AUGUSTINIAN BULLETIN BOARD - for January 2010

Joy in the world

What is joy in the world? Rejoicing in iniquity, rejoicing in infamy, rejoicing in what is dishonourable, rejoicing in what is vile. These are all the things the world rejoices in. And none of them would exist if people didn’t want them to. There are some things people do; others that are done to them, they endure even if they don’t like it. So what is this world, and what is the joy of this world? I will tell you, brothers and sisters, as briefly as I can, as far as God helps me. Briefly, quickly, I’ll tell you. What the world relishes is villainy that no one punishes.

Let people indulge in dissolute living, in fornication, in the frivolities of the games; let them drown themselves in drink, befoul themselves with infamy – and suffer no harm: and there you have the joy of the world. Let these evil things I’ve listed not be chastised by famine, or by fear of war, or any other fear: not by any disease or any misfortunes at all; but let them all pass in material plenty, in bodily ease, in peace of mind – an evil mind: and again, there you have the joy of the world.

But God doesn’t think like a human being; God’s way of thinking is one thing, a human being’s another. It is an aspect of his great kindness not to leave villainy unpunished; and he is ready to chastise now with whips, in order not to be forced to consign to gehenna at the end.

St Augustine:  Sermon 171,4....

Earthquake Disaster in Haiti

Reprinted below are sections of a letter written by our brother, Fr. José Aridio Taveras O.S.A., after the visit he made to Haiti together with other Augustinian friars of the Vicariate of the Antilles.

On the afternoon of 12th January 2010, the Haitian people were violently shaken by an earthquake whose epicenter was Port-au-Prince, the capital city. An Augustinian theologian, two novices, six seminarians and two aspirants have family there, causing great worry which kept their communities of formation on constant alert.

The number of deaths and destroyed buildings reported by the international media constantly increased and telephone communication with families was completely impossible. For this reason, Fr. Oscar L. Jiménez O.S.A., Vicar of the Antilles, and Fr. Francisco A. de León O.S.A., decided to send the seminarians to Haiti accompanied by Fr. José Aridio Taveras O.S.A..

It was agreed that once information could be obtained regarding their families, they would return as soon as possible to the Augustinian Seminary of San Alonso de Orozco at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. (The Dominican Republic and Haiti are the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean.)

They left Santo Domingo on 15th January by bus. Once they arrived in the Haitian town of Tabarre, around 7:45pm, they stayed at the home of an Augustinian seminarian named Goyau. They could go no further due to a lack of transportation and electricity, national insecurity resulting from the escape of inmates from collapsed prisons and the general disaster produced by the earthquake.

Very early the next morning, each of the seminarians went on foot to visit their families’ homes in the earthquake zone. Many had lost uncles, aunts and cousins. Only one novice, Wilbert, lost a brother.

The situation we witnessed in the city could be described in this way: decomposing bodies lying in the streets, collapsed buildings under which other bodies were buried. There was an intense odor of decay. Panic, despair and pain caused by deaths in every family and the many injured without any medical attention. There was no food or water.

The seminarians and Fr Aridio returned to Santo Domingo on 17th January. "We were guided by the Lord and for that reason nothing serious happened to us. It is time, now, to pray for and to help our Haitian brothers and sisters who need us so," Fr Arido said.

In Australia, to assist the people of Haiti go to the website of Caritas Australia of the Catholic Church www.caritas.org.au and click on the Haiti report. Further information about the relief effort is available at Caritas International http://www.caritas.org/activities/emergencies/HaitiAppeal.html

Ronald Francis Bopf O.S.A. - R.I.P.

On 7th December 2009 the death occurred in Brisbane of Fr Ronald Bopf O.S.A., at the age of eighty-five years. He had been a member of the Augustinian Order for fifty-eight years, and a priest for fifty-four years.

He was born on 7th September 1924 at Hughenden, Queensland, and received his education from Catholic schools in Ipswich, Queensland, before attending Queensland Teachers Training College in Brisbane. Upon graduation he volunteered in 1942 for the Royal Australian Air Force, and saw active war service as a radar technician on forward RAAF bases in New Guinea and the Pacific.

After the World War, he availed himself of a demobilisation scholarship to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Queensland in 1946-1948. He then used his teaching qualifications at Boonah State School in 1949, and in 1950 became an Augustinian novice. Sent to the United States for his priestly studies, he was ordained a priest there in 1955. He returned to Australia in mid-1956, joined the teaching staff at St Augustine’s College at Brookvale (Sydney) in 1957, and remained there for seventeen years.

In 1974, after renewal study in Italy and Ireland, he was transferred to Villanova College at Coorparoo (Brisbane) in 1975. After taking a library science course in 1976 at the Queensland Institute of Technology, in 1977 he was appointed audio-visual co-ordinator at Villanova in 1978, a position he held until his retirement in 1998, at the age of seventy-four years.

With seriously declining health but with his mind as lucid as ever, he moved to permanent residential care at St Mary’s Hostel, Raceview, Ipswich in December 2007. He died at Mt Olivet Hospital at Brisbane on 7th December 2009, and was buried in the Augustinian section of Nudgee Cemetery, Brisbane. R.I.P.

Augustinians in South Korea

            On the 12th January 2010 the Korean Delegation of the Order of St Augustine will celebrate its fifth ordination to the priesthood.  On that day Luca Park will receive presbyteral ordination at the hands of the Bishop of Incheon, Boniface Choi. Because of the large number being ordained with Luca (20 priests and 10 deacons) the ceremony will take place at an indoor stadium in the City of Puchon. 

Luca (photo at left) entered the Order of St Augustine in February 1999, and has just completed his priesthood studies at Incheon Catholic seminary. During that time Luca also completed his military service in the Navy for two years, undertook his novitiate year and even managed to visit Australia during July and August of 2006, where he gained confidence in English conversation. 

He will celebrate his First Mass in St Rita’s Hall in Incheon on Saturday, 16th January 2010 and on the next day offer Mass in his home parish. The members of the Australian Province congratulate Luca and wish him many fruitful years of service in the Church and in the Korean Delegation

For a summary elsewhere on this web site of Augustinian involvement in South Korea since the Order's arrival there in 1985, click here.

For news on this web site about the Augustinians in Korea and in other areas of the Asia-Pacific, click here.

Augustinian Centre for Spirituality

A small oasis of quiet and hospitality in western suburban Sydney, Australia, the Augustinian Centre for Spirituality at Greystanes (photo below) assists persons and groups of all faith backgrounds in their spiritual journey.

Its resident Augustinian community offers spiritual direction, reflection days, courses in prayer and meditation, and individual residential directed retreats.

The 2010 program of prayer days and courses is available on this web site: click here.

For more information on the Centre, please phone (02) 9896 6749, or e-mail osaspirit@bigpond.com.au

St Thomas of Villanova Parish, Mareeba

The Parish of St Thomas of Villanova in Mareeba has been staffed by the Order of Saint Augustine since it began almost a century ago.

The "In Contact" magazine of the parish reports the redevelopment of the frontage of the church and school facing Constance Street. It is part of an architectural master plan for the property.

As seen in the diagram above, the redevelopment employs concentric circles of exposed aggregate concrete radiating from the church forecourt (at left of diagram), which extend across and embrace the school to symbolise the connection between church and school. A new disabled ramp is incorporated in the design. The project is expected to take eight weeks to complete.

Mareeba is located on the tableland behind the tropical tourist city of Cairns, in northern Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Diocese of Cairns.

Augustinian Parish, South Yarra

In Melbourne, the capital city of the Australian State of Victoria, the Augustinians have care of the Parish of Saint Joseph, South Yarra. The parish also has a second church, dedicated to St Thomas Aquinas, at Bromby Street, South Yarra. The Order of St Augustine has ministered in the parish since 1976.

On Sunday, 20th December a Christmas Musical Celebration was held at St Joseph's Church, South Yarra, performed by a group of qualified parishioners (see photo above). The celebration featured Christmas music by Bach, and Saint-Saens music for voices, organ and strings.

News has been received that the Victorian Government has approved a heritage grant of $60,000 towards the renovation of St Joseph's Church, South Yarra in 2010. This was one of only two grants awarded within the Archdiocese of Melbourne at this time.

The new parish website is located at: http://www.parishofsouthyarra.org.au


Augustinian Parish of North Harbour, Sydney

The Catholic Community of North Harbour in the Diocese of Broken Bay is the union, which happened on 1st July 2006, of the two previous adjacent Augustinian-administered parishes of Manly Vale and Balgowlah, which are located in the northern beaches area of Sydney.

The Augustinians began their pastoral leadership in Manly Vale in 1952 and at Balgowlah in 2004.

In North Harbour, the journey to World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid has begun, in that ten young adults in the parish commenced the WYD Parish Internship Program in August 2009.

This initiative of Broken Bay Diocese Youth Ministry is a parish-based program with a focus on developing ministry leaders. Each volunteer will serve four hundred hours over the next two years (i.e., four hours per week) in a parish ministry of their choice. Since the launch of the program in June 2009, over one hundred young adults from across the Broken Bay Diocese have joined this program.

The interns from the Catholic Community of North Harbour range from twoYear Eleven students of St Augustine’s College at Brookvale to persons closer to thirty years of age who are employed in the fields of nursing, occupational therapy and accountancy.

These local interns have started helping in a range of North Harbour ministries including catechesis by the parish in local public schools, Celebrate Sunday hospitality in St Kieran’s Church, T3 group leadership, LIGHT (a youth group for Years 7-10), social justice activities and music ministry. Five of these interns are also presently undertaking the Lay Ministry Program of the Broken Bay Diocese.

The parish web site is http://northharbour.catholicau.com/index.html

St Augustine’s College, Sydney

St Augustine's College is an Augustinian day school for over 1,000 male day pupils in the upper primary and secondary years of education. Founded in 1956, it is located at Brookvale (Sydney), Australia.

On Wednesday 9th December 2009 a new College building was blessed and officially opened by Most Rev David Walker D.D., Bishop of Broken Bay. In the presence of dignitaries from the local community (see photo below), the two-storied building was named the Mary MacKillop Centre.

Located near the front of the College property, the new building contains classrooms on the upper floor; underneath there is a well-appointed assembly hall.

The project was assisted financially by the Federal BER stimulus program.

The College's web site is www.saintaug.nsw.edu.au

Villanova College, Coorparoo

Villanova is a college (an upper primary and secondary school which enrolled approximately 1,160 male day pupils for the 2009 academic year) of the Order of Saint Augustine at Coorparoo in Brisbane, Australia.

A number of special events acknowledge the fifteen years as Rector (Principal) of Villanova that Fr Michael Morahan O.S.A., whose term of office ended on 31st December 2009. His fifteen years in this role was lengthier than that of any of his six Augustinian predecessors.

One particular ceremony of acknowledgment and thanks to Fr Morahan took place on Saturday, 21st November 2009 at the Cor Unum Centre at Villanova Park, which is the College’s sporting complex at Tingalpa.

The ceremony included a Mass (see photo at right), a tour of the wetlands rehabilitation area, and dinner. The event was co-sponsored by the Villanova Parents and Friends Association, Sports Club, Music Support Group and Old Boys Association. Past parents and friends of the College were also present.

In the final Parents Newsletter for 2009, Fr Morahan expressed thanks to all who have assisted him over the past fifteen years. Mr Dennis Harvey will become Villanova’s eighth Principal, and its first lay Principal, on 1st January 2010.

The College's web site is: http://www.vnc.qld.edu.au


Augustinian Parish, Coorparoo

The Parish of St James, Coorparoo (Brisbane) has been in the care of the Augustinians since 1952. Villanova College, also conducted by the Order, is located within the parish.

Journey To Easter is a program for persons interested to learn more about what we as Catholics believe and practice. The journey continues each Sunday evening starting with attendance at the first part of the Evening Mass at 6.00 pm.

Contact the parish office at (07) 3397 1671 for further details.

Photo: Front exterior of St James's Church, Coorparoo.

See the parish web site for further details: http://www.stjames-coorparoo.org.au/

Augustinian Parish, St Clair

Holy Spirit Parish at St Clair in western Sydney, Australia, was established twenty-five years ago, and has been administered by the Order of Saint Augustine for the past eleven years.

To join Caritas Australia in assisting the victims of the recent earthquakes and typhoons in the Asia-Pacific region, Basic Gift, which is the young adult group of Holy Spirit Parish, planned a Pacific Aid Appeal Carpark Concert at the parish from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on Saturday, 31st October 2009. It featured pop music bands and cultural performing groups from the local area, including some persons who are members of the parish.

The event was named One Mind, One Heart (see poster), inspired by these words of St Augustine about community.

As well as donating an entrance fee, those who attended were invited to contribute materials and non-perishable foodstuffs that Caritas Australia will ship to disaster victims in affected areas of Samoa, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The very modern web site of Holy Spirit Parish is located on the Internet at http://www.holyspiritstclair.com.au

Augustinian Formation Association (A.F.A.)

The Augustinian Formation Association prays for and raises funds for the formation of current Augustinian candidates and for future Augustinians.

It has now fulfilled this role for a number of decades.

Based in Sydney, Australia, its current office bearers are Trudi McFadden (president), Eddie Robinson (treasurer), Lesley Sing (assistant treasurer) and Yvonne Clark (secretary).

The AFA is hoping to expand its membership, especially seeing that the number of Augustinian students in formation is increasing, meaning that additional support would be very timely.

The AFA calendar of event for 2010 is presently being prepared. To obtain more details, use the contact telephone number (below).

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

Augustinian Friends

Augustinian Friends is a lay group conducted in Australia for those wishing to learn more about the spirituality of Saint Augustine of Hippo, 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 Friends' newsletter, Amici, has now reached its tenth anniversary, and much has happened within Augustinian Friends during this decade. For example, there have been three Lay Congresses: in Echuca in 2001, Sydney (Brookvale) in 2004, and in Melbourne (South Yarra) in 2007.

The 4th National Congress for Augustinian Laity will take place from Thursday, 1st July to Sunday, 4th July 2010, at Villanova College in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo. For information, contact any of the Augustinian parishes listed hereunder, or the Provincial Office at (02) 9905 3049 during business hours.

The annual meeting of the National Committee of Augustinian Friends took place at the Augustinian Centre for Spirituality at Greystanes (Sydney) on the weekend of 6th-8th November 2009 (see photo below).

The meeting also approved a parish programme for the Easter period developed by the Augustinian Spirituality Team. Local Augustinian groups will offer to run the programme in Augustinian parishes. It is particularly suitable for those who have just completed the RCIA programme

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

For an Amici 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.

For additional information about Augustinian Friends on this web site, click here.

Augustinian Volunteers Australia

Augustinian Volunteers Australia has commenced its Justice and Peace activity. This is happening in an outer-western suburb of Sydney, Australia. Five young adults are participating. With others, during February 2008 they undertook a formation period in social justice, Catholic social teaching, critical analysis and Augustinian spirituality.

On 25th February 2008 they then began assisting three already-established social justice ministries of the Catholic Church in the suburb of Mount Druitt, Sydney.

(Above): Three of the Volunteers of 2008.

These Augustinian Volunteers serve one full day per week in activities that include an education support program, migrant family assistance and men’s shelter assistance. The Volunteers live at their respective home addresses elsewhere in Sydney.

Augustinian Volunteers Australia is directed and supervised by Paul Wilson (see photo), a layman who is employed full-time as the Justice and Peace Officer of the Australian Augustinian Province.

It is anticipated that the Augustinian Volunteers program in coming years will also have provision for full-time members who will live in an Augustinian Volunteers lay community for twelve months, as already occurs within Augustinian Volunteers (U.S.A.). (To read thought-provoking and heart-warming reports from some of the current Augustinian Volunteers U.S.A., click here.)

More details about Augustinian Volunteers Australia are available on the social justice section of this web site.

Contact:

Mr Paul Wilson, Justice and Peace Project Officer, c/- St Augustine’s Priory,
P.O. Box 679 Brookvale NSW 2100, Australia. Mobile phone: 0438 646 294 Email: paul.wilson@augustinians.org.au Website: www.augustinians.org.au

Augustinian Ministry Websites 2010

• St Augustine’s College – Brookvale NSW Australia
  Website: www.saintaug.nsw.edu.au

• St James’ Parish – Coorparoo Qld Australia
  Website: http://www.stjames-coorparoo.org.au/

• Villanova College – Coorparoo Qld Australia
  Website: www.vnc.qld.edu.au

• Parish of North Harbour – Manly Vale & Balgowlah, NSW Australia
  Website: http://www.northharbour.catholicau.com

• St Joseph’s Parish – South Yarra Vic Australia
  Website: http://www.parishofsouthyarra.org.au

• Holy Spirit Parish – St Clair NSW Australia
  Website: www.holyspiritstclair.com.au

• Augustinians in Korea
• Website: http://www.osakorea.or.kr

FOR SOME CURRENT NEWS ABOUT THE ORDER OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA Click here

The Augustinian international web site is:
http://www.osanet.org/home.asp

AUGUSTINIAN CENTRE FOR SPIRITUALITY PROGRAM 2010
2 Hewitt Avenue
Greystanes 2145
Enquiries (02) 9896 6794
www.augustinians.org.au/communities/greystanes.html