FEAST DAY OF ST MARY OF THE CROSS
Mary McKillop had a tough life, she was born into a large family where the children had to work hard to provide for the whole family, they were often well below the poverty line and there were negative issues of her time that still affect families today. Even though this was her circumstance the family believed in the value of education and Mary believed in the providence of God. Back in the mid 1800’s life in rural Victoria and South Australia would have been difficult, the people in these rural places were poor with no real access to education, especially Catholics and Aboriginals, and in many ways isolated from the thriving colonies during the gold rush days.
Mary moved into these areas and times, originally living and teaching on a property however quickly realising the needs of all the children living around her. Mary, with the guidance and support from Father Julian Tenison Woods set about changing the world that she was a part of. To Mary, all children were deserving of an education and so she set about creating schools in these areas that although staffed by Catholic nuns, were open and accessible to all children. Mary ran into trouble with these ideals within her own church and fought hard as senior clergy tried to shut her schools and order down. Mary eventually succeeded and her order, the Sisters of St Joseph, is still thriving today.
Certainly an abridged version of the life and times of our first Australian saint however two things stand out, Mary believed in an education for all, a passion so strong that she was willing to take on the hierarchy to defend it. Mary believed in the providence of God, Mary believed that what she was called to do was God’s work and therefore could not fail.
Life is tough for all of us, how Mary responded was to work with those that had less than she did, to focus on the “other” and to follow the call on her life. God calls to all of us, seldom is this call easy in our modern sense of the word, however our call could be to do exactly what Mary did, to make sure our families value and commit to a good education and to trust that God will provide.
Next Thursday is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the word assumption is taken from a Latin word meaning “to take up.” The Assumption of Mary teaches that after the mother of Jesus died, she was resurrected, glorified, and taken bodily to heaven. Mary is the only person in the bible that had an immediate “yes” to the will of God. Mary was surprised that she was asked to be the mother of Jesus and felt herself unworthy. This is probably not uncommon with all of us at times as we move, live and work in our callings. Feelings of being overwhelmed, unworthiness or feeling that we simply don’t have the skills to do what we are asked to do. Take confidence from both Mary’s examples and trust you are moving toward exactly where you are called to be.
We are reminded of the amazing sacrifices and commitment of Mary, the mother of Jesus. We need to be willing to say yes to God’s call in all we do, just as Mary did in accepting her role as mother of Jesus. I have the privilege to work and teach in a community where I see colleagues and students saying yes all the time, even when it looks way too difficult, too demanding or seems to require too much investment.
Saying yes makes us vulnerable to the will of God, exactly where we are called to be.
