AUGUSTINIAN BULLETIN BOARD – April 2007

It certainly wasn’t by loving sinners that Christ died for sinners.

Let us not look back at what we were before Christ bought us, in case we should remain stuck on the road. Let us not look back, and at the same time, though, let us keep it in remembrance. If we look back, you see, we return to it; if we forget it, we will be ungrateful.

So it’s good both to remember what we were and at once to hate it; to remember it in order to give thanks, to hate it in order not to return to old ways. Not even Jesus, you see, died for sinners through loving sinners.

If we look into that statement superficially, we are faced with quite a difficult problem. After all, how could he not love those he was willing to die for? And who are the ones he was willing to die for?  You heard the apostle: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So if he loved those for whom he died, and those for whom he died are sinners, then he loved sinners.

Let the sinner keep quiet, let the savior speak. I know where what you are saying comes from, my dear sinner; you love being a sinner. After all, you wouldn’t say the savior loves sinners, unless you loved being a sinner. So, as I said, let the sinner keep quiet; let the saviour speak. What does the Saviour speak? Look, you have now been healed; do not sin, in case something worse should happen to you. How menacing his prohibition of what you love!

St Augustine: Sermon 351, 2

Third National Augustinian Congress for the Laity, April 2007

Planning for the Third Augustinian Australian National Congress for the Laity is now well advanced.

This Congress, to be held in the parish centre of the Augustinian Parish of South Yarra, Melbourne, runs from Friday 20th April 2007 to Sunday 22nd April 2007.

The keynote speaker will be Fr Art Purcaro O.S.A.. He is from the United States, is presently an Assistant General of the Order, and has for many years served in the Augustinian missions in Peru.

The title is: Augustine, Ancient & New Vision for the Future. So how about coming to Melbourne in 2007 to experience Augustine in Autumn?!

For further information about the Augustinian lay congress in Melbourne in April 2007, contact Augustinian Friends via the parish office of the Augustinian parish of South Yarra (ph. 03 9827 9117), or contact Fr Paul Maloney O.S.A. at the Centre for Augustinian Spirituality, 2 Hewitt Avenue, Greystanes, NSW 2145 (phone 02 9631 0340) or by e-mail at paulmal@bigpond.com.au

Raffle by Augustinian Friends

To show appreciation to Fr Art Purcaro O.S.A. for coming to Australia as the keynote speaker of the Third National Augustinian Congress for the Laity on 20th-22nd April 2007 (see news item above), the Augustinian Friends (Australia) are conducting a raffle for the Augustinian missions in Peru, where Fr Purcaro has served for many years.

The raffle has been made possible by the donation of a large triptych (a set of three adjoining paintings) by the artist, Simon Coates Dip FA, B.App.A., (MSA) of Sydney, Australia.

The triptych (image above) displays the compassionate Christ, the infant Christ and Christ at the Last Supper.

For the artist’s description of this tripych, click here.

The triptych has a combined dimension of 1,180 centimetres by 770 centimetres when the three panels are side-by-side. The medium used is acrylic paint on canvas.

Raffle tickets cost Aus$5 each. Until 20th April 2007 they can be obtained from Augustinian ministries in Australia. As well, their purchase can be arranged by contacting the Augustinian Provincial office: phone 02 9905 3049, or write to the office at P.O. Box 679 Brookvale NSW 2100, or email to osaadmin@bigpond.com

Papal Visit to the tomb of Augustine

Last month the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI will visit the tomb of Augustine on Sunday, 22nd April. This is the result of a request to do so that the Pope made to the Order of Saint Augustine soon after he was elected Pope.

According to the few details so far announced, the Pope will land by helicopter in the stadium of the small city of Vigevano around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, 21st April 2007.

Church of S. Pietro in Ciel d'oro & Augustine's tomb.

He will then travel across the city in the "popemobile" to the archbishop's palace.

There will be a 5:30 p.m. Eucharistic celebration in the Ducal Square, with a capacity for about 5,000 people. A large screen will be set up in the adjacent square for the overflow.

At the end of the Mass, the Pontiff will visit the Cathedral of St. Ambrose, where he will meet volunteer workers and handicapped people.

Around 8.00 p.m. the Pope will travel by helicopter to Pavia.

On Sunday, 22nd April, he will celebrate Mass in Pavia, and in the afternoon will meet with university students and professors.

After the meeting, Benedict XVI will pray in the Church of St. Peter in front of the tomb of St. Augustine. He will return to Rome that night.

St. Augustine was the topic of the Holy Father's doctoral thesis: "People and House of God in St. Augustine's Doctrine of the Church."

The Pope’s high regard for Augustine is long-standing. For example, when previously as Cardinal Ratzinger in the 1980s he delivered a keynote address at the Augustinianum, the Augustinian patristic institute in Rome, he said that he felt he knew Augustine better than he knew any other person alive, because when he read St Augustine he read not just the cold theory of theology, for Augustine never approached life in a cold, detached way.

For further information on the tomb of Augustine and about the Pope’s interest in Augustine, click here.

Projects Officer for 2007-2008.

The Australian Province of the Order of Saint Augustine has engaged a full-time projects officer for World Youth Day 2008 and for the Augustinian international encounter for young adults that will occur in Sydney immediately afterwards.

He is Michael Dela Cruz (pictured), from the Augustinian Parish of the Holy Spirit at St Clair in the west of metropolitan Sydney, Australia. Michael attended World Youth Day 2005 at Cologne, Germany as part of the Australian Augustinian group.

He has experience in youth leadership and in the computer graphic arts industry.

The Provincial, Fr Tony Banks O.S.A., introduced Michael to St Augustine’s College, Brookvale (Sydney) on 29th March 2007 at a full-school assembly. He explained that Michael’s first task will be the coordinate the Augustinian involvement in World Youth day 2008. It begins in various parts of Australia on 8th July 2008, and then everyone moves to Sydney for 15th-20th July 2008.

As well, Michael will also promote and plan the Augustinian international encounter for young adults that begins in Sydney on the evening of Monday 21st July and ends on the morning of Saturday, 27th July 2008.

Michael's office e-mail address is michael.delacruz@augustinians.org.au

St Augustine's College, Brookvale.

St Augustine's College is an Augustinian day school for approximately 1,000 male pupils in the upper primary and secondary years of education. It is located at Brookvale (Sydney), Australia.

(Left) Provincial & College Captain 2007.

St Augustine’s College, which is conducted by the Order of Saint Augustine at Brookvale (Sydney), Australia, in 2006 launched a project to provide an infirmary for an orphanage for street children that is conducted by the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation at Bulacan, which is two hours’ drive from Manila, Philippines.

From the beginning, the project envisioned not only the college's raising funds to cover the cost of the infirmary, but also its sending staff and students to Bulacan to build it. The required materials were obtained in Sydney, and parts of the building pre-fabricated at the college (see photo at right below).

The expensive project of shipping the materials to the Philippines was made possible by a college parent, who obtained sponsorship to obtain a 40-foot (10 metre) container and to ship it to Manila without cost to the College. Another parent was able to facilitate the customs clearance of the container. A third parent obtained the donation of necessary building materials valued at Aus$10,000. Fund-raising by the students at the College raised the remaining finance to purchase the remaining building supplies.

Once the material was packed in the container two days before it was due to leave the College, it was estimated that there was enough space remaining for second-hand bicycles that the orphans at Bulacan could henceforth ride to school. This was announced in the College newsletter, and forty second-hand bicycles were donated within forty-eight hours (see photo above left ).

During the April 2007 school holidays, six staff members and thirteen students from Year Eleven will travel to Bulacan to erect the infirmary.

Sister Joan O.S.A. of the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation is a member of the school chaplaincy team at St Augustine’s College. During April she will profess her solemn vows in Manila, and these nineteen staff and students of St Augustine’s College will make the two-hour journey from Bulacan to Manila to participate in the ceremony.

A daily blog of the infirmary construction project at the orphanage is now uploaded on the internet. Go to:
http://augustineorphanageproject.blogspot.com

The College web site is http://www.saintaug.nsw.edu.au.

St Thomas of Villanova Parish, Mareeba.

The RCIA program culminates for three adult recipients on Easter Saturday night, 7th April 2007, when two persons will receive baptism and a third person will join them in being brought into full communion with the Catholic Church. RCIA is the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, and is a process that goes back to the earliest days of the Christian Church, and owes a lot to the writings and the practices of Saint Augustine of Hippo.

The parish social justice group meets in St Thomas’s parish school at 5.30pm on the first Friday of every month. One of their group’s awareness-raising activities is an annual rice meal. This year it will take place after the 5.00pm Vigil Mass on Saturday, 5th May 2007.

The pastor of Mareeba (and also of the adjacent parish of Dimbulah) is Fr Rob Greenup O.S.A.

Villanova College, Coorparoo

Villanova is an upper primary and secondary day school for approximately 900 boys that has been conducted since its foundation in 1948 by the Order of Saint Augustine. It is located in the suburb of Coorparoo in Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city.

The One Mind One Heart Project (2003-2005) at Villanova was a fund-raising project with two goals: the building of the Augustine Centre for music and theatre on the school’s campus at Coorparoo, and providing major improvements and expansion at Villanova Park, the school’s sports fields in the suburb of Tingalpa, ten kilometres away.

Villanova Park at present.

Although the Augustine Centre was completed on time, the work at Villanova Park has been much delayed by the difficult process of obtaining the necessary re-development approvals, all of which have now been painstakingly obtained.

Throughout 2007, therefore, Villanova Park will resound to the work of earth-moving equipment as a new entry and internal roads are constructed. As well, new ovals and an additional parking area will be shaped on recently-acquired land on the eastern side of the park.

Already at the park the two-storey Cor Unum Centre, constructed in 2005, adjacent to the Andrew Slack Oval, has served many purposes over and beyond contributing to the value of Villanova Park as an outstanding sporting facility.

The Villanova web site is http://www.vnc.qld.edu.au

Augustinian visitors from Japan

Because the Catholic population of Japan is so sparsely scattered, the presence of Catholic primary schools is very rare. There is, however, St Mary's School (K-10) within the Augustinian parish in a section of the city of Nagasaki, at the extreme southern end of Japan.

The President of the school, Fr Michael Hilden O.S.A. (at right in photo) and the lay teacher in charge of the English department (left) visited Australia last month to research the teaching of English. St Mary's School has been designated as a school for English language education, and has received a national government grant to assist this process.

The two visitors from Nagasaki visited the Augustinian primary/secondary schools in Coorparoo, Brisbane and Brookvale, Sydney. (Photo with Mr Tim Cleary (centre), Principal of St Augustine's College, Brookvale.)

St Mary's School web site is http://www1.cncm.ne.jp/~st-maria The web site is written in Japanese script, but hunt around and look at the photographs.

For many photos of the school go to http://www.augnet.org , click the photo gallery tag, and then select the gallery named Japan: Nagasaki.)

Augustinian Parish of North Harbour

Paul Skippen, the employed full-time family and youth ministry coordinator of the Augustinian Parish of North Harbour (Sydney, Australia), is producing a weekly e-newsletter for parishioners who request it.

This e-newsletter is a quite separate production from the printed parish newsletter that is available at the church doors each Sunday.

Sensing a need for easily-available material to assist reflection, spiritual journaling and prayer by parish members of various ages, Paul introduced this practice to this Augustinian parish last September.

The reflection is based upon the Gospel readings of the Mass of the previous Sunday. (Paul explains this conscious decision thus: “Not many people read the Gospel before Sunday Mass, and in reflecting further on it after Mass they have the additional benefit of the Sunday homily they’ve heard.”)

Upon request, this weekly e-newsletter is transmitted to people each Monday afternoon as an e-mail attachment. During Lent 2007, Paul intends to provide a similar e-newsletter daily, based once more on the Gospel readings of Lenten weekdays.

Paul is willing to add to the e-mailing list anyone who requests it.

To see a recent copy of this e-newsletter that is attached to this web site, click here.

If you wish to have the weekly e-newsletter (and the daily Lenten e-newsletter) automatically e-mailed to you, send your e-mail address to paul.skippen@ozemail.com.au 

The web site of the new Parish of North Harbour is http://www.northharbour.catholicau.com

Augustinian Formation Association (AFA)

The AFA prays for and raises funds for the formation of future Augustinians. Based in Sydney, its office bearers for 2007 are Trudi McFadden (president), Eddie Robinson (treasurer), Lesley Sing (assistant treasurer) and Yvonne Clark (secretary).  

Along with two new members, they form the AFA Executive.

The AFA has agreed to an increase in fund-raising activity in 2007, accompanied by a membership drive.

For more details about the Augustinian Formation Association generally, contact Fr Laurence Mooney O.S.A. (AFA chaplain) or the staff of the Provincial Office on (w) 02 9905 3049.

Augustinian Friends in the eastern U.S.A. has a web site: http://www.augustinianfriends.org

Delegation of Korea

On Wednesday, 28th March 2007, Brother Barnabas Kim O.S.A (at right in photo), the Delegation Superior of the Augustinians in Korea signed a contract with the Bishop Joseph Han-Taek Lee S.J. of Uijeongbu Diocese, which lies to the north of Seoul and borders with North Korea.

A community of three Augustinians came to live and work in Bishop Lee’s diocese on March 17th 2005 and have established a small retreat house close to the border with North Korea. Following the present practice of dioceses in Korea the contract gives formal recognition to the establishment of the Augustinian community and its ministries.

The main ministry focus over the past two years has been retreat work at the small Mother of Good Counsel Retreat House which was blessed and opened by the bishop in June 27th 2005.

The retreat house has proved popular with individuals, families and small groups wishing to come on day, overnight, or longer retreats. Already this year, from January to the end of March, over 160 people have visited for prayer days and retreats. As well as leading the retreats, the three Augustinians in the community, Michael Sullivan O.S.A., Thomas Dae-Ho Kim O.S.A. and Johan Chang-Ho Kim O.S.A., prepare the meals and look after the other material needs of the retreatants during their stay. In summer they are able to use some of the produce from their own garden at the meals.

Many retreatants have commented that as well as the quiet and natural beauty of the hills surrounding the retreat house, they also especially appreciate the welcoming community atmosphere created by the Augustinians.

(Image at left): The glass wall of the chapel shows snow-covered hills outside.

Thomas Dae-Ho Kim O.S.A said that the ages and expectations of those coming on retreats varied a lot, “So each retreat is special and planned differently by the three of us as a team.”

In addition to the work of the retreat house, this year the community also intends to offer a short parish faith renewal program to interested parishes in the Uijeongbu diocese and also initiate a social welfare ministry in a nearby town.

On the day of the signing of the contract Bishop Lee commented, “I’m delighted with the progress the Augustinians have made in two years in Uijeongbu Diocese. I hope God will continue to bless the good work that you have begun.”

Sixty photos of the Order of Saint Augustine in Korea are available on the Internet by selecting the photo gallery named Korea after you click on http://www.augnet.org/default.asp?ipageid=6

Holy Spirit Parish, St Clair

Holy Spirit Parish, which is situated at Saint Clair on the western environs of Sydney, Australia, was founded twenty-five years ago. It has been staffed by the Order of Saint Augustine for the past eleven years.

1. The Parish Planned Giving Renewal Program began in the second week of February, and concluded on 20th March with a social gathering to thank those who worked to make the program a success.  There was an average increase in weekly pledges, plus seventy new subscribers. This will enable valuable work to go forward in a variety of parish projects.

2. An initiative of the Parish Pastoral Council has been the review of the Council’s Statutes.  The outcome includes the following changes to the election process:
(i.) In future, ‘half council’ elections will enhance the Council’s continuity in direction and planning.
(ii.) Nominations will require discernment by the nominee, approaching prospective councillor sharing her/his reflections about candidate and inviting her/him to accept nomination. Both will sign nomination form and return to it to the office.

3. Holy Spirit Parish is continuing the mentoring program of Diocese for its candidates to priesthood. At present, the parish is mentoring a New Zealander who is a late vocation preparing for ordination.

4. The seniors’ program that had its origins in the Parish Silver Jubilee Celebrations of 2006, has been extended to include those with disabilities. This was marked by a special luncheon at historic Mamre House, funded by a Seniors Week grant from Penrith City Council. Fr Brian Fitzpatrick O.S.A. (see photo above) attended the event.

5. The parish Youth program commenced the year with a retreat and planning weekend at Terrigal, on the New South Wales coast an hour’s drive north of Sydney.

6. The connect groups commenced again this year with the addition of a segment where questions of faith & spiritual issues are asked. The Moderator, Fr Brian Fitzpatrick O.S.A. attends the senior group, and Fr Jun Belocura O.S.A. the Juniors. This takes place twice per month.

7. As a result of a staff review, a parish bookkeeper has been employed, and is proving an effective member of the parish staff.

The Holy Spirit Parish web site is http://www.holyspiritstclair.com.au

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From the Social Justice Desk

This report was prepared by Mr. Paul Wilson, who is employed by the Province for two days a week. Since this report was written, Paul has accompanied Brian Fitzpatrick O.S.A. (Social Justice Coordinator of the Province) on visits to additional Augustinian ministries, i.e., the Sydney parishes of North Harbour and Saint Clair.

Paul and Fr Brian will soon update the social justice section of the Province web site. Go to http://www.augustinians.org.au/social_justice.html

To date, four Augustinian ministries have been visited by the team of Fr Brian Fitzpatrick and Mr Paul Wilson (see photo): Mareeba Parish, Villanova College, St Augustine’s College and St James' Parish at Coorparoo. 

In both parishes, significant finances have already been attributed to social justice activity. A sense of isolation in social justice work has caused one parish group to develop its own networks for justice campaigns, while a group in the other parish sought diocesan assistance.

In the schools, it was well demonstrated that social justice is already a major unit within the Religious Education curriculum. While each school has its own approach to the incorporation of justice in procedural matters, there was no doubting it was already integral to the major procedures of the school.

For Villanova College this meant a form of behavioural consequences which stressed the Gospel dimension of restorative justice, and for St Augustine’s College an administrative system where social justice was to be given greater priority than has occurred in the past.

Both schools were open to social justice education sessions on staff inservice days.

A final area of discussion in each ministry was that of initiating an Augustinian Program for live-in Volunteers in some form in late 2007. There was enthusiasm for such a venture; ministries offered sites for immersion, financial and personnel support and encouragement to any young parishioner who wished to take part.

In conclusion, Fr Brian and Paul express thanks to their hosts in these parishes and schools, and note, “What can be concluded already is that the thirst for justice of the scriptures is in evidence in all our Augustinian ministries.”

Masters Degree Program in Augustine

A summer program leading to a Master of Arts degree in the study of St Augustine has begun at at Quezon City in Metro Manila. The venue is the Saint Augustine Centre of Studies (SACS - see photo below).

The new Masters program was officially launched at the SACS graduation ceremony on 27th March 2006, and the first units of the program were taught from 10th April to 20th May 2006.

There are choices of outcome available within the program.

These give different options such as equipping the student to teach Augustine to others, or else preparing the student for further studies in Augustine at a doctoral level.

For example the option that leads to a Master of Arts in Teaching Augustine studies Augustinian pedagogy, Neo-Platonism, Augustinian metaphysics and Augustine’s theory of knowledge. It then surveys Augustine’s sermons, letters, and major books.

The full program is expected to require three summers of classes by each student, and variously also some comprehensive examinations or the writing of a thesis. Students from overseas or other parts of the Philippines can apply for summer accommodation as SACS, depending on its availability.

The next courses will be offered in April-May 2007. The four projected Institute courses for Summer (April – May) 2007 are:(1) Special Questions on St. Augustine (Augustine and the Bible) (3 units). Lecturer: Sr. Niceta Vargas, OSA, PhD (Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium): April 16 – 20, 2007.

(2) St. Augustine in Modern World (3 units). Lecturer: Fr. John Paul Szura, OSA, PhD (Illinois Institute of Technology / Fordham University, USA): April 24 – 27, 2007.

(3) St. Augustine on Memory (3 units). Lecturer: Macario Ofilada, PhD (University of Salamanca, Spain): Classes on two days per week.

(4) St. Augustine and Mysticism (3units). Lecturer: Fr. Andrew Batayola, OSA, MA, MTh Spirituality (Catholic Institute of Sydney, Australia): May 7 –12, 2007.

Further printed information on the course in general and in particular, plus enrolment details, are available in a brochure that may be obtained by writing to the St Thomas of Villanova Institute of Philosophy, Saint Augustine Center of Studies, Fisheries Street, Visayas Avenue, 1100 Quezon City, Philippines. E-mail the director Fr. Rene Deliarte O.S.A. at stviphilo@yahoo.com

For information about the M.A. program, persons in Australia can also contact the Augustinian Provincial Office at Brookvale, Sydney by telephoning (02) 9905.3049 during office hours or e-mailing osaadmin@bigpond.com.

. Augnet: what's new?!

Augnet, a comprehensive web site on Saint Augustine and the Order of Saint Augustine, was fully redesigned and renovated in May 2006.

It now carries 1,260 pages of text, which also contain over 1,680 illustrations. The Augnet web site was officially "launched" at a ceremony in Sydney in August 2002, with the Augustinian Prior General from Rome as the guest of honour.

New technical features in the renovated Augnet include a search engine, which searches every page of Augnet for any word or phrase that is nominated by a user, and a site map, which quickly allows a visitor to see and understand the local arrangement of Augnet's sections and sub-sections.

About 1,995 large images in extensive photo galleries illustrate of Augustinian events and places internationally. The photo galleries most recently added illustrate Augustinian ministry in India, London (England) and at the Escorial (Spain).

There were 26,212 separate visits to the Augnet website during the calendar month of January 2007, which is an average of almost 840 visitors a day.

For the first time, on 12th October 2006 Augnet received 1,000 visitors within one twenty-four period. On 12th January 2007 there was a new daily record of 1,411 visitors.

During March 2007 Augnet received 21,188 visits, and in the past ten months a total of 196,936 visits.

Visit this web site at http://www.augnet.org

FOR SOME CURRENT NEWS ABOUT THE ORDER OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA Click here

AUGUSTINIAN CENTRE FOR SPIRITUALITY PROGRAM 2007
2 Hewitt Avenue
Greystanes 2145
Enquiries 9896 6794
www.augustinians.org.au/communities/greystanes.html