Today we give thanks for the gift of Mary’s life. I also give thanks for her commitment to live from the heart.

As Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart we follow Mary’s call to be people whose lives speak of God’s love shining through us to our larger world. When our lives are guided by Jesus’ vision, our hearts too, are moved with compassion. In these moments, the power of God’s love flows in and through us, into our wounded world, just as it did in the life of Mary MacKillop. Mary MacKillop had a deep connection to the Sacred Heart. She speaks of climbing into the abyss of God’s heart and finding inner peace. She heard Jesus’ words, “Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and you will find rest, for I am gentle and humble of heart”.

Mary understood what it meant to be on-mission with a humble heart. It called her to travel down roads that could lead to who-knows-where. Sometimes these travels caused her grief as she used her voice for those in need. This led her to question herself and the path she was taking. She was a woman ahead of her time with an incredible vision. She walked our land, knew our stars, and read the signs of the times. This enabled her to create a church of the heart wherever she went. Today she calls us to be a heart-centred Church, going out to where the people are and creating a church of the heart in their midst.

This makes me reflect on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. In 2017 over 1000 Indigenous Australian representatives from across the country consulted at Uluru, a place of great cultural and spiritual significance. Here, they listened and dialogued with one another until their hearts were in communion with one another and the Uluru Statement was birthed, giving voice to the deep desire in the hearts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters. Mary MacKillop was a woman who became a voice for the voiceless of her time while enabling those in need to find their voice. This year, Australians, like her, are being asked to use their voice in the referendum to recognise and honour the voice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our Constitution. This provides us with the opportunity to go in truth, justice, love and hope, to change the sacred heart of Australia.

May we follow Mary’s example and be a voice for those who have been silenced, for those on the margins and those who are poor and forgotten.

May your day, wherever you are celebrating, be filled with the joy and love that filled the heart of St Mary MacKillop. Happy feast day.

Sr Monica Cavanagh RSJ

Congregational Leader, Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.

To see Sr Monica’s video message for St Mary MacKillop’s feast day on August 8, click here or on the image above.