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ST MARY MacKILLOP, VIRGIN - 8 AUGUST

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST

Saints celebrated on the 8th of August

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST MARY MacKILLOP, VIRGIN

St Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne in 1842, the oldest of eight children of poor parents who were immigrants from Scotland. St Mary was asked as a teenager to help with the family finances so she began working as a governess in Penola, where she met Fr Julian Woods, the parish priest of a large part of South East and South Australia. St Mary’s dream of giving poor rural Catholic children a free education corresponded with that of Fr Woods. He encouraged her in her vocation and they wanted to set up a Congregation of Sisters who would do this work wherever there was a need.

SISTER MARY OF THE CROSS

In 1866 this became a reality and the work was begun in South Australia. In 1867 St Mary and the other sisters took their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, with St Mary taking the name of Sr Mary of the Cross. Many other young women joined in this work of educating poor Catholics in a society with no social welfare system. 

St Mary later travelled to Rome to meet with Pope Pius IX to arrange a centralised government for this new Order so that the sisters could travel further afield to undertake their good work. The Pope gave St Mary great encouragement. 

THE POPE GAVE ST MARY GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT

Throughout her life St Mary suffered from poor health, but used her illness to come closer to God. At the age of 60 St Mary suffered a stroke while visiting New Zealand. She carried on her work as Superior but the deterioration of her health was noticeable. Her attention to God’s will inspired her to write, ‘The will of God is to me a very dear book and I never tire of reading it.’ St Mary died peacefully on August 8, 1909.

"THE WILL OF GOD IS TO ME A VERY DEAR BOOK AND I NEVER TIRE OF READING IT"

Pope em. Benedict said in his homily at this Canonisation Mass that, 'For many years countless young people throughout Australia have been blessed with teachers who were inspired by the courageous and saintly example of prayer, zeal and perseverance of Mary MacKillop. She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia. She attended to the needs of each young person entrusted to her, without regard for station or wealth, providing both intellectual and spiritual formation.'



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