Catholic Life - September 2010

Catholic Life

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Publication of the Diocese Diocese of of Sale Sale

What’s News

Regional award to Cath. Life - Page 3

ISSUE 143100 ISSUE

September 2010 November

N. Warren 30 years of parish - Page 5

Plans to restore cathedral - Page 14

Hermits in modern world

By Colin Coomber THE image most people have of a hermit is probably that of a wizened sage sitting in rags at the mouth of a cave near the top of a mountain.

It comes somewhat of a surprise to learn that Sale Diocese has two hermits living a quiet contemplative life in a small settlement in Yarram parish.

Sr Martha and Sr Julian will take their final vows as canonical hermits in front of Bishop Christopher Prowse at a 2pm Mass in Yarram on October 2.

Hermits are recognised under Canon 603 which allows people to withdraw from the wider world and enter an eremitic or anchoritic life of devotion, prayer and penance.

The hermit is recognised by Canon Law as one dedicated to God in consecrated life which he or she must come before the diocesan bishop to publicly profess to the three evangelical councils, be confirmed by vow, and observe a proper program of living under the bishop’s direction.

Needless to say, there are believed to be only a handful of such hermits in Australia.

What makes the faith journey of Srs Martha and Julian even more remarkable is that both are converts to the Catholic faith.

They met in England where Sr Martha lived for 22 years. Born in Kalgoorlie and raised in Melbourne, she was an Anglican and for a time worked at Canterbury Cathedral where she looked after the choir boys.

English-born Sr Julian professes to having little faith before meeting Sr Martha.

She had worked for more than 30 years in the nursing profession and had been increasingly disillusioned with the rat race.

They worked for a time together at the same school in the north of England and when Martha decided to return to Australia,

SR Martha (left) and Sr Julian in the peaceful garden setting at Peregrini Hermitage in Yarram parish. The exact location of the hermitage and their phone number is deliberately not publicised to stop an inquiring world from intruding on their contemplative lifestyle.

Julian emigrated with her.

It was Julian who was first invited to an evening discussion about the Catholic faith through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Martha was hesitant because of her Anglican

upbringing but after much prayer, decided to accompany her friend.

They were welcomed into the Church at Pambula parish on the NSW south coast and remain firm friends with Fr Michael

Mullen, now a priest at Narooma.

Their faith journey took a further turn when they visited the Benedictine Abbey at Jamberoo in the escarpment country west of Wollongong in 2001 and

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stayed for a time in one of the cottages attached to the abbey.

This abbey was featured in the ABC four-part documentary series The Abbey which screened nationally last year.

• Continued Page 2

Page 2 - Catholic Life, September 2010

To God’s people in the Catholic Diocese of Sale THE Divine Retreat Centre is the biggest Catholic retreat venue in the world. It is located in Kerala, Southern India.

For over 20 years, it has been conducted by the Vincentian Fathers, an indigenous congregation in Kerala.

They took over a Catholic hospital, called Divine, and created a retreat venue that can accommodate up to 20,000 retreatants! The talks are given in seven languages offered simultaneously.

The Divine Retreat Centre has its own railway station, medical clinic, orphanage, HIV/AIDS hospice, school, bible college, TV station, dairy farm and hospice for the mentally challenged.

In recent times, I was honored to be invited to offer some talks at their 5th International Youth and Couples Conference. For years, I have heard from the Indian ‘diaspora’ in Australia of the ‘genius’ of Divine.

For so many, it is a ‘Home of Conversion’ to Jesus Christ, fully alive in the Catholic Church. So I was delighted to offer some contribution. They were long days. Starting at 6.30am and concluding at 10pm daily; four conferences were held simultaneously - for youth, for couples, for younger teenagers and for young boys and girls.

Whilst in Kerala, I was delighted to meet the parents of two Indian seminarians who wish to commit their

India: Simply divine’ entire lives as priests in the Diocese of Sale. One is already at Corpus Christi College (Siju Mukalekalayil Xavier) and the other will hopefully join him soon (Avinash George).

I also met the families of two of our priests from India: Fr Jacob (Foster/Yarram) and Fr Matthew (Leongatha/Korumburra). On your behalf, I thanked the parents for giving their sons to us. They were touching encounters. They are all outstanding men.

At the same time, I continued a conversation I had begun some months ago with the Provincial of the Vincentians regarding the possibility of sending one of his priests to serve in our diocese. I am so pleased to inform you that my request has received a favorable response.

I was able to get to know the Vincentian Fathers in Kerala. In touring some of their pastoral apostolate, it is clear that in conducting retreat centres and parish and educational facilities, they are making a wonderful contribution to Catholic life. Being blessed with plentiful vocations to the priesthood, they are open to sending their priests overseas too.

Likewise, I was able to make contact with the biggest religious order in India - the Carmelites of Mary

Immaculate (CMI). They are a most impressive congregation with enormous talent and zeal in their midst.

Since I have returned to the diocese I have heard from their Provincial.

After discussions with his advisors, he would like to offer two of his priests for service in our diocese.

Thanks be to God! May I stress, once again, the prime importance of praying for vocations to the priesthood and religious life in the Diocese of Sale. It is one of our top prayer intentions. I see the rich harvest of six priests and one seminarian coming to the Diocese of Sale as a result of my visits to Africa and India a direct result of our prayers for vocations. Thank you for your intercessory prayers.

It will be wonderful to welcome new priests from overseas to our diocese over the next year. But wonderful too would be to accept local vocations to the priesthood and religious life from the soil of Gippsland.

Parish and family prayer for vocations are highly recommended.

Families, schools and parishes are to ‘call forth’ vocations from our Catholic ‘womb’.

Priestly vocations are a responsibility before God for all of us. Let us respond with eagerness and zeal.

Heavenly

Father, grace us with an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

May the entire Diocese of Sale offer prayers and hospitality to those who feel called to a religious vocation.

Mary, Mother of Vocations, we entrust this special intention into your maternal care.

We make this prayer through Christ, our Lord, Amen.

+ Bishop Christopher Prowse Catholic Bishop of Sale

Hermits living quietly in the modern world • From Page 1 They became Benedictine oblates in 2002 and eventually in 2004 went to live on the abbey property to seek God and serve the abbess and community in any way thought to be appropriate and helpful.

With the generosity of the late Abbess Mother Benedicta Phillips OSB and her successor Abbess Mary Barnes OSB, they were able to become part of the Benedictine praying community without become part of the

enclosed order.

They served the community by cooking in the kitchen, finding it extremely hard to maintain the strict daytime silence of the abbey while trying to turn out meals in a busy kitchen.

In 2007 they made temporary vows as canonical hermits under the rule of St Benedict before Bishop of Wollongong, Peter Ingham.

Finally in 2009 they decided to make the inevitable move away from the abbey and back into a

Catholic Life PO Box 183, Sale Vic 3853 Phone: (03) 5144 6132 Fax: (03) 5144 3855 catholiclife@sale.catholic.org.au www.sale.catholic.org.au Published by Catholic Media Gippsland, Diocese of Sale, 8 Pearson St., Sale Printed by Latrobe Valley Express, Morwell.

Editor: Colin Coomber Member of Australasian Catholic Press Association & Australasian Religious Press Association Published monthly except January.

Deadline for advertising copy and contributions for the next issue is Monday, October 4.

Issues distributed free through schools and parishes from October 13.

parish before they became too old to cope with the trauma of moving and re-establishing themselves as hermits.

At the height of the global economic crisis a lot of small weekender cottages became available cheaply in South Gippsland and so they acquired one which has become their hermitage, now known as Peregrini Hermitage.

Their hermitage is a simple home, comfortable, yet furnished with the bare minimums.

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They return to Jamberoo for retreats from time to time and both feel as if they are “going home.”

Sr Julian said they would always remember with huge gratitude the formative time they spent at the abbey with all the instruction and spiritual guidance they received there.

The opportunity to share in the prayer life of the enclosed community for almost five years was of great benefit.

The difficult decision to leave Jamberoo had been softened by the warm welcome given to them

by Bishop Prowse who had agreed to become their ecclesial head.

In accepting their presence in the diocese, Bishop Prowse has stressed to them to remain a contemplative presence and not to become heavily involved in the parish.

Since moving to Victoria 12 months ago they have managed to limit their involvement to preparing a few meals for the parish freezer for parish priest Fr Jacob Thadathil and being involved in the scripture group.

When they make their perpetual vows at St Mary’s, Yarram on October 2, they will be joined by Fr Mullen and Fr Henry Byrne, the retired parish priest of Bateman’s Bay who have both played lead roles in guiding the hermits.

They will concelebrate Mass with Bishop Prowse and Fr Thadathil.

Fittingly the vows will be taken on the Feast of Guardian

Angels. Srs Martha and Julian both believe that their prayerful presence in the diocese will enable them to be guardian angels for the clergy and people of the diocese.

They rise early for a period of prayer before breakfast and then spend time in contemplation with Sr Martha usually taking quiet time as she walks her dog through a nearby forest track.

Then follows a work period, cooking meals to put in the freezer, Sr Martha developing the garden and Sr Julian painting icons.

Lectio divina precedes lunch and then they call to mind all the people they have been called to pray for.

Afternoons are spent reading, followed by a period of meditation, often with Benedictine abbey music quietly playing.

Dinner is the main meal of the day, then the hermits try to watch SBS news so they can keep abreast of what is happening in the world so it can be introduced into their prayers.

They go to bed early, usually reading in their rooms for a period before lights out.

Sr Martha said their life of work and prayer was a satisfying one.

Sr Julian interjects “We put ourselves in the presence of God, be still, seek silence and the solitude of God.” They nod in agreement when Sr Julian adds that they were good examples of never being too old to make a commitment to God.

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Catholic Life, September 2010 - Page 3

Catholic Life top regional religious paper in Australasia CATHOLIC Life has again been judged the best regional religious publication in Australia and New Zealand.

Editor Colin Coomber was presented with the award at the annual conference of the Australasian Religious Press Association in Hobart last week.

It is the third time Catholic Life has won the award since being established as a free diocesan newspaper in 1997.

The other wins were in 2004 and 2007, and it was also runnerup in 2005 and 2008.

The judges commented: “A good regional publication reflects both the joys and sorrows of its community. This year’s winner had both sides of the coin to contend with – the tragedy of the bushfires and a new bishop. This publication is consistently a good read with plentiful stories about the ordinary people as well as those about the local Church’s movers and shakers.

“The broad spectrum of articles includes a “bush telegraph” style of column and a local history column, as well as all the basic elements of a publication striving to successfully serve its region.”

The latest award continues the remarkable success of Catholic Life which has received 17 awards over the past 13 years, including four times being judged best regional publication

by the Australasian Catholic Press Association.

It also won an ARPA best regional publication award in 2003 on behalf of The Gippsland Anglican which it edited for several years when the Anglican Diocese of Gippsland had noone to edit its publication.

The name Catholic Life has been synonymous with high journalistic standard for more than 20 years as its predecessor, the small circulation Sale Catholic Life, won the ARPA best regional publication award three times between 1990 and 1995 when it closed.

At the awards dinner at the Woolstore Hotel, guest speaker was Fr Michael Tate, parish priest of Sandy Bay. He entertained the large crowd with stories of his life which saw him switch allegiance from the Liberal Party to Labor as a young man because of his pacifist beliefs.

Eventually his association with the ALP led him into politics and he was elected a senator in 1977.

He served as Justice Minister from 1987-93 under Hawke and Keating Governments before resigning in 1993.

Prime Minister Paul Keating had suggested he wanted young men in the Senate, even though Michael Tate was only 47 at the time.

After retiring he was appoint-

Newborough administrator FR Stephen Onuoha has been appointed administrator of St Mary’s Parish, Newborough, replacing Fr Mark Godridge who becomes assistant at Bairnsdale Parish.

Fr Onuoha is a Nigerian priest who has been in Sale Diocese since April last year, serving as assistant at Bairnsdale.

He was been a priest for 31 years in Nigeria before coming to Australia.

He takes up his appointment at Newborough this weekend.

CATHOLIC Life editor Colin Coomber (centre) proudly displays the newspaper’s latest award with guest speaker Fr Michael Tate (left) and Australasian Religious Press Association president Captain Peter McGuigan of the Salvation Army.. ed Ambassador to the Netherlands and the Holy See. Fr Tate said this suited him because he had always had a grerat interest in the law and the Church.

His Netherlands Ambassadorship gave him access to the International Courts at The

Hague it was during his term that prosecutions were launched against former Serbia and Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, the first time a head of state had ever been prosecuted for war crimes.

On resigning as ambasador to the Holy See in 1996 he met with

Pope John Paul II to formally advise him and managed to surprise the pope when he told him that he intended to study for the priesthood.

When ordained in 2000, Fr Tate proved that politics and religion can mix.

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Page 4 - Catholic Life, September 2010

The great power of silence

Step descent

WE don’t usually highlight the mistakes of others, because unfortunately we have a few slip through from time to time (see next item) but we had to smile about a press release emanating from Parramatta Catholic Education Office about a secondary student heading to Rome for the canonisation of Mary MacKillop.

It says the girl is a descendant of Mary MacKillop which is impossible as Mary had no children from which this girl could descend.

ing attention to the road and would probably hit another road user or one of those Roadworks Ahead signs.

The companies which make signs must be smiling all the way to the bank.

Showing our slip

Advertising pays

NOW to own up to our own blue in last month’s issue where on Page 2 Bishop Prowse wrote about there being 88 major seminaries in Otukpo Diocese in Nigeria.

Of course it should have read 88 major seminarians. It was our fault in transcribing the bishop’s hand-written notes.

Signs of times

WE are sometimes amazed at just how many signs we have on our roadsides.

Some tell us of traffic laws, others point to attractions or distances to other centres, and some are just there to bewilder us.

One patch of the Princes Highway in West Gippsland has a multitude of signs. One estimate is about 80 in a kilometre if you count both sides of the highway.

There are speed signs and others with demands such as Keep Left, Wrong Way Go Back, Cyclists Use Left Shoulder etc etc etc.

If we actually took the time to read each sign and digest the meaning we would not be pay-

IT is always great to get feedback from advertisers especially when a car dealer tells us that the sale of two vehicles can be directly contributed to the company’s advertisement in Catholic Life.

If you want to promote your business from Hallam to the NSW border, there’s only one paper with such a reach and that’s us.

Time for action

AND talking of things that drive on the road, we can’t wait for the police to crack down on the number of people driving ‘gophers’ on the roadway, often against the traffic, when there’s a perfectly good footpath a few metres away.

We’ve encountered them in all sorts of weather, one with about four cars crawling along behind which couldn’t pass because of oncoming traffic. There was a 3m wide footpath a few metres away.

These battery powered vehicles are designed to be legally driven on the footpaths but some owners seem to have a death wish by dicing with cars.

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I RECENTLY received an email from my daughter who is studying in Bosnia.

On the 15th anniversary of the massacre of thousands of men and boys, she joined thousands of people, including survivors of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, on a symbolic three-day 120km march along the route of the final journey for those victims.

She sent a message about the oldest participant in the march.

I believe he was a survivor of the original ‘death march’. The peace march commemorates the tens of thousands of men and boys who fled into the mountainside surrounding Srebrenica to try to make it to Tuzla.

Thousands of them were slaughtered on the way and buried in mass graves. This man walked the entire 110km route through the mountains with a walking cane and wearing his suit the entire time.

I thought you may appreciate his quiet dignity and strength.

Against a background of hundreds of teenage boys dressed in army fatigues, carrying hunting knives and shouting war cries, this man really stood out in spite of his silence.

Silence is powerful. Silence can be infinitely deeper, more understanding, more compassionate than words. It can carry its own message. Silence does speak louder than words, and sometimes much more deeply.

Often it takes much more strength to be silent than to speak.

People, intent on revenge, came to test Jesus. They brought with them a woman caught in adultery and they wanted to exact the maximum penalty – stoning the accused to death.

What should they do, they asked Jesus, not out of any desire to be merciful but to test him. Jesus’ response - silence.

Such a powerful silence that the accusers left.

Pontius Pilate, who had power over Jesus’ life or death, was met with the same response. Silence.

Pilate was completely confused, astounded, even afraid. Silence is a powerful message.

Jesus often took periods of prayerful silence. He started His public ministry with 40 days of such silence. We are told that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places.” (Luke 5:16), taking time alone in silence to pray, to be with his Father.

There is an often misunderstood incident in Luke’s gospel (Luke 10:38-42) – the story of Jesus’ visit to Martha and Mary.

Martha busies herself with car-

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ing for the guests while Mary sat and listened, absorbed by what Jesus is saying.

When Martha objected to the fact that she was left with all the work, Jesus told her to concentrate on what was important.

Rather than being a put-down, it was a reminder that in the busyness of our lives, some times of quiet, of silence to be with God, to hear God’s message is very, very important. It is often far more powerful than words.

In those famous words in Ecclesiastes, There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven... a time to be silent and a time to speak... (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

My first experience of such powerful silence was my father.

Life dealt him a tough hand – his wife, my mother, died suddenly leaving him with eight young children. His eldest son was killed not 12 months later.

He was not blessed with wealth or great riches, only the farm which required constant work, constant busy-ness. Yet there were times when he was silent and you knew not to disturb him.

They were times that we knew he was at prayer – in Micah’s words, he was walking humbly with God. He was a man of deep faith.

He found God where he was, sometimes on his knees, sometimes in church but often in the paddocks on the farm that he deeply loved.

Silence is one way of expressing our openness to God – not making God present but becom-

ing aware that God is already walking with us.

There is a deep need in each of us to find meaning, purpose, inner peace – a deep need for silence.

Yet we are often afraid of silence, afraid of being alone, afraid of what we might meet there. We feel we may be missing out on something.

We can often spend a lot of energy and time finding distractions to fill in the silent spaces in our lives.

Yet, according to Benedictine monk, Laurence Freeman, who teaches Christian meditation all over the world, silence has a liberating power.

It opens us to the mystery of life, to seeing things from God’s perspective rather than our own limited viewpoint, it opens us to the power of faith that heals and raises us to love God and our neighbor. It is truly transformative.

Many people today, he suggests, have a deep spiritual thirst and hunger that in many ways is as urgent as the material needs of developing nations.

Unless affluent societies escape the addiction to materialism, they will be unable to feel the depth of compassion from which works of mercy and justice spring.

That’s why silence is often called the prayer of the heart and, as St Augustine says, the whole purpose of this life is to open the eye of the heart by which we see God. Ref: Meditation and the Opening of the Heart by Laurence Freeman osb

The final Hymnfest LOCH - The 10th annual Hymnfest will be held on October 10 at 1.30pm in the Loch Village Public Hall Smith St. Loch, With a theme of “Celebrate”, it will be the finale of what has been 10 wonderful years of Hymnfest in Loch.

Fitting the 10th anniversary will be on the 10th day of the 10th month.

Organisers would like to invite all past members of the public who have supported this annual event to join them in celebrating the final Hymnfest.

They are in the process of finalising the program for guest artists. The community singing component of the program will

be a variety of hymns and songs they have sung from the last nine years of Hymnfest and all are favorites.

Those in the community who have previously experienced Hymnfest are asked to please attend once again.

At the close of Hymnfest those attending are asked to enjoy the wonderful country afternoon tea and fellowship and a final fond farewell.

All monies raised from the $6 entry donation on the day will be distributed back into the community Please contact Bev Button on 5658 1406 or email hymnfest@aapt.net.au to make general enquiries.

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Catholic Life, September 2010 - Page 5

Narre Warren celebrates 30 years of parish life

By Dina Delfino NARRE WARREN - Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, Narre Warren regularly honors the feast days of Mary in special ways.

But the celebration on Sunday, August 15, on the occasion of her Assumption exceeded the expectations of even the organisers themselves as they paid tribute to 30 years of parish life.

Bishop Christopher Prowse led the congregation at Mass, reminding them of their duty to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ in daily life.

The Mass of unity was a day to rejoice as the enriching diversity of different nationalities supported the feast by wearing their national costumes, carrying their flags and participating at certain parts of the liturgy in their languages.

As the statue of the Blessed

Mother was processed into the newly-built Don Bosco school hall after Mass for enthronement, she was greeted by a throng of about 2000 parishioners and visitors, who were treated to some samplings of international cuisine and a colorful program that highlighted a harvest of talents from native dances, songs to rock bands and musical and poetic performances.

Fr John Allen, parish priest for the last 15 years was touched by the planning, organisation and delivery of the project which he entrusted to lay leaders of the parish.

This event has been the vision of pastoral associate Sr Doreen Dagge for quite some time.

Assistant parish priest Fr Mathew Joseph TOR, Deacon Peter Stringfellow, Deacon Tony Aspinall, the parish council and staff supported the day with

New book on St Mary’s Cathedral A BOOK on St Mary’s Cathedral Sale has been written by noted Sale historian Peter Synan.

Titled Three Springtimes: Chronicles of St Mary’s Cathedral. Sale, it is currently at the printers and will be launched in early November.

It is anticipated the hard bound book will sell for $40 a copy.

In the book Synan looks at the three major development phases in the cathedral’s con-

prayers, guidance and hands-on help.

The launching of the parish magazine was a significant highlight as readers walked through 30 years of parish life with the news stories and testimonies of members who have made OLHC their spiritual home for years.

The sunny breaks and buckets of rain during the day seemed to remind everyone that parish growth is very much a sharing of joys and pains, births and deaths, beginnings and endings and both realities can occur within one day as part of the circle of life.

The event was powered by prayer, spirit of unity, generous initiative and hard work of the whole parish community, who with much gratitude in their hearts thanked God for 30 years of freedom in sharing, building and nurturing the Catholic faith as they joined the Blessed Mother in her Magnificat: “The Almighty has done great things for me, Holy is His Name!”

PROCESSING into church for the 30th anniversary celebrations with colorful floral garlands around their necks are (from left) Fr John Allen, Fr Mathew Joseph TOR, Deacon Peter Stringfellow, Deacon Tony Aspinall and Bishop Christopher Prowse.

struction.

It is not an historical essay on the cathedral, but rather an extensive pictorial journey through the life and times of the cathedral.

This makes it an ideal coffee table book which will make a good Christmas present. It is expected that copies will sell fast following the launch.

Catholic Life will publish an order form in its October, November and December issues.

Spirituality Day focuses on Mary MacKillop WARRAGUL - Pastoral associates, parish workers and religious gathered in Warragul from across the diocese for a spirituality day on Mary MacKillop on August 17.

Sr Lynette Young rsj, pastoral associate in Wonthaggi and a member of the canonisation team of the Sisters of St Joseph, presented the day on Celebrating the Spiritual Heart of Mary MacKillop.

Through Sr Lynette’s skilful

presentations participants were given insights into Mary’s love for God, her passion for the poor and her indomitable courage, humility and compassion.

Through the day, they reflected on this Australian woman imbued with good sense and humor, one who faced the realities of her era and followed her vision for spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to those who most needed her care.

REPRESENTATIVES of the various ethnic groups in Our Lady Help of Christians parish display their national flags. There are more than 50 nationalities among parishioners.

Page 6 - Catholic Life, September 2010

Ecucation should be data informed not data driven “DATA Informed, Not Data Driven.” These words come from American writer Dianne Ravitch in her book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System. They warrant some serious consideration.

I am sure, that, in coming days, the MySchool Website will be front and centre in the news again because, as I write this, the Australian Curriculum Reporting and Assessment Authority is about to release the 2010 NAPLAN results.

In recent weeks these tests have come under severe public scrutiny, with allegations of cheating and suggestions that the tests themselves contain errors.

The two allegations, whether right or wrong, point to some fundamental problems with the way these tests are being used.

NAPLAN tests are being used to compare schools directly, (via the MySchool Website) and these comparisons are intended to assist parents in choosing a school for their children, and to determine funding priorities.

Both are deeply flawed purposes.

I certainly do not suggest that we should stop using tests such as NAPLAN, but I do seriously question the use to which governments and the wider society are putting them.

Quite simply, there are better ways to use what they tell us.

Tests are a critical part of education. They should (and do) provide firm data on which professional teachers can base their work.

They can (and do) tell schools how they are going, where they need to improve, what improve-

ments can be noted over time.

They can (and are) used to improve teaching at school and classroom level. But when they are used to compare schools, by governments and by parents, their usefulness is seriously compromised, even damaged.

If they are used to compare individual teachers (heaven help us if that occurs!) their usefulness is further harmed.

Let us consider the two allegations made about the tests, namely that there were errors in the test themselves and that cheating had occurred.

Firstly, does it really matter if there are minor mistakes in the test papers? Are not all students exposed to identical errors? On one level, it may not matter, but on a more fundamental level, these errors point clearly to the fact that the tests are an imperfect means of measuring student performance.

They are developed by imperfect human beings, in limited cultural contexts; they are completed by imperfect students in quite different cultural contexts; the results are interpreted by imperfect human beings in different cultural contexts again. Margin for error piles upon margin for error.

Measurement in education is not like measuring the length of a piece of string or counting the number of widgets a factory produces in a given time. The education process is about persons not products and persons are notoriously difficult to “measure.”

Education is also about far more than literacy and numera-

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with Talking Peter Catholic Ryan Education cy. It is about developing full, grounded human persons who can live happy, fulfilling lives and make a contribution to a better society.

In many ways we are merely copying the British system – but not learning from its mistakes!

We might well see NAPLAN test scores go up in coming years, but the British evidence is that this is as teachers are forced to teach to the tests because their performance is being compared, the broader aspects of real education are left to languish.

We need the tests, certainly, but for the use of schools, for schools to see how they are going in these limited areas. However, when we are using them for purposes of comparison, we will quite probably see the test results improve, but we run the very real risk of seeing the quality of education in its truest sense falling.

A recent visitor to Australia, prominent educator Professor Alan Smithers from Buckingham University, suggest-

ed that , “All the evidence is that governments can do more to improve education by doing less.”

It is interesting to note, for example, that while test results in the UK have improved, quality of life on so many other scales has deteriorated.

Violence, substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, abortion, etc. are all on the increase in the UK. And, it might be noted that the UK economy is not thriving either.

The other allegation, that there was cheating occurring, points to a different, though related, set of issues. Of course, if funding depends on test scores, or if school reputation and prestige are determined by test scores, it is almost to be expected that schools and teachers will be tempted.

That “cheating” can be of the blatant sort that sees teachers actively helping students during the actual tests (and there is no evidence of that occurring in our

schools), but it can also be of the sort that encourages certain students to stay at home on the day of the tests.

It may even be of the sort that sees a school refuse enrolment to students who may pull scores down! That would be in direct conflict with our Catholic school mission and it is never an action taken by our schools.

However, principals remain justifiably concerned that other schools, against whom they are forced into a heightened sense of competition by the MySchool website, may not share their view of such matters.

Tests such as NAPLAN are important. They have their place and schools embrace that. But as a means of comparison of schools in a way that determines funding or reputation, they are fundamentally flawed and are likely to lead to a reduction in the overall quality of education in the country, even if the test scores themselves seem to show improvement.

That has been shown so clearly in the countries Australia seem to be following.

Why cannot our decision makers learn from the mistakes of others? Could it be just for a quick political fix?

Our education processes need to be data informed – not data driven.

Captain wins defence award WARRAGUL - Marist-Sion College school captain Andrew Wilson has won the prestigious Australian Defence Force Academy education award.

It comes from his outstanding performance during the lengthy application process to attend the Australian Defence Force Academy as an officer in training in 2011.

Andrew was presented with a certificate and laptop at a college assembly on August 19, by members of the Australian Defence Force. Andrew is a very worthy recipient of this award, having been an army cadet for six years and during this time, progressing through to the rank of Cadet Under Officer. In 2009 Andrew was named as Victorian Cadet of the Year and as a result, won a trip on the Young Endeavour.

In 2009 Andrew was also awarded the George Collins Kokoda Award, an all-expenses paid trek on the Kokoda Track.

To receive this award, Andrew had to have an interview and submit an essay on ‘The Meaning of Kokoda to Himself and Society.’

Andrew intends to complete a Bachelor of Science Degree at the academy, with the goal of eventually becoming a helicopter pilot in the army. With Andrew’s diligent approach to all aspects of his study, we have no doubt that he will succeed.

Well done on an amazing effort Andrew; you are a credit to yourself and your family, and staff and students at MaristSion College congratulate you and wish you well.

PHOTOGRAPH: Award recipient Andrew Wilson (centre) flanked by Captain Matthew Ford (left)and head of ADFA recruiting in Melbourne Sq.Leader Michael Ward who presented the award.

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Catholic Life, September 2010 - Page 7

Insuring our incomes is often overlooked here

By Carol Corby DAVID Wells, the regular writer of this column, is off on extended sick leave so it’s down to me to carry on in his absence.

I thought long and hard about what I would write about and realised that David’s illness provides a perfect excuse to jump onto one of my hobby horses – personal insurance.

Without getting into a great many statistics I can tell you that Australians are the most underinsured nation in the world!

Not for their cars, boats or homes, but for themselves.

Interesting isn’t it that we wouldn’t dream of letting the kids drive around uninsured, nor would we do so ourselves but we give very little thought to protecting the source of all our assets, lifestyle and future – our-

selves.

David’s illness is a particularly apt example at the moment as he will be off work for the next couple of months. Fortunately it isn’t life threatening but that makes very little difference to the bottom line if you aren’t getting paid but the bills keep coming in.

David has income protection that will ensure he can pay the bills but most people don’t.

Both David and I practice what we preach in this regard.

We are both insured because we both have a spouse, a mortgage , a credit card etc and would hate to think that our illness or death would leave a huge burden for the people we leave behind.

And of course you’re not always leaving them behind; it can be a situation where you may be disabled for a lengthy period or perhaps even forever. That’s bad news and the shame of it is

DOLLAR$ & SENSE with David Wells

that it is easily and reasonably cheaply addressed.

In our line of work, as stockbrokers and financial planners, we find people are content to take on extra debt, whether it be a draw down on the mortgage, a car or other major expense, even borrowing to invest but very rarely think about how these things will be paid for if they can no longer work.

We have seen unhappy outcomes too many times to ignore the fact that bad things do hap-

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pen, people do get sick, people do die and it can make a distressing situation even more so if someone has to start worrying about money.

The bottom line is this - If you have debt or if you have dependants then you need to ensure that this is covered. There are many eventualities that can knock you out of the workforce for a while and it doesn’t necessarily have to be anything worse than a badly broken arm.

I can tell you that one of my clients was a dairy farmer whose arm was broken by a particularly rambunctious cow ! He was in plaster for over six months and had to employ a man to assist

with the milking.

That could have been paid for by simple income protection.

Instead he was out of pocket to the tune of a considerable sum by the time he was back at work.

Food for thought isn’t it.

Anyway, I should imagine that David will be able to write his regular column from his sick bed by the time the next issue comes around so I’ll leave it to him to continue the lesson!

Carol Corby is a business partner of our regular writer David Wells and we thank her for stepping up to fill his popular financial column.

• This report is intended to provide general advice. In preparing this advice, Carol Corby and RBS Morgans did not take into account the investment objective, the financial situation and particular needs of any particular person. Before making an investment decision on the basis of this advice, you need to consider, with or without the assistance of an adviser, whether the advice is appropriate in light of your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances.

West Gippsland Chorale Camberwell Chorale Camerata Orchestra Conductor: Douglas Heywood

THE Cranbourne-based Sisters of Nativity have renewed their contract to work in Sale Diocese for another three years. Superior General Sr Theresa Nezen has been in the diocese from Nigeria for the past month on an official visit to the sisters. She signed an agreement with Bishop Christopher Prowse to extend the term of the Australian mission. Pictured at the signing of the agreement are (from left) Sr Grace Onaivi, Cranbourne Sr Anna Abba, Superior General Sr Theresa, Bishop Prowse, and Sr Mercy Akoh.

Verdi’s ‘Requiem’ is coming WEST Gippsland Chorale will join with the Camberwell Chorale and the Camerata Orchestra to present the magnificent Verdi Requiem in Warragul on October 18.

These two highly acclaimed choirs of 150 voices and the 50 piece orchestra will be conducted

by Douglas Heywood, OAM. He has been conductor of the Camberwell Chorale since 1974, and of the Camerata Orchestra since 1976.

The music community probably knows him best as the choral director, since 1988, for Channel Nine’s Christmas Eve production of Carols by Candlelight at the Myer Music Bowl.

Audiences will be enthralled by this concert. Throughout the work, Verdi uses vigorous rhythms, sublime melodies, and dramatic contrasts to express the powerful emotions engendered by the text.

The performance will be at West Gippsland Arts Centre at 8pm on October 16.

Tickets are available from the centre and cost $38 adults, $36 concession, $35 Friends of WGAC, $25 students. Contact the box office on 5624 2456 or www.wgac.org.au

There will also be a Melbourne performance in Hawthorn Town Hall at 2.30 pm on October 31.

The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral Mass.

It was first performed in 1874 to mark the first anniversary of the death of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi.

The Requiem is scored for a quartet of solo singers, double chorus and a large orchestra.

Throughout the work, Verdi uses vigorous rhythms, sublime melodies, and dramatic contrasts, much as he did in his operas, to express the powerful emotions engendered by the text.

The terrifying (and instantly recognisable) Dies Irae that introduces the traditional sequence of the Latin funeral rite is repeated throughout for a sense of unity, which allows Verdi to explore the feelings of loss and sorrow as well as the human desire for forgiveness and mercy found in the intervening movements of the Requiem.

Trumpets surround the stage to produce an inescapable call to Judgement in the Tuba mirum (the resulting combination of

brass and choral quadruple-fortissimo markings resulting in some of the loudest unamplified music ever written), and the almost oppressive atmosphere of the Rex tremendae creates a sense of unworthiness before the King of Tremendous Majesty.

Yet the well-known tenor solo Ingemisco radiates hope for the sinner who asks for the Lord’s mercy. Verdi also recycles and reworks the duet Qui me rendra ce mort? Ô funèbres abîmes!, from Act IV of Don Carlos, in the beautiful Lacrimosa which ends this sequence.

The joyful Sanctus (a complicated eight-part fugue scored for double chorus) begins with a brassy fanfare to announce him “who comes in the name of the Lord” and leads into an angelic Agnus Dei sung by the female soloists with the chorus.

Finally the Libera me, the oldest music by Verdi in the Requiem, interrupts. Here the soprano cries out, begging, “Deliver me, Lord, from eternal death ... when you will come to judge the world by fire.”

More information about the West Gippsland Chorale is at: www.westgippslandchorale.org.au

Saturday, 16th October, 8pm West Gippsland Arts Centre Bookings: 5624 2456 www.wgac.org.au Soloists: Kathryn Grey, Kerrie Bolton, Michael Lapina, Jerzy Kozlowski

Page 8 - Catholic Life, September 2010

A Jesuit priest in the MacKillop family as well

By Sr Mary Fermio rsj

Fr Donald MacKillop SJ

MELBOURNE’S population had swelled to over 220,000, three times what it had been when Lexie was born two years earlier.

Work was commencing on the Melbourne Cricket Ground when Donald MacKillop was born, seventh child of Alexander and Flora, on an autumn day, April 27, 1853.

Mary was 11 years old and she became Donald’s “little mother.”

She said once “There could never be too many Donalds”, recalling her grandfather, who drowned when she was fiveyears-old.

Donald’s childhood existed at a time when the familiy’s income was very low. Despite this Alexander made two unsuccessful attempts to enter parliament.

From what we can gather, the family were living with Flora’s brother, Donald, at The Plenty, an area north of Melbourne near the Plenty Ranges.

At the age of 13, Donald had ridden from Portland to be with Mary at Penola. There he studied Latin under the supervision of Fr Woods.

Diocese prepares for big day THERE are a number of diocesan events planned before and after at canonisation of Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

In addition to the recent diocesan pilgrimage of the MacKillop Cross and the spirituality day on Mary MacKillop for pastoral associates and religious, various events are being organised by parishes and regions.

On October 6 Bishop Christopher Prowse will officially commission and bless the student and parish pilgrims who will journey to Rome for the canonisation ceremony in St Peter’s Square.

The blessing and commissioning of pilgrims will be at 7pm at the Sion Teachers’ Centre in Warragul. Student pilgrims and families can book with the Catholic Education Office on 5622 6624. Parish pilgrims need to book with the diocesan pastoral office on 5126 1063.

Whilst in Rome, Bishop Chris will lead the diocesan pilgrims in a walking tour in Rome. Pilgrims are asked to meet him at the granite obelisk at the centre of St Peter’s Square at 3pm.

On Sunday, October 17 parishes around the diocese will join with the Australian and New Zealand Church in celebrating the Canonisation of Mary of the Cross MacKillop. The canonisation ceremony at the Vatican will be broadcast live.

The canonisation will be seen

St Peter’s obelisk live both on Australian TV and the Web, direct from St Peter’s Square in Rome. Sky TV will broadcast live from about 6.30pm (eastern time) on, October 17, while ABC News 24, the new 24 hour free-to-air station, has also indicated it will broadcast as much as possible of the ceremony. Both will provide expert commentary on the events as they unfold.

ABC1’s Compass program will feature a canonisation special at 10pm. Other stations have indicated they will have features and live crosses to Rome as well as updates in their regular news services.

A live web stream of the ceremony will also be available, complete with commentary. Anyone with Internet can access the web stream from the Archdiocese of Sydney website (www.sydneycatholic.org), the XT3 social network site (www.xt3.com), or the Mary MacKillop site (www.marymackillop.org.au).

Following the ceremony, the webcast will be available on demand, so that schools, or oth-

ers who might miss the actual events, can access it and view it at a time of their choosing.

Melbourne Archdiocese is hosting a day of celebrations on canonisation day, beginning with Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral at 11am followed by a street procession departing from Mary’s birthplace in Brunswick St., Fitzroy and an afternoon festival at the Royal Exhibition Buildings from 2.30pm including live screening of the ceremony at 7pm.

Further details from the Archdiocese of Melbourne http://www.cam.org.au/mackillop/ or from Diane Carmody 9287 5563 or email: diane.carmody@cam.org.au Sale Diocese will host a celebratory Mass for the canonisation of Mary MacKillop at St Mary’s Cathedral Sale on Friday, November 12 at 11am. Pilgrims, parishioners and representatives from diocesan Catholic organisations are invited to attend.

On Saturday November 13 the Ecumenical Commission will host Celebrating Mary Mackillop – A Great Australian at St Mary of the Cross Hall, St Michael’s, Traralgon. Arrangements to be finalised.

For further information on diocesan events, please contact diocesan pastoral coordinator Sophy Morley on 5126 1063 Latest canonisation news can be found at the following Web sites: The Sisters of St Joseph Website www.marymackillop.org.au.

For diocesan canonisation bulletins www.sale.catholic.org.au/ liturgy/mackillop-canonisation.

For Catholic Schools canonisation news www2.ceosale. catholic.edu.au/newscentre/index.aspx?curser=13

Mary MacKillop & Family

Part 7 His ride had been secretly assisted by his brother John, about to return to New Zealand and it wasn’t until Donald had arrived safely that John let the secret out.

Donald continued his education with Jesuit priests at St Aloysius’s College, Sevenhill, in the Clare Valley of South Australia.

He joined their order on June 7, 1872 and Alexander wrote of his joy at his son thinking of becoming a priest.

After teaching for five years at Sevenhill, he studied at Innsbruck in the Austrian Tyrol and was ordained a priest in North Wales on September 20, 1885.

To Mary, Donald had promised his first priestly blessing which he gave her on paper “You have your long-cherished wish. I am a priest of the Society of Jesus. What a fine cry you will have over this!”

On his return to Australia in 1886, Fr Donald MacKillop was appointed to Rapid Creek station near Palmerston (renamed Darwin in 1911) on the Daly River in the Northern Territory.

This very difficult mission affected his health. He studied Mulluck Mulluck dialect of the indigenous tribes and his paper Anthropological Notes on the Aboriginal Tribes of the Daly River, North Australia was pub-

Sources: Archival resource materials and MacKillop Family by Sr Philomena McGuigan rsj.

• Next month: Peter MacKillop - the youngest of eight.

Rabble meets Mary Mac THIS month the young (and the young of heart) have been gathering on Sunday afternoons to participate in RE 4 the Rabble: a glimpse into the life of Mary MacKillop.

RE 4 the Rabble is a series of catechesis sessions for ordinary, every-day young people and with the canonisation of Bl Mary of the Cross MacKillop fast approaching it is an opportune time to focus on the life and spirituality of Australia’s first saint.

So far Sr Margaret Brown rsj and Sr Rita Malavisi rsj have led us in sessions at Foster and Narre Warren looking at the work and influence of Mary MacKillop.

The sessions have opened up

the story of Mary MacKillop and inspired all who have attended with her wisdom and enduring faith.

There are two sessions still to come: • “Mary MacKillop: A woman of strong faith” facilitated Sr Christina Scannell rsj, 4.30pm6.30pm, Sunday September 19, St Mary’s Primary School MultiPurpose Room, 50-54 Monash Rd, Newborough.

• “Mary MacKillop: Love in action” facilitated by Sr Doreen Dagge rsj, 4.30pm-6.30pm, Sunday September 26 , Chapter House, Foster St, Sale.

There is no cost to attend RE 4 the Rabble and everyone is welcome.

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lished by the Royal Society of South Australia.

Donald had great sympathy for the disadvantaged and under-privileged and worked tirelessly to help those on his mission.

Like his father, he spoke out against unjustice and his writings reveal his sensitive appreciation of the human dignity of the Aborigals and his search for truth in his understanding of their culture.

He returned to Adelaide in 1897 worn out and ill and could only work when his health allowed.

Donald and Mary were very close and she revealed in her letters to him much of the hurts and anguish she experienced over the years.

He supported her greatly and urged her “Bear up, dear . . . our Blessed Lord has great joys in store for you, even here in this vale of tears . . . He who gave you your generous nature will give that abundance of grace which is necessary. Half measures will never give you peace.

Our Lord will not take from you.”

When Mary became ill in 1909 and was near her death he wrote to her, “If you do go to God soon, I shall be disappointed if you do not manage to come to me, cure me and send me back to do some more years of work.”

Mary died when Donald was offering Mass in Port Augusta convent chapel and by careful calculation he realised that Mary had died between the Memento of the Living and the Memento for the Dead.

He said “So she had the benefit of both.”

Fr Donald MacKillop died at Norwood, SA, on February 24, 1924, 15 years after Mary’s death, so it seems his request may have been answered. He is buried in West Terrance Cemetery in Adelaide.

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Catholic Life, September 2010 - Page 9

Head of Secular Franciscans from Gippsland A BAIRNSDALE parishioner has been elected to head the Secular Franciscans in Australia.

Sandra Tilley sfo of Newlands Arm near Paynesville will be national minister for the next three years.

It is the highest position in Oceania and she will report directly to the headquarters of Secular Franciscans in Rome.

She has been a member of the Franciscans for 22 years and will be professed 21 years next

month.

She joined in Sydney and has been extensively involved at local, regional and national levels with the order, once known as Third Order Franciscans.

She and her husband Chris moved to their comfortable home on the Gippsland Lakes about seven years ago.

Mrs Tilley explains many people have problems with the word “secular” which in common modern usage is almost an oppo-

Spreading Good News SO far this year the Sale Diocese Catholic School of Evangelisation has been active with courses in Traralgon, Lakes Entrance and Cranbourne.

In April the Good News course was presented in Traralgon with about 20 people in attendance.

This course teaches participants the basic core message of the Gospel so that when they proclaim the Good News, as commanded by Jesus, they actually know what to say.

One participant shared, “The Good News course enabled me to deepen my understanding of the essential message of the church and how to bring people to believe in Jesus…Now I am building up confidence in sharing the Good News with others.”

In May the Personal Prayer course was presented at Lakes Entrance, attended by 19 parishioners, including Fr Brendan Hogan who attended on the Friday night.

The course teaches a particu-

lar style of prayer centred on the Scriptures and praise of God. One parishioner shared after attending the course, “While the style of prayer taught may not appeal to everyone, it certainly offered something different and thought provoking. We also learnt one of the many ways to read the scriptures and how to get into the good habit of reading them…I find that I am more inclined now to pick up my Bible on a more regular basis.”

The most recent course presented was the “Jesus in the Four Gospels” course at Cranbourne, also in May. This seminar looks at each of the four evangelists in terms of The Man, The Method and The Message. Each of the gospels is examined in terms of the personality and experience of the writer, the context in which it was written and the face of Jesus which they present.

For further information on any of the School of Evangelisation courses contact Pat Kelly 5672 2772 .

site of being religious.

Secular really means “of the world” and so Secular Franciscans are those who live in the footsteps of St Francis as part of the wider world rather than in a religious community.

She said that Secular Franciscans were Catholic men and women who lived and worked in the secular world who had decided to commit themselves more fully to Christ by following the example and inspiration of St Francis.

These seculars were originally known as Brothers and Sisters of Penance but from 1883-1978 were called Tertiaries or members of the Third Order of St Francis.

Mrs Tilley said St Francis was a unique and charismatic figure who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, renewed the Church dramatically in his time (c1181-1226).

He founded two religious orders – the friars which includes both priests and brothers, and another of nuns, known today as the Poor Clares, after St Clare of Assisi to whom St Francis gave a rule of life that called for perseverance in holy poverty.

St Francis also inspired the secular order, which is also governed by a rule or way of life approved by the Pope of the day.

Mrs Tilley said Secular Franciscans followed the rule approved by Pope Paul VI in 1978 when he gave the order its new name, but retained the Gospel Way of Life in the spirit of St Francis as the basis for Secular Franciscan living.

There were several characteristics that were readily associated

Sandra Tilley sfo with Franciscan living and thse included a simple lifestyle, prayer, love of the Eucharist, joy in all God’s creation, penance, humility and poverty of spirit.

She said many popes had promoted membership of the Secular Franciscan Order and some, such as Pope John XXIII, were members. The orders boasted many saints including St Joan of Arc and St Thomas More. Bl Frederic Ozanam, who founded

the St Vincent de Paul Society, was a committed Tertiary as was Charles O’Neill who established the society in Australia and Frank Duff, the Irish founder of the Legion of Mary.

Mrs Tilley said fraternity was a key element of Franciscan life and accordingly Secular Franciscans met together regularly, with there being about 50 local fraternities spread across Australia.

Page 10 - Catholic Life, September 2010

Photo exhibition of inspirational women visits

By Sophy Morley SALE - The Diocese of Sale hosted the National Photographic Exhibition of Inspirational Catholic Women at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sale for a week last month.

The exhibition was organised by the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference Office for the Participation of Women and the Council for Australian Catholic Women.

About 60 Catholic women, nominated by their dioceses from across Australia, are being celebrated for their shining examples of faith and Christian witness in their lives. The photographs were accompanied by a short biography of each woman.

The exhibition was conceived to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the landmark publication of Woman and Man: One in Christ Jesus.

The launch of the exhibition, coincided with the quarterly gathering of the Council for Australian Catholic Women, headed by Bishop Michael Malone, held at Sale.

Bishop Christopher Prowse was delighted to open the exhibition and spoke with appreciation and gratitude of the participation and contribution of women to the Catholic Church in Australia.

Special guests at the launch were the two diocesan women included in the exhibition, Pauline Cook from Benambra and Naomi Elswyk from Moe. Their biographies are below:

Pauline Cook - Benambra

Pauline has been an outstanding parishioner of St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church at Benambra for decades. Her participation has touched pretty well every facet of parish life

CHATTING at the photographic exhibition opening are (from left) Pauline Cook, Benambra, Council for Australian Catholic Women, Beth Nolen, Darwin and chairman Patricia Banister, Newcastle.

over the past 40 years. It has included an extended involvement in the celebration of liturgy in Benambra, including over 10 years where half the Sunday liturgies are lay led. Pauline has been an outstanding leader. She has been involved in parish liturgy groups and in assisting parishioners with preparation for and celebration of funerals and weddings, baptisms, and Sacraments of Initiation.

Pauline was for many years a catechist at the Benambra Primary School. She has also participated in and helped lead many aspects of adult formation in the parish including parish weekends at Millgrove, ongoing formation within the Region, often at Bairnsdale 150km away, and faith formation such as Lenten groups.

She has been a member of the Regional Pastoral group, participating in Regional Meetings and activities throughout East Gippsland. She has been and is involved in numerous local community groups, as well as parish activities.

She brings to all her various involvements a deep faith, prayerfulness, a desire for learning and finding new ways in rapidly changing times and in a parish which no longer has a resident priest. This has led to a long and fruitful involvement in ecumenical prayer, worship, and faith development.

All of this is against the background of her family. Pauline and her husband, John, have raised a large family and remain heavily involved with a large extended family. Pauline and John have always extended an extraordinarily warm welcome

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Organise and pay for your CDF Pre-Paid Funeral through any participating funeral director within Gippsland, Mornington Peninsula and outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

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BISHOP of Maitland-Newcastle, Michael Malone (left) chats with (from left) diocesan pastoral coordinator Sophy Morley, Naomi Elsyk and her mother, Rita Elswyk. to the priests and sisters who have ministered in the Omeo Parish, and who now visit from Bairnsdale. They have provided unfailing kindness and support for them in all their endeavours.

Naomi Elwsyk - Moe

Naomi was born in 1980, a tiny, very premature baby at 980 grams. Her prognosis was not good but she was a fighter and meant to survive. She received a huge welcome from a large extended family and over 80 family members attended her formal baptism ceremony at St Kieran’s Moe in April 1981.

At 15 months she was formally diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

We knew then that Naomi would probably spend her life in a wheelchair as her chances of ever being able to walk unaided were not good. Naomi was tiny in size and surprised everyone who thought she was a baby when she was really an average little girl who could communicate well by the age of two. She insisted on a wheelchair at age 3½ because she wanted to wheel herself and not be a baby in a pusher.

From age two to 14 Naomi underwent a series of operations.

She also had extensive physio and occupational therapy.

Naomi attended kindergarten and then completed her primary education at St Kieran’s Primary School. Naomi’s first communion and confirmation were special events. The bishop got down from the altar to confirm her and we have a wonderful photo of him down on his knees next to her. Naomi then attended Presentation College for her secondary years. The system was very flexible, as Naomi could not access the library or computer room upstairs she had her own computer link in a specially designed room downstairs and the teachers worked well with the modifications.

Naomi made her formal debut dancing in her wheelchair with the rest of the group. In year 12 her father became very ill with an asbestos related cancer and he died in March 1999 shortly after Naomi commenced university.

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At 28 years of age she is a well known member of our community. Within our Parish Naomi produces funeral liturgy booklets for most of the funerals in the Parish. Naomi is very computer literate and assists our Parish priests with computer glitches. Naomi does not consider herself to be disabled and refers to her wheelchair as her legs. She has been known to crawl into buildings if they are inaccessible.

In past years, Naomi received an award from the local Rotary Club and from the Rotary District. She also spoke at a Disability Day Breakfast at Monash University in front of lecturers and heads of campus about her experiences as a disabled student entering the workforce. Naomi and her mother Rita, participated in the We Have a Story project, organised by the National Network for Disability and Spiritualty and sponsored by the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference and they travelled to Canberra for the launch of the resource.

Last year Naomi travelled to the World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney with her mother and she participated with the other pilgrims from her Diocese.

It was a momentous and wonderful experience for her.

Currently Naomi is a case manager on the Bushfire Recovery team in Warragul, (West Gippsland) and is in the process of studying to complete her third tertiary degree.

20 make their first communion at Koo Wee Rup KOO WEE RUP - 20 children from St John’s made their First Eucharist on August 28.

It was a great celebration and a wonderful night for the children and their families.

The children received their First Eucharist from Fr Thomas Mannakulathil along with their parents who also received the Eucharist or a blessing.

Many thanks to Marlene Scanlon, Justin Greenwood and Fr Mannakulathil for assisting and guiding the children in their preparation for this important sacrament.

We particularly thank Sr Jose for her help as this will be her last sacrament working with the St John’s children and thank her for the contributions that she has made to our families.

Sr Jose is leaving the area at the end of this term and we wish her every luck as she starts the next chapter of her life.

Catholic Life, September 2010 - Page 11

Penola pilgrimage honors Mary MacKillop

By Liz Roberts PARISHIONERS from Pakenham, Koo Wee Rup, Lang Lang and Cranbourne gained a unique insight into the life of Blessed Mary MacKillop on a pilgrimage to Penola.

The township in South Australia is where she established her first school and religious order in 1866.

The group of 33 people, including two Josephite sisters, departed Pakenham on August 7 to visit a number of significant locations in Mary MacKillop’s life, over three days.

The highlight of the trip was Sunday Mass on Blessed Mary’s feast day August 8 at Penola parish. Special permission was granted to the parish to celebrate the Mass of Blessed Mary of the Cross over the standard Sunday readings.

Fr Paul Gardiner SJ the former Postulate for Blessed Mary MacKillop’s cause for sainthood, celebrated Mass. He spent more than six years researching Mary’s life for submission in Rome, and is author of her official biography.

Miriam Richardson and RoseMarie Lappin both from Pakenham said they saw the sunlight shine in the window onto the photo of Mary MacKillop as Fr Gardiner shared on Mary’s life.

He reminded the congregation of her willingness to accept the will of God throughout her life, this being a major reason for why the church will recognise her as a saint on October 17.

Fr Julian Tenison Woods, who co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart order, chalice was the used in the Mass.

After a cuppa with local parishioners, the group took a guided tour of Penola and then looked over the Mary MacKillop Interpretive Centre and historical township.

Sunday afternoon also provided the opportunity to taste the wines of the Coonawarra region with visits to Wynns Estate and Majella Wines.

Between wineries the group visited the carved trees in Woods Park, which highlight Fr Woods’ contributions to life and society.

Sr Christina Scannell rsj, pastoral associate at Pakenham and Joanne Staindl-Johnson from Tour Local organised a comprehensive pilgrimage. Prays and hymns on the coach linked together the sights on the journey.

Travelling to Penola stops included the Loreto Chapel Ballarat(Mary had been friends with the founder of the Loreto school mother Gonzaya Barry).

Also Hamilton parish church which has commemorative

stained glass windows to Mary’s father Alexander and the local cemetery where he is buried.

Extra circular activities included an impromptu stop at Glenelg Fine Chocolates in Coleraine!

Travelling home included a stop at Bayview Community College in Portland which includes the remains of the home where Mary lived prior to moving to Penola to establish her institute.

Tour hostess Joanne and coach driver Gavin Boloski and other support staff from Tour Local kept the group informed and happy throughout the trip.

Liz Roberts undertook the pilgrimage in memory of her childhood spiritual supporter in WA, Sr Dorothea Cleary rsj.

THE historic Penola school house, recently damaged in a freak storm, which will be repaired in time for the canonisation.

MAUD Cazeneure, Pakenham, Olivia Francisco visiting from Sri Lanka via Pakenham, Denise Cervascio, Pakenham, Alison Hearne, Cranbourne, and Eileen Christensen, Lang Lang, by the carved trees of Fr Julian Tenison Woods and Bl. Mary MacKillop at Woods Park outside Penola.

KOO Wee Rup pastoral associate Sr Rose Wood rsj (left) with Fr Paul Gardiner SJ and Pakenham pastoral associate Sr Christina Scannell rsj, after the feast day Mass in Penola on August 8.

I do not fear tomorrow for I have seen today.

Billings method aids births A TRAINED teacher in the Billings Ovulation Method has applauded results of a study which had found the benefits of using the method to achieve pregnancy.

Patsy Heffernan, works from Centacare Gippsland, in Warragul and is available to assist couples throughout the diocese to learn more.

A five-year study by the Ovulation Method Research and Reference Centre of Australia Ltd found that sub-fertile women achieved a known pregnancy rate of 65 percent using the Billings Ovulation Method.

The study involved a total of 449 participants of which 207 women had previously been classified as sub-fertile.

Twenty couples in the study had been unsuccessful in trying to achieve pregnancies with in vitro fertilisation or artificial insemination, yet seven of them achieved pregnancy using the Billings Ovulation Method.

Significantly, 66 percent of over 38 year olds in the study

also achieved a pregnancy using the method.

On average, couples had tried to conceive for a period of 15 months before participating in the study.

The average period from initial instruction in the Billings Ovulation Method to conception was 4.7 months.

President of Ovulation Method Research and Reference Centre of Australia Ltd, Kerry Bourke, hopes that women who have concerns about their fertility will be encouraged by these findings to seek natural fertility counselling with Billings and, that more GPs will recommend it as an option for sub-fertile women.

In the five years from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2005, the Australian Government spent, via Medicare, $584.6 million on assisted reproductive technology (ART). In 2007, 22 percent of the Extended Medicare Safety Net) benefits went towards ART. The average cost of ART per

live birth is approximately $33,000. The cost of a live birth using IVF increases with maternal age.

The live birth rate for women aged 30 to 34 using IVF is approximately 24.7 percent while for women aged 35 to 39 the live birth rate is approximately 24 percent. The live birth rate for women aged 40 to 44 is approximately 6 percent By comparison, the average cost of the Billings Ovulation Method per live birth is about $1100.

A proposal to conduct a three year pilot program in Melbourne, using the Billings Ovulation Method to assist subfertile women, has been forwarded to the Department of Health and Ageing for consideration.

More information about the Billings Ovulation Method is available at www.billingslife.org or contact Mrs Heffernan through Centacare Gippsland on 5622 1188.

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Page 12 - Catholic Life, September 2010

MacKillop Cross pilgrimage

KNIGHTS of the South Cross Bill McMahaon and Michael O’Halloran lead a group of students at Mary MacKillop College, Leongatha, as they carry the cross into the school chapel.

By Sophy Morley THE Pilgrimage of the MacKillop Cross wound its way around the Diocese of Sale for three days last month.

The cross is one of two made from the floorboards of the first Woods/MacKillop school house in Penola, South Australia. The wood was conserved by the Knights of the Southern Cross when a new floor was laid in the school room.

One of the crosses was gifted to Pope John Paul II by the Archdiocese of Sydney during his visit to Australia in 1986. The second Cross was for St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.

On December 8, 2009 this cross was carried in the Entrance Procession at the midday Mass in the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel at North Sydney.

After Mass the cross was presented to the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The

SENIOR students from Marist Sion College, Warragul, with the cross.

MacKillop Cross Pilgrimage, organised nationwide by the Knights of the Southern Cross, for and on behalf of the Sisters of St Joseph, travelled to parishes and schools in Sale Diocese before arriving back in the Melbourne Archdiocese.

The cross journeyed to the Ballarat Diocese and eventually to Penola in South Australia, the site of the first school established

by Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods. The cross will eventually arrive in Sydney for the celebrations surrounding the canonisation on October 17.

The cross was welcomed at Mary MacKillop Primary School, Narre Warren North, St Joseph’s Parish Warragul, St Mary’s Cathedral Sale, St Mary’s Primary School Bairnsdale, St Laurence’s Parish Leongatha and Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College Leongatha. At each venue, the cross was welcomed and carried in procession.

Mary MacKillop Primary School, Narre Warren North, celebrated the presence of the cross with a special prayer service. Children and staff were able to venerate the cross at the conclusion of prayer.

Deacon Mark Kelly led a afternoon liturgy of reception when the Cross arrived at St Joseph’s Parish in Warragul.

Parishioners from Warragul

ASSISTING parishioners to carry the cross at St Mary’s Primary School, Bairnsdale, is Sr Maureen Philp rsj, Lakes Entrance, (right) who spoke about the life of Bl. Mary MacKillop. and neighbouring parishes, Mathew Kannalayil and Fr including families and students Jacob Thadathil for South from Marist-Sion College and St Region parishes including Joseph’s Primary School joined Josephite Sisters and Josephite in prayer and afterwards, associates. watched the Mary MacKillop On Friday morning, the Cross DVD over afternoon tea. arrived at Mary MacKillop The next stage of the journey Catholic Regional College, was at St Mary’s Cathedral Sale, Leongatha for its final stage in where Fr Bernard Buckley led a the diocese. Students and staff group of 85 people in a beautiful were on hand to welcome the and moving Taizé prayer service. cross and assisted by the Knights The liturgy concluded with a of the Southern Cross, carried it veneration of the cross and final in procession into the Mary blessing by Bishop Prowse. The MacKillop Chapel. following morning the cross The chapel contains a precious departed for Bairnsdale after remembrance of Mary morning Eucharist at the cathe- MacKillop - a piece of her origidral which was attended by some nal coffin, which was conserved students and staff from local and after Mary was laid in her final regional Catholic schools. resting place in the chapel at At Bairnsdale, the cross was MacKillop Place, North Sydney. welcomed by principal Kevin After the liturgy led by stuGreenwood, Fr Denis O’Bryan, dents and the veneration of the Fr Stephen Onuoha and over 400 cross, the MacKillop Cross was students from St Mary’s taken back to the Archdiocese of Bairnsdale, St Brendan’s Lakes Melbourne.

Entrance and St Joseph’s The diocese extends its grateful Orbost. thanks to the Knights for Sr Maureen Philp rsj spoke enabling the pilgrimage of the about the life, charism and lega- MacKillop Cross and in particucy of Mary MacKillop. lar to Michael O’Halloran from The cross was transported in Melbourne who transported the the late afternoon to St Laurence cross with the assistance of local O’Toole parish in Leongatha Knights, including Bill where Mass was celebrated by Fr McMahon, Warragul.

Some great thinkers win Tournament of Minds BERWICK - St Michael’s Primary School continues to offer its students different pathways to achieving their goals.

An extension group made up of seven students from Grade 5 and 6 represented St Michael’s in the Tournament of The Minds Melbourne Regional competition which incorporated Problem Solving Skills.

The competition was held at Deakin University against a number of other schools.

Tournament of Minds provided the group with an of extension of programs offered at St Michael’s Primary School and enhanced the students’ learning, with the experience of a challenge in an environment with like minded students, over a seven week period.

The students worked on their chosen field of applied technology titled Lost City for one hour

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each week over seven weeks, to complete an impromptu presentation.

The group had to deliver their presentation in the form of a movie together with a presentation of how they had reached their solutions, in front of an audience and a panel of judges, on Sunday the August 28.

Due to hard work and tremendous skill, the St. Michael’s team won the competition and as a result, competed in the state finals on September 12, against five other schools.

The students’ communication, encouragement of each other and co-operation skills enabled the group to achieve such excellent results.

Grade 6G student Aiden Penn said “We had to make a movie which was based on solving a mystery about a Lost City. Our group had to work together to solve clues like, where the lost city was and what their culture was.

“We presented our movie in front of the judges and an audience. I really enjoyed the whole thing and although it was quite hard, it was also very rewarding.”

SKILLFUL thinkers from St Michael’s Berwick, (back row, from left): April Tsdarkas, Helena Hodges, Aiden Penn and (front row) Molly Greely, Chloe Anderson, Gemma Quinn and Olivia Davis

Catholic Life, September 2010 - Page 13

Time for a Laugh Lend a helping hand as A POLICEMAN pulled over an old man driving his car along the highway.

“Sir, did you know your wife fell out of the car as you rounded a corner a couple of kilometres back?”

The old man smiled and said “I didn’t know! I thought I’d gone deaf!”

THE priest was most annoyed that an old man kept falling asleep at Mass and snoring loudly.

He decided to do something about it, so next week he gave $1 to a boy sitting beside the man and asked that the boy keep nudging him to keep him awake.

The Mass started well but half way through the sermon the old man was fast asleep, snoring loudly.

After Mass the priest called the boy aside and asked “What happened? I gave you $1 to keep him awake?”

“I know,” said the boy “but he gave me $5 to let him sleep.

Here’s your dollar back.”

A WELL-known American evangelist tells the story of the time when he arrived in a small town to preach.

Wanting to post a letter, he asked a small boy for directions to the post office.

When the boy told him, the evangelist thanked him and said: “If you come to church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven.”

“I don’t think I’ll bother,” the boy said, “You don’t even know your way to the post office.”

TEACHER: Catherine, I told you to write this poem out 10 times because your handwriting was so bad. You’ve only done it five times.

Catherine: Sorry Miss. I guess my arithmetic is not that good either.

CUSTOMER: Two soggy eggs on burnt toast please.

Cafe owner: We can’t serve that here, sir.

Customer: Why not? You did yesterday.

WHAT weighs two tonnes, has four legs, a tail, long nose and flies?

A dead elephant.

THREE women die together in an accident and go to heaven. When they get there, St Peter says, “We only have one rule here in heaven . . . don’t step on the ducks.”

So they enter heaven, and sure enough, there are ducks all over the place.

It is almost impossible not to step on a duck, and although they try their best to avoid them, the first woman accidentally steps on one.

Along comes St Peter with the ugliest man she ever saw.

St Peter chains them together and says “Your punishment for stepping on a duck is to spend eternity chained to this ugly man!”

The next day, the second

woman steps accidentally on a duck, and along comes St Peter, who doesn’t miss a thing, and with him is another extremely ugly man. He chains them together with the same admonishment as for the first woman.

The third woman has observed all this and, not wanting to be chained for all eternity to an ugly man, is very, very careful where she steps.

She manages to go months without stepping on any ducks, but one day St Peter comes up to her with the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on. Very tall, long eyelashes, muscular, and lean.

St Peter chains them together without saying a word. The woman remarks, “I wonder what I did to deserve being chained to you for all of eternity?”

The guy says, “I don’t know about you, but I stepped on a duck!”

A LADY was attending a church social one afternoon.

The ladies were all making a fuss over the new born baby, the newest member of the church community.

Like a good mother, the lady was closely watching her newborn when she saw a little girl come up to her baby. The little girl started having a very one way conversation.

When the little girl started asking the newborn questions, the mother leaned over and said, “The baby cannot talk.”

The little girl, in all innocence, looked up at the mother and asked, “Does it need new batteries?”

TWO swagmen call at the Catholic presbytery. The priest gives them a note and tells them to take it to the local hotel where the owner will give them a meal and a bath.

“What’s a bath?” one swaggie asks.

“How would I know? I’m not a Catholic!” replies the other.

LITTLE Bobby was spending the weekend with his grandmother after particularly trying week in school.

His grandmother decided to take him to the park on Saturday morning. It had been snowing all night and everything was beautiful.

His grandmother remarked “Doesn’t it look like an artist painted this scenery? Did you know God painted this just for you?

Bobby said, “Yes, God did it and he did it left handed.”

This confused his grandmother a bit, and she asked him “What makes you say God did this with his left hand?”

“Well,” said Bobby, “we learned at school last week that Jesus sits on God’s right hand!”

remote area volunteers A DROUIN couple who have completed two stints as volunteers in remote areas of Broome Diocese have recommended others also consider doing such work.

Vin and Judy Bibby undertook voluntary work in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in 2008 and 2009.

In 2008 they worked for eight months in the Waarmun (Turkey Creek) community as managers for the Mirrilingki spirituality centre that was established by the Sisters of St Joseph about 28 years ago to cater for the spiritual and psychological needs of the indigenous members of the local community.

In 2009 Bishop of Broome, Christopher Saunders asked them to make themselves available to work at Kalumburu mission in the far north of the Kimberley.

This mission was established

by Benedictines 101 years ago to spread the faith into this remote area of Australia, and it continues today to cater to the indigenous and non-indigenous members of the community.

Mr Bibby said the work at Kalumburu was in building, building maintenance and catering areas.

He said there was a great need for volunteers to support the work required by institutions in the remote areas of Australia so they could continue their essential work.

There were many communities in Broome Diocese that required volunteers. Skills in administration, tradespeople, shop assistants, vehicle maintenance, buildings and gardening could

JUDY Bibby gives a lesson in making Anzac biscuits to youngsters at Mirrilingki.

HAPPY volunteers (from left) Lauren, Jim, John, Moya, Judy and Julie who travelled from all parts of Australia to work as volunteers in the Kimberley. all come in handy.

For more information contact the Bibbys on 5625 5555 or go

direct to the volunteers coordinator at Broome, Vicky Baudry on (08) 9192 1060.

Learning about stewardship SALE Diocese welcomed two leading speakers on stewardship.

Chris Ehler from the faith and life vicariate of Brisbane Archdiocese and Tracy Welliver, the pastoral associate and stewardship leader from St Pius X Parish, North Carolina, USA, made a two day visit.

The two men presented an overview and engage in discussion about the ancient Christian practice and way of living espoused by stewardship.

Whilst many parishes would be familiar with the aspect of stewardship that is more narrowly focussed on planned giving and Catholic fundraising, stewardship in fact is much more comprehensive than that, encompassing the whole of Christian life and our call to mission.

Themen gave presentations for at St Michael’s in Berwick and another at St Mary’s Parish Newborough.

Several participants from neighboring parishes attended.

St Joseph’s Warragul pastoral associate Joan Robertson offers us some thoughts on what she heard at the Newborough presentation: Christian stewardship is not a new idea. The origins of stewardship are deeply embedded in the Hebrew Scriptures and in a specific sense, in the teachings of Jesus in the Gospel.

It was the development of a US Bishop’s pastoral letter: Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response in 1992. This led to the

widespread adoption of stewardship principles in the pastoral life of many parishes in USA, Canada, England and now Australia, Christian Stewardship focuses on all that we are gifted with and calls us to four actions. (a) Receiving the gifts of God with gratitude. (b) Cultivating them responsibly. (c) Sharing them generously in justice with others, and (d) Returning the gifts with increase to God. All we have is gift, freely given

by God. To follow Jesus we are asked to return to God those gifts for his glory.

The parish is to provide and give opportunities for parishioners to work through a discernment process, so that they can discover their own spiritual gifts and then use those gifts in service to others Stewardship is mature discipleship which requires a decision to follow Jesus Christ no matter what the cost.

This commitment leads to a way of life, not just a series of actions. Then, with the first two being true, stewardship is transformational.

We are given opportunities to practice good stewardship, either individually, in organised community and also in everyday life.

In parishes where there is a pastoral parish council a small stewardship group or committee can be set up to research and recommend relevant approaches for advancing the stewardship

way of life.

This committee would also be in partnership with our schools.

In this way the parish pastoral council continues with its important broader role while leaving the specific stewardship tasks to the members of the stewardship committee.

There are many opportunities and ministries in our parishes for people to become fully involved and engaged in. But the challenge for all our parishioners is for them to realize that they all have special gifts and talents they are needed, for our parishes to be become truly evangelised and welcoming communities.

Colouring contest winner WE are pressed for space this issue so unfortunately no colouring contest for our younger readers.

However, we can tell you that last month’s winner was Kristen Muir, 9, who attends St Joseph’s Primary School in Korumburra.

Look out for a new colouring competition in our special October issue.

We have four great new Mary MacKillop books for children to give away courtesy of our friends at John Garrett Publishing in Melbourne.

Page 14 - Catholic Life, September 2010

Quick calendar

What’s on & when September 16 – National E-Conference – ‘Jesus the Christ’ 18 – School holidays begin 19 – RE 4 the Rabble, ‘Mary MacKillop: A Woman of Strong Faith’, Sr Christina Scannell rsj, St Mary’s Scghool, Newborough, 6.30pm 21-24 – Sale Diocese clergy inservice, Corpus Christi, Carlton 21 – Feast of St Matthew, apostle 23 – Memorial of St Pio of Pietrelcino 26 – RE 4 the Rabble, ‘Mary MacKillop: Love in Action’, Sr Doreen Dagge rsj, Chapter House, St Mary’s Cathedral, 4.30pm 26 – Launch of Social Justice Sunday Statement 27 – Memorial of St Vincent de Paul

October 1 – Memorial of St Therese of Lisieux 2 – Final vows of canonical hermits Srs Julian and Martha, St Mary’s Church, Yarram, 2pm 3 – Daylight saving begins (clocks forward) 3 – Diocesan Missions Mass, St John’s Church, Trafalgar, 10.30am 4 – Deadline of October Catholic Life 4 – Term 4 begins 4 – Memorial of St Francis of Assisi 5 – Talk on One Body, One Spirit in Christ by Fr Peter Williams, CEO, Warragul, 5pm 6 – Commissioning of MacKillop canonisation pilgrims by Bishop Prowse, Sion Teachers’ Centre, Warragul, 7pm 6-7 – Clergy Liturgy conference, Cowes 7 – Serra Mass for vocations, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, 5.30pm 7 - Talk on One Body, One Spirit in Christ by Fr Peter Williams, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, 6pm 7 – Our Lady of the Rosary 10 – Final Hymnfest at Loch Public Hall, 1.30pm 12-24 – Bishop Prowse overseas attending canonisation of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Rome 13 - Catholic Life published 13 – CDF Board meeting, Sale 15 – Memorial of St Teresa 17 – Canonisation of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Rome, followed by Bishop Prowse’s walking tour at 3pm. Live TV and Web broadcasts in Australia 18 – Feast of St Luke, evangelist 20 – Diocesan Finance Council meeting 21 – Valley region meeting, Newborough, noon 27 – Meetings of Council of Priests and Consultors, Sale, noon 31 – Annual St Sofia festival at St John’s, Koo Wee Rup,

Cathedral restoration plan

Italian Mass at 9.30am, followed by procession

November 1 – All Saints Day 1 – Deadline of November Catholic Life 2 – Melbourne Cup (public holiday) 2 – All Souls Day 5-7 – Official visit of Bishop Prowse to Koo Wee Rup parish 9 – East region meeting, Orbost, 10.30am 9 – Launch of new Peter Synan book, Three Springtimes: Chronicles of St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, 5pm, followed by releaase of cathedral master plan and appeal launch.

10 – Catholic Life published 10 – South region meeting, St Laurence’s parish centre, Leongatha, 11.15am 12 – Diocesan celebration of canonisation of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, 11am 13 – Ecumenical commission, ‘Celebrating Mary MacKillop – A Great Australian’, Mary of the Cross Hall, St Michael’s School, Traralgon 13 – Memorial of St Francis Xavier 13 – Celebration of 120th anniversary of foundation of Our Lady of Sion Convent, Sale.

14 – Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral at 11am, followed by luncheon to mark 120th anniversary of foundation of Our Lady of Sion Convent 14 – Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Perpetual Help shrine at St Mary’s Cathedral, 2.30pm.

16 – Central region meeting, St Joseph’s parish meeting room, Warragul, 7.30pm 17 – Official opening new facilities at Nagle College, Bairnsdale 19-21 – Bishop Prowse’s official visit to Moe parish 21 – Solemnity of Christ the King 22-26 – Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference plenary session, Sydney 24 – West region meeting, St Agatha’s parish centre, Cranbourne, 10.30am 27 – Ordination of Deacon Dariusz Jablonski as priest for Sale Diocese, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, 1pm 27 – Victorian State Elections 30 – Deadline of December Catholic Life

December 2 – Valley region Christmas lunch, Morwell Club, noon 8 – Catholic Life published 12 – Polish Mass, Sacred Heart Church, Morwell, 2pm 15 – Council of Priests and Consultors meetings, Sale, noon 18 – School holidays begin 24 – Christmas Eve 25 – Christmas Day 26 – Boxing Day

AT the planning committee meeting at the Bishop’s Office last week are (from left) Brenda Burditt, Theo Smolenaars, Fr Bernard Buckley, George Brayshaw and Des Surkitt.

By Fr Bernard Buckley EARLIER in the year Bishop Christopher Prowse formed a committee to plan a restoration and enhancement program for St Mary’s Cathedral.

It was in 1993 that the cathedral was re-opened after an extensive development project.

In recent years it has become obvious that the building again needed some close attention.

A committee of local parishioners, Fr Bernard Buckley, Des Surkitt, Brenda Burditt, Theo Smolenaars and George Brayshaw representing the diocese of Sale, has met regularly to act on behalf of the whole diocese. In co-operation with Bill Gamble, of Gamcorp,

Bairnsdale, a master plan is almost ready to be launched.

The master planning process has highlighted areas of great need in the cathedral. Much of the render on the interior walls has deteriorated over the decades and now needs removing and replacing. The plan will include new toilets and a new kitchen.

Visitors to the cathedral from across the diocese will be grateful for those new facilities.

The roof of the cathedral gathering space is in serious need of repair and renewal. The ventilation of the building must be improved and air conditioning installed. New developments in technology, solar power and safety regulations will involve other works.

Bishop Prowse hopes the cathedral will be restored and enhanced to be sure that it remains a worthy ‘Mother Church’ for all in the Diocese of Sale for generations to come.

The master plan will be launched during a gathering at the cathedral on Tuesday, November 9. Also to be launched is an appeal to help pay for the cost of the project.

Thirdly Peter Synan’s new book on the cathedral Three Springtimes will be launched.

You’ll see details of that elsewhere in this issue of Catholic Life.

All people across the diocese are invited to the launch. We’ll look forward to welcoming you to Sale.

Ex-CEO director elected to international missiology FORMER director of Catholic education in Sale Diocese, Dr Therese D’Orsa has been elected to the executive of the International Association of Catholic Missiologists for the next three years.

She is the first lay person on the executive which is comprised principally of priests from major religious congregations, seminaries and from Roman dicasteries dealing with mission issues.

She will represent Oceania and help plan the 2013 conference in Africa.

Since retiring from Sale Diocese, Dr Therese D’Orsa has been working for the Broken Bay Institute as a mission volunteer, heading the Faculty of Mission and Culture.

Broken Bay Institute is a theological faculty affiliated with the University of Newcastle which offers a wide range of theology units through distance learning, the most popular of which are offered in e-learning mode.

The Institute has a large student body scattered throughout Australia, the Pacific and beyond. Much of its energy is directed at teachers – particularly those working in smaller dioceses. Dr D’Orsa has been responsible for establishing and developing the Mission and Culture Department.

Last month, as part of the contingent from the Broken Bay Institute, Dr D’Orsa and her husband Dr Jim D’Orsa attended the conference of the International Association of Catholic Missiologists in Tagaytay, Philippines.

DR Therese D’Orsa (left) with President of the IACM Fr Lasar Stanislaus SVD, and Sr Maryjoan Iwenofu, delegate from Nigeria, who is currently studying for her Ph D in Mission Studies in Rome and who, like Dr D’Orsa, is a former head of Religious Education.

Missiology is also known as Mission Studies. It is an interdisciplinary branch of theology which focuses on how and why the Church carries out its mission. The theme of the 2010 conference was on the challenges of mission in a globalised world.

“Mission” was once thought of by Catholics in this country either in terms of a parish revival/renewal program, or as “missions” – the work of the Church’s “foreign affairs department”, and largely the responsibility of the religious orders.

The latter view assumed that there were “developed Churches” and “developing churches”, and it was an obligation of the former to help the lat-

ter.

This is no longer the situation as speaker after speaker made abundantly clear at the conference which brought together some 75 experts in Mission Studies from Rome and all the major cultural regions of the world – Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, Latin America and Oceania.

The Church is now well established in each of these regions and each faces its own unique mission challenges. One of the major strands of the conference was an expert analysis of the challenges the church faces in each region. Dr D’Orsa was invited to provide the input on the situation in Oceania.

Catholic Life, September 2010 - Page 15

Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

(Mark10:17)

Good Youth News with Jess Denehy & Kelly Lucas JUST got back from an inspiring meeting of youth ministry coordinators from around Australia and I am feeling excited and invigorated by all the youth ministry news from all over the country!

There are so many wonderful things happening in youth ministry that sometimes it is hard to keep up. But I wanted to share with you a little of the presentation given by Fr Chris Ryan mgl entitled; “A Youth Minister’s Spiritual Journey”.

Fr Chris, who many of you would remember from the Journey of the Cross and Icon, talked about “the seven habits of highly faithful youth ministers”.

He encouraged all those working or volunteering in youth ministry to make these habits part of their personal practice.

The first habit Fr Chris encouraged was a committed personal prayer life. As well as regular daily prayer Fr Chris suggested setting aside a day a month and a longer retreat each year to focus on the person of Jesus and centring ourselves in

the gospels in both our daily lives and our work with young people.

Secondly, Fr Chris advocated that youth leaders spend at least 15 minutes daily meditating on an examen prayer. He suggested that an exercise, such as Timothy Gallagher’s The Examen Prayer would be an excellent practice to conclude each day with.

The third habit Fr Chris supported youth ministers to cultivate was meeting regularly with a spiritual director and perhaps a ministry supervisor. Spiritual direction is a “gathering together” of two in the name of Jesus, the spiritual director and the directee, to help a person to develop a closer relationship with God and to better discern how the Holy Spirit is leading in their life.

Fourth, Fr Chris emphasised that it is essential for youth minsters to participate in regular reconciliation. Part of a youth minister’s calling is to continual transformation and growth to which the sacrament of reconciliation is essential.

The fifth habit advocated by Fr Chris was to ensure that as a youth minster you regularly participate in Mass without your youth minister hat on. There needs to be opportunities in your life to meet God in Mass without ministering or having a job to do.

Keeping control of your diary was the sixth healthy habit endorsed by Fr Chris. A responsible youth volunteer or minister needs to ensure regular opportunities for prayer and reflection are scheduled into your calendar and given the same weight and importance as any other meeting.

And finally, the seventh habit of highly faithful youth ministers according to Fr Chris, is to ensure you allow yourself “off duty” social time. Having friends beyond your ministry role is an important part of recharging your youth ministry batteries.

I think these disciplines advocated by Fr Chris can help us all grow, live and love in our youth ministry work and throughout the rhythm of our daily life.

Remar solidarity at Wilcannia

By Simon Cuckson STUDENTS and staff from the Remar program at Marist-Sion College in Warragul have recently returned from a week long experience in Wilcannia, New South Wales.

The group of 12 Year 11 Blue Rowers and three staff spent the week with the community of St Therese’s Community School working on projects in and around the struggling school as a part of their involvement in the Remar program.

Each person undertook work in building, painting, gardening and classroom activities with the young primary school aged indigenous children of Wilcannia.

The teenagers enjoyed the opportunity to experience a different culture and to give something positive to the community in the isolated outback town.

The experience is a part of the Remar youth ministry program in which students study leadership skills, faith based studies, community involvement and active service activities. The solidarity experience is often a highlight for the participants as they are far removed from their own communities and engage in worthwhile activities in communities that really need help. All of this takes place whilst living, eating, praying and journeying together for a week.

WORKING with the wheelbarrow at Wilcannia are Maddy Barnes and The highlight for the partici- Brodie Webb. pants this year was camping in food, listening to dreamtime sto- necessary projects conducted by the sacred Mutawinji National ries and gaining a deeper insight these groups. The participants Park, near Broken Hill. The two into the traditional landowners’ enjoy the opportunities presentdays, two nights cultural camp paintings and rock carvings. ed to them, but the joy and contook place with the primary The mission school in nections experienced by the school children at a remote Wilcannia relies on the annual young locals there far outweigh camping ground. Activities camps from the Marist-Sion the hardships everyone endured undertaken during the experi- College to help with simple but throughout the week. ence included gathering native

Young men of God Sydney conference THE Young Men of God National Men’s Conference is happening October 15-17 in Sydney and you are invited.

The vision of the conference is to re-ignite young men throughout our country and to help them reach their God-given potential, to be heralds of the truth for future generations and to empower others to realise their immense value and purpose as children of God.

YMG’s pinnacle event of the year draws Catholic men from around Australia for a powerful weekend of teaching and brotherhood. Inspiring speakers will help take us deeper in our faith journey, to be strengthened in our walk as Christian men in the world today.

For more information and to register go to www.ymgmovement.org.

PREPARING for Mass at Our Lady Help of Christians during a youth forum at Narre Warren.

Youth show way

YEAR 10 youth ministry student Beth with Grade 2 Tahlia GRADE two students from St Laurence’s Primary in Leongatha and St Joseph’s Primary in Korumburra travelled to Mary MacKillop College for a first Reconciliation reflection day, lead by the Year 10 youth ministry class.

The Year 10 students planned and presented a day focused on Reconciliation in preparation for the Year 2’s sacrament next term. Activities included ice breakers, dramas, prayer and meditation.

The stories of ‘Zacchaeus and the Sycamore tree’ and ‘The

Prodigal Son’ formed the basis of the activities.

Religious education coordinator from St Laurence’s had this to say after the event, “The children loved the day and got a lot out of it. All of the activities were a hit and they (the Year 2s) really responded well to the Year 10s.”

The Youth Ministry students also got a lot from the day. The organisation, confidence and knowledge were really impressive and the leadership shown by the Year 10s was well beyond their years.

Page 16 - Catholic Life, September 2010

The richest gold mines in Gippsland at Walhalla THE gold mines on Cohen’s Reef at Walhalla were by far the richest in Gippsland.

Individually they equalled anything at Bendigo or Ballarat, though the overall output from Walhalla was not as high.

Previous books on Walhalla have been written by historians interested in the social history of the town, as well as its mining glories. The most recent was Yolande Reynold’s analysis of the town’s cemetery records.

Now two historians, Brian Lloyd and Howard Coombes, have written a comprehensive book, Gold in the Walhalla Region, on the technical aspects of gold mining and gold output over whole of west Gippsland.

Dr Brian Lloyd is an electrical engineer who grew up at Ten Mile on the goldfields to the north of Walhalla, and who has written a number of books on these fields. Howard Coombes has had practical experience as a mine manager on the Gaffney’s Creek field. They previously combined to produce the book, Gold At Gaffney’s Creek, published in 1981.

The authors of this book are specialists on the technology of gold mining. They provide for each mine details of the company which ran it, and the output

Gippsland History with Patrick Morgan of gold from it on a year by year basis. They have also assembled from available data lists of mine owners, and the total gold output from any particular region.

Although the authors state that this is not a social history, they do provide lists of inhabitants in the region, invaluable for those doing family history. The book brings to public notice a fabulous amount of information collected from diverse sources.

The raw information from mining records is tabled, analysed and made comprehensible.

This book covers goldfields over a much wider area than Walhalla itself. North of Walhalla, Matlock, the Jordan fields and Donelly’s Creek are covered, and as well as fields at such diverse spots as Russell’s Creek, Tanjil, Foster and Turton’s Creek. But the core of the book is Walhalla, and in Walhalla the focus is on Cohen’s Reef, and famous mines like the

Long Tunnel and the Long Tunnel Extended.

Cohen’s Reef at Walhalla was fabulously wealthy. Figures in this book show 100,000 ounces were taken from it in the second half of the 1860s, which dwarfed the outputs of all other mines in Gippsland.

Gold is now worth more than $1000 an ounce, so imagine what wealth emerged from Walhalla.

The Lady of the Swamp at Tullaree in South Gippsland, Margaret Clement, inherited her wealth from her father, Peter Clement, an original investor in Walhalla.

The Police Inspector in charge of the Gippsland district, John Sadlier, remembered: “The greatest mine I believe in the Commonwealth is the Long Tunnel. As showing how eager speculators then were, I bought some shares for £12, my first mining investment. I could have had them for £10 a day or two

Local prayerbook for children THE MARY MACKILLOP PRAYERBOOK FOR CHILDREN, by the children of Australia, illustrated by Lynne Muir, published and distributed

by John Garratt Publishing, hardback, 120 pages, rrp $19.95.

MARY MacKillop is certainly the flavor of the month when it comes to books but most of these are written by adults for adults.

They tell of her life story, her charism and her strong will to succeed.

How timely is it then that this children’s prayerbook has been produced with prayers from children from all the country.

The book begins with a brief synopsis of Mary’s life and then has nine chapters of prayers.

What everyone will love about this book is the manificent illustrations from Lynne Muir featuring Australian wildlife such as pygmy possums, anemone fish, rock wallabies, swans, emus, rainbow bee eaters, rainbow lorikeets butterflies, geckos and tawny frogmouths.

Several prayers from students at St Catherine’s Primary, Berwick South, and St Mary’s Primary, Yarram, feature in the book.

THE FATHERS, Vol. 2 by Pope Benedict XVI, published by Our Sunday Visitor, distributed by Rainbow Books, hardback, 170 pages, rrp $25.95.

THIS is the second volume of teaching from the Pope on the

Talking about Books fathers of the Church, great men of history who guided the Church.

The Pope writes clearly covering the life and main teachings of the various Fathers in a few pages each.

This volume covers 25 men from St Leo the Great through to Sr Bernard of Clairvaux.

In between are remarkable characters such as St Gregory the Great, St Columban, Bede the Venerable, John Damascene and Sts Cyril and Methodius.

For anyone studying theology or just wanting to know more about Church history this would make great reading, as does the previous volume which covered the Fathers of the early Church.

Pope Benedict is revealing himself to be a great teaching pope and these works will add to the corpus of his works.

and the final “What should I do?” at the end of the book.

Bishop Baker, a man who has also been devoted to finding Christ in the poor, has written the individual meditations and prayers contained in each section of the book.

The book provides readers with the keys to finding the Lord in the poor and to overcome the fears and obstacles (represented by the seven deadly sins) that prevent them from responding to His call.

Scattered throughout the book are small inspirational panels and some delightful icon-style illustrations.

WHEN DID WE SEE YOU, LORD? by Bishop Robert J. Baker and Fr Benedict J. Groeschel CFR, published by Our Sunday Visitor, distributed by Rainbow Books, hardback, 176 pages, rrp $27.95.

SOMETIMES the traditional prayers of the Church hold little appeal for the younger generation.

This book brings together a series of prayers in more youthoriented language, talking about the things that matter to teenagers today.

It carries prayers from teenagers who feel the pain of break-up, the exhilaration of getting a driving licence, the stress of exams and so on.

The prayers ring with joy to God and cries in abandonment during the ups and downs of life.

Some of the prayers come from the Bible, while others have been contributed.

THIS book is a great inspirational work based on need for everyone to widen their horizons and recognise Christ in everyone they meet.

It is based on the works of Fr Groeschel who is a well-known American speaker, author and retreat master.

He has spent a lifetime working among the poor.

He has written the introductory text which begins each section

UPS AND DOWNS, Prayers by and 4 Youth, compiled by Elizabeth Halfman, distributed

by Rainbow Books, paperback, 84 pages, rrp $16.95

AN historic photograph of Walhalla in its heyday as a gold mining town. before. But still the market price Later personalities who were kept steadily rising. I had the sin- important included the mining gular experience for me of grow- engineers and geologists Hyman ing richer through this unearned Herman and William increment at the rate of several Baragwanath. They also helped thousands a year. develop the Latrobe Valley “One man, a mechanic con- brown coal resources in the 20th nected with the mine, held 100 century, proving a link between shares. He gave up work and the two types of mining. retired to city life, drawing £700 Brown coal became the per month. When calling at the replacement industry as gold General Post Office each month mining declined. As the authors for his cheque, he would be fol- of this book are themselves engilowed by a crowd of parasites.” neers, they are able to describe One of the most prominent the precise roles of these imporpersonalities at Walhalla was the tant historical figures. mine manager Henry Rosales, In comparison with Walhalla originally from Spain and a many mines, like those in the qualified mining engineer.

Foster area, covered in this He had some experience at book, struggled with meagre Clunes and arrived in Walhalla returns over the years. Disputes in the mid 1860s, when he was a were common on all the fields, consulting engineer to the Long and the economic history of golf Tunnel Company. He was the mining was one of ups and first mayor of Walhalla, a Justice down, with a gradual decline of the Peace and a member of through the 20th century. the Mining Board for the The authors end their book Gippsland district. with a 60 page technical descripA friend of Rosales was tion of how the gold was won, George Hartrick, who arrived in essential reading for outsiders Walhalla at the same time. He like ourselves who have little idea became a mine manager, and a how it was done. number of his sons continued in This is a hard-cover, large forthe mining business, so the mat, handsomely produced Hartrick family became one of book, with many illustrations, the best known in Walhalla over diagrams and charts. It is just the decades. about the ultimate anyone could Richard Mackay lived for imagine on research into some years at Walhalla. He is Gippsland’s richest goldfields. important as the author of The book is so encyclopedic in Recollections of Early Gippsland its knowledge it’s like a work of Goldfields (1916), the primary reference where all sorts of inforsource on the subject. mation can be found.

Ramsay Thomson was anothBrian Lloyd and Howard er key figure at Walhalla. Coombes Gold in the Walhalla Trained in Scotland as a Region, West Gippsland Victoria, mechanical engineer, he worked Histec Publications, Hampton, at Gaffney’s Creek in the later 2010, available from Dr Brian 1860s as a construction engineer Lloyd, 12A Hampton St before being appointed manager Hampton East, Victoria, 3188, of the Long Tunnel Mine in phone 9553 6120, price $70, plus 1867. $8 postage.

Central Catholic Bookshop 322 Lonsdale St., Melbourne (Next door to St Francis’ Church)

Visit our website at www.catholicbookshop.com.au Browse through our range of books and sacramental and religious gifts or search for specific items by author, title or keyword Open seven days Phone and mail orders welcome. Credit cards accepted

Phone (03) 9639 0844 custserv@catholicbookshop.com.au

Catholic Life, September 2010 - Page 17

John Lardner - Gippsland’s premier surveyor

By Terry Synan WHY has so little credit and praise fallen to our intrepid pioneer surveyors? Early explorers, pastoralists and civic leaders are frequently eulogised while the exacting foundational work of early surveyors is largely forgotten. They are our unsung pioneer heroes.

Their work and contribution to civilised Gippsland life is basic, fundamental, cardinal.

Without it there could be no defined farms, towns, communication linkages and no Gippsland or Victoria.

Surveys produced order, connections, boundaries, harmony.

They reduced arguments and court actions. They are the fundamental building blocks of modern society and civil life.

The contributions of surveyor John Lardner are illustrative.

His surveyor footprint in early Gippsland is huge and as pivotal as any of his contemporaries.

He was also a great townsman and leading Gippsland Catholic.

Lardner was born in Galway, Ireland, in April, 1839 to farming parents. At that time it was not easy for a Catholic child to receive an appropriate education because of the harsh penal laws.

We learn he was “educated privately”. Does this imply he obtained a hedge-school education? His may have been a surreptitious schooling in a barn or cabin rather than in the open air.

Success in such circumstances depended entirely on the quality of the teacher. If such was his academic fate, he was well served by the experience.

Following his privately imparted education he engaged for some years in surveying in Ireland. Again the record is unclear as to what exactly this entailed. Presumably, he worked in some type of apprenticeship arrangement which likewise well suited him for his future surveying career in the antipodes.

By age 24 he was experienced and confident enough to seek an appointment with the Government Survey Department in New Zealand. This portion of his surveying career found him working out of Auckland and later, in the Otago providence, out of Dunedin.

November, 1866 found Lardner in Victoria holding a position with the SurveyorGeneral’s Department in Melbourne. There he gained a further broadening of professional experience in the Melbourne district, the Otway Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula.

Between 1870 and 1873 he headed a party laying out streets and blocks in Parkville near Melbourne University, then around Albert Park and along St Kilda and Queens Roads. Some very fine mansions and residences were later erected in these areas.

On January 4, 1869 Lardner obtained his certificate from the Land Surveyors Board accrediting him as a contract surveyor.

In 1873 he came to Brandy Creek in response to a rush for ‘scrub land’ following the passing of the 1869 Selection Act (the second Grant Act) which allowed for selection before survey. He led a survey team to cut up for selection some 10,000 acres of rough bush and forest covered country.

As part of the task he surveyed a line from the Old Sale Road at Brandy Creek, southward to the

Strzelecki Ranges. The wellknown Lardner’s Track today links the Lardner district and the Lardner Park function centre (Gippsland Field Days) to the Princes Freeway between Warragul and Drouin.

To complete such a survey in virgin bush and forest it was necessary to cut a track over many kilometres that would provide a clear view for the theodolite – a daunting and time consuming task.

This gruelling project, undertaken by Lardner and his team, is well told by Hugh Copeland in The Path of Progress (1934). “Early surveyors”, he wrote, “found that life in the forest had no special charms. The work was very arduous, and to a degree, dangerous. Long and difficult walks filled in the days, and discomforts were abundant.”

Lardner, so Copeland states, recalled how “a wall of timber and scrub, seeming to reach to the sky, would be seen on each side of the narrow track…” The number of wet days was very high adding to the overall difficulty of carrying out the task says Copeland. When it was not raining “The scrub was so wet that every movement brought down a shower.”

Copeland describes Lardner as “a skilful surveyor” and “a versatile man in his profession” able to switch from surveying urban blocks to selection lay-outs and bush roads through dense forests and soaking swamps. Through such flexibility he was instrumental in pioneering the opening up of Gippsland’s forested hill country to intensive agriculture.

During the following year, 1874, Lardner’s party surveyed the Koo Wee Rup Swamp, north of Westernport. This involved a target area of 11,000 acres. The work was carried out in the most appalling conditions, tramping “in water sometimes above the knees, and… (cutting) through dense ti-tree scrub”. (Gippsland Mercury, Sept, 1903, quoted in The Land of the Lyre Bird, 1920).

Later he surveyed the Moe swamp for drainage purposes.

He also continued to work in various parts of the Melbourne district until his move to live permanently in Gippsland in 1877 and survey the new townships along the Gippsland railway line then under construction.

The main Gippsland line was built in five separate sections.

The fourth, Moe to Bunyip segment, was completed by March, 1878. Lardner’s survey party laid out the railway towns along it.

The Drouin survey, the first undertaken, occurred in May, 1877. This was followed by the Warragul survey. The survey camp, located on the Warragul station reserve, was surrounded by tall gum-trees that stood at 150 feet, and threatened to fall on the camp when winds were high.

In Europe, railways were built connecting from town to town.

In Gippsland the reverse applied.

The railway came first and towns grew up on locations along the track.

In most cases, the railway caused the establishment of the townships, though sometimes, an older town settlement was suppressed in favor of the new railway town.

For example, Morwell Bridge, the initial township, declined in favor of the new Morwell; Westbury in favor of Moe and

John Lardner Brandy Creek in favor of Warragul.

Lardner is accredited with nearly all the town lay-outs between Pakenham and Morwell including Yarragon, Trafalgar, Moe, Bunyip and Darnum. His work also included laying out railway line connecting roads to the new settlements.

In early 1880 Lardner shifted part of his survey camp to Poowong in order to survey various roads, formerly pack-tracks, in the Jeetho-Jumbunna area.

One of these passed through the townships of Jumbunna and Outtrim, eventually cutting the Powlett River before crossing the coastal plains to Anderson’s Inlet (now Inverloch).

Another traced a similar pathway but through Moyarra and Kongwak. This was to provide road links for selectors already settling hill country and clearing farms on the western extensions of the Strzelecki Ranges.

John Lardner next worked on the Great Southern Railway line built through South Gippsland in the 1887 to 1889 period. His was a significant contribution to the development of the South Gippsland region as a small farmer province. He surveyed the following townships along the route: Korumburra, Leongatha, Koonwarra, Tarwin, Meeniyan and Nyora. Some references record him as doing similar work on the Morwell – Mirboo North line.

In July, 1890 Lardner moved to Bairnsdale to fill the position of land officer in that district. In 1896, the Sale district was added to his responsibilities. In 1899 he became district surveyor for all of Gippsland east of the Morwell River. He also held the positions of chairman of the Land Classification Board, Commissioner for taking affidavits and many other offices.

Lardner and his wife, Annie (nee Cosgrove) had four daughters and three sons. He became president of the Bairnsdale Rowing Club where two of his sons were keen members. He was also president of the Bairnsdale Football Club and a member of the Bairnsdale Hospital Committee.

While at Bairnsdale his involvement in the Catholic parish came to the fore. He played a leading role in assisting the Our Lady of Sion Sisters move into their Bairnsdale prop-

erty securing the residence of Charles Swan, on Riverine St. to become the main convent building.

The sisters soon opened a small Catholic primary and secondary school on that and adjoining sites before also taking over management of the local parish primary school some time later.

John Lardner superannuated out of the Land’s Department in October, 1903 and retired to Leongatha. In his old age his great love of sport and his church led to a very active retirement where he was a local celebrity.

He and his staunch friend, Fr Coyne PP, entered into several joint ventures in a growing Leongatha. (John Murphy, Faith of Our Fathers, 2001) In November, 1907 they organised the official opening of the Leongatha Bowls Club.

They were also the leading figures in establishing the fine nine hole golf course beside the football oval and in building the “new” parish church.

The new church of St Laurence O’Toole opened in November 1913 and the Lardner family generously donated a set of the Stations of the Cross.

They later made several other bequests and gifts to the parish.

Mother Veronica Lardner, one of the Lardner daughters,

entered the Sisters of Faithful Companions of Jesus at Vaucluse Convent, Richmond, in the early 1900s.

There she was mistress of studies for over 30 years and is remembered as “a very gifted person … and an excellent teacher” (Sr. M. Clare O’Connor FCJ The Sisters Faithful Companions of Jesus in Australia, 1982). She died in 1962.

Lardner lived on into his 90s, dying in 1931. He is buried at Leongatha. His wife, a son and daughter predeceased him.

Lardner’s Track and school and Lardner Park serve as memorials to his huge Gippsland pioneer contribution.

In May, 1927, three years before his death, Lardner, the “old pioneer”, was present to see Lord Somers, Governor of Victoria, unveil a Leongatha memorial cairn, one of 17 across Gippsland, celebrating McMillan’s and Strzelecki’s 1839-41 exploration journeys.

As it happened the unveiling coincided with Lardner’s 88th birthday and Lord Somers expressed his delight that the ceremony was occurring on such an auspicious day.

Lardner’s huge contribution to the province was doubtless noted mentally by those present.

Whose was the greater contribution, they may well have wondered: The explorers or the surveyors?

Students serve staff

MARIST Sion College students ready to serve the meals.

WARRAGUL - The tables were parent teacher interviews. turned at Marist Sion College as Over 50 staff enjoyed a two students waited on staff. course home cooked meal. The Each year the Remar groups at meal was prepared, served and the college look for ways to cleaned by the cheery faced Year fundraise for their solidarity 10 Remar students. camp to Wilcannia.

Staff were greeted at the door, Last month the red caravel served and then allowed to eat earned money by catering for the and relax in the student free zone all important staff dinner, during dining room.

BARRY AND ANNETTE LETT

Funeral Directors Barry, Annette and Bradley Lett offer care, compassion and service with dignity for the people of Gippsland.

Caring and personal 24-hour service.

Prepaid and prearranged funeral plans available.

67 Macarthur St., Sale 3850

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Page 18 - Catholic Life, September 2010

Newman beatification by Pope an important event WHILE the eyes of most Australian are firmly placed on the canonisation of Mary of the Cross MacKillop next month, there is another important ceremony taking place in England this weekend.

The long awaited beatification ceremony will take place in Bermingram on September 19 for the great Victorian Catholic theologian, John Henry Cardinal Newman, one of the most influential English Catholics of the 19th century.

praying for light and guidance.

In 1845, Newman was received into the Roman Catholic Church

by Fr Dominic Barberi, an Italian theologian and a member of the Passionist Congregation.

Fr Barberi was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1963.

In becoming a Catholic, Newman had to make many sacrifices. Many of his friends broke off relations with him after his conversion and his family kept him at a distance. He had to resign from his teaching

A PAINTING of Cardinal Newman He journeyed from Anglicanism to Catholicism and used his great intellect and masterful writing ability to win over thousands of people to Christ and the Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinal Newman will be proclaimed Blessed by Pope Benedict XVI, in a break with the tradition of his Pontificate that normally has the Pope presiding over canonisation ceremonies and a Vatican cardinal or archbishop presiding over beatifications Newman was born in 1801 into an Anglican family of bankers. He was the first born of John Newman and Jemima Fourdrinier. From an early age, he had a passion for God and spiritual matters, having experienced his ‘first conversion’, as he described it, at 15.

He was ordained an Anglican minister in 1825, when he finished his studies at the University of Oxford. Three years later, he was appointed vicar of St Mary the Virgin Church, in Oxford.

In 1833, he organised what became known as the Oxford Movement, intending to combat three evils threatening the Church of England – spiritual stagnation, interference from the State, and unorthodoxy.

When studying the history of the early Christian Fathers in 1839, Newman discovered that the position of his own Church was like that of the early heretics.

He decided to retire from Oxford life, and he and a few others took up residence at nearby Littlemore. For three years he lived a strict religious life,

fellowship and lost his only source of income.

Newman said that the one thing that sustained him during this trying period was Christ’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

Once a Catholic, Newman set out for Rome to study for the priesthood. In 1847, he was ordained a priest and in 1848, founded the Oratory of St Philip Neri, a small community of priests at Maryvale, near Birmingham.

In 1851, the Bishops of Ireland decided to found a separate university for Catholics and invited Fr Newman to become the first rector. It was a demanding task for an older man, but, despite the strain of 56 crossings to and from Ireland in seven years, he succeeded in establishing what is today known as University College, Dublin.

Newman made use of several literary forms to express his thought, including speeches, treatises, novels, poetry and his autobiography.

His major works include Development of Christian Doctrine (1845), written when he was still an Anglican, and Grammar of Assent (1870), a work reflecting the height of his thought on the dynamics of the act of faith.

As a tribute to his extraordinary work and devotion, Pope Leo XIII named Fr John Henry Newman a Cardinal in 1879.

After a life of trials, Newman received the news with joy and declared: “the cloud is lifted forever”.

Cardinal Newman died at the age of 89 at Edgbaston in 1890.

At his death he received universal tributes of praise. The Times of London wrote “whether Rome canonises him or not he will be canonised in the thoughts of pious people of many creeds in England”. He was declared Venerable in 1991

by Pope John Paul II. Newman penned his wellknown poem, Lead, Kindly Light, part of a larger work of religious verse and hymns entitled Lyra Apostolica, while on a voyage through southern Europe with his Oxford colleague, theologian Richard Hurrell Froude.

Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom Lead Thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home Lead Thou me on!

Keep Thou my fee; I do not ask to see The distant scene – one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor pray’d that Thou Shouldst lead me on.

I loved to choose and see my path, but now Lead Thou me on!

I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still Will lead me on, O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till The night is gone; And with the morn those angel faces smile Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

Once he had come to that unshakeable sense of the mission entrusted to him by God, he declared: “Therefore, I will trust Him ...

If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him ... He does nothing in vain ... He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.”

Breakfast a treat for Bunyip dads

JAIMIE and Riley Pullin with dad Glenn.

BUNYIP - Columba Catholic Pakistan.

Primary School had a Father’s The school celebrated Book Day breakfast on September 2 Week by building bridges to tie to thank all their wonderful in with this year’s Book Week Dads for their contribution to theme ‘Across the Story Bridge’. their children’s education.

The students produced some The students treated their amazing bridges and other art fathers to bacon, eggs and cereal works for Book Week with the before they toured the class- assistance of Columba art rooms and learning centre and teacher Mary Kearns. “The enjoyed participating in class Book Week artworks highlightactivities. ed the creative talents of stuStudents certainly blitzed their dents across the school” said dads in the interactive white- Mrs Kearns. board games.

Students also got to dress up “It was fun” said Willow as a book character and particiDenny from Grade Two, pate in Book Week activities “because I got to show him all which were organised by the senthe things I’ve made in the class- ior students. There was a large room.” and varied assortment of charStudents and their dads were acters across the school includalso invited to wear silly socks to ing Red Queens, Mad Hatters school and bring a gold coin and some very interesting vildonation for Caritas Australia to lains and superheroes. support victims of the floods in

Catechists meet at Yarragon

THIS group of diocesan catechists attended the faith formation day at Yarragon on August 21. The day was facilitated by Jim Quillinan whose topic was “Sacraments - Masterworks of God” and the afternoon session was facilitated by Sophy Morley who led a session on prayer which was titled “A Relationship of Mutual Love”. The day was attended by 16 catechists and friends.

Catholic Life, September 2010 - Page 19

Mission returns next January

Classifieds public notices

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Bishop’s Family Foundation If you are making or updating your will, you may consider leaving a bequest to the Bishop’s Family Foundation.

The Bishop’s Family Foundation has produced some easy-to-read booklets explaining bequests which may be an advantage to read before seeing your solicitor to prepare or update your will.

Copies may be obtained by phoning Pat on 5144 4991 Do it today and sleep easy knowing you have done your part.

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VOCATIONS

RICOH KR-10M SLR camera, 35-70mm, F3.4-4.5 macro lens, ex. cond., very little use, also Sunpak auto/MX 124 flash $250. Ph: 5156 0548.

FISHER & Paykel washing machine GW712, $729; sofa bed, coffee color $349; Sanli lawn mower model PCS400, $279; Talon petrol line trimmer, model AT33550, $69. Phone 0430 198 367 or 8786 7003.

PRIESTS AND DEACONS Are you considering a vocation as a priest or deacon for the Diocese of Sale?

If so please contact Diocesan Vocations Director

bingo Sacred Heart School

AT the invitation of Bishop Christopher Prowse, Br Lalith Perera and his team will be back for the fourth time in January 2011 to conduct a 10 day mission in collaboration with the Diocese of Sale, Catholic Charismatic Renewal Sale and the Community of the Risen Lord, Melbourne.

The mission will be at the western end of the diocese from January 28 to February 6.

The draft program is as follows: January 28 - Commences at 7.30pm at Our Lady Help of Christians Church Narre Warren.

January 29-30 - Four Steps Retreat at St Francis Xavier College, Berwick Campus. The

first day will begin about 1pm and end with reconciliation.

Second day begins at 9am and will have a session of adoration after step three and Mass at the end of the day January 31-February 3 Evening programs commencing at 7.30pm at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Narre Warren.

February 4 - Evening program commencing at 7.30pm at St Michael’s Church, Berwick.

February 5-6 Finding Home in Jesus Conference cohosted by Bishop Prowse and Br Lalith Perera. Commences 9.30am.

The final day will conclude with Mass celebrated by Bishop Prowse.

‘Girls’ honor priest

BINGO Every Friday

Morwell RSL Club, Elgin St., Morwell

Deacon Tony Aspinall 0414 468 692 vocations@sale.catholic.org.au

to help you discern God’s call

Eyes down 11am. Ticket sales 10.30am Now 55 games at 20 cents per game.

Further details phone 5134 8484 or 5133 7221 (AH)

FR Thomas Mannakulathil and Eileen Hanrahan at the unveiling.

KOO WEE RUP - A plaque in honor of the late Fr John Phelan was been unveiling in St John’s

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Church by Catholic Women’s League member Eileen Hanrahan on August 26.

It was blessed by Fr Thomnas Mannakulathil.

He welcomed visiting CWL members who had travelled from various parishes for the event.

The idea of the plaque came from Meeniyan branch members Mrs Hanrahan and Rosemary Brown whwo suggested something be done to commemorate Fr Phelan who was a strong support of CWL. He was spiritual director to the league in Sale Diocese for many years, attending all conferences and going to Mary Glowery House in Melbourne when required.

The CWL diocesan committee took up this recommendation at the diocesan conference in May and it was decided Koo Wee Rup would be appropriate as Fr Phelan had been parish priest there for many years and retired there.

The plaque reads: “In recognition of Fr John Phelan RIP for his contribution as spiritual director and dedicated supporter of Catholic Women’s League Vic. Wagga Wagga Inc. Erected with gratitude by ‘his girls.’”

After Mass Fr Mannakulathil paid tribute to the work CWL does nationally, internationally and in parishes where they supported priests in many ways.

They raised money for charity and parish works and contributed to parish spiritual life.

He suggested more younger women should join the league and help the long serving older members for their good works.

The league also thanks the Koo Wee Rup members for providing the welcome cuppa and the obliging handyman who installed the plaque in the foyer.

Page 20 - Catholic Life, September 2010

New library opens Lavalla rewards with medals

FR Peter Slater with students Jack, Mary-Jane, and Cameron outside the new library.

MORWELL – Students at Sacred Heart School in Morwell are enjoying their brand new library, a result of funding that was provided by the Federal Government through its Building the Education Revolution program and in particular the Primary Schools for the 21st Century program.

The official opening on July 23 was attended by dignitaries including Senator Gavin Marshall, who represented the Education Minister the Hon. Simon Crean, Fr Peter Slater VG, represented Bishop Christopher Prowse and director of Catholic education Peter Ryan.

The opening celebrations included a blessing and a ‘welcome to country’ smoking ceremony.

Sacred Heart School principal

Rod Hayes said “This new facility will not only benefit the current students at the school but future generations. The new library incorporates a vibrant library along with a large resource room for the teachers.

“There is also a conference room with kitchen facilities and large toilet amenities. The local community generally will also have access and will therefore benefit from this initiative. This funding has given us the opportunity to build the new library our children deserve and for that we are grateful.

“We have taken this opportunity in the year of Bl. Mary MacKillop’s canonisation to name our library in her honor and so it will be known as “St Mary of the Cross MacKillop” library.”

LAVALLA Catholic College student and teacher medal recipients after their awards.

TRARALGON - At the Lavalla College Mass to celebrate the founder of the Marist Brothers, St Marcellin Champagnat, recognition was given to students and staff who have demonstrated particular qualities in their lives.

These include perseverance in the face of obstacles, a basic honesty whereby they can show they have the courage of their convictions in all situations – to say what they think and live by that.

Furthermore, they have shown “Compassionate Hearts” in their relationships, a sensitivity to other people, especially those who are marginalised.

The college motto, “Strong Minds and Compassionate Hearts”, is something they live

out.

The winners of the Champagnat Medals for 2010 were: Kildare Campus: Year 12: Andrew Ware and Isobella Nocera; Year 11: Gurdeep Bhatti and Katrina Barrett; Year 10: Erin Lawn and Dylan Glasson. St. Paul’s Campus: Year 9: Mubtasim Murshed and Meghan Keast; Year 8: Lily Nash and Sam Clavarino; Year 7: Nicholas Oldis and Tanatswa Ruzive-Makura. Presentation Campus: Tyler Briggs and Cassie Rek. Two staff members, voted for

by students, were also awarded medals. They were Biju Varghese and Adriana Bianconi.

The Mass, held in the Champagnat Centre, was led by Fr Peter Bickley, Fr Bernie O’Brien OMI and Deacon Terry Rooney.

At this Mass, the two students, David Moulton and Mikaela Ryan, were commissioned to represent the college at the canonisation of Bl. Mary McKillop in Rome in October.

That’s a great honor for them and a wonderful opportunity.

It’s Book Week

PREP students Nicholas and Joshua are dressed the part as they display their favorite book.

PAKENHAM - To celebrate Book Week teachers at St Patrick’s Primary School have been reading to their classes the entrants for “Early Childhood Book of the Year” and “Picture Book of the Year”.

The winners have been announced and to celebrate the school asked students to dress up

as a character from one of the nominated books.

It was a colorful assembly with children picking a great range of different characters.

The students and teachers enjoyed all the books, and have been doing a range of art activities relating to each of the books in class.

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