, il a pourtant compris où se situait l'essentiel de sa foi. Pour
lui, croire signifie se soumettre librement et par amour à la volonté divine.
Tout habité par le mystère de Jésus, il a vécu la béatitude des cœurs purs,
celle de la rectitude personnelle. C'est grâce à cette simplicité qu'il a
permis à beaucoup de voir Dieu. Il fit construire l'Oratoire Saint-Joseph du
Mont-Royal dont il demeura le gardien fidèle jusqu'à sa mort en 1937. Il y fut
le témoin d'innombrables guérisons et conversions. «Ne cherchez pas à vous
faire enlever les épreuves» disait-il, «demandez plutôt la grâce de
bien les supporter». Pour lui, tout parlait de Dieu et de sa présence.
Puissions-nous, à sa suite, rechercher Dieu avec simplicité pour le découvrir
toujours présent au cœur de notre vie! Puisse l'exemple du Frère André inspirer
la vie chrétienne canadienne!
Lorsque le Fils de
l'Homme viendra pour rendre justice aux élus, trouvera-t-il la foi sur la
terre? (cf. Lc 18, 8). Aujourd'hui nous pouvons dire que oui, avec
soulagement et fermeté, en contemplant des figures comme celles de Mère Cándida
Maria de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola. Cette jeune fille d'origine modeste, avec
un cœur dans lequel Dieu mit son sceau et qui, très rapidement, la conduisit,
grâce à l'aide de ses directeurs spirituels jésuites, à prendre la ferme
résolution de vivre «uniquement pour Dieu». Une décision qu'elle maintiendra
fidèlement, comme elle s'en souviendra elle-même lorsqu'elle sera sur le point
de mourir. Elle vécut pour Dieu et pour ce qu'Il désire le plus: parvenir à
tous, apporter à tous l'espérance qui ne vacille pas, tout spécialement à ceux
qui en ont le plus besoin. «Là où il n'y a pas de place pour les pauvres, il
n'y en a pas non plus pour moi» disait la nouvelle sainte qui, avec des
ressources limitées, réussit à entraîner d’autres Sœurs à suivre Jésus et à se
consacrer à l'éducation et à la promotion de la femme. C'est ainsi que
naquirent les Filles de Jésus, qui trouvent aujourd'hui en leur fondatrice un
modèle de vie très élevé à imiter, et une mission passionnante à poursuivre
dans les nombreux pays où sont arrivés l'esprit et le désir ardent d'apostolat
de Mère Cándida.
«Souviens-toi de ceux qui
étaient tes enseignants — c'est à partir d'eux que tu peux apprendre la sagesse
qui conduit au salut à travers la foi au Christ Jésus». Pendant de nombreuses
années, d'innombrables jeunes, dans toute l'Australie, ont été bénis par des
enseignants qui étaient inspirés par le courageux et saint exemple de zèle, de
persévérance et de prière de Mère Mary MacKillop. Elle se consacra comme jeune
femme à l'éducation des pauvres sur le terrain difficile et exigeant de
l'Australie rurale, inspirant d'autres femmes à la rejoindre dans ce qui fut la
première communauté de religieuses du pays. Elle pourvut aux besoins de chaque
jeune qui lui était confié, sans considérer ni sa condition, ni sa richesse,
lui fournissant une formation aussi bien intellectuelle que spirituelle. Malgré
de nombreux défis, ses prières à saint Joseph et son inépuisable dévotion au
Sacré-Cœur de Jésus, auquel elle dédia sa nouvelle congrégation, ont donné à
cette sainte femme les grâces nécessaires pour rester fidèle à Dieu et à
l'Eglise. Par son intercession, que les disciples d'aujourd'hui continuent à
servir Dieu et l'Eglise avec foi et humilité!
Dans la seconde moitié du
XIXe siècle, en Campanie, dans le sud de l'Italie, le Seigneur appela une
jeune institutrice, Giulia Salzano, et en fit une apôtre de l'éducation
chrétienne, fondatrice de la Congrégation des Sœurs catéchistes du Sacré-Cœur
de Jésus. Mère Giulia comprit bien l'importance de la catéchèse dans l'Eglise
et, en unissant la préparation pédagogique à la ferveur spirituelle, elle se
consacra à celle-ci avec générosité et intelligence, contribuant ainsi à la
formation de personnes de tous les âges et de tous les milieux sociaux. Elle
répétait à ses consœurs qu'elle désirait faire le catéchisme jusqu'à la
dernière heure de sa vie, démontrant de tout son être que si «Dieu nous a créés
pour Le connaître, L'aimer et Le servir en cette vie», il ne fallait rien
placer avant cette mission. Que l'exemple et l'intercession de sainte Giulia
Sarzano soutiennent l'Eglise dans son éternelle mission d'annoncer le Christ et
de former d'authentiques consciences chrétiennes.
Sainte Battista Camilla
Varano, moniale clarisse du XVe siècle, témoigna jusqu'au bout le sens
évangélique de la vie, spécialement en persévérant dans la prière. Entrée à 23
ans au monastère d'Urbin, elle s'inséra en personne dans ce vaste mouvement de
réforme de la spiritualité féminine franciscaine qui entendait pleinement
récupérer le charisme de sainte Claire d'Assise. Elle promut de nouvelles
fondations monastiques à Camerino, où elle fut plusieurs fois élue abbesse, à
Fermo et à San Severino. La vie de sainte Battista, totalement immergée dans
les profondeurs divines, fut une ascension constante sur la voie de la
perfection, avec un amour héroïque envers Dieu et le prochain. Elle fut marquée
par de grandes souffrances et des consolations mystiques. Elle avait en effet
décidé, comme elle l'écrit elle-même, d'«entrer dans le Très Saint Cœur de
Jésus et de se noyer dans l'océan de ses très dures souffrances». A une époque
où l'Eglise souffrait d'un relâchement des mœurs, elle parcourut de manière
décidée la voie de la pénitence et de la prière, animée par l'ardent désir de
renouvellement du Corps mystique du Christ.
Chers frères et sœurs,
rendons grâce au Seigneur pour le don de la sainteté, qui resplendit dans
l'Eglise et transparaît aujourd'hui sur le visage de ces frères et sœurs. Jésus
invite aussi chacun d'entre nous à le suivre pour avoir en héritage la Vie
éternelle. Laissons-nous attirer par ces exemples lumineux, laissons-nous
conduire par leurs enseignements, afin que notre existence soit un cantique de
louange à Dieu. Que la Vierge Marie et l'intercession des six nouveaux saints
que nous vénérons aujourd'hui avec joie, obtiennent cette grâce pour nous.
Amen.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastère
pour la Communication
Statue
of en:Mary MacKillop at en:St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
Sainte Mary de la Croix
MacKillop: une pionnière australienne pour l’Église universelle
17 octobre 2010 by Sr
Marie-Noëlle
Nous nous réjouissons
pour la canonisation de saint André de Montréal. En même temps, nous n’oublions
pas les autres cinq saints reconnus ce matin par Benoît XVI, en particulier
Mary MacKillop.
Il s’agit d’un événement
marquant pour l’Océanie, Marie de la Croix MacKillop est devenue la
première sainte d’Australie aujourd’hui.
Tout comme le frère André
elle vient d’un milieu pauvre et, très jeune doit subvenir aux besoins de sa
famille en travaillant ; ce qui l’a empêchée de répondre tout de suite à
l’appel de Dieu.
Par bonheur, elle
rencontre le père Julian Tenisaon Woods alors qu’elle est gouvernante à Penola.
Devenu son guide spirituel, il l’aide à fonder une nouvelle congrégation pour
répondre aux besoins dans les campagnes en 1867. Elle inaugure ainsi une
nouvelle manière d’évangéliser.
Mary MacKillop vécut des
heures sombres. En 1871, elle fut excommuniée après avoir dénoncé un prêtre
pour des abus sexuels sur un enfant. Cependant six mois après, l’évêque
d’Adelaïde révoqua cette excommunication.
Cette fondatrice se
rendit à Rome pour rencontrer le pape Pie IX afin de faire approuver son
institut.
Infatigable, cette
première sainte d’Australie se donna sans compter pour les pauvres. Elle a
écrit :
« La volonté de Dieu
est pour moi un livre très cher, et je ne me fatigue jamais de le lire »
Audience générale: Mary
MacKillop, une sainte au service des démunis
Mère Marie de la Croix,
première sainte australienne et fondatrice de la communauté des sœurs de
Saint-Joseph du Sacré-Cœur, était au centre de la catéchèse de François pour la
dernière audience générale mercredi 28 juin avant la pause estivale.
Jean-Charles Putzolu –
Cité du Vatican
Après deux semaines
d’interruption liées à la convalescence du Pape François après son hospitalisation,
et avant la pause estivale, la dernière audience générale de ce premier
semestre était consacrée à Sainte Marie de la Croix, ou Mary MacKillop, la
première sainte australienne béatifiée par le Pape saint Jean-Paul II puis
canonisée par Benoit XVI.
Mère Marie de la Croix
est donc l’un des témoins de la foi que François a désiré mettre en lumière
dans cette série de catéchèses sur le zèle apostolique. La religieuse de la
deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle a fondé la communauté des sœurs de Saint-Joseph
du Sacré-Cœur, parmi les plus importantes aujourd’hui encore dans son pays,
l’Australie. Cette femme «extraordinaire» pour François, «a
consacré sa vie à la formation intellectuelle et religieuse des pauvres dans
les régions rurales».
Fille d’immigrés écossais,
Mary MacKillop nait à Melbourne le 15 janvier 1842. Jeune, elle a entendu un
appel à servir le Christ et à témoigner. «Mary était convaincue qu'elle
aussi était envoyée pour répandre la Bonne Nouvelle et attirer d'autres
personnes à la rencontre du Dieu vivant», déclare le Saint-Père,
ajoutant: «Elle comprit que le meilleur moyen d'y parvenir était à travers
l'éducation des jeunes, considérant que l'éducation catholique est une forme
d'évangélisation». Elle s’est cependant caractérisée par son souci des pauvres
et des marginalisés. Mary MacKillop se rendait ainsi «là où d'autres ne
voulaient pas ou ne pouvaient pas aller». François s’attarde sur cette
attention chrétienne particulière envers les pauvres: «On ne peut pas
avancer dans la sainteté si on ne se consacre pas aussi à eux, d'une manière ou
d'une autre. […] Ils sont la présence du Seigneur, ceux qui ont besoin de
l'aide du Seigneur».
L’éducation au service du
développement intégral
Âgée de 24 ans à peine,
elle ouvre une première école dans une petite banlieue; d’autres ont suivi dans
des communautés rurales en Australie et en Nouvelle Zélande. Elle est
convaincue «que le but de l'éducation est le développement intégral de la
personne», «et que cela exige sagesse, patience et charité de la part de
chaque enseignant».
François commente cette
conviction de Mère Marie de la Croix: «L'éducation, dit-il, ne consiste
pas à remplir la tête d'idées, mais à accompagner et à encourager les étudiants
sur le chemin de la croissance humaine et spirituelle». Cet accompagnement
passe par le témoignage de l'amitié avec le Christ, qui «élargit le cœur
et rend la vie plus humaine».
Une perspective toujours
actuelle, estime le Pape, au moment où «nous ressentons le besoin d'un
"pacte éducatif" capable d'unir les familles, les écoles et la
société dans son ensemble».
Aider les pauvres coûte
que coûte et Dieu pourvoira
Mary MacKillop s’est
également consacrée à annoncer l’évangile aux plus démunis. Elle leur a
consacré une importante partie de sa vie terrestre en créant des œuvres
caritatives, dont la "Maison de la Providence" à Adélaïde, destinée à
l’accueil des ainés des enfants abandonnés. Elle a porté son projet au milieu de
nombreuses difficultés matérielles, mais toujours avec la ferme conviction
que «dans toutes les situations, Dieu pourvoyait».
Affaiblie par une santé
fragile, elle a confié un jour à l'une de ses sœurs avoir appris à aimer la
Croix. «Elle n'a pas baissé les bras dans les moments d'épreuve et
d'obscurité» observe François, en soulignant que comme tous les saints,
Mère Marie a elle aussi «rencontré de l’opposition, même au sein de
l’Église», mais elle ne s'est pas laissée entraîner vers le découragement. Au
contraire, l’exemple de Mary MacKillop est une invitation «à être un
ferment de l'Évangile dans nos sociétés en mutation rapide». Mary MacKillop est
un «exemple» pour les parents, les enseignants, les catéchistes et
tous les éducateurs qui œuvrent «pour le bien des jeunes», et «pour
un avenir plus humain et plein d'espérance».
Merci d'avoir lu cet
article. Si vous souhaitez rester informé, inscrivez-vous à la lettre
d’information en cliquant ici
Sainte Mary MacKillop
Le 8 août 2024
Accueillir les pauvres
« Ne jamais voir un
besoin sans chercher à y répondre », aimait à dire l’Australienne Mary
MacKillop (1842-1909), fondatrice des sœurs de Saint-Joseph-du-Sacré-Cœur. À
une époque de grande pauvreté, elle a renouvelé la pastorale de l’éducation en
ouvrant, à Penola (Australie-Méridionale), dans une étable aménagée, et avec
l’aide du père Woods, une école gratuite pour les enfants des zones rurales.
Jetant alors les bases de son institut, elle étend son action aux vieillards
sans ressources. Mais en septembre 1871, coup de tonnerre, l’évêque local
l’excommunie, sous prétexte de désobéissance, avant de se rétracter. Plus tard,
elle est écartée du gouvernement de sa congrégation. Elle accepte tout avec
sérénité, encourageant ses sœurs à faire de même : « La volonté de
Dieu est pour moi un livre précieux, je ne me fatigue jamais de le lire. »
Jésus nous a enseigné à
demander au Père : « Que ta volonté soit faite », et sainte Mary
MacKillop a cherché en tout à suivre cette volonté, quelles que soient ses
épreuves.
Temps de silence
Demandons par son
intercession la grâce de discerner dans nos vies la volonté de Dieu, et la
force de l’accomplir.
Ce mois-ci, à l’écoute
d’Ignace de Loyola
Le premier degré de
l’obéissance, qui consiste à exécuter les ordres, est fort bas ! Il ne mérite
pas le nom de vertu. Il faut monter au second degré où l’on fait sienne la
volonté du supérieur.
SOURCE : https://francais.magnificat.net/magnificat_content/sainte-mary-mackillop/
Plaque
commémorative pour Mary MacKillop à Fitzroy
Sainte Mary MacKillop
« La volonté de Dieu est pour moi un
livre précieux, je ne me fatigue jamais de le lire. »
Sainte Mary MacKillop
Sainte Mary MacKillop est
la première sainte catholique australienne. Grande missionnaire, elle a
fondé les Sœurs de Saint-Joseph du Sacré-Cœur (les Joséphites).
Elle est aussi connue sous le nom de Mère Marie de la Croix. Béatifiée le 19 janvier 1995,
à Sydney, par le pape saint Jean-Paul II,
elle a ensuite été canonisée le 17 octobre 2010, à Rome, par le pape Benoît XVI. Elle est
célébrée le 8 août.
Biographie de sainte Mary
MacKillop
Fondation de la
Congrégation des Sœurs de Saint-Joseph du Sacré-Cœur
Mary MacKillop est née le
15 janvier 1842, à Fitzroy, dans la banlieue de Melbourne, en Australie. À
cette époque, Melbourne venait d’être construite en 1835. Sa famille est
pauvre, elle doit donc travailler, dès ses 16 ans, comme institutrice.
Elle rencontre le Père
Julian Tenison Woods qui souhaite fonder une nouvelle congrégation religieuse,
dans laquelle les membres vivent dans la pauvreté et se consacrent à
l’éducation des enfants pauvres.
La congrégation des Sœurs
de Saint-Joseph du Sacré-Cœur est fondée en 1866. Mary en devient le
premier membre, puis la supérieure. Elle ouvre ensuite la première école
de la congrégation dans une ancienne écurie de Penola, en
Australie-Méridionale. La congrégation se développe rapidement et
s’étend alors à Adélaïde et à d’autres régions de la colonie.
Excommunication de Mère
Marie de la Croix
Malheureusement, la
nature très indépendante de la congrégation entraîne des conflits avec l’évêque
d’Adélaïde, Mgr Sheil. En effet, après la fondation des Joséphites, l’évêque
avait nommé le Père Julian Tenison Woods directeur général de l’enseignement
catholique. Mais, ce dernier a eu des conflits avec d’autres prêtres, sur
des sujets éducatifs notamment.
En 1870, les religieuses
de la congrégation ont entendu dire que le Père Keating, de la paroisse de
Kapunda, avait abusé sexuellement des enfants. Les Joséphites ont
aussitôt dénoncé le prêtre, qui a été renvoyé dans son pays natal,
l’Irlande, dans le déshonneur, sous simple prétexte d’abus d’alcool. Un
collège dudit prêtre, furieux, influença l’évêque âgé et malade, en attaquant
la réputation des religieuses : il fit circuler la rumeur de détournement
de fonds.
Alors, l’évêque
excommunia Mary en septembre 1871, pour insubordination. La communauté des
Joséphites n’a pas été dissoute mais plusieurs écoles ont été fermées. Depuis
lors, Mary vit chez des prêtres jésuites,
après avoir séjourné dans une famille juive.
En réaction, les fidèles
ne se rendent plus à la messe. L’épiscopat se saisit de l’affaire et, sur
son lit de mort, Mgr Sheil demande que soit levée l’excommunication de
Mère Marie de la Croix. Cela prend effet le 21 février 1872.On déclare alors
que les accusations n’étaient pas fondées, particulièrement celles portées sur
l’administration de la Congrégation. Cette dernière est totalement disculpée
quelques temps plus tard par une commission épiscopale. Après d’autres
investigations, on déclare même que cette excommunication était contraire
au droit canonique.
Sainte Mary MacKillop est
une des rares catholiques excommuniées à avoir été canonisée ensuite.
Expansion de la
Congrégation des Sœurs de Saint-Joseph du Sacré-Cœur
Après cette période
troublée, la Congrégation se développe dans l’Outback, et dans d’autres
villes d’Australie.
En 1873, Mary se rend à
Rome afin de demander l’autorisation du Saint Père de conserver
l’autonomie des Joséphites. Cela lui est accordé. Mary rentre en Australie
et dirige l’ensemble des maisons du pays, alors divisé en colonies séparées,
mais également celles de Nouvelle-Zélande. Elle travaille ardemment,
parcourant à cheval de très longues distances pour visiter toutes les
fondations.
Elle construit des
écoles, des couvents, des orphelinats, des refuges pour sans-abris, pour
indigents, pour anciens prisonniers et pour prostituées, en Australie mais
également en Nouvelle-Zélande.
Fin de vie de sainte Mary
MacKillop
En 1901, Mère Marie de la
Croix est victime d’une hémorragie cérébrale. Elle n’en meurt pas mais perd sa
mobilité, tout en conservant ses capacités cérébrales.
Saint Mary MacKillop rend
son âme au Seigneur le 8 août 1909, à Sydney.
Elle a laissé les sœurs
de la Congrégation avec sa devise : “Ne jamais voir un besoin sans
chercher à y répondre”. Encore aujourd’hui, cette devise est appliquée.
Prière pour
l’intercession de sainte Mary MacKillop
“Dieu toujours généreux,
tu as inspiré sainte
Marie MacKillop
à vivre sa vie, fidèle à
l'Évangile de Jésus-Christ,
et constante à apporter
espoir et encouragement
et par l'intercession de
Sainte Marie MacKillop,
nous vous demandons de
faire droit à notre demande (…)
Nous demandons que notre
foi et notre espérance
soient relancées par le
Saint-Esprit
afin que nous aussi,
comme Mary MacKillop,
nous puissions vivre avec
courage, confiance et ouverture.
Dieu toujours généreux
écoute notre prière.
Nous demandons cela par
Jésus-Christ.
Amen.”
Résumé de la catéchèse du
pape François le 7 juin 2023
“Chers frères et sœurs,
dans la suite de nos catéchèses sur le zèle apostolique, nous nous rendons
aujourd’hui en Océanie où je voudrais vous présenter sainte Mary MacKillop, la
fondatrice des Sœurs de Saint Joseph du Sacré-Cœur. Elle a dédié sa vie à la
formation intellectuelle et religieuse des pauvres dans l’Australie rurale.
Elle reçut l’appel de Dieu à le servir et à témoigner de Lui par sa vie
transformée. Elle était convaincue de devoir porter la Bonne Nouvelle et
d’attirer les autres à la rencontre du Dieu vivant. Elle comprit que le
meilleur moyen d’y parvenir était l’éducation des jeunes qui est une forme
d’évangélisation. Elle pensait que le but de l’éducation est le développement
intégral de la personne, en tant qu’individu et membre de la communauté.
L’éducation consiste à accompagner et encourager la croissance humaine et
spirituelle de chacun, en montrant comment l’amitié avec Jésus ressuscité
élargit le cœur.
Une des caractéristiques
de son zèle pour l’Évangile était le soin et le souci qu’elle portait aux
pauvres et aux marginaux, la conduisant là où d’autres ne voulaient pas aller.
Elle fonda une « Maison de la Providence » pour accueillir les enfants pauvres
et les personnes âgées. Sa foi profonde en la Providence de Dieu ne lui a pas
épargné les difficultés, nombreuses, liées à son apostolat. Elle demeura
toujours sereine, portant sa croix qui fait partie de la mission. Que son
intercession soutienne tous les éducateurs, pour le bien des jeunes et pour un
avenir plus humain et plein d’espérance.”
Continuez votre prière
avec sainte Mary MacKillop grâce à Hozana !
Découvrez de magnifiques communautés de
prières grâce à Hozana !
Pendant 7 jours, méditez
et priez avec 7 grands aventuriers de Dieu qui ont tout quitté pour suivre
le Christ, pour porter l'Évangile jusqu'aux extrémités de la terre ! Ils ont
répondu "Me voici, envoie-moi !" à l'appel du Seigneur !
Participez à cette
belleretraite pour découvrir et apprendre à prier le Rosaire, laissez-vous
conduire pour la Sainte Vierge Marie !
Sources et bibliographie
https://francais.magnificat.net/magnificat_content/sainte-mary-mackillop/
https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10266/Sainte-Mary-MacKillop.html
Association Hozana - 8
rue du Palais de Justice, 69005 Lyon
SOURCE : https://hozana.org/saints/missionnaire/sainte-mary-mackillop
Also
known as
Maria Ellen MacKillop
Marie Ellen MacKillop
Mother Mary
of the Cross
Profile
Eldest child of
Alexander and Flora MacKillop, poor Scottish emigrants to Australia.
Her father had studied for
the priesthood,
but was never ordained.
Mary was educated at
private schools and
by her father.
To help support her family, she worked as a nursery governess and store clerk
while still in her teens. Tutor in Melbourne, Australia. Teacher at
the Portland School #510 in 1862.
Established a “Seminary for Young Ladies” in her home. Known for her holiness,
her constant work in the local church, and for turning to prayer before
making decisions.
Mary felt a call to
the religious
life, but felt obligated to continue teaching to
help support her family. However, a scandal caused by a jealous and corrupt
education official gave her reason to leave the school without
guilt, and with the backing of her family.
Mary and her sister moved
to Penola, South Australia. There Mary met Father Julian
Tennison Woods with whom she opened a free Catholic school for
the poor.
Co-founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1866;
it was Australia‘s
first religious order.
It had a mission educate poor children in
remote areas, and the Sisters received episcopal approval in 1868.
Mother Mary soon had seventeen schools under
her care.
Mary’s independence and
social ideas concerned Church authorities,
and she was ordered by her bishop,
who believed some exaggerated stories about the educator,
to surrender control of the schools and
her Order. She refused, and was excommunicated in 1871.
Mary was crushed, but never blamed Church officials;
she prayed that
some good would come from the action, and she suffered through the. In 1872 her bishop,
having determined the baseless nature of the accusations, apologized, and
returned Mary to full communion.
She visited Pope Blessed Pius
IX in 1873,
and travelled through England, Ireland and Scotland to
seek funds for her schools.
Superior-general of her Order in 1875.
She travelled from
house to house in the Order for the rest of her life, working to
improve education for
the poor,
and general conditions for the Aborigines. She was a prolific correspondent,
over 1,000 of Mary’s letters have survived. Her order continues its good work
today with hundreds of Sisters in Australia, New
Zealand, and Peru.
Born
15 January 1842 at
Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia as Maria
Ellen MacKillop
8 August 1909 at Sydney, Australia following
a stroke
relics transferred
to a vault at the Mother of
God in the Memorial Chapel, Mount Street, Sydney
13 June 1992 by Pope John
Paul II
19 January 1995 by Pope John
Paul II
17 October 2010 by Pope Benedict
XVI
first native-born Australian saint
–
in Australia
Brisbane, archdiocese of
Port
Pirie, diocese of
Wagga
Wagga, diocese of
eucalyptus
Additional
Information
Peace
Beyond Understanding, by Monsignor James
Hannon
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
other
sites in english
Australian Dictionary of Biography
Catholic Exchange: The Saints Who Was Excommunicated
Catholic Herald: Man thanks Australian saint for miracle
Parkinson’s cure
Catholic News Service: Saint MacKillop can inspire
educators to foster hope, Pope says
Encyclopedia
of Women and Leadership in 20th Century Australia
Pints with a Purpose: Kath’s Miracle
Sydney
Morning Herald: Obituary of Mother Mary of the Cross
images
Australian Catholic Liturgical Art
audio
Lumen Verum: Canonisation of Saint Mary MacKillop and the
Dissenters
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Dicastero delle Cause dei Santi
MLA
Citation
“Saint Mary
MacKillop“. CatholicSaints.Info. 14 January 2024. Web. 8 August 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-mary-mackillop/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-mary-mackillop/
A
portrait of Mary MacKillop (Saint Mary of the Cross) in St Patrick's Cathedral,
Auckland.
PAPAL
MASS FOR THE CANONIZATION OF NEW SAINTS:
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The celebration of
holiness is renewed today in St Peter's Square. I joyfully address my cordial
welcome to you who have come from even very far away to take part in it. I
offer a special greeting to the Cardinals, to the Bishops and to the Superiors
General of the Institutes founded by the new Saints, as well as to the Official
Delegations and to all the Civil Authorities. Let us seek together to
understand what the Lord tells us in the Sacred Scriptures proclaimed just now.
This Sunday's Liturgy offers us a fundamental teaching: the need to pray
always, without tiring. At times we grow weary of praying, we have the
impression that prayer is not so useful for life, that it is not very
effective. We are therefore tempted to throw ourselves into activity, to use
all the human means for attaining our goals and we do not turn to God. Jesus
himself says that it is necessary to pray always, and does so in a specific
parable (cf. Lk 18: 1-8).
This parable speaks to us
of a judge who does not fear God and is no respecter of persons: a judge
without a positive outlook, who only seeks his own interests. He neither fears
God's judgement nor respects his neighbour. The other figure is a widow, a
person in a situation of weakness. In the Bible, the widow and the orphan are
the neediest categories, because they are defenceless and without means. The
widow goes to the judge and asks him for justice. Her possibilities of being
heard are almost none, because the judge despises her and she can bring no
pressure to bear on him. She cannot even appeal to religious principles because
the judge does not fear God. Therefore this widow seems without any recourse.
But she insists, she asks tirelessly, importuning him, and in the end she
succeeds in obtaining a result from the judge. At this point Jesus makes a
reflection, using the argument a fortiori: if a dishonest judge ends
by letting himself be convinced by a widow's plea, how much more will God, who
is good, answer those who pray to him. God in fact is generosity in person, he
is merciful and is therefore always disposed to listen to prayers. Therefore we
must never despair but always persist in prayer.
The conclusion of the
Gospel passage speaks of faith: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find
faith on earth?" (Lk 18: 8). It is a question that intends to elicit an
increase of faith on our part. Indeed it is clear that prayer must be an
expression of faith, otherwise it is not true prayer. If one does not believe
in God's goodness, one cannot pray in a truly appropriate manner.
Faith is essential as the basis of a prayerful attitude. It was so for the six
new Saints who are held up today for the veneration of the universal Church:
Stanisław Sołtys, André Bessette, Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola,
Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Giulia Salzano and Battista Camilla Varano.
St Stanisław
Kazimierczyk, a religious of the 15th century, can also be an example and an
intercessor for us. His whole life was bound to the Eucharist, first of all in
the Church of Corpus Domini in Kazimierz, known today as Krakow, where, beside
his mother and father, he learned faith and piety. Here he made his religious
vows with the Canons Regular; here he worked as a priest and educator,
attentive to the care of the needy. However, he was linked in a special way to
the Eucharist through his ardent love for Christ present under the species of
the Bread and the Wine; by living the mystery of his death and Resurrection,
which is fulfilled in an unbloody way in the Holy Mass; by the practice of love
for neighbour, of which Communion is a source and a sign.
Bro. André Bessette, a
native of Quebec in Canada, and a religious of the Congregation of the Holy
Cross, experienced suffering and poverty at a very early age. They led him to
have recourse to God through prayer and an intense inner life. As porter of the
College of Notre Dame in Montreal, he demonstrated boundless charity and strove
to relieve the distress of those who came to confide in him. With very little
education, he had nevertheless understood where the essential of his faith was
situated. For him, believing meant submitting freely and through love to the
divine will. Wholly inhabited by the mystery of Jesus, he lived the beatitude
of pure of heart, that of personal rectitude. It is thanks to this simplicity
that he enabled many people to see God. He had built the Oratory of St Joseph
of Mount Royal, whose faithful custodian he remained until his death in 1937.
He was the witness of innumerable cures and conversions. "Do not seek to
have your trials removed", he said, "ask rather for the grace to bear
them well". For him, everything spoke of God and of God's presence. May
we, in his footsteps, seek God with simplicity in order to discover him ever
present in the heart of our life! May the example of Bro. André inspire
Canadian Christian life!
When the Son of man comes
to do justice to the chosen ones, will he find this faith on earth? (cf. Lk 18:
8). Today, contemplating figures such as Mother Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria
y Barriola, we can say "yes" with relief and firmness. That girl of
simple origins on whose heart God had set his seal and whom he brought very
soon, with the guidance of her Jesuit spiritual directors, to make the firm
decision to live "for God alone". She faithfully kept to her decision
as she herself recalled when she was about to die. She lived for God and for
what he most desires: to reach everyone, to bring everyone the hope that does
not disappoint, especially to those who need it most. "Where there is no
room for the poor, there is no room for me either" the new Saint said, and
with limited means she imbued the other Sisters with the desire to follow Jesus
and to dedicate themselves to the education and advancement of women. So it was
that the Hijas de Jesús [Daughters of Jesus] came into being; today they have
in their Foundress a very lofty model of life to imitate and an exciting
mission to carry on Mother Cándida's apostolate with her spirit and
aspirations, in many countries.
"Remember who your
teachers were from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus". For many years countless young people
throughout Australia have been blessed with teachers who were inspired by the
courageous and saintly example of zeal, perseverance and prayer of Mother Mary
MacKillop. She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor
in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia, inspiring other
women to join her in the first women's community of religious sisters of that
country. She attended to the needs of each young person entrusted to her,
without regard for station or wealth, providing both intellectual and spiritual
formation. Despite many challenges, her prayers to St Joseph and her unflagging
devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom she dedicated her new
congregation, gave this holy woman the graces needed to remain faithful to God
and to the Church. Through her intercession, may her followers today continue
to serve God and the Church with faith and humility!
In the second half of the
19th century, in Campania, in the south of Italy, the Lord called a young
elementary teacher, Giulia Salzano, and made her an apostle of Christian
education, Foundress of the Congregation of the Catechist Sisters of the Sacred
Heart. Mother Gulia understood well the importance of catechesis in the Church
and, combining pedagogical training with spiritual fervour, dedicated herself
with generosity and intelligence, contributing to the formation of people of
every age and social class. She would repeat to the Sisters that she wished to
catechize to the very last hour of her life, showing with her whole self that
if "God created us to know him, love him and serve him in this life",
it is necessary to put nothing before this task. May the example and
intercession of St Giulia Salzano sustain the Church in her perennial duty to
proclaim Christ and to form authentic Christian consciences.
St Battista Camilla
Varano, a Poor Clare nun of the 15th century, witnessed to the deep evangelical
meaning of life, especially through persevering prayer. She entered the
monastery in Urbino at the age of 23, fitting into that vast movement of the
reform of Franciscan female spirituality which aimed to recover fully the
charism of St Clare of Assisi. She promoted new monastic foundations in
Camerino where she was several times elected Abbess, in Fermo and in San
Severino. St Battista's life, totally immersed in divine depths, was a constant
ascent on the way of perfection, with a heroic love of God and neighbour. She
was marked by profound suffering and mystic consolation; in fact she had
decided, as she herself writes, "to enter the most Sacred Heart of Jesus
and to drown in the ocean of his most bitter suffering". In a period in
which the Church was undergoing a period of moral laxity, she took with
determination the road of penance and prayer, enlivened by an ardent desire for
the renewal of the Mystical Body of Christ.
Dear brothers and
sisters, let us thank the Lord for the gift of holiness that is resplendent in
the Church and today shines out on the faces of these brothers and sisters of
ours. Jesus also invites each one of us to follow him in order to inherit
eternal life. Let us allow ourselves to be attracted by these luminous examples
and to be guided by their teaching, so that our life may be a canticle of
praise to God. May the Virgin Mary and the intercession of the six new Saints
whom we joyfully venerate today obtain this for us. Amen.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastery for
Communication
Mary Mackillop
Memorial Chapel, Sydney Nord.
Mary
MacKillop Chapel in North Sydney, which holds MacKillop's
tomb
Mary MacKillop, Foundress
(RM)
Born in Australia in
1842; died there on May 25, 1909; canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1995.
Although Mary MacKillop's
heritage was Scottish, she is Australia's first native-born saint. Her father
was a seminarian educated at the Scots College in Rome, but left before his
ordination. Instead he emigrated to Australia where he met his future bride.
Though it was an unhappy marriage, perhaps because he was often away from home
travelling to Europe, it produced good fruit that was nurtured by the father.
In 1860, Mary became a
governess in Penola, south Australia, where she met Father Julian Tenison
Woods. He became her spiritual director. Several years later they founded a new
congregation of Josephites, whose mission was to found schools and orphanages
to provide much needed educational outlets. The first rule was drawn up in 1867
and received episcopal approval the following year. In 1869, Mary professed her
final vows.
The next few years were
difficult, during the absence of the Australian bishops at the First Vatican
Council. Mary established a foundation in Brisbane. At the same time, Fr. Woods
undermined her work by encouraging some visionary nuns, insisting on excessive
poverty, and refusing all state funding. Upon the return of the bishops, Father
Woods was removed from the direction of the sisters, who then numbered over 100
in 34 schools.
The bishop of Adelaide,
an alcoholic who listened to gossip, attempted to control the congregation. He
excommunicated its foundress on the charge of disobedience, then dispensed 47
nuns from their vows. In 1872, on his deathbed, he apologized for his actions
and absolved Mary from excommunication. The Holy See sent a delegation to
investigate. Their findings led the Vatican to support MacKillop and her nuns
against some of the local bishops.
In 1873, Mary travelled
to Europe, where she was well-received in Rome. The Holy Father permitted the
congregation to have a superior-general, who could move the sisters from house
to house within the congregation but across diocesan borders. The rule of
poverty was also modified to permit the sisters to own, rather than simply
rent, property. During her time in Europe, Mary MacKillop also visited England,
Ireland, and Scotland to obtain new recruits for the enterprise and funding to
support it. MacKillop was elected to the office of superior-general in 1875.
MacKillop's exemplary
attitude towards the bishops who opposed her was complemented by the
outstanding work of the congregation. Protestants, as well as Catholics, loudly
praised their charity to the poor, their personal poverty, and their abstinence
from active proselytizing. They found many supporters who contributed to
their mission.
Beginning in 1885, the
congregation was again under attack by the bishops, but found support from
Rome. The Holy See, however, believed that MacKillop had remained in charge too
long, so another superior-general was elected and served from 1888 until 1998.
During that time, Mary served as visitor to the houses of New Zealand. At the
death of her successor, Mary again took up the reigns and remained as
superior-general until her own death. The congregation flourished even in the
face of internal dissensions. The foundress suffered from rheumatism for many
years, but finally died of a stroke.
Photographs of Mary
MacKillop reveal a beautiful woman with a firm jaw and chin. About 1,000 of her
letters survive. They show that she was a woman of patient persistence in
adversity and a respect for authority. Some see Mary as a feminist pioneer;
others as one who cared for Aborigines in difficult times; still others connect
her with conservation of the eucalyptus, which is her emblem in art.
The congregation has
spread to Peru. In Australia, they are the primary providers of Catholic
education to girls. In 1981, the congregation numbered about 1,800 (Farmer).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0525.shtml
Mary Helen MacKillop
(1842–1909)
This article was
published:
in the Australian
Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5 , 1974
online in 2006
Mary Helen MacKillop
(1842-1909), known in life as Mother Mary of the Cross, was born on 15 January
1842 in Fitzroy, Melbourne, the eldest of eight children of Alexander McKillop
and his wife Flora, née McDonald. Her parents had migrated from the Lochaber
area in Inverness-shire and married soon after they reached Melbourne. After a
prosperous start the family became impoverished.
Mary was educated at private
schools but chiefly by her father who had studied for the priesthood at Rome.
To help her family Mary became in turn a shopgirl, a governess, and at Portland
a teacher in the Catholic Denominational School and proprietress of a small
boarding school for girls. As she grew to womanhood Mary was probably
influenced by an early friend of the family, Father Patrick Geoghegan, and
began to yearn for a strictly penitential form of religious life. Concluding
she would have to go to Europe to execute her plan, she placed herself under
the direction of Father Julian Tenison-Woods who,
as parish priest of Penola in South Australia sometimes visiting Melbourne and
Portland, wanted to found a religious society, 'The Sisters of St Joseph of the
Sacred Heart'; they were to live in poverty and dedicate themselves to
educating poor children. With Mary its first member and Superior the society
was founded at Penola on 19 March 1866 with the approval of Bishop Laurence Sheil. By then
she was spelling her surname MacKillop. The Sisterhood spread to Adelaide and other
parts of South Australia, and increased rapidly in membership but ran into
difficulties. Tenison-Woods had become director of Catholic schools and
conflicted with some of the clergy over educational matters. One priest with
influence over the bishop declared publicly he would ruin the director through
the Sisterhood. The result was that Mary was excommunicated by Bishop Sheil on
22 September 1871 for alleged insubordination; most of the schools were closed
and the Sisterhood almost disbanded. The excommunication was removed on 21
February 1872 by order of the bishop nine days before he died.
In 1873 at Rome Mary
obtained papal approval of the Sisterhood but the Rule of Life laid down by
Tenison-Woods and sanctioned by the bishop on 17 December 1868 was discarded
and another drawn up. Tenison-Woods blamed her for not doing enough to have his
Rule accepted and this caused a permanent breach between them. She travelled
widely in Europe visiting schools and observing methods of teaching, and
returned to Adelaide on 4 January 1875. In March she was elected
Superior-General of the Sisterhood. In journeys throughout Australasia she
established schools, convents and charitable institutions but came into
conflict with those bishops who preferred diocesan control of the Sisterhood
rather than central control from Adelaide. In 1883 Bishop Christopher Reynolds,
misunderstanding the extent of his jurisdiction over the Sisterhood, told her
to leave his diocese. She then transferred the headquarters of the Sisterhood
to Sydney. On 11 May 1901 she suffered a stroke at Rotorua, New Zealand. Although
retaining her mental faculties, she was an invalid until she died in Sydney on
8 August 1909.
Mary's finest feature was
her large blue eyes. Affectionate but determined, her virtues were
multitudinous with charity towards her neighbour outshining all. Always
regarded as holy, she was put forward in 1972 as a candidate for the honour of
beatification and canonisation and on 1 February 1973 the Cause was formally
introduced. Mary was beatified on 19 January 1995 at Randwick Racecourse,
Sydney, in a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. She was canonised as Saint
Mary of the Cross at a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter's
Square in the Vatican on 17 October 2010.
Select Bibliography
Life of Mother Mary,
Foundress of the Sacred Heart, Westmead (Syd, 1916)
O. Thorpe, Mary
McKillop (Lond, 1957)
Archives, Archdiocese of
Adelaide, Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Rome), Sisters of St
Joseph (North Sydney).
SOURCE : https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mackillop-mary-helen-4112/text6575
Statue
of Mary MacKillop outside St Francis Xavier's Cathedral,
Adelaide
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER
JOHN PAUL II
Randwick Racecourse, Sydney
"But strive first
for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well" (Mt. 6:33).
Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
1. We are celebrating an
extraordinary event in the life of the Church in this land: the
beatification of Mother Mary MacKillop, the first Australian formally declared
to be among the Blessed in heaven. I rejoice with all of you: with Cardinal
Clancy and my Brother Bishops, with the priests, Religious, all of you, lay men
and women, families, young people and children, who offer a radiant and
authentic sign of the Church’s vitality. I give thanks to God for being able to
celebrate this Beatification right here on Australian soil. Indeed, Australia
itself forms a kind of background for the reflections which I would like to
share with you.
Just a few weeks ago, the
Church celebrated the Solemnity of the Lord’s Birth, and today’s Liturgy still
echoes that saving mystery. The first reading from the Prophet Isaiah recalls
the Liturgy of Advent and it has certain images which are quite applicable to
your own Continent. Isaiah writes: "In the wilderness prepare the way of
the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God" (Is. 40: 3).
The Prophet speaks of the contrasts of valleys and mountains, of rough terrain
and level ground (Cf. ibid. 40, 4). In all of this, of course, he is referring
to the geography of the Holy Land. But do not these same images also call
to mind the geography of Australia? In the centre of Australia is
there not an enormous desert, only the outer edges of which are rich and
fertile? Are there not rugged plateaus and deep valleys? Along with harsh
terrain do we not also find pleasant and hospitable countryside?
2. The contrasts go
beyond mere topography; they are evident also in the ethnic origins of the
people. Due to its history of receiving immigrants, Australia has come to
be a land of encounter between very different cultures and civilizations.
Even before the first Europeans arrived here more than two centuries ago, the
aboriginal peoples had been present for tens of thousands of years. In fact,
ethnologists tell us that the original inhabitants of Australia are among the
most ancient peoples on earth. These contrasts in peoples and culture make your
nation a marvellous blend of the old and the new, such that Australia today is
a land of diversity and unity, enriched by the contributions which these
various individuals and groups make to the building up of society.
The Prophet Isaiah’s
exhortation takes on a special relevance for those assembled here and for
all the Catholic people of Australia. It is here in your own land that the way
of the Lord should be prepared, so that Australia will be a place "where
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it
together" (Ibid. 40: 5). In fact, this glory has already been abundantly
revealed in Mary MacKillop, and the Church, by declaring her
"Blessed", is saying that the holiness demanded by the Gospel is as
Australian as she was Australian. This is the message which I wish to address
in particular to Mother MacKillop’s spiritual daughters, the members of the
Congregation which she founded. Be assured, dear Sisters, that the Church needs
your witness and your fidelity. Australia too values your presence and your
dedicated apostolate.
3. It is significant that
Mother Mary MacKillop gave to her Congregation the name of Saint Joseph, one
who committed his whole being and life to God’s loving Providence. Joseph
of Nazareth was a man of boundless trust. Only in this way was he able to
live out the unique calling he had received from God, to become the spouse of
the Virgin Mary and the guardian of God’s own Son. In the history of the Church
Saint Joseph has always been a special model of holiness. Without a doubt,
in giving Saint Joseph’s name to her Congregation, Blessed Mary MacKillop was
expressing a quality of her own spiritual life, a quality which then became a
charism for her followers and for those of us today who would learn from
her example.
In the Gospel the Lord
says: "Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will
drink... Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value
than they?" (Mt. 6: 25-26). Joseph the "just man" lived by these
words. These words give us an insight into what must be the fundamental
attitude of every spiritual life: openness, trust and serenity in the certainty
of God’s special love for every human being, "who is the only creature on
earth which God willed for itself" (Gaudium
et Spes, 24).
4. The Lord
concludes his teaching on trust in Providence with the invitation: "Do not
worry... your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But
strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well" (Mt. 6: 31-33). In the history of Australian
Catholicism, this "striving for the kingdom of God" has been realized
in an eminent way by Blessed Mary of the Cross.
In the vastness of the
Australian continent, Blessed Mary MacKillop was not daunted by the great
desert, the immense expanses of the outback, nor by the spiritual
"wilderness" which affected so many of her fellow citizens. Rather
she boldly prepared the way of the Lord in the most trying situations. With
gentleness, courage and compassion, she was a herald of the Good News among
the isolated "battlers" and the urban slum-dwellers. Mother Mary of
the Cross knew that behind the ignorance, misery and suffering which she
encountered there were people, men and women, young and old, yearning for God
and his righteousness. She knew, because she was a true child of her time and
place: the daughter of immigrants who had to struggle at all times to build a
life for themselves in their new surroundings. Her story reminds us of the need
to welcome people, to reach out to the lonely, the bereft, the disadvantaged.
To strive for the kingdom of God and his righteousness means to strive to see
Christ in the stranger, to meet him in them and to help them to meet him in
each one of us!
5. Just as in Mother
MacKillop’s time, so too today the Christian community is faced with many
modern "deserts": the wastelands of indifference and intolerance, the
desolation of racism and contempt for other human beings, the barrenness of
selfishness and faithlessness: sin in all its forms and expressions, and
the scandal of sin magnified by the means of social communications. If the
Church continually recalls God’s law, inscribed in the human heart and revealed
in the Old and New Testaments, it is not because of some arbitrary attachment
to past tradition and outmoded views. It is that man detached from his Creator
and Redeemer cannot fulfil his destiny and will not have peace. Everywhere the
Church must be "a sign and a safeguard of the transcendence of the
human person" (Gaudium
et Spes, 76). By defending life against the evils of abortion and
euthanasia, by encouraging strong family life in the face of old and
new threats to its stability, by advancing justice at every level through her
social doctrine, the Church is a true Gospel leaven in every sphere of human
activity (Gaudium
et Spes, 40). The great document of the Second Vatican Council on the
Church in the Modern World has given the Church’s members a reminder which is
timely in every age: "Christians cannot yearn for anything more ardently
than to serve the men and women of the modern world ever more generously and
effectively" (Ibid. 93).
6. How do we go
about this? Saint Paul’s clear and unambiguous answer is contained in the
Second Reading of this Mass. His words to the Colossians indicate what is at
the heart of every Christian vocation. He says: "Above all, clothe
yourselves in love, which binds everything together in perfect
harmony" (Col. 3: 14). What does it mean to "clothe ourselves in
love"? Saint Paul explains: "Clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another and if anyone
has a complaint against another, forgive each other" (Ibid. 3: 12-13).
Here Saint Paul draws his inspiration from the Beatitudes, and in that same spirit
he writes about the peace of Christ, to which we have all been called (Cf.
ibid. 3: 15), and the need for giving thanks in all things (Cf. ibid.
3: 17).
7. In this solemn
Liturgy the Church expresses her thankfulness to Mother Mary of the Cross, to
the Religious Community she founded and to all Religious Communities. The
recent Synod of Bishops dedicated to the life and mission of the
consecrated life fully recognized the great contribution made by Religious
Communities to the Church and to culture and civilization throughout the
world. Responding to Saint Paul’s call to "be thankful" (Ibid. 3:
15), we, on the occasion of this Beatification, express our thanks to Christ
the Lord for the great service that consecrated men and women render in Australia
in the fields of education and healthcare, and through so many other activities
on behalf of the common good. Let us pray for a new springtime of religious
vocations so that these Communities will continue to be a vital sign of Jesus
Christ’s presence in your midst!
It is very well that you
are clapping for the Pope kindly this time.
Thank you very much.
8. Yes, Christ
is present in Sydney, and throughout Australia! Through him, all creation,
and in particular all humanity, is made capable of giving thanks to the Father
for the gifts of Creation and Redemption and for the good things that come from
human hands. Christ confers on the whole of life a "Eucharistic significance".
Men and women of today often forget this; they think that they themselves are
the creators of these goods and they easily lose sight of God. As a result they
fail to strive for the kingdom of God and too often have no concern for his
righteousness.
The Saints, on the
contrary, teach us to see Christ present in Australia, in Sydney. They teach us
to see Christ as the centre and summit of God’s lavish gifts to humanity. For
this reason the Church honours them, raises them to the altars and proposes
them as models to be imitated. They are heralds of the true meaning of human
life. Blessed be God in his saints!
9. "Strive
first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will
be given to you as well" (Mt. 6: 33).
With these words I began
this homily, and with them I wish to conclude.
The Beatification of
Mother Mary MacKillop is a kind of "consecration" of the people of
God in Australia. Through her witness the truth of God’s love and the values of
his kingdom have been made visible in this continent – values which are at the
very basis of Australian society. May your whole Nation remain true to its
Christian heritage! And may the Church which makes her pilgrim way in Australia
continue to carry out her mission, proclaiming God’s kingdom and his
righteousness!
And on the last day, the
days I still think about pilgrims. I see the young people of Manila, of so many
nations of the whole world... All representing the Pilgrim Church, the pilgrim
people of God. And all singing with us, Te Deum laudamus. We are singing,
then, of this celebration, of God we praise you. All pilgrim Church sing,
rejoice, rejoice in Australia. Christ is here in Sydney and everywhere. Christ
is here.
Thank you very much.
Alleluia.
Holy Father's greetings
at the conclusion of the Eucharistic Celebration:
I greet all Australians,
beginning with all Aboriginals of Australia and New Zealand. And then all who
made their contribution to the entire work of prayer: Irish, Ireland, all
Irish-Australians, all British-Australians, all Italians, all Croatians,
Polish, Ukrainians, and Vietnamese. All together..., mexicanos tambié,
Polaków,...
We all praise the Lord!
All of you, once again, thank you very much! And our congratulations to Blessed
Mary MacKillop and the Congregation of Sisters founded by her, here
present.
Once again, thank you
very much for your patience and perseverance.
And the last word about
Cardinal Clancy... Cardinal Clancy desired the rain tomorrow, only tomorrow...
The Pope for today,
Cardinal Clancy for tomorrow.
Praise be the Lord!
© Copyright - Libreria
Editrice Vaticana
Mary
MacKillop Museum, Mount Street, North Sydney
St Mary of the Cross
MacKillop Named Second Patron of Australia
January 24, 2013
A formal decree approving
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop as second patron of Australia has been received
by Archbishop Denis Hart, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops
Conference (ACBC).
Our Lady Help of
Christians patron of Australia since 1844
The Pontifical Prefect of
the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,
Cardinal Cañizares Llovera has issued the decree in response to a request from
Archbishop Hart and the ACBC.
Although many Catholics
and non-Catholics already consider St Mary of the Cross MacKillop a patron of
Australia, the formal process was initiated by ACBC as further official
recognition of the nation’s first saint.
“In many ways, the
process of officially naming her as a second patron was simply confirming what
Australian Catholics already see, that the example and vision of Mary MacKillop
is our modus operandi as a Church, particularly in our service of the poor and
marginalised, and our commitment to Catholic education. This confirmation from
the Holy See is most welcome”, Archbishop Hart said this morning.
Since 1844, when
Australians invoked the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of
Our Lady Help of Christians, the Holy Mother has been patron of Australia. Her
title as Mary Help of Christians came about in the 16th Century when Pope Pius
V included it in the Litany of Loreto. In 1815, Pope Pius VII proclaimed May 24
a feast day for Mary Help of Christians after returning to Rome after years in
captivity imposed by Napoleon Bonaparte.
St Mary of the Cross
Mackillop
Our Lady Help of
Christians remains a patron of Australia together with the just-announced
second patron, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
For many years St Francis
Xavier and St Therese of Lisieux co-patrons of universal missions, were also
patrons of Australia. But the patronage of both was removed when Australia
ceased to be a mission country in 1976.
The Sisters of St Joseph
of the Sacred Heart, the congregation co-founded by St Mary of the Cross
MacKillop with Father Julian Tenison Woods, are delighted at the decree from
the Holy See.
“This is another
important honour for Australia’s first saint,” says Sister Anne Derwin,
Congregational leader of the Sisters of St Joseph and expressed her pleasure
and gratitude at the news.
“We realise since her
canonisation in October 2010 many, many Australians have come to admire and
appreciate her strong dedication to people in society, especially the most
vulnerable, that they have a fair deal, that children receive education and
love, and that every person is recognised and valued”, she says. “We are all
delighted and hope that Mary’s values of generosity, inclusion, kindness,
commitment and reliance on God’s Providence and Goodness, become the hallmarks
of our country.”
SOURCE : https://catholicweekly.com.au/st-mary-of-the-cross-mackillop-named-second-patron-of-australia/
MacKillop, Mary Helen
Occupation : Educator and Religious Sister
Alternative Names : St Mary of the Cross
Written by Shurlee Swain, Australian Catholic University
Mary MacKillop was born in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy in 1842, the eldest of eight children of impoverished immigrant Alexander Mckillop and his wife Flora. Educated both by her father and in private schools, she worked successively as a shop-girl, governess, teacher and boarding-house proprietor before, under the influence of Father Julian Tenison Woods, founding the Sisters of St Joseph in Penola, South Australia, in 1866. The goal of the order was to provide education for poor children. Despite conflict with the church hierarchy in its early years, by 1900 the sisters had spread throughout the eastern colonies conducting schools and charitable institutions for women and children.
MacKillop's correspondence shows her as a woman confidently in control of her organisation. She regularly visited her convents in Australia and New Zealand and knew each of the sisters (Sydney Morning Herald, 10 August 1909). A believer in issuing clear instructions which left no room for doubt as to her intentions, she wrote that 'it is well in dealing with some souls not to give them that loophole' (McCreanor, 288). Although she urged obedience on her sisters, she was able to resist requests from the church hierarchy which we she felt would have caused the order to overextend itself, arguing 'we must look before us, do what we do well and refuse undertaking too much' (McCreanor, 292).
Following a stroke in 1902, MacKillop lived as an invalid, but her mental faculties remained acute. She continued in her role as Congregational Leader despite her declining health, but left much of the responsibility to her assistant, Sr La Merci Mahony. She welcomed the advent of women's suffrage, telling members of her community that it was their duty to vote, but that they should 'get advice from some leading man ... or from the priest' before deciding who to vote for (McCreanor, 359).
MacKillop died in Sydney in 1909. A campaign for her canonisation, which commenced shortly after her death, saw her named as Australia's first saint in 2010.
Published Resources
Books
Gardiner, Paul, Mary MacKillop: An Extraordinary Australian, authorised biography, E.J. Dwyer, Sydney, New South Wales, 1994. Details
Edited Books
McCreanor, Sheila (ed.), Mary MacKillop on Mission to her Last Breath: Correspondence about the foundations of the Sisters of St Joseph in Aotearoa New Zealand and Mary's final years 1881-1909, Sisters of St Joseph, Sydney, New South Wales, 2009. Details
Journal Articles
Pilcher, Carmel, 'A Precedent for the World: Mary MacKillop at Randwick', Women-Church, vol. 18, 1995, pp. 41 - 43. Details
Newspaper Articles
Sisters of St Joseph', The Sydney Morning Herald (New South Wales), 10 August 1909, p. 6. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15113868. Details
Online Resources
MacKillop, Mary Helen', The Australian Women's Register, National Foundation for Australian Women, http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE3719b.htm. Details
Saint Mary Mackillop website, http://www.marymackillop.org.au/marys-story/influences.cfm. Details
Thorpe, Osmund, 'MacKillop, Mary Helen (1842 - 1909)', in Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University (ANU), c.2006, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mackillop-mary-helen-4112/text6575. Details
SOURCE : http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0127b.htm
Mary MacKillop was an
Australian. She was born on 15th January, 1842, in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, a
few hundred yards from where Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, now stands.
Baptized at Saint Francis’ Church, the record of her baptism is in the archives
of the Cathedral.
Her parents were
immigrant Highland Scots, Alexander MacKillop and Flora McDonald, who were
married at Saint Francis’ by Victoria’s first priest, Father Geoghegan, OFM.
Her Father
Alexander MacKillop had
studied for the priesthood, first in Scotland, later at the Scots College in
Rome. He reluctantly abandoned his studies, probably through ill health, and
returned to Scotland. At that time and place, the vague combination of
disappointment and disgrace which expressed itself in the term “spoiled priest”
was a strong factor. Almost certainly because of this, his parents left the
Catholic Highlands in 1835 and took Alexander with them to find a new life
beyond the rim of the world in Australia.
He was one of the tiny
group of Catholics who met for prayer in the home of the French carpenter,
Peter Bodecin, in Collins Street West, before the arrival of the Franciscan,
Father Geoghegan. He served as one of the trustees for the building of Saint
Francis Church, and for the establishment and maintenance of the little school
alongside. Apparently successful in business at first, he was ruined in the
crash of the Rucher affair, for the solvency of which he had been a guarantor –
one of the “Twelve Apostles”. He lost the home he bad built for the family at
Darebin, moving from place to place in poverty and desperate embarrassment.
The Family
Mary was the eldest of
the seven children, and bore a great part of the burden of worry. She had
little formal schooling: a short time at Saint Francis’ School, maybe a term at
the Academy of Mary Immaculate. Quite patiently, however, she learned much from
her father; the treasure he had stored up for a wider field was poured out for
his eldest daughter, and Mary MacKillop reached a standard of religious and literary
education which would have been available from no colonial school of the
period.
The later history of
“Sandy” MacKillop is wrapped in mystery. He seems to have been with the family
for some time in Portland; but, after Mary’s removal to Penola and to Adelaide,
there is no word of him. Did he go searching for gold still wider afield? Did
he embark on some other business venture? Did he just wander off, spending the
twilight of his life reaching for the Grail he was reaching for in Scotland and
Rome and Melbourne? With the sure wisdom of hindsight, it is certain that
nothing he had ever dreamed of doing whether as a priest or a Catholic layman,
could ever match the glory of the achievement of being the father and the
childhood mentor of Mary MacKillop.
The Roaring Fifties
The discovery of gold at
Ballarat in August, 1851, brought a dramatic change to the quiet sleepiness of
the settlement of Port Phillip. The proud and the free, the reckless and the
greedy, came pouring in to fan out from Melbourne in a feverish rush to the
diggings at Ballarat and Bendigo and a hundred other places across the Colony.
The “Roaring Forties” of the Californian gold rushes became the “Roaring
Fifties” in Australia. In that decade, more gold was produced in Australia than
in any other decade of the nineteenth century; and it brought tremendous
changes.
Melbourne became a
boomtown. Property values soared, as did tradesmen’s wages, as did the price of
foodstuffs. Ships swung idly at anchor in Port Phillip Bay, deserted by their crews
to join in the mad rush of clerks and shopkeepers, government servants and
farmers to the spreading goldfields. Other ships refused to proceed farther
than the port of Adelaide, for fear of desertion by their crews, and a thriving
business was established in the freighting of their cargoes to Melbourne and
the fields at Ballarat and Bendigo – by bullock wagons! All this resulted in a
scarcity of commodities which, paralleled by the use of nuggets and gold dust
as currency, triggered wild inflations.
Republic of Victoria
It was in this atmosphere
that Mary MacKillop grew up. She was a month short of her thirteenth birthday
when the unrest of the inrushing population came to a head at Eureka, near
Ballarat. For a pathetically proud three days the star-crossed flag of the
“Republic of Victoria” flew over the Stockade, to be dragged in sad defeat at
the heels of a trooper’s horse on that December Sunday morning of 1854. Yet,
for the last eight years of her life, she was to know that same flag as the
honoured symbol of One Nation, One People, One Commonwealth of Australia.
Clerk and Teacher
She was what must have
been a rarity in the mid-nineteenth century, a business girl, for she worked as
a clerk with the printing and stationery firm of Sands and McDougall – then
Sands and Kenny – receiving the wages of a forewoman. Later, thanks to the
education she had received from her father, she was able to fill successfully
the post of governess in several places in the Western District and in the
Southeast of the Colony of South Australia. Early in the 1860’s, in an attempt
to reunite the family, she started a school in Portland in a rented house which
had been built by the Hentys. It was a curious kind of enterprise, part private
school, part community-supported; and the ever-present shortage of money
cramped it from the beginning. It was at this school that Father Tenison Woods
came into her life for the second time. She had met him some four years before
when she was governess at a station homestead near Penola, which was the
headquarters of his widespread parish.
Father Julian Tenison
Woods
Father Tenison Woods was
a man of remarkable and creative mind. Not only was he one of Australia’s great
frontier missionaries, but a distinguished explorer and scientist. Among other
works he pioneered the geological study of Northern Australia. He is one of the
truly great founders of Catholic education in Australia. With all his great
gifts, his untiring zeal, he had nevertheless an unhappy and strangely
difficult personality. His relations with Mary MacKillop were marred by
misunderstandings and a curious kind of tyranny on his part. On her part, she
never uttered a word against her director of the early years, was always most
upset if his part in the founding of the Sisters of Saint Joseph would seem to
have been forgotten.
A Beginning At Penola
It was late in 1865 that
Father Tenison Woods asked Mary to undertake the teaching of a school which he
proposed to open in Penola. Early in 1866 she crossed the border into South
Australia with her two sisters and her brother John. In Penola a disused stable
had been rented and, by dint of some hard work by John MacKillop it was made
presentable enough for the beginning of school. It was the Bethlehem of the
Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart. On the Feast of Saint Joseph,
1866, Mary MacKillop, the first Sister of Saint Joseph, placed herself in the
hands of her Divine Master to teach his little ones. Although she did not take
formal vows until the Feast of the Assumption, 1867, in Adelaide, Mary
MacKillop becoming Mother Mary of the Cross, the 19th of March has always been
regarded as the date of the foundation.
Adelaide – and Gethsemane
The story of the next
eight years is one of extraordinary trial, and of tremendous strength on the
part of Mother Mary of the Cross. Time and again she earned in bitter truth the
right to the title. Within five years the tiny community had grown to a body of
120 nuns. Maybe the rapid growth, but probably more so the departure from the
semi-cloistered life which was the accepted role of a nun, was the cause of the
determined opposition. In South Australia which had been founded only 30 years
before with the expressed stipulation that “no Irish or Papists need apply”,
the enmity of those outside the Church was understandable enough. What was so
hard to bear was the opposition within the Church, opposition all along the
line of ecclesiastical authority; opposition which, quite patently, its authors
were convinced was for the ultimate glory of God. Mother Mary and her daughters
in Christ were to learn the bitter wisdom of the warning Christ had given to
those who would follow Him: “They will put you out of their synagogues, and
think that they are doing honour to God. And it was a struggle conducted by
Mother Mary with sublime charity and an unbroken loyalty to the Hierarchy and
the clergy.
Unified Direction
The years of trial were
punctuated by journeys to Sydney and to Brisbane. Here the problem was the one
of government. Mother Mary wanted, because she so clearly saw the necessity, an
Australia-wide congregation, with unified direction, and a common training for
all her sisters. The Church in Australia – or, more accurately, the Church in
the various Colonies which eventually were to become Australia, was not yet
prepared for such unity of government or of purpose. And so in 1874 Mother Mary
of the Cross, 32 years of age, with trouble facing here everywhere she looked,
made up her mind to go to Rome.
The Roman Saga
1874! It is less than a
hundred years ago, but it is difficult today to imagine just what an
extraordinary feat of courage and determination that journey was. Mother Mary
travelled in lay dress, her habit packed away in her baggage against the day of
arrival in Rome. This she did for the double reason of causing the minimum of
upset and to save the cost – a very cogent reason, this – of the travelling
expenses of a companion. So much swift history has flowed beneath the bridges
of the last century, that it is hard to evoke the mood which she must have
found in the Rome of 1874. Less than four years before, the Red-Shirts of
Garibaldi – without Garibaldi – had won their puny victory at the Porta Pia,
had burst into the City of the Popes to place the House of Savoy on the
Quirinal throne, and scatter the Fathers of the First Vatican Council.
On their heels the
anti-clericals and the atheists of Europe, the haters of the Papacy and the
wild-eyed revolutionaries of the world had swarmed into Rome to celebrate the
end of the Catholic Church; to humiliate, in every possible way, the Successor
of Saint Peter, both in his person and in his representatives. Within the
Church, there was a sense of stunned dismay, a feeling that the unbelievable
had happened. What interest could there be in the quarter of a million
Catholics in a group of colonies on the far side of the world? Above all, what
audience could be found in Papal Rome for revolutionary ideas in Australia, with
the reckless results of revolution all around them?
Ears That Would Listen
And yet, this young woman
of 32 years, without benefit of distinguished birth or patronage, with no
advantages of wealth or position, was able to find, and swiftly, ears that would
listen, hearts that would sympathize, heads that would plan all the way up to
the anguished Pio Nono himself [Pope Pius IX]. From Rome to France, to England,
the Scotland of her fathers, to Ireland, Mother Mary went serenely on. What
surprises is not that she was received coldly in so many places, looked on with
suspicion and alarm in so many others. The real surprise is that she won
friends, so many steadfast friends, in the most unlikely quarters.
Back to Rome, and to the
decision which spelled out eventual success in the long struggle. On her return
to Australia, the first General Chapter of the Congregation was held in
Adelaide in 1875. There were skirmishes still to be fought, to be lost as well
as won; disappointments were to come, setbacks to be endured and by-passed. But
the long haul to the top of the hill was over.
Mother Mary’s Monument
Since the foundation of
the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, there have been more than
3,000 members of the Congregation. Today [1966] they number some 2,500 in 22
Dioceses of Australia, in the four Dioceses of New Zealand, and even in one
Diocese in Ireland, so long and so generously the benefactor of the Church in
Australia and New Zealand.
Aims and Objectives
The first two paragraphs
of the Constitutions of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart read:
“The primary end of the
Institute is the sanctification of its members by the practice of the three
simple vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, and by the exact observance of
this Rule.”
“The secondary end of the
Institute is the instruction of poor children. However, by way of exception and
at the request or with the consent of the Ordinary, other works which may be
required by necessity can be added to the work of education.”
The evaluation of the
primary end, the measure of its success, is beyond our calculation. The
secondary end, however, the success of the work of the Sisters, is laid out
like a magnificent mosaic for all to see. During Mother Mary’s active
leadership of over 40 years she founded 160 Josephite houses, including 12
homes for orphans and homeless and 117 schools with 12,000 children. At her
death, the family she had founded in Christ numbered 1,000 Sisters; a record
probably unequalled in the history of religious congregations.
Current Situation
To bring the record up to
date with any kind of accuracy is an impossibility; for the simple reason that
the figures are changing almost month by month. There are more than two and a
half thousand Sisters, somewhere about 100,000 plus children in their schools;
orphanages, maternity hospitals, foundling homes, hostels for working girls and
for migrants, motor missions, correspondence courses . . . . wherever the need,
especially of those whom Christ Our Lord called His little ones, there will be
found today a Sister of Saint Joseph.
Mother Mary and Caroline
Chisholm
It is interesting to
speculate on what influence Mrs. Caroline Chisholm had on the vocation of Mary
MacKillop. After her return from England in 1854, Mrs. Chisholm spent some
three years in Melbourne and was a frequent visitor to the MacKillop home in
Darebin, which was a Mass-centre for the Catholics of the district.
Caroline Chisholm holds a
place which is unique in Australian social history. A convert to Catholicism,
she spent her early married years as the wife of an officer of the East India
Company, himself a Catholic of Scottish ancestry. Late in the 1830’s they moved
to Australia. A woman of strong and fearless character, brilliant practical
mind and simple personal piety, she combined a delicate feminine conservatism
with a social radicalism that challenged the colonial governments and wealthy
interests of the day. She struggled untiringly, both in New South Wales and in
England, against almost hopeless odds, for a colonial social policy based on
the family and private property. With the help of her husband, she carried
through a brilliant work of colonization in the face of tremendous
difficulties, opposition from entrenched wealth and religious prejudice.
Second Moses
The story of her journeys
on the Australian frontier, riding her white horse Captain, leading her armies
of immigrants, caught the imagination of England. London Punch called her a
“second Moses in bonnet and shawl”:
“Who led their
expeditions and under whose command
Through dangers and through hardships
Sought they the Promised Land?
A second Moses, surely, it was who did it all.
It was. A second Moses in bonnet and in shawl.”
Perhaps her greatest and
most lasting achievement was the establishment of the dignity of womanhood
after the degradation of the convict era. Without rank or wealth, and with very
meagre support, she settled some 11,000 women in security and independence;
and, from the day she dedicated her “talents to the God that gave them”, she
steadfastly refused any reward for her work. *
A Greatly Honoured Guest
Caroline Chisholm would
have been a greatly honoured guest in the home at Darebin. Her greatest
achievements were in the process of development. For the young Mary, then in
her early teens, the personality, the burning enthusiasm of the visitor, have
made a lasting impression. It is impossible not to come to the conclusion that
Caroline Chisholm was an instrument of Divine Providence in the forming of the
vocation of the young girl, precisely at the time it must have been stirring in
her heart.
There are indications in
her life that she had been impressed by the need for the care of the
immigrants. In Sydney, she visited the immigrant ships, offered what help she
and her Sisters could. Later, at Mackay in Queensland, she taught catechism to
the children of the Kanaka workers on the sugar plantations, labourers
indentured from the islands of the Pacific. She travelled around in a buggy,
collecting the children of immigrants to teach them the truths of their Faith.
The work that the Sisters
of Saint Joseph are doing today for the migrants, not only for the thousands of
migrant children in their city schools, but also in the hostels and holding
centres, must be very much in the line of the dreams of their Foundress.
Mother Mary’s Death
The success of her work,
the victory over prejudice and misunderstanding, did not bring an end to the
suffering of Mother Mary, so well named “of the Cross”. The last years of her
life were spent in a wheelchair, physically crippled by what would today be
diagnosed as a stroke. It is a measure of the striking importance of the work
she had begun, the appreciation of it even by secular government, that the New
Zealand Railways placed a special train at her disposal on her last visit to
the houses in that Dominion.
The end came on 8 August
1909. Gently Death stole to her bedside as the beloved enemy. An enemy, because
death is the ceaseless enemy of every living thing; an enemy, because death
would take her away from the day-by-day care of her Sisters. Beloved, because
death meant for her the lasting rendezvous with the Christ she had known long
since, and loved all the days of her life.
The Peace Was Always
There
In the Holy Year of 1925,
the Superior General of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Mother Lawrence, with
Sister Francis as her companion, came out from Rome to visit the small band of
Australian students on vacation at the Villa of the Propaganda Fide at Castel
Gandolfo. With maybe a dim sensing that they were touching the gossamer threads
of history, the students asked her what was her outstanding memory of Mother
Mary of the Cross whom she had known so long and so well. One student of those
days remembers well her answer.
“It was,” said Mother
Lawrence, “her peace . . . a deep, endless kind of peace that came from far inside.
Oh, she was often in pain, often tired; she knew disappointments and worries in
plenty. Even in the days of success, every mail brought the small agony of a
decision to be made, every visit problems great or small; but the peace was
always there. Yes, that is what I remember most: the peace of her; the peace
that was always there. . .
Light in the Darkness
Almost exactly 50 years
before, Mother Mary was herself in Rome. As the days and the weeks of waiting
lengthened out, she walked in the footsteps of the millions of Christian
pilgrims that Rome had known since the days of the apostles Peter and Paul.
There was a particular attraction for her, for these were the places – the
churches, the streets, the monuments and the shrines – which had lived so vividly
in her imagination since the wide-eyed little Mary MacKillop had listened
entranced to her father’s stories of his student days in the Scots College on
the Via Quattro Fontane. At least once she took the short roadway which winds
up to the Capitol from the Forum, to pay a visit to the little chapel which is
built over the Mamertine Prison, the grim dungeons of which had been the last
address of so many of Rome’s more notable enemies. Beneath the chapel is the
cell which a thousand and a half years of Christian tradition assigns as the
place where Saint Peter wrote his Second Epistle, shortly before his martyrdom.
In the gloomy mustiness which even today is the pervading impression of the
stark prison, she would have heard the echo of the words of the old man:
“Being assured that the
laying away of this my tabernacle is at hand, according as our Lord Jesus
Christ also has signified to me.
“And I will endeavour
that you frequently have after my decease whereby you may keep a memory of
these things.
“For we have not, by
following artificial fables, made known to you the power and the presence of
Our Lord Jesus Christ; but we were eye witnesses of his greatness.
“For he received from God
the Father honour and glory: this voice coming down to him from the excellent
glory: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. And this
we heard brought from heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we
have the more firm prophetical word, whereunto you do well to attend, as to a
light which shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise
in your hearts.” – 2 Peter 1:14-19
He was on Tabor again,
with James and John under the morning sun of Galilee, as he had been so often,
in vivid and startling memory through almost 40 years. In the Garden of
Gethsemane, through prisons and floggings, in poverty and tears and the
contempt of the world around him. . . . .The darkness fell away, he saw only
the shining face of the transfigured Christ; he heard no groans of
fellow-prisoners, no rustles of the horde of rats, only the words from Heaven.
He felt no leaden weight of impending torture and death in his heart, only the
glad surge of “Lord, it is good to be here!” the words that had sprung from his
heart “when we were with Him in the holy mount”. That had been his real life
through all those 40 years, the bright light which had shone in so many a dark
place. For Saint Peter, through the storm of his life and the agony of his
death on Vatican Hill, it was a citadel of impregnable peace.
A Touch of the Glory
And the young Mother Mary
understood it so well. For somewhere, sometime, there had been for her a
transfiguration of Christ. In Melbourne, in Portland, Penola, Adelaide? God
knows. Did it develop gradually in her soul, or was there a dramatic moment, a
blinding flash? Once again, only God knows.
But of one thing we may
be sure: there was such a transfiguration. Somewhere, sometime, Mary MacKillop
was permitted to touch a little of the glory, to know a small part of the
wonder that is the glorified Christ. For it is this gift that Christ has in His
giving for those He chooses for special service. This was the light which she
followed, this was the light “which shone in a dark place”; in all the dark
places of her life. And with the light came peace, that special kind of peace
“which passes all understanding”.
A Deep Interior Fortress
That peace of Christ
brings no immunity from suffering, no guarantee against tears and the twisting
of the heart, no final victory against the weakness of human nature. Only deep
strength it brings with it, the building of a deep interior fortress which no
panic may storm, no doubt or opposition may ever really breach. And this peace
and its strength Mother Mary needed. She was to know opposition and misunderstanding
from those in whom she instinctively had trusted for help and encouragement.
She was to know that particular sense of repulsive guilt which only those
wrongly accused can ever experience. Poverty was to be a constant companion. It
was not the joyful kind of poverty which carries with it the freedom from
personal possessions, the total reliance on God’s Providence. Poverty for
herself would have been so easy to bear, so happy a burden. The poverty she
knew was the poverty of all the Sisters under her care, the hoarding of the
pennies and the scraps to build the little shacks that were the convents, to
keep open the shelters for the orphans and the helpless. Add to all this the
long journeys by coach and bullock-wagon and in small ships, the long battles with
authority which had to follow such a delicate path: to go forward along the way
she knew to be so necessary for the success of the work Christ Our Lord had
assigned to her; and, at the same time and so successfully, to preserve the
utmost of respect and reverence for the very ones who opposed that progress so
vigorously.
Through it all and with
it all, deep down her heart was singing, and the refrain of that song were the
words of Simon Peter: “Lord, it is good to be here!”
The Day Star Rises
And even in her lifetime,
she was to see “the day star arise”. She lived to see her Sisters busy in the
noisy, bustling streets of city suburbs; teaching the children, visiting the
homes of the growing industrial jungles of the twentieth century. She saw them
spread out through the quiet country towns to the places that nudge the edge of
the Never-Never; to Jindabyne and Adaminaby and Nimmitabel and the country
where the Man from the Snowy River rode through the pages of Banjo Patterson.
The brown line of them was stretched taut across the whole continent from
Kalgoorlie and Kelleberrin, Boulder and Southern Cross in the West to Texas and
Taroom, Diranbandi and Crow’s Nest in Queensland. Sometimes they were housed in
places that looked something like convents. More often their homes were tiny
cottages, poor outside and in, housing sometimes three, far more frequently
just two Sisters. Their acceptance of the vocation that Christ had given them
brought no exemptions from the loneliness of isolation, from the sand and the
flies and the heat. It brought with it no guarantee of Mass and the Sacraments,
no surety that it might not be months on end before they could count on the
visit of a priest.
Poor in the material
things, maybe sometimes poorer still in the externals of the Faith, the young
girls who had come so joyfully from the cities and the towns grew old fast; but
their spirit was forever young. Deep in their eyes was the reflection of the
light that Mother Mary had known in all the dark places; away down where only God
can hear the murmuring of the heart, there was the song: “Lord, it is good for
us to be here!”
Land of the Long White
Cloud
Across the Tasman, the
names Mother Mary wrote on her letters, the addresses she searched for on her
visits sang a different song: set to the music of the Maoris “Land of the Long
White Cloud”. Remuera and Matata were founded in the 19th century; Paeroa,
Rotorua, Whangarei in the early years of the 1900’s; in the South, Port
Chalmers, Waimate and Temuka were flourishing before the turn of the century.
The Sisters were settled in Temuka for four years before the Diocese
(Christchurch), in which it is situated, was founded. It is as good a yardstick
as any to measure the growth of the work that Mother Mary did for her Master to
reflect that the foundation at Temuka in New Zealand’s South Island took place
just 17 years after the beginning in the stable at Penola; only eight years
after her return from Rome. . . .
Wherever they went,
whatever the work they found waiting to be done, the daughters of Mother Mary
carried the same whispered offering to Christ in their hearts; a whisper that
was the long echo of the words of Ruth to Naomi: “Wherever You go I shall go.
Your people will be my people . . . . wherever You dwell there will I pitch my
tent. Where You die, there also shall I die, and there will I be buried . . .
and I pray that nothing in life or in death may ever separate me from You. . .
Pride and Confidence
Australians are proud of
Mother Mary of the Cross, all Australians. But there is a large segment of them
who have a particular pride in her memory. They number not only the thousands
of Sisters who live under the Rule she gave them; but the hundreds of thousands
of other Australians whose lives have been significantly formed by what the
Sisters of Saint Joseph meant to them in their early youth.
They are an extraordinary
cross-section of Australia’s people: Young men and young women and grandparents
and great-grandparents; husbands and wives and sons and daughters, the poor and
the not-so-poor. Some of them found in the Sisters of the foundling homes and
the orphanages loving substitutes for the mothers and fathers they were never
to know. Others came to the Sisters as scruffy young ruffians from city slums,
or as shy little colts from the spinifex and the saltbush. For thousands of
them the first real vision of what they could learn, of the opportunities that
life held for them came from the gentle voice, the firm dedication of a nun in
a brown habit. Above all, they learned how to make Christ Our Lord part of
their lives, to translate Him from the prayers they had learned at the bedside
into a meaning for all their years on earth.
A cross-section they are:
plumbers and carpenters and bishops and milkmen; professors and dustmen and
politicians and doctors and lawyers; publicans and priests and nurses and
missionaries and actors and singers . . . so many vocations, so many ways of
serving God. And all of these vocations owe something, little or very much
indeed, to the work begun by Mother Mary MacKillop.
They are proud of Mother
Mary; proud, and confident, too. Confident that the work which she began will
continue, no matter what may be the present difficulties or the fears for the
future. Confident, too, that in these lands of the Southern Cross, in which and
through the love of which she expressed so eloquently her love of God, her name
will always be a blessing, the memory of her in lasting peace.
Some Characteristic
Sayings
True Charity:
“My own dear Sisters, do
all you can to bear with one another and to love one another in God and for
God. We must expect to receive crosses; we know that we give them. What poor,
faulty nature finds hard to bear, the love of God and zeal in His service will
make sweet and easy. Try always to be generous with God.”
The Institute God’s Work:
“Don’t be troubled about
the future of the Institute; I am not. He Whose work it is will take care of
it. Let us all resign ourselves into His hands, and pray that in all things He
may guide us to do His holy will. When thoughts of this or that will come, I
turn to Him and say: ‘Only what You will, my God. Use me as You will’.”
A Welcome to the Cross:
My only anxiety is lest I
should fall in a sorrow or humiliation He should put upon me. I cannot say with
God’s faithful servants that I love humiliations; but I know they are good for
me, and if He sends them I hope I shall be grateful.”
Simple Obedience:
“Beware of self mixing up
with the work of God. Fear your own judgement; never let reasonings come
between you and obedience.”
Respect for Priests:
“I had rather a dagger
were thrust into my heart than hear a word said amongst us against priests –
the anointed of God.”
All for God Only:
“Let us do the will of
Him we love, and not by one wilful sigh wish for life or death but as He
pleases, and when He pleases; so that no shadow of earthly will or self remain
in hearts chosen by the God of Love for Himself.”
Prayer
O God, who wills not that
any soul should perish, but that all should be converted and live, grant, we
beseech You, success to good work begun for Your Name by Your servant Mary of
the Cross, and deign so to glorify her name before men that an increasing
multitude of souls may by her means be brought to eternal salvation. Through
Christ Our Lord. Amen.
– from the booklet Peace Beyond Understanding: The Story of Mother Mary
MacKillop, Foundress of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, by Monsignor
James Hannon, Australian Catholic Truth Society, 1966
Stained glass window at Mary MacKillop shrine, Penola, South Australia
X GIORNATA
MONDIALE DELLA GIOVENTÙ
SANTA MESSA PER LA
BEATIFICAZIONE DI SUOR MARY MACKILLOP
OMELIA DI GIOVANNI PAOLO
II
“Cercate prima il regno
di Dio e la sua giustizia, e tutte queste cose vi saranno date in aggiunta” (Mt 6,
33).
Cari Fratelli e Sorelle,
1. Stiamo celebrando un
evento straordinario nella vita della Chiesa in questa terra: la
beatificazione di Madre Mary MacKillop, la prima australiana dichiarata
formalmente beata in cielo. Gioisco con tutti voi: con il Cardinale Clancy
e i miei Fratelli nell’Episcopato, con i sacerdoti, i religiosi, con tutti voi,
uomini e donne, famiglie, giovani e bambini, che offrono un segno raggiante e
autentico della vitalità della Chiesa. Ringrazio Dio perché mi ha permesso di celebrare
questa Beatificazione, proprio qui in terra australiana. In verità l’Australia
stessa rappresenta un tipo di sfondo per le riflessioni che vorrei condividere
con voi.
Alcune settimane fa la
Chiesa ha celebrato la Solennità della Nascita del Signore, e la Liturgia di
oggi ancora echeggia quel mistero di salvezza. La prima lettura del Profeta
Isaia richiama la Liturgia dell’Avvento e ha alcune immagini che sono proprio
applicabili al vostro Continente. Isaia scrive: “nel deserto preparate la via
al Signore, appianate nella steppa la strada per il nostro Dio” (Is 40,
3). Il Profeta parla dei contrasti delle valli e delle montagne, di terreno
accidentato e di pianura (cf. Is 40, 4). In tutto ciò naturalmente
egli si riferisce alla geografia della Terra Santa. Ma queste stesse
immagini non richiamano anche alla mente la geografia dell’Australia? Nel
centro dell’Australia non c’è un enorme deserto, di cui solo i confini esterni
sono ricchi e fertili? Non ci sono forse aspre pianure e profonde valli? Accanto
a terreni accidentati non troviamo forse paesaggi piacevoli e ospitali?
2. I contrasti vanno
oltre la semplice topografia; essi sono anche evidenti nelle origini etniche
della gente. Per la sua storia di ospitalità verso gli immigranti, l’Australia
è diventata una terra di incontri tra culture e civiltà molto diverse.
Anche prima che gli europei arrivassero qui, più di due secoli fa, gli
aborigeni erano già stati presenti per decine di migliaia di anni. Infatti gli
etnologi ci riferiscono che gli abitanti originari dell’Australia sono tra i
più antichi popoli della terra. Questi contrasti tra le genti e le culture
rendono la vostra nazione una meravigliosa miscela di vecchio e di nuovo,
cosicché l’Australia oggi è una terra di diversità e di unità, arricchita dai
contributi che questi vari singoli e gruppi danno alla formazione della
società.
L’esortazione del Profeta
Isaia assume un particolare rilievo per coloro che si sono qui riuniti, e per
tutto il popolo cattolico dell’Australia. È qui, nella vostra stessa terra, che
la strada del Signore dovrebbe venir preparata, in modo che l’Australia sia un
luogo in cui “si rivelerà la gloria del Signore e ogni uomo la vedrà” (Is 40,
5). Infatti questa gloria si è già rivelata abbondantemente in Mary MacKillop,
e la Chiesa, dichiarandola “Beata”, dice che la santità invocata dal Vangelo è
australiana come ella era australiana. È questo il messaggio che desidero
rivolgere in particolare alle figlie spirituali di Madre MacKillop, cioè i
membri della Congregazione da lei fondata. State certe, care Sorelle, che la
Chiesa ha bisogno della vostra testimonianza e della vostra fedeltà. Anche
l’Australia apprezza la vostra presenza e il vostro devoto apostolato.
3. È significativo che
Madre Mary MacKillop abbia dato alla sua Congregazione il nome di San Giuseppe,
una persona che ha impegnato il suo essere e la sua vita alla Provvidenza
amorosa di Dio. Gesù di Nazareth era un uomo di fiducia sconfinata. Solo
così ha potuto vivere la chiamata unica che aveva ricevuto da Dio, di diventare
lo sposo della Vergine Maria e il custode del Figlio di Dio. Nella storia della
Chiesa San Giuseppe è sempre stato uno speciale modello di santità. Senza
dubbio, dando il nome di San Giuseppe alla sua Congregazione, la Beata Mary
MacKillop esprimeva una qualità della sua vita spirituale, una qualità che poi
diventò un carisma per i suoi seguaci e per coloro di noi che oggi imparano dal
suo esempio.
Nel Vangelo il Signore
dice: “per la vostra vita non affannatevi di quello che mangerete o berrete... guardate
gli uccelli del cielo: non seminano, né mietono, né ammassano nei granai;
eppure il Padre vostro celeste li nutre. Non contate voi forse più di loro?” (Mt 6,
25-26). Giuseppe, l’“uomo giusto”, visse secondo queste parole. Queste parole
ci fanno vedere dentro quello che deve essere l’atteggiamento fondamentale di
ogni vita spirituale: apertura, fiducia e serenità, nella certezza, dell’amore
speciale di Dio per ogni essere umano, “che è la sola creatura che Dio abbia
voluto per se stessa” (Gaudium
et Spes, 24).
4. Il Signore conclude il
suo insegnamento confidando nella Provvidenza, con l’invito: “non
affannatevi... il Padre vostro celeste infatti sa di che cosa avete
bisogno. Cercate prima il regno di Dio e la sua giustizia, e tutte queste
cose vi saranno date in aggiunta” (Mt 6, 31-33). Nella storia del
Cattolicesimo australiano, questa “ricerca del regno di Dio” è stata conseguita
in un modo egregio dalla Beata Maria della Croce.
Nella vastità del
continente australiano, la Beata Mary MacKillop non si è lasciata scoraggiare
dal grande deserto, dalle immense distese dell’entroterra, né dallo squallore
spirituale che colpiva tanti suoi compagni della città. Piuttosto ella preparò
audacemente la strada del Signore nelle situazioni più difficili. Con
gentilezza, coraggio e compassione ella fu il messaggero della Buona Novella in
mezzo agli sperduti che lottano per la vita e ai baraccati della città. Madre
Maria della Croce sapeva che dietro l’ignoranza, la miseria e la sofferenza che
aveva incontrato c’era della gente, c’erano uomini e donne, giovani e vecchi,
che tendevano verso Dio e la sua giustizia. Ella sapeva, poiché era una vera
figlia del suo tempo e del suo luogo: la figlia degli immigrati che dovettero
sempre lottare per costruire una vita per loro nel loro nuovo territorio. La
sua storia ci ricorda il bisogno di accogliere la gente, di accostarsi a quelli
che sono soli, che soffrono di privazioni, gli svantaggiati. Lottare per il
regno di Dio e per la sua giustizia significa lottare per vedere Cristo nello straniero,
incontrarlo in loro e aiutarli ad incontrarlo in ognuno di noi!
5. Proprio come al tempo
di Madre MacKillop, anche oggi la comunità cristiana si trova di fronte a molti
“deserti”: le terre squallide dell’indifferenza e dell’intolleranza, la desolazione
del razzismo e il disprezzo verso altri esseri umani, l’aridità dell’egoismo e
della infedeltà: il peccato in tutte le sue forme e le sue espressioni, e
lo scandalo del peccato magnificato dai mezzi della comunicazione sociale.
Se la Chiesa richiama continuamente alla legge di Dio, scritta nel cuore umano
e rivelata nel Vecchio e nel Nuovo Testamento, lo fa non per un attaccamento
arbitrario alla tradizione passata e per una visione antiquata. È che l’uomo
distaccato dal suo Creatore e Redentore non può compiere il suo destino e non
avrà pace. Dovunque la Chiesa deve essere “il segno e la salvaguardia del
carattere trascendente della persona umana” (Gaudium et Spes, 76). Difendendo
la vita dal male dell’aborto e dell’eutanasia, incoraggiando una forte vita
familiare di fronte alle vecchie e nuove sfide alla sua stabilità, facendo
avanzare la giustizia ad ogni livello attraverso la sua dottrina sociale, la
Chiesa è un vero fermento evangelico in ogni sfera dell’attività
umana (Gaudium et Spes, 40). Il grande documento del Concilio Vaticano Secondo
sulla Chiesa nel Mondo Moderno ha rappresentato per i membri della Chiesa un
richiamo appropriato per ogni tempo: i Cristiani “niente possono desiderare più
ardentemente che servire con sempre maggiore generosità ed efficacia” (Gaudium
et Spes, 93).
6. Come possiamo fare
ciò? La risposta chiara e inequivocabile di San Paolo è contenuta nella Seconda
Lettura di questa Messa. Le sue parole ai Colossesi indicano cosa c’è alla
base di ogni vocazione cristiana. Egli dice: “Al di sopra di tutto poi vi sia
la carità, che è il vincolo della perfezione” (Col 3, 14). Cosa
significa “al di sopra di tutto vi sia la carità”? San Paolo spiega:
“Rivestitevi dunque, come eletti di Dio, santi e amati, di sentimenti di
misericordia, di bontà, di umiltà, di mansuetudine, di pazienza, sopportandovi
a vicenda e perdonandovi scambievolmente” (Col 3, 12-13). Qui San Paolo
trae la sua ispirazione dalle Beatitudini, e in quello stesso spirito scrive
sulla pace di Cristo, alla quale siamo stati tutti chiamati (cf. Col 3,
15), e sul bisogno di ringraziare in tutte le cose (cf. Col 3,
17).
7. In questa solenne
Liturgia la Chiesa esprime la sua gratitudine a Madre Maria della Croce, alla
Comunità Religiosa da lei fondata e a tutte le Comunità Religiose. Il
recente Sinodo dei Vescovi dedicato alla vita e alla missione della
vita consacrata ha pienamente riconosciuto il grande contributo reso dalle
Comunità Religiose alla Chiesa, alla cultura e alla civiltà in tutto il mondo.
Rispondendo all’invito di San Paolo ad essere “riconoscenti” (Col 3, 15)
noi, in occasione di questa Beatificazione, esprimiamo il nostro grazie a
Cristo Signore per il grande servizio che gli uomini e le donne consacrate
rendono all’Australia nel campo dell’istruzione e della sanità, e così in tante
altre attività a nome del bene comune. Preghiamo dunque per una nuova fioritura
delle vocazioni religiose, cosicché queste Comunità continuino ad essere un
segno vitale della presenza di Gesù Cristo in mezzo a voi!
È bene che voi questa
volta stiate applaudendo gentilmente per il Papa. Grazie.
8. Sì, Gesù è
presente a Sydney, e in tutta l’Australia! Attraverso di lui, tutta la
creazione, e in particolare tutta l’umanità può ringraziare il Padre per i
regali della Creazione e della Redenzione e per le buone cose che provengono
dalle mani dell’uomo. Cristo conferisce a tutta la vita un “significato
eucaristico”. Gli uomini e le donne di oggi spesso dimenticano questo: essi
pensano di essere i creatori di questi beni e perdono facilmente di vista Dio.
Da ciò risulta che non riescono ad impegnarsi per il regno di Dio e troppo
spesso non si preoccupano della sua giustizia.
I Santi, al contrario, ci
insegnano a vedere Cristo presente in Australia, a Sydney. Essi ci insegnano a
vedere Cristo come centro e apice del dono generoso di Dio all’umanità. Per
questa ragione la Chiesa li onora, li innalza agli altari e li propone come
modelli da imitare. Essi sono araldi del vero significato della vita umana. Sia
benedetto Dio nei suoi santi!
9. “Cercate prima il
regno di Dio e la sua giustizia, e tutte queste cose vi saranno date in
aggiunta” (Mt 6, 33).
Con queste parole ho dato
inizio a all’omelia, e con esse voglio concludere.
La Beatificazione di
Madre Mary MacKillop vuol essere una specie di “consacrazione” del popolo di
Dio in Australia. Attraverso la sua testimonianza, la verità dell’amore di Dio
e i valori del suo regno sono stati resi visibili in questo Continente – valori
che sono la vera base della società australiana.
Possa la vostra nazione
restare fedele alla sua eredità cristiana! Possa la Chiesa peregrina in
Australia continuare a portare avanti la sua missione, proclamando il regno di
Dio e la sua giustizia!
E nell’ultimo giorno
penso ancora ai tanti pellegrini. Vedo i giovani di Manila, provenienti da così
tante nazioni del mondo... che rappresentano la Chiesa pellegrina, il popolo
pellegrino di Dio. Cantano tutti con noi, Te Deum laudamus. Stiamo
cantando dunque per questa celebrazione, per Dio che lodiamo. Tutta la Chiesa
pellegrina canta, gioisce, gioisce in Australia. Cristo è qui a Sydney e
ovunque. Cristo è qui. Grazie. Alleluia
Al termine della
celebrazione eucaristica il Santo Padre ha salutato i presenti con le seguenti
espressioni.
Saluto tutti gli
australiani, a cominciare dagli aborigeni dell’Australia e della Nuova Zelanda
e poi tutti coloro che hanno dato il proprio contributo alla preghiera: gli
irlandesi, tutti gli australiani irlandesi, tutti gli italiani, tutti i croati,
i polacchi, gli ucraini e i vietnamiti. Tutti insieme..., anche i messicani, i
polacchi...
Noi tutti lodiamo il
Signore! Di nuovo, grazie a tutti voi!
Grazie alla beata Mary
MacKillop e alla Congregazione delle Suore che ha fondato e che è presente qui
oggi.
Di nuovo, grazie per la
vostra pazienza e per la vostra perseveranza.
Il Cardinale Clancy
avrebbe voluto la pioggia domani, solo domani...
Il Papa oggi, il
Cardinale Clancy domani.
Sia lodato Gesù Cristo!
Copyright © Dicastero per
la Comunicazione
Life-size
bronze statue of St Mary Mackillop by sculptor Linda
Klarfeld at the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney
STANISŁAW KAZIMIERCZYK SOŁTYS (1433 - 1489)
OMELIA DEL SANTO PADRE
BENEDETTO XVI
Piazza San Pietro
Domenica, 17 ottobre 2010
Cari fratelli e sorelle!
Si rinnova oggi in Piazza
San Pietro la festa della santità. Con gioia rivolgo il mio cordiale benvenuto
a voi che siete giunti, anche da molto lontano, per prendervi parte. Un
particolare saluto ai Cardinali, ai Vescovi e ai Superiori Generali degli Istituti
fondati dai nuovi Santi, come pure alle Delegazioni ufficiali e a tutte le
Autorità civili. Insieme cerchiamo di accogliere quanto il Signore ci dice
nelle sacre Scritture poc’anzi proclamate. La liturgia di questa domenica ci
offre un insegnamento fondamentale: la necessità di pregare sempre, senza
stancarsi. Talvolta noi ci stanchiamo di pregare, abbiamo l’impressione che la
preghiera non sia tanto utile per la vita, che sia poco efficace. Perciò siamo
tentati di dedicarci all’attività, di impiegare tutti i mezzi umani per
raggiungere i nostri scopi, e non ricorriamo a Dio. Gesù invece afferma che
bisogna pregare sempre, e lo fa mediante una specifica parabola (cfr Lc 18,1-8).
Questa parla di un
giudice che non teme Dio e non ha riguardo per nessuno, un giudice che non ha
atteggiamento positivo, ma cerca solo il proprio interesse. Non ha timore del
giudizio di Dio e non ha rispetto per il prossimo. L’altro personaggio è
una vedova, una persona in una situazione di debolezza. Nella Bibbia, la
vedova e l’orfano sono le categorie più bisognose, perché indifese e senza
mezzi. La vedova va dal giudice e gli chiede giustizia. Le sue possibilità di
essere ascoltata sono quasi nulle, perché il giudice la disprezza ed ella non
può fare nessuna pressione su di lui. Non può nemmeno appellarsi a principi
religiosi, poiché il giudice non teme Dio. Perciò questa vedova sembra priva di
ogni possibilità. Ma lei insiste, chiede senza stancarsi, è importuna, e così
alla fine riesce ad ottenere dal giudice il risultato. A questo punto Gesù fa
una riflessione, usando l’argomento a fortiori: se un giudice disonesto
alla fine si lascia convincere dalla preghiera di una vedova, quanto più Dio,
che è buono, esaudirà chi lo prega. Dio infatti è la generosità in persona, è
misericordioso, e quindi è sempre disposto ad ascoltare le preghiere. Pertanto,
non dobbiamo mai disperare, ma insistere sempre nella preghiera.
La conclusione del brano
evangelico parla della fede: «Il Figlio dell’uomo, quando verrà, troverà la
fede sulla terra?» (Lc 18,8). E’ una domanda che vuole suscitare un
aumento di fede da parte nostra. E’ chiaro infatti che la preghiera dev’essere
espressione di fede, altrimenti non è vera preghiera. Se uno non crede nella
bontà di Dio, non può pregare in modo veramente adeguato. La fede è essenziale
come base dell’atteggiamento della preghiera. E’ quanto hanno fatto i sei nuovi
Santi che oggi vengono proposti alla venerazione della Chiesa universale: Stanisław
Sołtys, André Bessette, Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola, Mary of the
Cross MacKillop, Giulia Salzano e Battista Camilla Varano.
Święty Stanisław
Kazimierczyk, zakonnik z XV wieku, i dla nas może być przykładem i
orędownikiem. Całe Jego życie było związane z Eucharystią. Najpierw przez
kościół Bożego Ciała na Kazimierzu w dzisiejszym Krakowie, gdzie u boku matki i
ojca uczył się wiary i pobożności; gdzie złożył śluby zakonne u Kanoników
Regularnych; gdzie pracował jako kapłan, wychowawca, opiekun potrzebujących.
Przede wszystkim jednak był związany z Eucharystią przez żarliwą miłość do
Chrystusa obecnego pod postaciami chleba i wina; przez przeżywanie tajemnicy
Jego śmierci i zmartwychwstania, która w sposób bezkrwawy dokonuje się we Mszy
św.; przez praktykę miłości bliźniego, której źródłem i znakiem jest Komunia.
[Traduzione: San
Stanisław Kazimierczyk, religioso del XV secolo, può essere anche per noi
esempio e intercessore. Tutta la sua vita era legata all’Eucaristia. Anzitutto
nella chiesa del Corpus Domini in Kazimierz, nell’odierna Cracovia,
dove, accanto alla madre e al padre, imparò la fede e la pietà; dove emise i
voti religiosi presso i Canonici Regolari; dove lavorò come sacerdote,
educatore, attento alla cura dei bisognosi. In modo particolare, però, era
legato all’Eucaristia attraverso l’ardente amore per Cristo presente sotto le
specie del pane e del vino; vivendo il mistero della morte e della
risurrezione, che in modo incruento si compie nella Santa Messa; attraverso la
pratica dell’amore al prossimo, del quale fonte e segno è la Comunione.]
Frère André Bessette,
originaire du Québec, au Canada, et religieux de la Congrégation de la
Sainte-Croix, connut très tôt la souffrance et la pauvreté. Elles l’ont conduit
à recourir à Dieu par la prière et une vie intérieure intense. Portier du
collège Notre Dame à Montréal, il manifesta une charité sans bornes et
s’efforça de soulager les détresses de ceux qui venaient se confier à lui. Très
peu instruit, il a pourtant compris où se situait l’essentiel de sa foi. Pour
lui, croire signifie se soumettre librement et par amour à la volonté divine.
Tout habité par le mystère de Jésus, il a vécu la béatitude des cœurs purs,
celle de la rectitude personnelle. C’est grâce à cette simplicité qu’il a
permis à beaucoup de voir Dieu. Il fit construire l’Oratoire Saint Joseph du
Mont Royal dont il demeura le gardien fidèle jusqu’à sa mort en 1937. Il y fut
le témoin d’innombrables guérisons et conversions. «Ne cherchez pas à vous
faire enlever les épreuves» disait-il, «demandez plutôt la grâce de
bien les supporter». Pour lui, tout parlait de Dieu et de sa présence.
Puissions-nous, à sa suite, rechercher Dieu avec simplicité pour le découvrir
toujours présent au cœur de notre vie! Puisse l’exemple du Frère André inspirer
la vie chrétienne canadienne!
Cuando el Hijo del Hombre
vendrá para hacer justicia a los elegidos, ¿encontrará esta fe en la tierra?
(cf. Lc 18,18). Hoy podemos decir que sí, con alivio y firmeza, al contemplar
figuras como la Madre Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola. Aquella
muchacha de origen sencillo, con un corazón en el que Dios puso su sello y que
la llevaría muy pronto, con la guía de sus directores espirituales jesuitas, a
tomar la firme resolución de vivir «sólo para Dios». Decisión mantenida
fielmente, como ella misma recuerda cuando estaba a punto de morir. Vivió para
Dios y para lo que Él más quiere: llegar a todos, llevarles a todos la
esperanza que no vacila, y especialmente a quienes más lo necesitan. «Donde no
hay lugar para los pobres, tampoco lo hay para mí», decía la nueva Santa, que
con escasos medios contagió a otras Hermanas para seguir a Jesús y dedicarse a
la educación y promoción de la mujer. Nacieron así las Hijas de Jesús, que hoy
tienen en su Fundadora un modelo de vida muy alto que imitar, y una misión
apasionante que proseguir en los numerosos países donde ha llegado el espíritu
y los anhelos de apostolado de la Madre Cándida.
“Remember who your
teachers were – from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.” For many years countless young people
throughout Australia have been blessed with teachers who were inspired by the
courageous and saintly example of zeal, perseverance and prayer of Mother
Mary McKillop. She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the
poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia, inspiring other
women to join her in the first women’s community of religious sisters of that
country. She attended to the needs of each young person entrusted to her,
without regard for station or wealth, providing both intellectual and spiritual
formation. Despite many challenges, her prayers to Saint Joseph and her
unflagging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom she dedicated her new
congregation, gave this holy woman the graces needed to remain faithful to God
and to the Church. Through her intercession, may her followers today continue
to serve God and the Church with faith and humility!
Nella seconda metà del
secolo XIX, in Campania, nel sud dell’Italia, il Signore chiamò una giovane
maestra elementare, Giulia Salzano, e ne fece un’apostola dell’educazione
cristiana, fondatrice della Congregazione delle Suore Catechiste del Sacro
Cuore di Gesù. Madre Giulia comprese bene l’importanza della catechesi nella
Chiesa, e, unendo la preparazione pedagogica al fervore spirituale, si dedicò
ad essa con generosità e intelligenza, contribuendo alla formazione di persone
di ogni età e ceto sociale. Ripeteva alle sue consorelle che desiderava fare
catechismo fino all’ultima ora della sua vita, dimostrando con tutta se stessa
che se “Dio ci ha creati per conoscerLo, amarLo e servirLo in questa vita”,
nulla bisognava anteporre a questo compito. L’esempio e l’intercessione di
santa Giulia Salzano sostengano la Chiesa nel suo perenne compito di annunciare
Cristo e di formare autentiche coscienze cristiane.
Santa Battista Camilla
Varano, monaca clarissa del XV secolo, testimoniò fino in fondo il senso
evangelico della vita, specialmente perseverando nella preghiera. Entrata a 23
anni nel monastero di Urbino, si inserì da protagonista in quel vasto movimento
di riforma della spiritualità femminile francescana che intendeva recuperare
pienamente il carisma di santa Chiara d’Assisi. Promosse nuove fondazioni
monastiche a Camerino, dove più volte fu eletta abbadessa, a Fermo e a San
Severino. La vita di santa Battista, totalmente immersa nelle profondità
divine, fu un’ascesa costante nella via della perfezione, con un eroico amore
verso Dio e il prossimo. Fu segnata da grandi sofferenze e mistiche
consolazioni; aveva deciso infatti, come scrive lei stessa, di “entrare nel
Sacratissimo Cuore di Gesù e di annegare nell’oceano delle sue acerbissime
sofferenze”. In un tempo in cui la Chiesa pativa un rilassamento dei costumi,
ella percorse con decisione la strada della penitenza e della preghiera,
animata dall’ardente desiderio di rinnovamento del Corpo mistico di Cristo.
Cari fratelli e sorelle,
rendiamo grazie al Signore per il dono della santità, che risplende nella
Chiesa e oggi traspare sul volto di questi nostri fratelli e sorelle. Gesù
invita anche ciascuno di noi a seguirlo per avere in eredità la vita eterna.
Lasciamoci attrarre da questi esempi luminosi, lasciamoci guidare dai loro
insegnamenti, perché la nostra esistenza sia un cantico di lode a Dio. Ci
ottengano questa grazia la Vergine Maria e l’intercessione dei sei nuovi Santi
che oggi con gioia veneriamo. Amen.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Sainte
Mary MacKillop photographie, 1890
Photograph
of Saint Mary MacKillop, 1890
Santa Maria della Croce
(Mary Helen MacKillop) Vergine, Fondatrice
Fitzroy, Australia, 15
gennaio 1842 - Sydney, Australia, 8 agosto 1909
Mary Helen Mackillop a 18
anni, nel 1860, è maestrina in una piccola città dell’Australia Merrdionale,
Penola: collabora col parroco padre Julian Tenison Woods e crea con lui le
prime due scuole cattoliche per l’istruzione gratuita. Trova presto un gruppo
di giovani pronte a farsi maestre senza paga, e con esse dà inizio insieme a
padre Woods al primo nucleo delle Suore di San Giuseppe del Sacro Cuore di
Gesù, dette brevemente Giuseppine. Nel 1868 il vescovo locale dà l’approvazione
diocesana al nuovo Istituto, di cui padre Woods ha scritto la Regola. E lei,
suor Maria della Croce, è la Regola, quotidiana e viva; da lei tutte imparano
non solo a istruire i bambini, ma ad aiutare le loro famiglie, a essere
“famiglia” per i detenuti di cui nessuno si occupa. E quando si tratta di
placare un condannato a morte, che vive nell’odio le sue ultime ore
terrorizzando tutti, è suor Maria Elena che entra da sola in quella cella, sta
col morituro, gli parla, e soprattutto lo ascolta come forse nessuno ha mai
fatto. E il disperato, così, impara a sorridere anche alla morte. Il numero
delle suore aumenta, i compiti pure. E anche le calunnie, le accuse pressappoco
di ribellismo e sovversione, perché lei non vuole saperne di regolari contributi
e sovvenzioni delle autorità. Tante ne dicono di lei, che nel 1871 il vescovo
di Adelaide la scomunica, cacciando le Giuseppine dalla città. Chiariti poi i
fatti, la scomunica sarà ritirata con scuse; intanto lei nel 1873 arriva a
Roma, il papa Pio IX la accoglie e la incoraggia, e si avvia regolarmente la
pratica per il riconoscimento canonico del suo Istituto, di cui sarà Madre
generale fino alla morte. Beatificata il 19 gennaio 1995, è stata canonizzata
il 17 ottobre 2010, diventando la prima santa australiana. I suoi resti mortali
sono venerati nella cappella a lei dedicata, annessa alla Casa generalizia
delle sue religiose, a Sydney.
Martirologio
Romano: A Sydney in Australia, beata Maria della Croce (Maria Elena)
MacKillop, vergine, che fondò la Congregazione delle Suore di San Giuseppe e
del Sacro Cuore e la governò tra molteplici difficoltà e oltraggi.
Famiglia e adolescenza
Mary HelenMacKillop nacque a Fitzroy, sobborgo di Melbourne inAustralia, il 15 gennaio 1842. Era la prima degli otto figli di Alexander MacKillop e Flora McDonald, immigrati scozzesi. Ricevette la sua prima istruzione dal padre, che aveva studiato a Roma in vista del sacerdozio, ma era tornato in Scozia per motivi di salute.
Appena adolescente, per aiutare la sua modesta famiglia, Mary dovette
cominciare a lavorare come commessa. Svolse il suo compito seriamente e con una
maturità superiore all’età anagrafica, ma già da allorasentì la chiamata alla
vita religiosa.
A Penola, incontro con padre Julian Tenison-Woods
A 18 anni, nel 1860, si trasferì a Penola, una piccola città nell’odierno Stato dell’Australia Meridionale, per fare da governante ai figli di due zii, Margaret e Alexander Cameron. Non si limitò a educare solo i cugini, ma anche i bambini poveri e abbandonati. In breve tempo entrò in contatto con padre Julian Tenison-Woods, a Penola da quattro anni come parroco, che diventò il suo padre spirituale.
Il sacerdote era particolarmente attento alla questione educativa nelle zone di campagna dell’Australia, all’epoca colonia dell’Impero Britannico. Chiese quindi a Mary, che intanto aveva trovato lavoro come insegnante a Portland, di venire a Penola con le sue sorelle Annie e Alexandrina, detta Lexie, in vista dell’apertura di una scuola cattolica.
Il fatto comportava un certo rischio, visto che il Governo coloniale dell’Australia Meridionale interruppe i finanziamenti pubblici alle scuole religiose nel 1851. Gli immigrati, specie irlandesi, scelsero in molti casi di non far frequentare la scuola ai loro figli.
Per la prima volta, a Mary veniva offerta la possibilità di donare la sua vita
a Dio: il 19 marzo 1866 assunse quindi un abito nero, segno della sua nuova
vita. La nuova scuola, intitolata a san Giuseppe, fu ricavata da una stalla in
disuso e restaurata da John, uno dei loro fratelli.
Nascita delle Suore di San Giuseppe del Sacro Cuore
Il 21 novembre dello stesso anno, Mary e Lexie vestirono l’abito di postulanti nell’ordine religioso a lungo sognato da padre Tenison-Woods, le Suore di San Giuseppe del Sacro Cuore; alla fine del 1867 vennero raggiunte da altre dieci compagne. La loro Regola venne scritta dallo stesso sacerdote e ottenne l’approvazione canonica del vescovo locale nel 1868.
L’anno precedente, nel 1867, era stata aperta una seconda scuola ad Adelaide,
seguita da altre ancora in breve tempo. Nello stesso periodo anche le suore
aumentavano di numero e l’attività si allargò così non solo alle scuole ma
anche all’assistenza degli orfani, dei poveri, degli anziani. Il 15 agosto
1867, Mary pronunciò i voti perpetui e assunse il nome di suor Maria della
Croce.
I primi contrasti
Non tardarono a presentarsi alcune difficoltà, a cominciare dai contrasti tra
padre Tenison-Woods, diventato responsabile di tutte le scuole cattoliche
dell’Australia del Sud, e altri confratelli. Inoltre, lo stile delle suore non
era ben visto da parecchi: andavano per strada a elemosinare e si dedicavano ai
bambini più poveri, non alle ragazze delle classi più elevate, come altri
istituti religiosi. A questi fatti si estesero dicerie indirizzate alla stessa
suor Maria, la quale doveva assumere di tanto in tanto modiche quantità di
brandy: tanto bastò perché venisse accusata di alcolismo.
La scomunica
Il vescovo di Adelaide, monsignor Laurence Sheil, impose una commissione di verifica dell’operato delle suore, che andò a toccare le Costituzioni dell’Istituto. La fondatrice scrisse al vescovo per manifestargli le sue preoccupazioni: gli eventi che seguirono portarono alla sua scomunica, avvenuta il 22 settembre 1871.
Suor Maria della Croce visse quel periodo doloroso con estremo riserbo,
rifiutandosi di appoggiare le campagne contro monsignor Shell, mentre le scuole
delle suore venivano smantellate. Il 21 febbraio 1872, nove giorni prima di
morire, monsignor Sheil ritirò il suo provvedimento e le suore Giuseppine,
com’erano popolarmente chiamate, tornarono a rifiorire.
L’approvazione pontificia della congregazione
Nel 1873 madre Maria della Croce si recò a Roma per chiedere l’approvazione ufficiale. Dietro i suggerimenti ricevuti dalle autorità vaticane, rielaborò la Regola originaria compilata da padre Tenison-Woods, il quale per questo si dissociò dalla congregazione.
Due anni dopo, il 19 marzo 1875, venne eletta prima Superiora generale. Affrontò dure lotte e sacrifici, sempre in piena obbedienza alle autorità ecclesiastiche. Percorse a cavallo o in diligenza le immense distanze del continente australiano per visitare, sostenere, aiutare le sue suore dovunque si trovassero.
L’approvazione pontificia giunse il 15 luglio 1888 a opera di papa Leone XIII:
la casa generalizia venne fissata a Sydney, per placare i contrasti insorti col
vescovo di Brisbane. Madre Maria accettò di essere dimessa dal governo, ma
soffrì molto per la morte della madre, avvenuta durante un naufragio, e per
quella di padre Julian Tenison-Woods, col quale aveva tentato di riallacciare i
rapporti. Venne poi rieletta Superiora generale nel 1898.
Ultima malattia e morte
Nel 1901, mentre si trovava in Nuova Zelanda, dove si era recata altre volte, madre Maria ebbe il primo ictus che la costrinse in sedia a rotelle, pur restando indomita nello spirito e in pieno possesso delle sue facoltà mentali. Fu rieletta una terza volta, ma dovette essere coadiuvata da un’altra consorella per le funzioni amministrative.
Morì l’8 agosto 1909 nel convento di Mount Street a Sydney. I suoi
funerali, celebrati l’11 agosto, ebbero una partecipazione popolare senza
precedenti, anche di protestanti ed ebrei che avevano sostenuto economicamente
le scuole delle suore. Molti fedeli, poi, cercavano di accostare al suo
cadavere i loro rosari o altri oggetti di devozione, mentre altri portarono via
il terriccio della sua fossa.
La glorificazione di madre Maria della Croce
Erano prove di una fama di santità che la Chiesa ha indagato con un lungo processo canonico, iniziato, interrotto, ripreso e portato a conclusione con la promulgazione del decreto sulle virtù eroiche, il 13 giugno 1992. Dopo il riconoscimento di un primo miracolo, col decreto promulgato il 6 luglio 1993, il Papa san Giovanni Paolo II l’ha beatificata il 19 gennaio 1995 a Sydney, durante il suo viaggio apostolico in Oceania.
Nel 2008 la Beata Maria della Croce è stata annoverata tra i patroni della Giornata Mondiale della Gioventù di Sydney, mentre i pellegrinaggi al suo sepolcro, nella cappella a lei dedicata presso la Casa generalizia delle Suore di San Giuseppe del Sacro Cuore, non hanno riscontrato flessioni.
Il secondo miracolo accertato riguarda la guarigione di una madre di famiglia,
Kathleen Evans, da un cancro ai polmoni ed è stato riconosciuto il 19 dicembre
2009. La canonizzazione si è svolta in piazza San Pietro a Roma, durante
l’Eucaristia presieduta da papa Benedetto XVI, il 17 ottobre 2010.
Le Suore di San Giuseppe del Sacro Cuore oggi
Attualmente le Suore di San Giuseppe del Sacro Cuore di Gesù sono circa 800 e
prestano servizio in Australia, Nuova Zelanda, Irlanda, Perù, Timor Est, Scozia
e Brasile, proseguendo la missione della loro Santa fondatrice e del loro
fondatore.
Autore: Emilia
Flocchini
Roma, Pilgrim station per la canonizzazione di Mary MacKillop (17 ottobre 2010) al giardino del Quirinale
Uno dei suoi motti è:
“Mai vedere un bisogno senza fare qualcosa”. È la prima australiana ad essere
proclamata santa. Figlia di emigranti scozzesi, Alexander e Flora McDonald,
Mary Helen MacKillop nasce a Fitzroy (Melbourne, Australia) nel 1842, maggiore
di otto figli. Viso attraente e occhi penetranti, fin da ragazzina desidera
diventare suora, nonostante abbia un temperamento audace, tanto che ama
cavalcare cavalli selvaggi. Ma deve lavorare come commessa per aiutare la sua
modesta famiglia.
A 18 anni è insegnante a Penola (Australia meridionale) dove incontra il
sacerdote Julian Tenison Woods. Nel 1867 diventa suora con il nome di Maria
della Croce e insieme a Woods fonda il primo ordine religioso dell’Australia,
la Congregazione delle Suore di San Giuseppe del Sacro Cuore di Gesù
(Giuseppine), con la missione di aprire scuole per bambini poveri e orfani. La
prima scuola è una vecchia stalla.
È talmente integerrima, da sentirsi in dovere di denunciare le malefatte di un sacerdote. Anche per questo motivo, nel 1871, subisce la scomunica dal Vescovo di Adelaide, intenzionato a mettere a tacere tutto, scomunica che viene poi ritirata. Maria della Croce non si lascia demoralizzare né dalle calunnie né dalle ristrettezze: coraggiosa e perseverante, affronta viaggi estenuanti per terra e per mare, senza comodità. Attraversa a cavallo o in diligenza immense distese. Sempre gentile e compassionevole, diffonde il Vangelo tra i diseredati nelle baraccopoli e insegna a leggere e a scrivere ai bambini poveri. La santa si affida alla Divina Provvidenza, sicura che non la abbandonerà mai. Accetta con umiltà ogni vessazione, perdona sempre e dalle sue labbra escono solo parole buone nei confronti di chi la perseguita.
Le Giuseppine di MacKillop si diffondono in Australia, Nuova Zelanda e Perù. L’opera sociale si occupa di scuole, orfanotrofi, ospizi per anziani abbandonati, rifugi per donne e si svolge a favore dei diseredati gratuitamente, tanto è vero che le Giuseppine vivono in estrema povertà, ma riescono a raccogliere fondi grazie alla loro onestà. Maria della Croce trascorre gli ultimi anni che le restano su una sedia a rotelle, sofferente di cefalee e storpiata dai reumatismi, ma la mente rimane lucida e fervida la fede. Muore a Sidney nel 1909 dove il suo corpo riposa, presso la chiesa della Casa Madre. Viene proclamata santa da papa Benedetto XVI il 17 ottobre 2010. Oggi le Giuseppine prestano la loro opera anche in Irlanda, Scozia, Brasile e Timor Est.
Autore: Mariella Lentini
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/Detailed/65475.html
PREDIGT VON PAPST
BENEDIKT XVI.
Liebe Brüder und
Schwestern!
Heute feiern wir auf dem
Petersplatz wieder ein Fest der Heiligkeit. Voll Freude heiße ich euch herzlich
willkommen, die ihr auch von weit her gekommen sein, um daran teilzunehmen. Ein
besonderer Gruß geht an die Kardinäle, die Bischöfe und die Generaloberen der
von den neuen Heiligen gegründeten Ordensinstitute wie auch an die offiziellen
Abordnungen und an alle zivilen Obrigkeiten. Gemeinsam versuchen wir, das
aufzunehmen, was uns der Herr in den soeben verkündeten Stellen aus der
Heiligen Schrift sagt. Die Liturgie des heutigen Sonntags bietet uns eine
grundlegende Lehre: die Notwendigkeit des steten und unermüdlichen Gebets.
Bisweilen werden wir müde, zu beten, wir haben den Eindruck, daß das Gebet
keinen großen Nutzen bringt für das Leben, daß es wenig wirksam ist. Daher sind
wir versucht, uns in Aktivitäten zu stürzen, alle menschlichen Mittel
einzusetzen, um unsere Ziele zu erreichen, und wir wenden uns nicht mehr an
Gott. Jesus dagegen sagt, daß man immer beten muß, und er tut dies mit einem
charakteristischen Gleichnis (vgl. Lk 18,1–8).
In ihm ist die Rede von
einem Richter, der Gott nicht fürchtet und auf keinen Menschen Rücksicht nimmt,
ein Richter, der keine positive Einstellung hat, sondern allein seinen eigenen
Vorteil sucht. Er fürchtet das Urteil Gottes nicht und hat keine Achtung vor
dem Nächsten. Die andere Gestalt ist eine Witwe, ein Mensch, der sich in einer
schwachen Position befindet. In der Bibel sind die Witwe und der Waise die
bedürftigsten Kategorien, da sie wehr- und mittellos sind. Die Witwe geht zum
Richter und fordert Gerechtigkeit. Es ist fast unmöglich, daß sie Gehör findet,
da der Richter sie verachtet und sie auf ihn keinen Druck ausüben kann. Sie
kann sich nicht einmal auf religiöse Prinzipien berufen, da der Richter Gott
nicht fürchtet. Deshalb scheint es dieser Witwe an allen Möglichkeiten zu
mangeln. Doch sie läßt ihn nicht in Ruhe, unermüdlich stellt sie ihre
Forderungen, sie ist aufdringlich, und so gelingt es ihr schließlich, beim
Richter das gewünschte Ergebnis zu erreichen. An diesem Punkt stellt Jesus eine
Überlegung an, indem er das »argumentum a fortiori« (»nach dem stärker
überzeugenden Grund«) benutzt: Wenn sich ein unehrlicher Richter letztlich vom
Bitten einer Witwe überzeugen läßt – um wie viel mehr wird Gott, der gut ist,
den erhören, der zu ihm betet. Gott nämlich ist die Großherzigkeit in Person,
er ist barmherzig, und so ist er immer bereit, die Bitten zu erhören. Daher
dürfen wir nie verzweifeln, sondern müssen immer beharrlich im Gebet sein.
Der Schluß des Abschnittes
aus dem Evangelium spricht vom Glauben: »Wird jedoch der Menschensohn, wenn er
kommt, auf der Erde (noch) Glauben vorfinden?« (Lk 18,8). Das ist eine
Frage, die einen größeren Glauben in uns erwecken will. Denn es ist
offensichtlich, daß das Gebet Ausdruck des Glaubens sein muß, andernfalls ist
es kein wahres Gebet. Wenn einer nicht an die Güte Gottes glaubt, so kann er
nicht auf angemessene Weise beten. Der Glaube ist als Grundlage des Betens von
wesentlicher Bedeutung. Dies ist es, was die sechs neuen Heiligen getan haben,
die heute der Verehrung der universalen Kirche vorgestellt werden: Stanisław
Sołtys, André Bessette, Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola, Mary of the
Cross MacKillop, Giulia Salzano und Battista Camilla da Varano.
Der hl. Stanisław
Kazimierczyk Sołtys, ein Ordensmann aus dem 15. Jahrhundert, kann auch für uns
Beispiel und Fürsprecher sein. Sein ganzes Leben war der Eucharistie verbunden.
Vor allem in der Kirche »Corpus Domini« von Kazimierz, im heutigen Krakau, wo
er an der Seite der Mutter und des Vaters den Glauben und die Frömmigkeit
lernte; wo er seine Ordensgelübde bei den Regularkanonikern ablegte; wo er als
Priester und Erzieher in aufmerksamer Sorge um die Bedürftigen arbeitete.
Besonders aber war er der Eucharistie durch die brennende Liebe zu dem unter
den Gestalten von Brot und Wein gegenwärtigen Christus verbunden; er lebte so
das Geheimnis des Todes und der Auferstehung, das sich auf unblutige Weise in
der heiligen Messe vollzieht; durch die Praxis der Nächstenliebe, deren Quelle
und Zeichen die Kommunion ist.
Der aus Québec in Kanada
stammende Br. André Bessette, ein Ordensmann aus der Kongregation vom Heiligen
Kreuz, machte sehr bald die Erfahrung von Leid und Armut. Sie führten ihn dazu,
sich durch das Gebet und ein intensives inneres Leben Gott zuzuwenden. Als
Pförtner des »Collège Notre Dame« in Montréal legte er eine grenzenlose
Nächstenliebe an den Tag und versuchte, die Nöte jener zu lindern, die kamen,
um sich ihm anzuvertrauen. Trotz seiner geringen Bildung erkannte er, wo das
Wesentliche seines Glaubens lag. Glauben bedeutete für ihn, sich frei und aus
Liebe dem göttlichen Willen zu unterwerfen. Ganz vom Geheimnis Jesu eingenommen
hat er die Glückseligkeit des reinen Herzens erlebt, die Glückseligkeit der
persönlichen Ehrlichkeit. Dank dieser Einfachheit wurde es vielen ermöglicht,
Gott zu sehen. Er ließ das Oratorium »Saint Joseph du Mont Royal« errichten, wo
er als treuer Guardian bis zu seinem Tod im Jahr 1937 lebte. Er war Zeuge
zahlreicher Heilungen und Bekehrungen. »Versucht nicht, den Prüfungen aus dem
Weg zu gehen«, sagte er, »bittet vielmehr um die Gnade, sie gut zu ertragen.«
Für ihn sprach alles von Gott und seiner Gegenwart. Mögen wir seinem Beispiel
folgend Gott mit Einfachheit suchen und erkennen, daß er mitten in unserem
Leben stets gegenwärtig ist! Das Beispiel von Br. André möge das christliche
Leben Kanadas inspirieren!
Wird der Menschensohn,
wenn er kommt, um den Erwählten Gerechtigkeit zu bringen, auf der Erde Glauben
vorfinden? (vgl. Lk 18,18). Heute können wir mit Erleichterung und in
aller Deutlichkeit sagen: Ja, wenn wir auf Gestalten wie Mutter Cándida María
de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola blicken. Jene Frau einfacher Herkunft mit einem
Herzen, in das Gott sein Siegel eingeprägt hatte und das sie sehr bald unter
der Anleitung der Jesuiten, die ihre geistlichen Begleiter waren, zum festen
Entschluß führte, »nur für Gott« zu leben. Eine Entscheidung, die sie treu
eingehalten hat, wie sie selbst in Erinnerung ruft, als sie im Sterben lag. Sie
lebte für Gott und das, was er am meisten fordert: zu allen zu kommen, allen
die unerschütterliche Hoffnung zu bringen, vor allem jenen, die ihrer am
meisten bedürfen. »Wo kein Platz für die Armen ist, da ist auch keiner für
mich«, sagte die neue Heilige, die mit geringen Mitteln andere Schwestern dazu
führte, Christus zu folgen und sich der Erziehung und der Förderung der Frau zu
widmen. So entstanden die »Töchter Jesu« (Hijas de Jesus), die heute in ihrer
Gründerin ein sehr hohes Vorbild des Lebens, das es nachzuahmen gilt, und eine
leidenschaftliche Sendung haben, die in zahlreichen Ländern fortzusetzen ist,
in die sie der Geist und die Anliegen des Apostolats von Mutter Cándida geführt
haben.
»Erinnere dich, wer deine
Lehrer waren – von ihnen kannst du die Weisheit lernen, die zur Erlösung durch
den Glauben an Jesus Christus führt.« Über viele Jahre hinweg sind zahllose
junge Menschen in ganz Australien mit Lehrern gesegnet worden, die durch das
mutige und heiligmäßige Beispiel an Eifer, Ausdauer und Gebet von Schwester
Mary MacKillop inspiriert worden sind. Sie widmete sich als junge Frau auf dem
schwierigen und anspruchsvollen Gebiet des ländlichen Australiens der Erziehung
der Armen und veranlaßte andere Frauen dazu, sich ihr in der ersten Frauenkongregation
des Landes anzuschließen. Sie war offen für die Nöte der jungen Menschen, die
ihr Vertrauen in sie setzten, ohne Ansehen von sozialem Stand und Vermögen, und
sorgte sich um die intellektuelle wie auch um die spirituelle Bildung. Trotz
vieler Herausforderungen schenkten ihre Gebete zum hl. Josef und ihre
unermüdliche Verehrung des Heiligsten Herzens Jesu, dem sie ihre neue
Kongregation widmete, dieser heiligen Frau die notwendigen Gnaden, um Gott und
der Kirche treu zu bleiben. Durch ihre Fürsprache mögen ihre Nachfolger heute
weiterhin Gott und der Kirche mit Glauben und Demut dienen!
In der zweiten Hälfte des
19. Jahrhunderts berief der Herr in Kampanien, Süditalien, eine junge
Grundschullehrerin, Giulia Salzano, und machte sie zu einer Apostelin der
christlichen Erziehung, Gründerin der Kongregation der »Herz-Jesu Schwestern
für die Katechese« (Congregatio Sororum Doctrinae Christianae Institutricum a
SS. Corde Iesu). Mutter Giulia verstand gut die große Bedeutung der Katechese
in der Kirche; sie vereinte die pädagogische Erfahrung mit dem geistlichen
Eifer, widmete sich ihr voll Großherzigkeit und Intelligenz und trug so zur
Ausbildung von Menschen jeden Alters und jeder sozialen Schicht bei. Ihren
Mitschwestern sagte sie oft, daß sie bis zur letzten Stunde ihres Lebens
Katechismusunterricht halten wolle, womit sie mit ihrem ganzen Sein zeigte, daß
– »weil Gott uns geschaffen hat, um ihn in diesem Leben zu kennen, zu lieben
und ihm zu dienen« – nichts dieser Aufgabe vorangestellt werden durfte. Das
Beispiel und die Fürsprache der hl. Giulia Salzano mögen die Kirche in ihrer
immerwährenden Aufgabe stützen, Christus zu verkündigen und echtes christliches
Bewußtsein zu bilden.
Die hl. Battista Camilla
Varano, eine Klarissin aus dem 15. Jahrhundert, bezeugte zutiefst den im
Evangelium gründenden Sinn des Lebens, und sie tat dies insbesondere durch ihr
beharrliches Gebet. Im Alter von 23 Jahren trat sie in das Kloster von Urbino
ein und reihte sich als Protagonistin in jene breite Reformbewegung der
weiblichen franziskanischen Spiritualität ein, die das Charisma der hl. Klara
von Assisi in Fülle neu zu beleben suchte. Sie förderte neue Klostergründungen
in Camerino, wo sie mehrmals zur Äbtissin gewählt wurde, sowie in Fermo und San
Severino. Das Leben der hl. Battista, das völlig in die Tiefen Gottes
eingetaucht war, war ein ständiger Aufstieg im Leben der Vollkommenheit, mit
einer heldenhaften Liebe zu Gott und zum Nächsten. Sie war von großen Leiden
und mystischen Tröstungen gezeichnet; sie hatte nämlich beschlossen, wie sie
selbst schreibt, »in das Heiligste Herz Jesu einzutreten und im Ozean seiner
bittersten Leiden zu ertrinken«. In einer Zeit, in der die Kirche von einem
Verfall der Sitten gezeichnet war, schlug sie entschlossen den Weg der Buße und
des Gebets ein, beseelt von dem glühenden Wunsch nach der Erneuerung des
mystischen Leibes Christi.
Liebe Brüder und
Schwestern, danken wir dem Herrn für das Geschenk der Heiligkeit, das in der
Kirche aufleuchtet und heute durch das Antlitz dieser unserer Brüder und
Schwestern scheint. Jesus lädt auch einen jeden von uns ein, ihm nachzufolgen,
um Erben des ewigen Lebens zu werden. Lassen wir uns von diesen leuchtenden
Beispielen anziehen, lassen wir uns von ihren Lehren leiten, damit unser Dasein
ein Loblied auf Gott sei. Diese Gnade mögen uns die Jungfrau Maria und die
Fürsprache der sechs neuen Heiligen erwirken, die wir heute voll Freude
verehren. Amen.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dikasterium
für Kommunikation
Jubilee 150 Walkway Plaque commemorating Mary MacKillop
HOMILÍA DEL SANTO PADRE
BENEDICTO XVI
Queridos hermanos y
hermanas:
Se renueva hoy en la
plaza de San Pedro la fiesta de la santidad. Con alegría os doy mi cordial bienvenida
a vosotros, que habéis llegado, incluso de muy lejos, para participar en ella.
Un saludo particular a los cardenales, a los obispos y a los superiores
generales de los institutos fundados por los nuevos santos, así como a las
delegaciones oficiales y a todas las autoridades civiles. Juntos procuremos
acoger lo que el Señor nos dice en las Sagradas Escrituras que se acaban de
proclamar. La liturgia de este domingo nos ofrece una enseñanza fundamental: la
necesidad de orar siempre, sin cansarse. A veces nos cansamos de orar, tenemos
la impresión de que la oración no es tan útil para la vida, que es poco eficaz.
Por ello, tenemos la tentación de dedicarnos a la actividad, a emplear todos
los medios humanos para alcanzar nuestros objetivos, y no recurrimos a Dios.
Jesús, en cambio, afirma que hay que orar siempre, y lo hace mediante una
parábola específica (cf. Lc 18, 1-8).
En ella se habla de un
juez que no teme a Dios y no siente respeto por nadie, un juez que no tiene una
actitud positiva, sino que sólo busca su interés. No tiene temor del juicio de
Dios ni respeto por el prójimo. El otro personaje es una viuda, una persona en
una situación de debilidad. En la Biblia la viuda y el huérfano son las
categorías más necesitadas, porque están indefensas y sin medios. La viuda va
al juez y le pide justicia. Sus posibilidades de ser escuchada son casi nulas,
porque el juez la desprecia y ella no puede hacer ninguna presión sobre él.
Tampoco puede apelar a principios religiosos, porque el juez no teme a Dios.
Por lo tanto, al parecer esta viuda no tiene ninguna posibilidad. Pero ella
insiste, pide sin cansarse, es importuna; así, al final logra obtener del juez
el resultado. Aquí Jesús hace una reflexión, usando el argumento a
fortiori: si un juez injusto al final se deja convencer por el ruego de una
viuda, mucho más Dios, que es bueno, escuchará a quien le ruega. En efecto,
Dios es la generosidad en persona, es misericordioso y, por consiguiente,
siempre está dispuesto a escuchar las oraciones. Por tanto, nunca debemos
desesperar, sino insistir siempre en la oración.
La conclusión del pasaje
evangélico habla de la fe: «Pero cuando el Hijo del hombre venga, ¿encontrará
la fe sobre la tierra?» (Lc 18, 8). Es una pregunta que quiere suscitar un
aumento de fe por nuestra parte. De hecho, es evidente que la oración debe ser
expresión de fe; de otro modo no es verdadera oración. Si uno no cree en la
bondad de Dios, no puede orar de modo verdaderamente adecuado. La fe es
esencial como base de la actitud de la oración. Es lo que hicieron los seis
nuevos santos que hoy se presentan a la veneración de la Iglesia universal:
Estanislao Sołtys, Andrés Bessette, Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola,
María de la Cruz MacKillop, Julia Salzano y Bautista Camila de Varano.
San Estanislao
Kazimierczyk, religioso del siglo XV, puede ser también para nosotros ejemplo e
intercesor. Toda su vida estuvo vinculada a la Eucaristía. Ante todo en la
iglesia del Corpus Christi en Kazimierz, en la actual Cracovia,
donde, junto a su madre y a su padre, aprendió la fe y la piedad; donde emitió
los votos religiosos en la Orden de los Canónigos Regulares; donde trabajó como
sacerdote, educador, dedicado al cuidado de los necesitados. Sin embargo,
estaba vinculado de forma especial a la Eucaristía mediante un amor ardiente a
Cristo presente bajo las especies del pan y del vino; viviendo el misterio de
la muerte y de la resurrección, que se realiza de modo incruento en la santa
misa; a través de la práctica del amor al prójimo, del cual la Comunión es
fuente y signo.
El hermano Andrés
Bessette, originario de Quebec, Canadá, y religioso de la Congregación de la
Santa Cruz, conoció muy pronto el sufrimiento y la pobreza, que lo llevaron a
recurrir a Dios mediante la oración y una vida interior intensa. Portero del
colegio de Nuestra Señora de Montreal, manifestó una caridad sin límites y se
esforzó por aliviar las miserias de quienes se dirigían a él. Aunque estaba muy
poco instruido, comprendió dónde se hallaba lo esencial de su fe. Para él,
creer significaba someterse libremente y por amor a la voluntad divina. Lleno
del misterio de Jesús, vivió la bienaventuranza de los corazones puros, la de
la rectitud personal. Gracias a esta sencillez hizo que muchos vieran a Dios.
Hizo construir el Oratorio San José de Mont Royal, del que fue guardián fiel
hasta su muerte en 1937. Fue testigo de innumerables curaciones y conversiones.
«No intentéis evitar las pruebas —decía—, más bien pedid la gracia de
soportarlas». Para él, todo hablaba de Dios y de su presencia. Como él,
busquemos también nosotros a Dios con sencillez para descubrirlo siempre
presente en el corazón de nuestra vida. Que el ejemplo del hermano Andrés
inspire la vida cristiana canadiense.
Cuando el Hijo del hombre
venga para hacer justicia a los elegidos, ¿encontrará esta fe en la tierra?
(cf. Lc 18, 18). Hoy podemos decir que sí, con alivio y firmeza, al
contemplar figuras como la madre Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola.
Aquella muchacha de origen sencillo, con un corazón en el que Dios puso su
sello y que la llevaría muy pronto, con la guía de sus directores espirituales
jesuitas, a tomar la firme resolución de vivir «sólo para Dios». Decisión
mantenida fielmente, como ella misma recuerda cuando estaba a punto de morir.
Vivió para Dios y para lo que él más quiere: llegar a todos, llevarles a todos
la esperanza que no vacila, y especialmente a quienes más lo necesitan. «Donde
no hay lugar para los pobres, tampoco lo hay para mí», decía la nueva santa,
que con escasos medios contagió a otras hermanas para seguir a Jesús y
dedicarse a la educación y promoción de la mujer. Nacieron así las Hijas de
Jesús, que hoy tienen en su fundadora un modelo de vida muy alto que imitar, y
una misión apasionante que proseguir en los numerosos países donde ha llegado
el espíritu y los anhelos de apostolado de la madre Cándida.
«Recordad quiénes fueron
vuestros maestros: de ellos podéis aprender la sabiduría que lleva a la
salvación por la fe en Jesucristo». Durante muchos años, innumerables jóvenes,
a lo largo y ancho de Australia, han sido bendecidos con profesores que se han
inspirado en el ejemplo santo y valiente de celo, perseverancia y oración de la
madre Mary MacKillop. Ella en su juventud se dedicó a la educación de los
pobres en la difícil y exigente zona rural de Australia, impulsando a otras
mujeres a unirse a ella en la primera comunidad de religiosas de ese país. Atendió
las necesidades de cada uno de los jóvenes que se confiaron a ella, sin reparar
en su posición social o su riqueza, proporcionándoles tanto una formación
espiritual como intelectual. A pesar de los muchos desafíos, sus oraciones a
san José y su incansable devoción al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, a quien dedicó
su nueva congregación, confirieron a esta santa mujer las gracias necesarias
para permanecer fiel a Dios y a la Iglesia. Que por su intercesión sus
seguidores sigan sirviendo hoy a Dios y a la Iglesia con fe y humildad.
En la segunda mitad del
siglo XIX, en Campania, en el sur de Italia, el Señor llamó a una joven maestra
de la escuela primaria, Julia Salzano, y la convirtió en apóstol de la
educación cristiana, fundadora de la congregación de las Hermanas Catequistas
del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús. La madre Julia comprendió bien la importancia de
la catequesis en la Iglesia y, uniendo la preparación pedagógica al fervor
espiritual, se dedicó a ella con generosidad e inteligencia, contribuyendo a la
formación de personas de toda edad y posición social. Repetía a sus hermanas
que deseaba impartir catecismo hasta la última hora de su vida, demostrando con
todo su ser que si «Dios nos ha creado para conocerlo, amarlo y servirlo en
esta vida», no se debía anteponer nada a esta tarea. Que el ejemplo y la
intercesión de santa Julia Salzano sostengan a la Iglesia en su perenne tarea
de anunciar a Cristo y formar auténticas conciencias cristianas.
Santa Bautista Camila de
Varano, monja clarisa del siglo XV, testimonió con todas sus fuerzas el sentido
evangélico de la vida, especialmente perseverando en la oración. Entró a los 23
años en el monasterio de Urbino y se integró como protagonista de aquel vasto
movimiento de reforma de la espiritualidad femenina franciscana que se proponía
recuperar plenamente el carisma de santa Clara de Asís. Promovió nuevas
fundaciones monásticas en Camerino, donde fue elegida abadesa en varias
ocasiones, en Fermo y en San Severino. La vida de santa Bautista, totalmente
inmersa en las profundidades divinas, fue una ascensión constante por el camino
de la perfección, con un amor heroico a Dios y al prójimo. Estuvo marcada por
grandes sufrimientos y místicos consuelos; en efecto, como ella misma escribe,
había decidido «entrar en el Sagrado Corazón de Jesús y ahogarse en el océano
de sus dolorosísimos sufrimientos». En un tiempo en el que la Iglesia sufría un
relajamiento de las costumbres, ella recorrió con decisión el camino de la
penitencia y de la oración, animada por el ardiente deseo de renovación del
Cuerpo místico de Cristo.
Queridos hermanos y
hermanas, demos gracias al Señor por el don de la santidad, que resplandece en
la Iglesia y hoy se refleja en el rostro de estos hermanos y hermanas nuestros.
Jesús nos invita también a cada uno de nosotros a seguirlo para tener en
herencia la vida eterna.
Dejémonos atraer por
estos ejemplos luminosos, dejémonos guiar por sus enseñanzas, para que nuestra
existencia sea un cántico de alabanza a Dios. Que nos obtengan esta gracia la
Virgen María y la intercesión de los seis nuevos santos, a los que hoy con
alegría veneramos. Amén.
Copyright © Dicasterio
para la Comunicación
HOMILIA DO PAPA BENTO XVI
Prezados irmãos e irmãs!
Renova-se hoje na Praça
de São Pedro a festa da santidade. É com alegria que dirijo as cordiais
boas-vindas a vós que viestes, também de muito distante, para participar nela.
Dirijo uma saudação particular aos Cardeais, aos Bispos e aos Superiores-Gerais
dos Institutos fundados pelos novos Santos, assim como às Delegações oficiais e
a todas as Autoridades civis. Conjuntamente, procuremos acolher aquilo que o
Senhor nos diz nas Sagradas Escrituras, há pouco proclamadas. A liturgia deste
domingo oferece-nos um ensinamento fundamental: a necessidade de rezar sempre,
sem desanimar. Às vezes cansamo-nos de rezar, temos a impressão de que a oração
não é útil para a vida, que é pouco eficaz. Por isso, somos tentados a
dedicar-nos às actividades, a empregar todos os meios humanos para alcançar as
nossas finalidades, e deixamos de recorrer a Deus. Jesus, ao contrário, afirma
que é necessário rezar sempre, e fá-lo mediante uma parábola específica
(cf. Lc 18, 1-8).
Ela fala acerca de um
juiz que não tem medo de Deus e não tem consideração por ninguém, um juiz que
não tem uma atitude positiva, mas procura unicamente o próprio interesse. Não
teme o juízo de Deus e não tem respeito pelo próximo. A outra personagem é uma
viúva, uma pessoa que vive em situação de debilidade. Na Bíblia, a viúva e o
órfão são as categorias mais necessitadas, porque indefesas e desprovidas de
meios. A viúva vai ter com o juiz e pede-lhe justiça. As suas possibilidades de
ser ouvida são praticamente nulas, porque o juiz a despreza e ela não consegue
fazer qualquer pressão sobre ele. Nem sequer pode apelar-se a princípios
religiosos, uma vez que o juiz não teme a Deus. Por isso, esta viúva parece
desprovida de qualquer possibilidade. Mas ela insiste, pede sem se cansar, é inoportuna,
e assim finalmente consegue obter um resultado do juiz. Nesta altura, Jesus faz
uma reflexão, recorrendo a um argumento a fortiori: se um juiz desonesto,
no final, se deixa convencer pela oração de uma viúva, quanto mais Deus, que é
bom, atenderá quem a le recorre. Com efeito, Deus é a generosidade em Pessoa, é
misericordioso e portanto sempre disposto a acolher as orações. Por
conseguinte, nunca devemos desesperar, mas insistir sempre na oração.
A conclusão do trecho
evangélico fala da fé: «Quando o Filho do Homem vier, acaso encontrará a fé
sobre a terra?» (Lc 18, 8). Trata-se de uma interrogação que quer suscitar
um aumento de fé da nossa parte. Com efeito, é claro que a oração deve ser
expressão de fé, pois caso contrário não é verdadeira oração. Quem não crê na
bondade de Deus não pode rezar de modo verdadeiramente adequado. A fé é
essencial como base da atitude da oração. Foi aquilo que fizeram os seis novos
Santos, que hoje são propostos à veneração da Igreja universal: Stanisław
Sołtys, André Bessette, Cándida María de Jesús Cipitria y Barriola, Mary of the
Cross MacKillop, Giulia Salzano e Battista Camilla Varano.
São Stanisław
Kazimierczyk, religioso do século XV, pode ser também para nós exemplo e
intercessor. Toda a sua vida estava vinculada à Eucaristia. Em primeiro lugar
na igreja do Corpus Domini em Kazimierz, na hodierna Cracóvia onde,
ao lado da mãe e do pai, aprendeu a fé e a piedade; onde emitiu os votos
religiosos na Congregação dos Cónegos Regulares; e onde trabalhou como
sacerdote e educador atento ao cuidado dos necessitados. Porém, estava ligado
de maneira particular à Eucaristia, através do amor fervoroso por Cristo
presente sob as espécies do pão e do vinho; vivendo o mistério da morte e da
ressurreição, que se cumpre na Santa Missa de modo incruento; através da
prática do amor ao próximo, cuja fonte e sinal é a Comunhão.
O Irmão André Bessette,
originário do Québec, no Canadá, e religioso da Congregação da Santa Cruz,
conheceu muito cedo o sofrimento e a pobreza. Estes levaram-no a recorrer a
Deus mediante a oração e através de uma intensa vida interior. Porteiro do
Colégio de Notre Dame em Montréal, ele manifestou uma caridade incondicional e
esforçou-se por aliviar as angústias daqueles que o procuravam para se lhe
confiar. Muito pouco instruído, contudo compreendeu onde se encontrava o
essencial da sua fé. Para ele, crer significava submeter-se livremente e por
amor à vontade divina. Inteiramente impregnado pelo mistério de Jesus, ele
viveu a bem-aventurança dos corações puros, a da rectidão pessoal. Foi graças a
esta simplicidade que ele conseguiu fazer com que muitos vissem Deus. Mandou
construir o Oratório de Saint Joseph du Mont Royal, do qual permaneceu o
guardião fiel até à sua morte, ocorrida em 1937. Ali foi testemunha de inúmeras
curas e conversões. «Não procureis libertar-vos das provações», dizia ele, «mas
sobretudo pedi a graça de as suportar bem». Para ele, tudo falava de Deus e da
sua presença. Possamos nós, no seu seguimento, procurar Deus com simplicidade,
para O descobrir sempre presente no coração da nossa vida! Possa o exemplo do
Irmão André inspirar a vida cristã no Canadá!
Quando o Filho do Homem
vier para fazer justiça aos eleitos, encontrará porventura a fé sobre a terra?
(cf. Lc 18, 18). Hoje podemos dizer que sim, com alívio e
determinação, ao contemplar figuras como a Madre Cándida María de Jesús
Cipitria y Barriola. Aquela moça de origem simples, com um coração no qual Deus
depositou o seu selo e que depressa a levaria, com a guia dos seus directores
espirituais jesuítas, a tomar a firme decisão de viver «só para Deus». Decisão
que manteve fielmente, como ela mesma recorda quando estava prestes a morrer.
Viveu para Deus e para aquilo que Ele mais deseja: alcançar a todos, levar a
todos a esperança que não vacila, e de maneira especial àqueles que mais têm
necessidade. «Onde não existe lugar para os pobres, também não há lugar para
mim», dizia a nova Santa que, dispondo de meios escassos, contagiou outras
Irmãs a seguirem Jesus e a dedicarem-se à educação e à promoção da mulher.
Assim nasceram as Filhas de Jesus, que hoje encontram na sua Fundadora um
modelo de vida muito alto para imitar, e uma missão apaixonante para continuar
nos numerosos países aonde chegaram o espírito e os anseios de apostolado de
Madre Cándida.
«Recordai-vos quem foram
os vossos mestres, pois deles podeis aprender a sabedoria que conduz à salvação
através da fé em Jesus Cristo». Durante muitos anos, inúmeros jovens em toda a
Austrália foram abençoados com mestres que inspiraram no corajoso e santo
exemplo de zelo, perseverança e oração de Madre Mary McKillop. Quando era
jovem, ela dedicou-se à educação dos pobres, no difícil e exigente campo rural da
Austrália, inspirando outras mulheres a agregarem-se a ela na primeira
Comunidade religiosa feminina nesse país. Ela atendia às necessidades de cada
pessoa que lhe era confiada, sem ter em consideração as condições ou a riqueza,
oferecendo-lhe uma formação intelectual e espiritual. Apesar dos numerosos
desafios, as suas preces a São José e a sua devoção inabalável ao Sagrado
Coração de Jesus, a Quem dedicou a sua nova congregação, infundiram nesta santa
mulher as graças necessárias para permanecer fiel a Deus e à Igreja. Através da
sua intercessão, que hoje os seus seguidores possam continuar a servir a Deus e
a Igreja com fé e humildade!
Na segunda metade do
século XIX na Campânia, no sul da Itália, o Senhor chamou uma jovem professora
da escola primária, Giulia Salzano, e fez dela uma apóstola da educação cristã,
fundadora da Congregação das Irmãs Catequistas do Sagrado Coração de Jesus.
Madre Giulia compreendeu bem a importância da catequese na Igreja e, unindo a
preparação pedagógica ao fervor espiritual, a ela se dedicou com generosidade e
inteligência, contribuindo para a formação de pessoas de todas as idades e
condições sociais. Repetia às suas irmãs de hábito que desejava fazer catecismo
até à última hora da sua vida, demonstrando ela mesma que, se «Deus nos criou
para O conhecer, amar e servir nesta vida», nada se deveria antepor a esta
tarefa. O exemplo e a intercessão de Santa Giulia Salzano sustentem a Igreja na
sua perene missão de anunciar Cristo e de formar consciências cristãs
autênticas.
Santa Battista Camilla
Varano, monja clarissa do século XV, testemunhou até ao fundo o sentido
evangélico da vida, especialmente perseverando na oração. Tendo entrado no
mosteiro de Urbino com 23 anos, inseriu-se como protagonista naquele vasto
movimento de reforma da espiritualidade feminina franciscana, que tencionava
recuperar plenamente o carisma de Santa Clara de Assis. Promoveu novas
fundações monásticas em Camerino, onde foi várias vezes eleita abadessa em
Fermo e em São Severino. A vida de Santa Battista, totalmente mergulhada nas
profundidades divinas, foi uma ascensão constante no caminho da perfeição, com
um amor heróico a Deus e ao próximo. Foi assinalada por grandes sofrimentos e
consolações místicas; com efeito, como ela mesma escreve, tinha decidido
«entrar no Sacratíssimo Coração de Jesus e afogar no oceano dos seus
sofrimentos dolorosíssimos». Num período em que a Igreja padecia um relaxamento
dos costumes, ela percorreu com determinação o caminho da penitência e da
oração, animada pelo desejo ardente de renovação do Corpo místico de Cristo.
Caros irmãos e irmãs,
demos graças ao Senhor pela dádiva da santidade, que resplandece na Igreja e
hoje transparece no rosto destes nossos irmãos e irmãs. Jesus convida também
cada um de nós a segui-lo para ter como herança a vida eterna. Deixemo-nos
atrair por estes exemplos luminosos, deixemo-nos orientar pelos seus
ensinamentos, a fim de que a nossa existência seja um cântico de louvor a Deus.
Que nos obtenham esta graça a Virgem Maria e a intercessão dos seis novos
Santos que hoje, com alegria, veneramos! Amém.
© Copyright 2010 -
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastério
para a Comunicação
The Mary MacKillop rose, flowering in winter.
Voir aussi : https://web.archive.org/web/20110217162032/http://www.marymackillop.org.au/timeline/timeline.cfm?loadref=1
https://web.archive.org/web/20111015030245/http://www.marymackillop.org.au/marys-story/challenge.cfm
