Homily: Feast of St. Mary MacKillop

Feast of St. Mary MacKillop (Jn 17:20-26) “Persecuted for Doing Good”

Mary MacKillop (1842-1909) was Australia’s first native born saint. She co-founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart with a priest named Julian Tennison Woods. She originally intended to join an established religious order, but with the encouragement of her spiritual director she founded her own order.

She wanted to found schools for poor children and to establish orphanages and to do other works of charity. Her sisters were known for their great charity in helping the poorest of the poor. Australia was a rugged place, and many children were left destitute. The people, both Protestant and Catholic admired Mary MacKillop and her sisters for the many sacrifices they made to live the Gospel.

Unfortunately, Fr. Woods, who was the co-founder, was not admired by the Australian Bishops. Fr. Woods encouraged nuns who believed they were having otherworldly visions and insisted living extreme poverty and refused all state aid for schools.

Fr. Woods difficulties with the bishops led Mary MacKillop to have difficulties with the bishops. The bishops tried to push her out of leadership and tried to take over her ministry. It got so bad that she was excommunicated for disobedience by her local bishop. A year later, the bishop apologized to her, and her reputation was restored. The Vatican eventually supported her.

St. Mary MacKillop’s story reminds us that the church is a human institution. From its beginnings, there have been disputes that have happened. Usually, these disagreements revolve around who has power.

We are reminded how Jesus would be upset when his apostles argued over who was most important. Jesus wanted his disciples to seek the lowest place and to always practice humility. St. Mary MacKillop did that by serving the poorest people in society.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Am I shocked by Mary Mackillop’s story? Am I surprised that there are power struggles in the church?

2.   Do I think humility is a primary Christian virtue? Why or why not?

 Dear Parishioners,

           This Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost. It is tradition that we wear red on this feast. Red is a symbol of fire. The Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles as with tongues of fire.

          I would encourage everyone to wear red to Mass this Sunday. This is the birthday of the church so we should celebrate.

           We believe that the Holy Spirit still guides the church today. Sometimes the Spirit works in ways that we don’t understand, but we still trust that the Spirit is always guiding our life as a church and our individual lives.

          May Our Lady pray for us today,

          Fr. Mark