Religious Education
The feast day of Mary of the Cross MacKillop is celebrated on 8 August.
Mary of the Cross MacKillop is one of our Patron Saints of Australia and our first Australian saint.
Mary’s passion to provide a catholic education for children to enable them to break the cycle of poverty in their lives saw her and the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart open many schools across Australia and New Zealand. In addition, they opened orphanages, homes to support unwed mothers, aged care, and support for prisoners. St Peter Chanel, which started as St Attracta's, was one of those schools.
On the day she became Sister Mary, she adopted the name, Sister Mary of the Cross. She claimed that her compassion was inspired by that which Jesus showed to the most vulnerable, during his ministry.
One of Mary’s most well known quotes is ‘To never see a need without doing something about it’. We are inspired by Mary’s example at St Peter Chanel. Every day, we are blessed to witness students helping each other, being inclusive and respectful, and caring for others in need.
To mark this feast day, the students will participate in a liturgy on Monday, at 11:30am. Anyone who would like to attend is most welcome to join us in the Josephite Centre.
Ever generous God,
You inspired Saint Mary MacKillop
To live her life faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and constant in bringing hope and encouragement
to those who were disheartened, lonely or needy.
With confidence in your generous providence
and through the intercession of Saint Mary MacKillop,
We ask that you grant our request to keep us safe.
We ask that our faith and hope be fired afresh by the Holy Spirit
so that we too, like Mary MacKillop,
may live with courage, trust, and openness.
Ever generous God, hear our prayer.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.
Amen
Kerrie Flynn