AUGUSTINIAN BULLETIN BOARD – January/February 2006

Cherish eternal life 

Our life is Christ; look at Christ. He came to suffer, but also to be glorified; to be disdained, but also to be exalted; to die, but also to rise again. The work dismays you, consider the reward. Why do you expect to travel in luxury to what can only be reached by hard labour? But you are afraid of losing your money, because acquiring your money has cost you a great deal of hard labour. If you haven’t come into the money, which you are going to lose some time or other, at least when you die, without labour, can you really expect to come into eternal life without labour? What should be dearer to you than anything is what you will reach after all your labours, and never be in danger of losing. If something is dear to you which you have reached after all your labours, and are certainly going to lose sooner or later, how much more should we desire which is everlasting? 

The Prior General Visits

The Prior General at Manly Vale

The Prior General, Fr Robert Prevost O.S.A., made an official visitation of the Province of the Mother of Good Counsel, Australia from 6 th to 17 th December 2005.

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., and has served most of his ministerial life in the Augustinian diocese of Chulucanas, Peru. He was the Provincial of the Chicago Province when elected in 2001 to become the 181 st Prior General since the beginning of the Order of Saint Augustine in the year 1244 AD.

While in Australia in December, he travelled to all nine communities in the Province that are located along 3,500 kms of Australia’s eastern coastline. This was his third visit to Australia since being elected as Prior General.

The visitation concluded with four days in Sydney, where are located four Augustinian communities, two of which conduct parishes, one is the Centre of Augustinian Spirituality, and the other is the Provincial/formation community.

Youth Festivals

Australians at the Guadarrama festival.

Augustinian youth festivals continue both at the national and international level. Both in Australia and internationally, the year 2006 marks the eight festival conducted in a series that began soon after 1985.

The international festivals have taken place at Lecceto (in Tuscany, Italy) twice, at La Vid ( Burgos) in Spain, at Abbeyside (Dungarvan) in Ireland, at Munnerstadt in Germany, at Rome in Italy, at Guadarrama ( Madrid) in Spain, and next at Pavia in northern Italy in August 2006. Young adults and at least one accompanying Augustinian from Australia have attended every one of these festivals.

The national festivals have been conducted at Elanora Heights (Sydney), Windsor (west of Sydney), Springbrook (Gold Coast hinterland) in Queensland, Garapine (Gympie) in Queensland, Blue Mountains (west of Sydney), Genazzano (west of Cairns) in Queensland, Harrietville in north-eastern Victoria, and on 1519 th January 2006 on the Gold Coast Hinterland in Queensland.

Larger than Life

Christmas figures at Manly Vale.

For parishioners used to viewing a small Christmas manger in front of the altar at Saint Kieran’s Parish at Manly Vale (Sydney), the appearance of Jesus, Mary and Joseph for Christmas 2005 was quite arresting. Joseph, standing upright and holding a lantern, was about two metres (almost seven feet) tall in his sandals.

As seen in the accompanying photograph, the figures for Christmas 2005 were literally larger than life. As well, the figures of paper and plaster construction are roughly-textured.

For both of these reasons, the scene steals one’s attention, and some would say it was confronting.

The Christmas scene was located beside the confessionals on the southern side of the church, not far from the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament.

The figures were the work of one of the priests at Manly Vale, Fr Dominador (“Dom”) Besares O.S.A.

Raised and educated in the Philippines, Fr Dom's natural talent is supported by a Master of Fine Arts degree that he obtained there. He has held an art show in the Philippines, where previously he worked in parish ministry and in university chaplaincy.

As well as banners, Fr Dom’s earlier art work in the Manly Vale parish included some large icon-like murals of Saint Augustine and Saint Monica, his mother. Like the Christmas figures, these too were larger than life, on banners with much violet and gold colouring that stand over six metres tall.

50th Anniversary

Lecceto Arts Centre, Brookvale.

The Order’s college in Brookvale (Sydney) will celebrate its golden jubilee in February 2006. Saint Augustine’s College is fifty years young!

A highlight of the fiftieth anniversary celebrations will be a Mass at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney at 10.30am on Tuesday, 7th February 2006 – the date of the first classes of the College fifty years ago. The presider at the Mass will be past pupil, Bishop Chris Saunders (Diocese of Broome, Western Australia).

For this Mass on 7th February 2006, chartered buses will be available for travel both ways between the College at Brookvale and the Cathedral in central Sydney. Anyone wishing to avail of this transport must phone the College for ticketing; phone 9938.8200.

Evenings on John Henry Newman

Cardinal Newman.

The Centre for Augustinian Spirituality conducts a variety of courses and events of varying duration at regular intervals. It operates at Saint John Stone Priory, Greystanes (western Sydney).

For the details and dates of its 2006 Program go to the bottom of this page and follow the prompts.

The first short course for 20096 is entitled, “Lead, Kindly Light.” It focuses on a famous convert from Anglicanism, Newman nevertheless endured serious struggles within the Catholic Church.

The director of the Centre, Fr Lawrence Mooney O.S.A., writes, “This five-week course, drawn from his life-story and writings, will reflect on our own faith journeys. The sessions will support us in the quest for strong Church communities that nevertheless maintain a gentle ecumenical outlook.”

Augustinian Friends

St Augustine.

Augustinian Friends is a lay group conducted in Australia for those wishing to learn more about the Spirituality of Saint Augustine, and to have contact with others who share this goal. Branches of the Friends operate at a number of Augustinian venues in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

The position of Chair of the National Committee is presently being shared by Mary McCormick and Monica Meagher of Melbourne. Greg Keogh (Brookvale, Sydney) remains as treasurer, and Fr. Paul Maloney O.S.A. continues as chaplain of the group.

Fr Maloney recently had an opportunity to meet with an English and a U.S. Augustinian who are involved with generally similar Augustinian Friends movements in their respective homelands.

In England, “Friends of Augustine” has now begun its own website:
friendsofaugustine.org/

Kyabram

St Augustine ’s Church, Kyabram.

Words of thanks and praise for the many Augustinians priests who have served in the Parish of Kyabram (northern Victoria) ever since its foundation a century ago have appeared in Sand Piper, the monthly newspaper of the Diocese of Sandhurst.

The occasion for this coverage is the withdrawal of the Order of Saint Augustine from Kyabram at the end of January 2006.

The withdrawal has been made more poignant for the Augustinians and parishioners alike by the fact that the acute clerical staffing situation of the Diocese does not allow Bishop Grech to replace the Augustinians with a resident priest in Kyabram.

Father Michael Morley, parish priest of Tatura nearby, will extend his ministry to the Kyabram parish. A reduced schedule of weekend Masses in both parishes will need to begin immediately on the first Sunday of February 2006.

FOR SOME CURRENT NEWS ABOUT THE ORDER OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA Click here

AUGUSTINIAN CENTRE FOR SPIRITUALITY PROGRAM 2006
2 Hewitt Avenue
Greystanes 2145
Enquiries 9896 6794
www.augustinians.org.au/communities/greystanes.html