From the APRIM

Dear Families,

On Saturday, the Catholic Church especially here in Australia, celebrated the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. St Mary is Australia’s first saint. She was the eldest child in a large family and was expected to help support the family from a young age. Living in Penola, Mary saw the need for poor children to be educated, that money should not determine who learns to read, write and do arithmetic. She began her first school in a stable. This small school in Penola was just the beginning of a network of schools that reached right across Australia and New Zealand, and now in Ireland and Peru.
By 2010 there were 850 sisters working across the world in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Peru, East Timor, Scotland, and Brazil as well as supporting community projects in Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
Mary MacKillop was a prolific writer and we are blessed that so many of her letters have survived. Below are quotes from her writings. These were used by our staff as a quiet reflection time and you may like to do the same. Or listen to the song written for her canonisation.

Find happiness in making others happy.

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 come, I turn to Him and say: Only what you will, my God. Use me as You will.

God gives me strength for what is necessary.
Do all you can with the means at your disposal and calmly leave the rest to God.

Courage, courage, trust in God who helps you in all things. We feel our crosses hard at times, but our courage should rise with them.

Let God’s Spirit guide you in your choice.

God gives me strength for what is necessary.

Whatever troubles may be before you, accept them bravely, remembering Whom you are trying to follow. Do not be afraid. Love one another, bear with one another, and let charity guide you all your life. God will reward you as only He can.

Be calm and full of hope.

Be a gift of love and compassion to one another.

I do want with all my heart to be what God wants me to be.

We thank God for St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

Blessings,
Sharyn Black
Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission