August 8, Feast Day of Saint Mary MacKillop
“She did not give up in times of trial and darkness, when her joy was dampened by opposition or rejection,” Pope Francis said about St. Mary Helen MacKillop earlier this summer. “May her example and intercession support the daily work of parents, teachers, catechists, and all educators, for the good of young people and for a more humane and hopeful future.”
St. Mary Helen MacKillop is a lesser-known saint we can call upon as we face life’s quick shifts and selfish culture.
Cofounder of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Australia, St. Mary was a great educator determined to serve children living in poverty, elderly, and abandoned children. With her congregation she opened Catholic schools across the country.
“Mary MacKillop was convinced that the purpose of education is the integral development of the person both as an individual and as a member of the community; and that this requires wisdom, patience and charity on the part of every teacher,” Pope Francis said. “Indeed, education does not consist in filling the head with ideas: no, not just this. What does education constitute? Accompanying and encouraging students on the path of human and spiritual growth, showing them how friendship with the Risen Jesus expands the heart and makes life more humane. Educating and helping them to think well: to listen carefully (the language of the heart) and to do good (the language of the hands). This vision is fully relevant today, when we feel the need for an ‘educational pact’ capable of uniting families, schools, and society as a whole.
“Mary had great faith in God’s Providence: she was always confident that in any situation, God provides,” he said. She was even excommunicated unjustly by a disgruntled bishop, but upon his deathbed pleaded for her forgiveness and reversed his order.
Pray to St. Mary Helen MacKillop today, asking her to intercede for you to Christ, giving you strength to carry your cross.
(Painting of St. Mary is by Australian artist Paul Newton)
