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AUGUSTINIAN BULLETIN BOARD – August 2007

Christ is your mountain of refuge

I tell you, that many will come from east and west. Where will they come? Where they believe. That’s where they come; coming is believing. He believed, he came; he apostatized, he left. So they will come from east and west; not to the temple of Jerusalem, not to some central section of the earth, not to climb some mountain ---and yet they are coming to the temple of Jerusalem, and to some central section, and to some mountain. The temple of Jerusalem ----that’s not the body of Christ, about which he said, Pull down this temple, and in three days I shall raise it up.

The central place they are coming to is Christ himself; he is at the center, because he is equally related to all; anything placed in the center is common to all. They are coming to the mountain.

Approach the mountain, climb up the mountain, and you that climb it, don’t go down it. There you will be safe, there you will be protected; Christ is your mountain of refuge. And where is Christ? At the right hand of the Father, since he has ascended into heaven.

“That’s a very long way away; who can climb there, who can reach there?” If it’s a long way away from you, how can I say with truth, “The Lord be with you”? Not only is he seated at the right hand of the Father, but he will also never withdraw from your hearts.

St Augustine: Sermon 62A,3


The Augustinian Order in the Asia-Pacific

The Order of Saint Augustine has a total of seven jurisdictions based in Philippines (two), India, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Australia. The leaders of six of these Asia-Pacific jurisdictions met earlier this month in preparation for the General (i.e., international) Chapter of the Order, which they will attend in Rome during most of September 2007.

In compiling a regional presentation for the General Chapter, these Asia-Pacific leaders intend to call for a special focus of the Order upon this region for the next six years, just as the Order did previously with Africa during the six-year period now ending.

The Australian Prior Provincial, Fr Tony Banks O.S.A. (pictured above), was a participant in the recent preparatory meeting. He has commented, “The European / Western influence is in decline in our region, but will the unique qualities of Asia clash with or nourish the Augustinian Order?”


Augustinian Diaconate Ceremony in South Korea

On 5th July 2007 the Augustinian Delegation of Korea joyfully celebrated the ordination to the diaconate by one of its members. On that day Jonah Kyu-Dong Kim O.S.A. was one of eight young candidates in a ceremony conducted by Very Rev. Joseph Han-Teak Lee DD S.J. of the local Uijeongbu Diocese (see photos), which is north of Seoul.

In this ceremony, six young men (including the Augustinian, pictured above) became deacons, and another two were ordained to the Catholic priesthood. The enue was the indoor sports stadium at Uijeongbu, which was large enough to hold more than 230 priests and 4,000 laity who attended the ceremony.

Almost all members of the Augustinian Delegation of Korea witnessed the ceremony, as well as Jonah’s mother and family members. A visitor from England at the ceremony was Father Jacob Heang-Kwon Choi O.S.A., a Korean Augustinian who was ordained in England, and who ministers there. Father Jacob is a member of the St. Mary's Augustinian community at Harbourne in Birmingham, England.

The date of the 5th July was chosen because it was the feastday of St. Andrea Dae-Gon Kim, a martyr and the first Korean priest.The new deacon, Jonah Kyu-Dong Kim O.S.A., is a member of the St. Augustine's Priory at Chon-dong, Incheon. On his path to priesthood, he has studied at Inchon Catholic University for the past six and a half years, and will continue classes there until the end of this year.

Now that he is a deacon, he will also help at one of the local parishes in Incheon on the weekends. This will continue until he is ordained priest sometime in 2008.

Within the Order of Saint Augustine, Jonah professed his solemn vows on 10th September 2006. He is the fourth Korean-born Augustinian working in Korea to have received the diaconate.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


Augustinian Parish of North Harbour

St Kieran’s Church is located within the Augustinian Parish of North Harbour, which is in the Northern Beaches area of metropolitan Sydney, Australia.

On Tuesday, 10th July 2007 St Kieran’s Church was the venue of the World Youth Day Cross and Icon that have moved progressively around the world and are now visiting the Catholic dioceses of Australia.

The photographs (above and below) show the arrival of this large wooden cross in the grounds of the church, and in the sanctuary of St Kieran's Church. The cross and icon were welcomed by a capacity congregation, and during the day persons came forward to reverence the cross.

In the meantime, religious activities were conducted in the adjacent parish hall.

The pilgrimage to Australia of the cross and icon is a prelude to the next World Youth Day, which Pope Benedict XVI will attend in Sydney in mid-July 2008.

Centre for Augustinian Spirituality

This year the Augustinians in Australia celebrated the tenth anniversary of the beginning of Augustinian community life at Greystanes, which also marked the beginning there of the ministry of the Centre for Augustinian Spirituality. Fathers Dave Austin O.S.A. and John McCall O.S.A. moved into the Centre on 10th February in 1997.

After eight years as Director of the Centre, Fr Laurie Mooney O.S.A. was farewelled at the end of 2006. Since February 2007 Fr Peter Jones O.S.A. has been Director.

The ministry of the Centre is accountable to the Australian Augustinian Province through the Province’s Commission for Formation. The mandate of the Centre remains that of service in the area of spirituality and education with an Augustinian focus to Augustinians, Augustinian communities, Augustinian laity and ministries, and the surrounding Diocese of Parramatta.

Some of the programs pending for the remainder of 2007 include reflection day for the Augustinian Formation Association, a gathering for the Augustinian Friends group, a retreat for leadership team of the Order’s Villanova College, in Brisbane, three more College staff retreats, Centre prayer days, a parish seminar on Mary, a parish pastoral team reflection day, and reflection days for Parramatta CCD.

For full details and dates of the entire 2007 program at the Centre for Augustinian Spirituality, go to the bottom of this page and follow the prompts.

If any group associated with the Order of Saint Augustine and its ministries is interested in a program or retreat by the Centre staff, please contact Fr Peter Jones O.S.A. at Greystanes at (02) 9896-6794 or osaspirit@bigpond.com.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.

The college community recently celebrated with Fr Peter Jones O.S.A. his 20th anniversary of priesthood.

A special ceremony hosted by Mr Tim Cleary (Principal) and a presentation marked the event.

Until December 2006, Fr Jones was a daily presence at the College. He taught and ministered to the community of St Augustine’s College from 1990-1992, 1994-1996 and 1999-2006.

His many years of direct association with the Brookvale campus also included his long involvement with the Old Boys (past pupils) Association.

In congratulating Fr Jones, the College described him as “a gentle and reflective man, who is loved and respected by the students and staff of St Augustine’s College.  His continuing friendship is truly valued by all of the Augustinian community.”

Currently, Fr Peter is the Director of the Centre for Augustinian Spirituality at Greystanes, NSW. 

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

The College’s Orphanage Project 2007. A daily blog of the infirmary construction project during April 2007 at the orphanage in Bulacan, Philippines is uploaded on the internet. Go to:
http://augustineorphanageproject.blogspot.com


Villanova College, Coorparoo

Villanova is an Augustinian day school for approximately 1,000 male students in the upper primary and secondary years of education. It began at a smaller location in Whinstanes (Brisbane) in 1948, and moved to its present site at Coorparoo (Brisbane) in 1954.

Villanova College has a proud academic tradition throughout the fifty-nine years of its history. Certainly the beginnings of that tradition were cemented in place by the impressive line-up of Augustinian staff sent from Ireland to open the College in Brisbane in 1948

In recent times, Old Boy (past pupil: at right in photo) Greg Wildermuth, returned to Villanova to offer the archives the prize he received from Villanova’s founding Rector, Fr Ben O’Donnell OSA, for being the very first “Dux of School” in 1948. Greg also presented another prize he received for Classics. (Classics, especially Latin,were taught by the illustrious Fr John Louis Hanrahan O.S.A., who was known even then among the boys by the sobriquet of “George”).

Both prizes were novels written by Charles Dickens. The books, suitably inscribed by Fr O’Donnell at the time, have now found their own very special place in College archives. So began the tradition of encouraging students in the pursuit of academic excellence – a proud tradition that has continued to the present day.

If we fast-forward this story of focus on academic achievement to the present day, the College is delighted to acknowledge three Villanovans from the 2006 graduation (Senior) class, who were awarded an Australian Students’ Prize (see photo). The prize recognises the top 500 senior students across Australia.

The Prize this year has been re-named the Lord Florey Student Prize in honour of the Australian Nobel Laureate.

To be named in this elite group of students represents an outstanding achievement, since in 2006 approximately 200,000 students completed Year 12 (Senior year) across all States and territories of Australia. One of the three has been accepted to study for a Bachelor of Engineering in Aerospace Avionics, another is about to egin a Bachelor of Music at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and the third is commencing a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Queensland.

These three young men join the list of nine other Villanova past students in recent years who received this national honour on completing Year 12.

The college’s web site is located at http://www.vnc.qld.edu.au


Affiliates’ meetings

The series of meetings for Augustinian Affiliates continues. A meeting was held in northern Victoria (the region of the former Augustinian parishes of Rochester, Echuca and Kyabram) on 18th July 2007.

With the 1967 revision of the Constitutions of the Order of Saint Augustine, the affiliation of laity to the Order was approved.  This has provided Provinces with the opportunity of taking the initiative of binding more closely to the Order those laity who have, over many years, identified with the ethos and ministries of the Augustinians in a significant way. Today, there are more than sixty laity affiliated to the Order in Australia since that time.

Northern Victorian groupThe need has been expressed for providing the affiliates with a deeper knowledge of Augustine, Augustinian Spirituality and of the Order itself. For this purpose the present Prior Provincial, Fr Tony Banks O.S.A., together with his Provincial Council, appointed Father Pat Fahey O.S.A. to be chaplain to the Affiliates of the Province.

Fr Pat Fahey is in the process of meeting with the Affiliates throughout the Province.  Prior to the gathering in Northern Victoria (see photo) in July and at Mareeba in mid-June, earlier meetings were conducted at Manly Vale (Sydney), Adelaide and Brisbane. 

To complete the first series of these gatherings, a meeting is being planned for Melbourne.The structure of the meeting is simple: (1) celebration of Mass; (2) sharing a meal; (3) presentation of some aspect of Augustinian spirituality; (4) discussion; and (5) prayer.  It lasts no more than about two hours.

What is further envisaged is the publication of a simple Newsletter in which the Affiliates themselves will receive news of each other and be encouraged to share in each other’s lives by prayer and even by direct contact (through letter or visits). 


Augustinian Parish, Mareeba.

Eight of the Augustinian Friends group of the Mareeba Parish, along withAugustinian parish priest Fr Rob Greenup (see photo at right), took their annual trip to Cooktown with an overnight stay from Tuesday 22nd to Wednesday 23rd May 2007. The main reason for the trip was to ensure that the grave sites of the two Augustinian bishops and seven Sisters of Mercy buried at Cooktown cemetery remain in good order.  

Over the last three years the fence has been welded and painted, grave stones cleaned, weeds pulled out and gravel laid, during our annual pilgrimage. This year was more relaxed with the gravel being raked, the leaves gathered up, and the fence and graves brushed down

Relaxation was then the order of the day with the ladies browsing in the shops, the men resting at the presbytery and Fr Rob walking up Grassy Hill. Mass was celebrated in the evening, and the group returned to Mareeba the next day.

Augustinian Friends

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, Mareeba, Melbourne, Northern Victoria, and Sydney.

The position of Co-Leaders of the National Committee is presently being shared by Ruth McGowan and Maureen Atkins of northern Victoria, and Fr. Paul Maloney O.S.A. is chaplain of the group.

The English and U.S. Augustinians are involved with generally similar Augustinian Friends movements in their respective nations.

In England, “Friends of Augustine” has now begun its own website:
http://www.friendsofaugustine.org In the United States, the web site is http://www.augustinianfriends.org

Amici, the Friends' newsletter, is edited by Sarah-Jane Greenaway. For a newsletter subscription or for any additional information on the Friends, contact Fr Paul Maloney at Greystanes (Sydney) at paulmal@bigpond.com.au or phone him on 02 9631.0340.


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, pictured), 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.

Coming events in Sydney are the annual AFA Mass, barbeque and Dutch Auction, beginning at St Kieran's at 12.30 pm on Sunday, 26th August, and a Retreat Day on Tuesday, 4th September. A chartered bus will depart St Kieran's Church for the Centre for Augustinian Spirituality, Greystanes at 8.30 am on that day, and depart Greystanes on its return journey at 3.00 pm.

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.


APAC Cross-cultural Immersion Program, November 2007

APAC is the Asia and Pacific Augustinian Conference. APAC is offering for the first time a six-day Cross-cultural Immersion Program. This will take place near Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Philippines on 11th-19th November 2007 (See maps below).

PhilippinesDetrail: Negros

It is expected that participants will be both APAC religious and educators involved with social justice.

The program is being prepared by the APAC Commission on Justice and Peace, and will be centred at the Mother Rita Homes II at Candau-ay, Dumaguete City. Two of a number of addresses during the program will be given by Sr Carmeli Ma. Catan of the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation (Commission Chair) and Fr Tony Banks O.S.A. of Australia (Commission Vice-Chair).

The Immersion Program aims to offer the participants four benefits.

The first benefit is an experience on how to install a responsive and relevant induction program for agents of community development;

The second is an initial opportunity to develop and write an effective community development curriculum focusing on fostering cross-cultural understanding, peace and sustainable community development;

The third is an experience in planning to install an efficient and effective implementation, supervision and evaluation system for the project and expand the prototype model for wider community replication.

The fourth benefit is an exposure to a cross-cultural experience of immersion to a sustainable community development model.

Three full days of the program are devoted exclusively to a direct immersion experience.

Persons in Australia interested in further information or enrolment procedures for the program, contact the Order's Justice and Peace Co-ordinator in Sydney at holyspiritparish@holyspiritstclair.com.au


.Augnet: what's new?!

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

It now carries over 1,280 pages of text, which also contain over 1,720 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 2,180 large images in extensive photo galleries illustrate Augustinian events and places internationally. The photo galleries most recently added illustrate Sydney, Australia, and three galleries of Augustinian ministry in India, London (England) and at the Escorial (Spain), and additional images are regularly added to other galleries whenever they become available.

Since May 2006, over 42,416 separate (distinct) visitors have used Augnet at least once, in a total of 253,380 visits (i.e., an average of eight visits each). These persons have made a total of 664,994 Augnet page visits. There was a monthly record of 37, 613 visits to Augnet during July 2007, which is an average of 1,210 visits a day.

On 12th October 2006 Augnet received 1,000 visits within one 24-hour period for the first time. On 9th June 2007 there was a new daily record of 2,314 visits attained.

Because of the international usage of Augnet, the web site has almost an identical usage rate in each of the twenty-four hours of the day, and also equal usage on all days of the week (except for a slight decrease on Saturdays). The average duration per visit is three and one half minutes.

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

Augustinian Ministry Websites 2007

FOR SOME CURRENT NEWS ABOUT THE ORDER OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA Click here

The Augustinian international web site is: http://www.osanet.org/en/default.htm

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

 

 

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