Mary crowned with stars and clothed with the sun

Mary is Queen of heaven and earth, Queen and Mother of the Church who rules with her Son Jesus in His Kingdom. Crowned with stars and clothed in the sun (Revelation 12:1), wrapped in gold she stands at the right side of the King, as Queen (Psalm 45:8) united to Him, reigning with him and sharing his sovereign power. 

The feast of the Queenship of Mary, falls at the end of the octave of the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. Mary bodily assumed and taken up into heaven, now reigns with Christ in glory. She has received her glorified and resurrected body, as we all will at the end of time. So Our Lady physically in heaven together with Jesus and united to him, is what all of us who are baptised are called to share in after the Final Judgment. 

Just as Christ’s Ascension into heaven is celebrated as Jesus not only being raised up into heaven, but also raises above all things, taking his place as Head. As Head of His Body the Church, he is also the King in Glory now enthroned at the right hand of the Father. He now shares this honour with his Mother. Seating her at his own right hand, crowning her and enthroning her so she can rule with him. She is the Queen Mother, the Gebirah (1 Kings 2:19), just like the Davidic Kings had in their kingdom. The mother of the king who is highest in honour among all, apart from her own son the king, and even the king honours her as his mother (1 Kings 2:19-20). This is what it means for Mary to be Queen. 

Apart from receiving honour, a queen also is sovereign like the king, not accountable to anyone else. The royal freedom of a queen also applies to her share in the riches or treasury of the kingdom. She had access to the person of the king, as well as her own share in the treasures of the kingdom to use at her will. This is the context for understanding the teaching that Mary as Mother and Queen of Grace, has also been made Mediatrix and dispenser of graces by Jesus himself. Through Jesus victory over death on the cross and his resurrection, he has won the spoils of war (Isaiah 53:12), and so he has access to the Treasury of grace that is rightfully his. In Assuming Mary into heaven to be with him, he has elevated Mary and enthroned her at his right hand as his Queen, with the perogitive to freely dispense his graces as she chooses - because they are unified in mind, heart and spirit. That total conformity and union that Mary now has, is what we too will come to share one day in heaven. 

A queen also had right of appeal to the king in his court, or could intervene for others. So Mary is now not only our Queen in heaven and Mediatrix of the treasures of grace, but she is also the Advocate who intercedes for us and makes known our petitions. Through her union with the Holy Spirit and always being full of grace (Luke 1:28), she is also a sharer in the office of Advocate with her spouse the Holy Spirit the Paraclete. Just as the Holy Spirit comforts us, consoles us, strengthens us and prays in us (John 14:16, Romans 8:26)- so too does Mary Immaculate Queen Mother, the Theotokos and Spouse of the Holy Spirit. 

As the Ark of the New Covenant, she is also now the Throne of Grace and Mercy Seat Romans 3:25, Hebrews 4:16), in the Temple of the New Jerusalem. The glory of God sits on the throne in the Temple as the symbol of the Divine Presence dwelling in the midst of his people. The sacred humanity of  Jesus our Immanuel, is the locus of union between God and man, human and the divine. So the very person of Jesus Christ himself is the bridge that unites everything and so can draw all to himself as the source of life. God-with-us-in-the-Flesh is the full manifestation and revelation of the hidden mystery of the Most Holy Trinity that is enthroned upon the cherubim (1 Samuel 4:4, Psalm 18:10) 

The mercy seat, or throne of grace was the area between the outstretched wings of the golden cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:15). It was called the ark or the tabernacle, because it contained the stone tablets of the covenant of Moses - the 10 Commandments, the Law (Exodus 25:21). Jesus Christ himself is the fulfilment of the law in his very body (Matthew 5:-7), no longer written on stone, but written in his own Sacred Heart and burning to be written within all our hearts (Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26, Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:19). He reigns in his Kingdom whilst seated on the throne, reigning in full glory and power all granted to him by the Father. Mary his mother, is herself his very throne. By giving birth to him, he “received” his body and humanity from her - the same body that is Resurrected as Lord of Life and King of Kings (Revelation 17:14). Seated on the Throne of Grace and Mercy Seat, which is his own Mother - the Ark of the New Covenant. He has glorified and honoured her physically in the Assumption, so now he also shares his victorious freedom and sovereignty with her as his Queen Mother, robed in gold and bright as the sun, crowned with 12 stars (Revelation 12:1). 

Crowns in the Bible are symbolic of power and also victory (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10). Jesus has won the race for us and gained for us the victory (Hebrews 12:1-3). He shares that victory with us all now through the Sacraments of His Church, so that we too will reign with him one day in glory. Just as He crowned his own Mother as his Queen, one day he will crown each of us as his fellow coheirs in the Kingdom for eternity. Seated with him in justice and holiness, no longer fighting or striving, but sharing the Eternal Sabbath rest in total peace beyond understanding with full victorious freedom of the Children of God (Hebrews 4, Romans 8:19-23). 

May we all rejoice together with Mary our Immaculate Queen and Mother, in the salvation we all share and will come to the fullness of in heaven (Luke 1:46-56). Blessed indeed is She who believed in the Word of God and was faithful (Luke 1:45, Luke 11:27-28)! Mary always Full of Grace, please always be near us and with us so we can walk into the victory that Jesus has won for us on the cross. 

St Bernard of Clairvaux - the Honeymouthed Doctor

St Bernard of Clairvaux - Doctor of the Church, Cistercian Monk, Monastic Reformer, Advisor to Popes, Preacher of the Second Crusade, Last of the Church Fathers. 

He was given the title of Mellifluous Doctor by Pope Pius XII which means the honeymouthed or honeytongued, in reference to the tender sweet love that St Bernard taught about the love of God, as well as his teaching that the Holy Name of Jesus is like honey in our mouth. It can also be said that it references how just as a bee collects pollen to make honey, so too St Bernard mined the sources of scripture and produced spiritual honey in his commentaries, especially on the Song of Songs. 

St Bernard joined the Benedictine monastery Citeaux, along with 30 other fellow nobleman. This monastery had recently been established and was seeking to live out the Rule of St Benedict in a simpler and more austere way than what most other monasteries at the time were. Due to an increase in vocations, this monastery soon needed to make another foundation after another. Within a few years there were 4 daughter monasteries all connected to the mother house of Citeaux. This was the beginnings of the Cistercian Order and Reform within the Church. 

Before then, all monasteries were independent of eachother and often amassed large wealth through lands, property, endowments from nobility and had their own servants working the property while the monks could pray. But the Cistercians sought to live more simply and austere lives, working the fields themselves and taking serious the motto of St Benedict Ora et Labora - pray and work. The search for austerity even influenced their architecture and how they built their churches and monasteries, with an emphasis on stone and light. So the windows would be elongated so as to draw the mind upwards to God, and the interior design too would naturally bring the eyes and the mind to looking upwards. This developed into what we now know as the Gothic style of architecture. 

From Citeaux, St Bernard was sent to make a foundation at Clairvaux. This is where we get his name from and what his association is to the place. As one of the 4 original foundation daughter houses of Cîteaux, they were all to live the same lifestyle and horarium no matter what monastery they were in. Smaller houses under the authority of a motherhouse and supervision of the Abbot General was one of the defining feature of the Cistercians. We can see now that this model is common to all religious orders and institutes of consecrated life in the Church. However this was not the case in original monasticism, originally all monasteries were independent from eachother and self governing, which meant that there was no consistency in religious observance from monastery to monastery. 

As the Abbot of Clairvaux and one of the founders of the Cistercian Reform, it was his duty and responsibility to support and form his fellow monks in the “school of the Lord’s service”, preferring nothing to the love of Christ as the Rule of St Benedict teaches. He did this through sermons, letter writing and commentary on scripture. As a monk his life of prayer was always based on the Work of God (Divine Office), work, and Lectio Divina. His writings are permeated by quotes from scripture and verses, only someone intimately aware with the Bible could do this. Lectio Divina is a type of prayer where you read scripture, meditate on it, ruminate on the words and meaning, listening to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, and then contemplating this in your heart and resting in God. 

St Bernard is most famous for his commentary on the Song of Songs. Other famous saints who have written commentaries on this book are Pope St Gregory the Great and St Teresa of Avila. Although this book is a love song, it has always been interpreted mystically as the Divine Romance between God the Bridegroom and his Bride the Church. But it can also been seen as an intimate dialogue between God and the soul. This is the basis for Nuptial Mysticism where many saints have reflected on what it means to have union with God, how does it happen, what the purpose of prayer is and especially for consecrated religious to redirect their desires to God who is the only one who can fulfill the love of their heart. This union with God is also later on called Mystical Marriage in the Carmelite tradition under St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila. 

Communal prayer as a monk, and personal prayer in scripture and from the heart is what sustained St Bernard. The personal intimate love of Christ for us and our response to that love is the foundation of St Bernard’s spirituality. Although we rightly fear God out of reverence for his Holiness and Righteousness, but we need to move beyond that and love God willingly and wholeheartedly. When we understand the goodness of God and his love given to us in Jesus, then we move from fear of God to loving him and embracing him. Then we progress to loving God for the sake of himself, because God is Love. The more we love God we think of him continually and dwell in him, and he dwells in us through our love, transforming it into his own love in the Trinity. This relational understanding of the Trinity and our participation in it comes from St Augustine’s trinitarian theology of Lover, Beloved and the Love outpoured between them - Father (Lover), Son (Beloved) and Holy Spirit (reciprocated Love of both). St Bernard builds on this and calls the Holy Spirit as the intimacy between the Father and the Son, and so he is also the very “Kiss of God”. In our prayer life and in contemplation, we will come to know and experience this intimate kiss of God as we grow in love.  Through the mystery incarnation we are called to participate and share in the mutual eternal outpouring of love that is the Holy Trinity. 

This tender romantic style of theology became the basis for St Bernard’s devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. He sees the Holy Name as sweet honey on the tongue, and a divine sweetness that should fill us up - it is our Light, our Food and our Medicine. 

As with all proper theology and devotion, understanding the humanity of Christ leads to admiration, respect and loving devotion to his Mother Mary. Influenced by the feudalism of his time and the culture of knighthood - St Bernard saw Our Lady as someone to be honoured out of duty and served in love. She is a helper in the spiritual life always bringing us to Jesus and helping us. So St Bernard saw Mary as a powerful Advocate who has been given the role to dispense graces to us and to help us as Queen in the Kingdom of her Son. Mary is the model and example of contemplative life, and also our loving Mother always doing whatever she can to support us, help us and guide us to her son Jesus. This is beautifully portrayed in the Memorare prayer that is attributed to St Bernard and he popularised it. 

The Cistercians and their specific characteristic of Marian spirituality as monks dressed in white (previously Benedictines traditionally wore monastic black) dedicated to her, had the custom of always naming their monasteries after Mary, including daily prayers and commemorations to her in the liturgy, and devoted to her as their Queen and model. It is from the Cistercians that the famous hymn Salve Regina comes from and their custom of singing it daily in common. This influenced the Dominicans and Carmelites, and eventually became common practice throughout the Church to sing this after Night Prayer. The Cistercians, Dominicans and Carmelites all have the custom in common to chant this in a solemn tone different to what most of us are used to when we sing it. 

May St Bernard always help us to love Jesus as he deserves to be loved, freely and wholeheartedly, so that the thought of him and his name on our lips is as sweet as honey. May our Blessed Mother Mary give us all the graces we need to grow in love so that we may unite and confirm our will to God, and together with her at the Annunciation - pronounce our Fiat with hers, as all creation held their breath an anticipation of her response. 

 

St John Eudes - Apostle of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

St John Eudes is known as the Apostle of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Preacher, missionary, founder of religious congregations and seminaries - and one day possibly a Doctor of the Church. Pope St Pius X called him the “Father, Apostle and Doctor (teacher) of liturgical devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary”. This has been affirmed by successive Popes such as Leo XIII, Pius XII, St John Paul II & Benedict XVI. 

He promoted this devotion and also developed the theology of the two hearts into what we now know as the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He wrote prayers, litanies, Masses and even Divine Offices for devotion and honour to them. It is due to him that the first liturgical feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was approved - even before the apparition of the Sacred Heart to St Margaret Mary Alacoque. 

The theology and spirituality of St John Eudes is categorised into what is called the “French School” of spirituality. Among the spiritual writers in this school of thought are: St Frances de Sales, St Louis de Montfort, St Jane de Chantal, St Vincent de Paul, Cardinal de Berulle, Bishop Bousette, and St John Eudes. 

This school of spirituality from Frances in the 17th-20th century, has an emphasis on imitating Jesus, living his virtues, personal holiness, regular participation in the Sacraments, and the gentle but passionate love of God for us in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. This school totally opposed the heresy of Jansenism which almost exclusively over emphasised sin, God’s wrath, evil, corrupt human nature and the unworthiness of people before the holiness of God. It was fear based and discouraged people from receiving Holy Communion regularly and has negatively influenced us to this day (as mentioned in previous posts), especially seen in those who struggle with scrupulosity, which can be understood as a type of “religious obsessive compulsive disorder”.  

As a means to try and evangelise people and protect them from the dangers of Jansenism, as well as general moral decay, spiritual corruption, and clerical corruption - he saw the dire need to found seminaries for the formation of clergy. Many priests at the time were so poorly formed as to barely celebrate the Mass properly whilst mumbling the words of the prayers, did not preach or when they did it was incorrect or scandalous. Their very ministry deformed the people they ministered to instead of edifying and sanctify them as priests are ordained to do. 

Seminaries were not common at that time as they had only recently been mandated by the Council of Trent, but it has not yet been implemented at that time in France. So he established seminaries, was a tiredness preacher and confessor himself, and wanted priests to truly be men of God who bring Jesus Christ to the people and people to Jesus through his pastoral ministry. This also led to him founding multiple religious congregations (Eudists, Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, third order of Society of the Heart of the Mother Most Admirable) and charity organisations to help woman escape from prostitution due to economic poverty, known as “Houses of Refuge”.  

When we encounter and experience the depth of God’s love for us, it is impossible to remain static. We feel compelled to share it with others (2 Corinthians 5:14) and do all we can to help them experience what we have experienced. This is the foundation of evangelisation - spreading the Good News of salvation. For St John Eudes, the source of this love was to be found and known in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the forge of love. 

Biblically and spiritually, the heart is not just a bodily organ, it is also the centre or core of our being, and is also understood as the seat of our emotions (CCC #2563) . So devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the fullest expression that highlights this mystery of his love for us, his burning charity that made him become human flesh in the Incarnation, so that his physical heart could beat for us in love. This is what the Sacred Heart means, it is far more than just a kitsch pious symbol without substance. It is a source of wonder and contemplation that should capture of own hearts in amazement. This is why St John Eudes on his Litany to the Sacred Heart that he composed, refers to Jesus as the King of all hearts and the enraptor of hearts. 

The mystery of the Incarnation, of God becoming flesh and dwelling amongst us, is the basis to understand the spirituality of Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is also what connects the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Jesus received and took all of his humanity from Mary herself, his Virgin Mother. This is the miracle of the “virgin birth” and that mystery of God Incarnate. But if Jesus only had one human biological parent, then this means that his very flesh, his body, his heart - all come from Mary’s. Mary like all of us is created by God, but through her Immaculate Conception she has specifically been chosen and prepared by God himself for his dwelling place and his mother. This is a wondrous mystery that many saints throughout the centuries have meditated on and written about. So if God dwells physically in Mary through the Incarnation, and she has always been “full of grace” from the moment of her conception - then she has always had God spiritually present in her heart. Not only is Jesus present in the heart of Mary as the source of her love and faith, but as the core of her being then Jesus Christ himself is also the very “heart” of Mary. 

This is the conclusion that St John Eudes came to and the basis for his theology of the two hearts. But for him, he goes as far to say that ultimately they are only ONE heart. So that the Immaculate Heart of Mary is Jesus himself, and wherever he is, she is also there, because they are always united in the flesh they share - and so we too are all called to be united to them both. This is why devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary cannot be separated from the Sacred Heart of Jesus and vice versa. The hearts of Jesus and Mary unite as one heart burning in charity for us all, as a forge of love that will mould and refashion us into the image of Christ that has been disfigured in us all through Original Sin.  

Understanding the basis of St John Eudes devotion and spirituality, helps to understand why he wrote Liturgical Offices and Masses for the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He was able to get papal approval for these so no one could ever accuse him of heresy or novelty, and so he truly is the Father and Teacher of devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. His doctrine was the basis for the Encyclical Haurietis Aqua of Pope Pius XII on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In this encyclical, although there are no direct references or quotes from St John Eudes - when you compare St John Eudes’ teachings and the Encyclical you can see just how similar they are. Without the contribution of St John Eudes - our current theology, understanding and  devotion to the Sacred Heart would not be possible on the approved and highest official level of the Magisterium. 

May St John Eudes help us all to be so united to Jesus, that together with him we may dwell with him in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, where both Sacred Hearts burning with charity for all, beat in union as one heart. May we see this same burning love for us hidden in the Eucharist, so as we burn for love of Christ, he can inflame us with his very own love for us, and indeed all the world. 

St Maximilian - Knight of the Immaculata

St Maximilian Kolbe was a Franciscan priest, devotee of Our Lady, missionary, founder of the Militia Immaculata, and martyr of charity.

He is most famous for his martyrdom in the concentration camp, where he offered his life in place of another prisoner who was to be executed. The man had a wife and children, so St Maximilian stepped in and offered to die in his place. This heroic act and death, is why Pope St Paul VI called him a “Martyr of Charity” at his beatification, and this was restated by Pope St John Paul II at his canonisation.  

He founded an association called the Militia Immaculata as a way to combat the influence of Freemasonry which he saw while studying in Rome. This was combined with a regular magazine to be published that was called the “Knight”. For St Maximilian, he understood that Our Lady being free from original sin, made her unique and special in spiritual warfare and so she had particular a role in sanctifying souls and providing graces to combat evil. Basing himself on the Franciscan Scotist theological tradition from Blessed Duns Scotus, he believed that devotion to Mary gives glory to God and therefore is a necessity in the spiritual life and needed to be promoted to all people. 

The mystery of the Immaculate Conception, became the entire focus of St Maximilian’s theology. He understood that not only was Our Lady immaculately conceived without original sin, but that it was also her identity to be the Immaculata. This led him to also develop a pneumatology where he understood that the Holy Spirit and the Immaculata are so interconnected and unified, that as Spouses of eachother they had a joint mission in the Church. He developed the Augustinian Trinitarian theology of the Holy Spirit as the Love between the Father and the Son, so that by analogy it could be said that the Holy Spirit is the eternal uncreated immaculate conception within the Trinity - and thus Mary is the created Immaculate Conception on earth. So Mary Immaculate chosen to be Mother of God and free from sin, is the perfection of creation not under the control of Satan or sin. So she is the enemy of evil, and the antithesis of the devil who is also a creation of God but rebelled, whereas she obeyed and through her obedience we have salvation. So just as her purity in the Immaculate Conception was necessary in becoming the Mother of God, the fullness of grace she possessed throughout her entire life meant that Jesus is truly the “fruit” of her womb physically and spiritually. By the Immaculate Conception, Mary was so full of grace that she was the Spouse of the Holy Spirit and their union was so intimate and real, that she conceived Jesus and gave birth to the Saviour. So now too, the Immaculata and the Holy Spirit work together in sanctifying souls and rebirthing Jesus in them too. 

This spirituality of the Immaculata is the basis for St Maximilian’s teaching on consecration to Nary. For him, our aim spiritually should be to imitate Mary and to be united to her, to be her total property - so that by totally being hers, she protects us, fashions/moulds us and uses as according to the Will of God. By belonging to Mary, she is able to do the work in our sanctification needed for the salvation of souls and for the glory of God. She protects us from evil, because she was never stained by sin or infected with original sin. Her purity makes her not only free from the control of Satan, but it also made them enemies and so she is able to defeat him too. Satan hates her and is scared of her, because he had no control over her. So in the cosmic spiritual battle of salvation, Mary as the Immaculate Mother of God tramples Satan under her foot, and is the means by which God used to humiliate Satan and bring glory to His plan of creation. She becomes our commander in the spiritual warfare that Jesus has already won for us, but is still being implemented in the world through the ministry of the Church. 

This is the framework and motivation for St Maximilian’s missionary zeal in founding the Militia Immaculata, as well as his personal spiritual life. As knights in the medieval period protected and served noble ladies, he developed this same venerable Franciscan theme within his Marian theology of the Immaculate Conception. He wanted to be the Knight who fights for the honour and glory of his chosen lady - Our Lady, the Immaculata. He wanted to inspire others to follow him in this ideal and also strengthen the Church from within, because of all the ways the Church is weakened by sin and indifference. But also by how the Church is attacked and persecuted externally through regimes and the influence of Freemasonry. 

Jesus Christ is King and Conqueror, the supreme victory of His love for us on the cross  defeated Satan and established His Kingdom, the Church. Jesus as God, from all eternity chose and created his own beautiful mother to be preserved from sin, and to be the apex of creation that would shine for all to see. He applied His own merits to her in advance, so that she could freely live the beauty of salvation that He would gain for us all. She is the spotless one without stain or wrinkle, who stands over Satan without fear and crushes his head through the fullness of grace she possesses from her son Jesus, and her Spouse the Holy Spirit. As Mediatrix of grace and Victrix, the Immaculata seeks to protect us and help us as her children, so she can claim us for her Son’s Kingdom and simultaneously use us according to the Will of God for the greater glory of God. She recreates us in the image of her Son, in love and grace, reforming us to the image that we lost because of original sin. She works together with the Holy Spirit in us and through us, to transform us into Christ and live a life of grace. She shares her purity with us so that we can share in her trampling and stomping of Satan under her foot, and then together with her, victoriously stand at the foot of the Cross and be transformed in divine love as the new creation. 

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee! 

If you’d like to learn more about the Militia Immaculata founded by St Maximilian Kolbe and to join it, you can follow this link. They have resources explaining how to understand what it means to be consecrated to Mary, and the graces from it. You can enrol through the website if you’re in America, or for those in Australia can be done through here. 

The Franciscans of the Immaculate are an offshoot of the Conventual Franciscans, who were founded to live the ideals of St Maximilian Kolbe and total consecration to Mary. They have their own separate Mission of the Immaculata, that is canonically and juridically separate from the Militia Immaculata (but same spiritually and insoiration), you can find it here. 

The danger of “outrage culture” and taking the saints out of context

I have seen this comment below from a priest online (screenshots below) and it highlights a growing concern I have with online Catholicism. 

This is an excellent reminder about quotes and the importance of context. 

All the saints teach of the danger of anger, self righteousness and bitterness. There is a phenomena among many Catholics online that I call “outrage culture” - everyone is constantly outraged and offended by scandals or sins of others, the hierarchy and the world. But why do we not have the same outrage over our own sinfulness? That’s what the Desert Fathers teach and emphasise - be humble, focus on your own sins, pray for others, live a life of repentance and focus on your relationship with God, love and serve your neighbour. Then leave it in God’s hands to make the changes in the world or the church or the hearts of others… but most of the time, it is our own heart that needs to be changed first. 

People like to use this quote from St Thomas to justify their anger and bitterness over issues in the church, but without understanding it in the larger scheme of St Thomas’ doctrine. I’m so glad that this priest has noticed this too and is calling out this issue. 

Anger, bitterness, resentment, offence - these are all poison in the spiritual life. They literally destroy us from within and kill charity in our soul. We need to be aware of this everyday and examine our heart. When we feel angry or upset about something that’s ok, but we need to also let it go, give it to God, and never let anything upset our peace or our ability to love and forgive. Once we lose this inner peace, it is so hard to get back, and then we lack love and the Holy Spirit too. This is why I have found that I regularly need to discern and examine my life according to the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Anger, bitterness, self righteous, frustration, criticism are all opposites of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We must never allow ourselves to try and justify them in our life - they are poison to us and therefore deadly.

The saint who was excommunicated

Today in Australia, we celebrate the Solemniy of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. The first ever official saint from Australia, canonised in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. 

St Mary MacKillop is a truly inspirational saint who persevered in her vocation and in loving God, even in the face of harassment by priests, slander, persecution, and even temporary excommunication. She humbly stood up for her rights while still respecting the hierarchy, and was eventually vindicated by the Vatican under Pope Pius IX who approved her religious congregation of sisters and their independence from the authority of the local Bishops. 

She felt the need to help children who were not receiving education because of their poverty. So with the support of a priest, she eventually started a congregation of religious sisters under the patronage of St Joseph and the Sacred Heart, who would be committed to the education of children and teaching them their faith. As a teacher herself, she was able to live out this charism and to share this with her sisters. 

As time developed, she founded more schools and more sisters joined her congregation. They became known as the “Brown Joeys” because of their brown habit and the order being under the patronage of St Joseph. From Australia they also established schools in New Zealand as well. 

As a new religious congregation of sisters in simple vows, there was confusion and misunderstandings from the clergy regarding their formation, their obedience and also their ecclesial position within the Church. Many priests with a very clerical attitude of the time,  expected the sisters to defer to the parish priest and obey him without question - even if it meant changing their teaching methods, living out their charism according to their rule, and especially in relationship to their Mother Superior who was St Mary MacKillop. This led to priests and a bishop trying to subjugate the sisters directly under their authority, whilst St Mary MacKillop firmly believed that the charism of her congregation needed central leadership. This lead to a smear campaign against her and eventually her excommunication by a bishop. 

It has also been revealed that one of the priests involved in trying to suppress St Mary MacKillop had a personal grudge against her. The sisters received reports of this priest sexually abusing children and so reported him through the correct channels. To complicate matters, he also seems to have personally harassed and bullied St Mary directly according to these letters and testimonies. 

Even after all this suffering, her humility and love for the Church become even more inspirational. Instead of going against her conscience, she powerfully and respectfully advocated for herself and the rights of her congregation. Pope Pius IX upheld her rights for her congregation to remain faithful to their charism with centralised authority. Eventually the congregation received papal approval under Pope Leo XIII and they still exist today. 

How many of us have experienced misunderstandings or persecution in our parishes or diocese’s? Can we also say that we have not fallen into bitterness or despair due to these circumstances? Many saints experienced persecution within the Church - some from fellow religious, some from their direct superiors, or others from the hierarchy. We only need to think of St John of the Cross, St Padre Pio - and now St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. 

She truly is an inspirational saint for these times of remaining faithful to God and conscience - even while being accused of disobedience. Yet in all this, she did not despair or hate, instead she prayed and trusted in God. She truly lived up to her religious name - “of the Cross”. Her suffering and witness help us to understand that being a saint is hard! It takes courage in the face of our own weaknesses and shortcomings, as well as in the face of misunderstandings, slander and persecution. Jesus experienced the pain of betrayal and persecution too, we must never forget that he warns us we too will experience this as we follow him. But he also promises us blessing for our faithfulness. Our vindication rarely happens in this life, but in the Divine Providence of God and his Justice, we will be able to rejoice when Jesus reveals the hearts of all at the end of time, and we are vindicated. So long as we persevere in following the call of Jesus, he promises us salvation and vindication. 

https://saintjohns.weebly.com/mary-mackillopthe-excommunication--the-episcopol-commission.html