<July 2008>

Love God; you can’t find anything better to love. You love silver, because it’s better than iron or brass; you love gold more, because it’s better than silver; you love precious stones more, because they exceed even the value of gold; finally, you love this light of day, which everyone who is afraid of death dreads leaving behind.

You love, I repeat, this light of day, just as the man who cried out after Jesus, Have mercy on me, son of David, longed for it with such a huge love. The blind man was crying out as Jesus was passing by. And how much did he cry out?

So much that he wouldn’t keep quiet, even when the crowd tried to stop him. He overcame the opposer, caught hold of the savior.

With the whole crowd shouting the man down and trying to prevent him from crying out, Jesus stopped, called him and said to him, What do you wish done for you? Lord, he said, that I may see. Look up, your faith has saved you.

Love Christ; long for the light which Christ is. If that man longed for the light of the body, how much more ought you all to long for the light of the heart? Let us cry out to him, not with our voices, but with our behavior. Let us lead good lives, let us scorn the world; for us, let everything that passes away be as nothing.

The death has occurred in Ireland of Fr Donal Paul Dempsey, an Augustinian priest who served in eastern Australia for fifty-two years from 1950 to 2002, the first twenty-six years in Queensland and the final twenty-six years in Victoria in the parishes of South Yarra (Melbourne) and Kyabram (Diocese of Sandhurst).

Photo: Portrait of Donal Paul Dempsey O.S.A., taken early during his twelve years at Kyabram, the final chapter of his lengthy public ministry in Australia.

He died at Ballyboden, County Dublin, Ireland on 21st June 2008, not far from where he had been born. He was eighty-two years of age when he died.

A few months after receiving priesthood in Rome in 1950 as a member of the Order of Saint Augustine, he was assigned to the Parish of Cairns in Far North Queensland.

At the age of twenty-six years, Fr Dempsey was in 1952 appointed as parish priest of nearby Babinda, and constructed a new church there. In 1954 he was transferred to the Augustinian Parish of St James’s, Coorparoo, Brisbane. As well as parochial ministry there, he was chaplain to what is now called Princess Alexandria Hospital in South Brisbane and a part-time teacher of Latin at Villanova College, which is conducted by the Order of St Augustine at Coorparoo.

He was then transferred to Villanova in a full-time teaching capacity. As a teacher he is most remembered for his natural flair in teaching languages, especially Latin and French. He also conducted the college choir, and was an officer in the college’s Cadet Corps.

He had a fine light baritone singing voice, was an avid reader, and was a connoisseur of the arts generally. In 1958 he became a co-director of the Villanova Players, which had been appointed by the late Archbishop James Duhig as the official Catholic little theatre group in Brisbane. Fr Dempsey was director of a series of plays under the nom de plume of Donal Paul.

Departing Villanova for the years 1969 and 1970, he lived with and taught the Augustinian seminarians elsewhere in suburban Brisbane. In 1971 he was recalled to Villanova College to be its fourth Rector (Principal) until 1976.

As Rector of Villanova, he led the College during the challenging era of educational change immediately after Queensland abolished the Senior public examination. He oversaw the construction of Mendel Hall, the college’s science building that was erected with Commonwealth financial assistance during the Whitlam era of federal government.

From 1976 onwards, he spent the next twenty-six years in parish ministry in Melbourne and Kyabram, Victoria, and was appointed parish priest in both of those localities.

Late in 1976, Fr Dempsey was assigned to the Augustinian Parish of St Joseph in South Yarra, Melbourne. After seven years there, he was appointed as parish priest during 1983-1987.

When transferred to St Augustine’s Parish at Kyabram in the Diocese of Sandhurst, he was a few months later in November 1987 appointed parish priest there. He continued there until his retirement in 1999, which began back in South Yarra and then continued from May 2002 onwards in the Augustinian community at Ballyboden, County Dublin, Ireland.

A requiem Mass and burial service took place on Wednesday, 25th June 2008 in Dublin. The burial was in the Augustinian community section of Glasnevin Cemetry, Dublin.

One of six siblings, he is survived by two brothers, Harry and Liam, and two sisters, Joan and Nuala.

An outgoing and effervescent personality with a stentorian laugh that announced his presence when he entered a room, he was generous in his outpouring of compassion and support to those in grief and difficulty, even at the expense of his own need for rest and self-care.

Memorial Mass: Eucharist will be celebrated for the late Fr Donal Paul Dempsey O.S.A. at St James's Church, Coorparoo, Brisbane at 7.30 pm on Monday evening, 7th July 2008. All are invited to attend.

St Augustine’s College, Sydney

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

St Augustine’s College is busy preparing for World Youth Day (15th-21st July 2008). Over 300 pilgrims will use the College as their base while travelling around Sydney to various events culminating in the Papal Mass on Sunday 20 July.

College staff have been kept busy managing the logistics of housing and feeding the pilgrims with many deliveries arriving at the College including food packs. The College has also been nominated as a Catechesis site where fellow pilgrims from the 22 northern beaches parishes will join together for prayers during the WYD week.

Following on from WYD the College is hosting the opening twenty-four hours Augustinian International Youth Encounter, at which young Augustinians from around the world will meet for a week to celebrate the teachings of St Augustine.

Brother Gregory Fitzgerald O.S.A. (pictured below), who died at Brisbane, Australia in 1976, is presently being honoured by a display in the Moree Plains Gallery in north-western New South Wales.

He was one of ten children of a family that owned Kunderang, a cattle station on the Macleay River in the Northern Rivers' District of New South Wales. After being a stockman on the family property, at the age of twenty-eight years Gregory in 1919 first met the Augustinian Order when he travelled to Italy. He then joined the Order in Ireland in 1922, and was sent to Rome to study for priesthood.

When he found the learning of Latin too difficult, he remained in the Order as a brother. In this capacity, he served in Rome until he returned to Australia in 1940, and subsequently then served in Australia until his death at the age of eighty-five years in 1976.

He had a natural talent for woodcarving, and made a number of intricately-carved walking sticks that featured Australian flora and fauna. His carving task was all the more difficult because he preferred to use Australian hardwood, which is particularly difficult to carve, and because he used only a simple pen knife, rasp and sandpaper.

During his long life, he carved an estimated forty pieces, and usually he gave them away soon after he carved them. Some of his works are quite valuable. The Augustinian Order only possesses one of these works, which is the well-worn walking stick that Bro Gregory himself used.

One walking stick was sent to President John F. Kennedy, and is still in the official Kennedy Presidential Library in Massachusetts. Another walking stick was given to Archbishop Mannix in Melbourne, who put it to practical use. Others were presented to the Irish President, Éamon de Valera, and to U.S. General Douglas MacArthur.

The display is called Hidden Treasures: Brother Gregory’s Craft, and is open to the public free of charge at the gallery (see photo) from 26th May until 21st July 2008. (Visitors should check with the gallery, because these dates may change.) The display contains some of Bro. Gregory’s walking sticks, his art books, some poetry that he composed, and photographs of other carvings he undertook.

The Moree Plains Gallery is housed in one of the most important historic buildings locally, having been built as a bank over ninety years ago. It is located in the centre of this town, which is 628 kms from Sydney. It is open five days per week: from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, and from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. Saturdays. (Closed Sunday and Monday.)

The Provincial Office would be pleased to hear from anyone who visits the display; phone 02 9905 3049 (office hours).

A major 60th anniversary event was a Dinner Dance in the Members Room of Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, 14th June 2008. About five hundred persons attend the gala evening.

Photos: (1) Raising the Villanova flag on the College's first day at Whinstanes in 1948. (2) A group photo taken soon afterwards, showing five Augustinians on the teaching staff.

Mareeba Parish participates in Cooktown celebration

Mareeba is located on the tableland behind the tropical tourist city of Cairns, in northern Queensland, Australia. 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 Dimbulah parish was added to the pastoral responsibility of the Augustinian pastor of Mareeba a number of years ago. Late May saw the annual migration to Cooktown of eight of Mareeba’s Augustinian Friends and Fr Rob Greenup OSA for the cleaning of the gravesites. While the best intentions were held, the work had to be minimal, for it was raining!

However, our best efforts were undertaken, with the result that when the Sisters of Mercy went to Cooktown a few weeks later for their special celebrations to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the arrival of the first Sisters to come to Cooktown in 1888, at the behest of Augustinian Bishop John Hutchinson, OSA, the gravesite was looking at its best.For the celebrations, members of Mareeba Augustinian Friends were invited to attend any of the events in Cooktown, an invitation we were happy to accept.

As a result on Tuesday 24 June, on the exact day of arrival one hundred and twenty years before of the Sisters of Mercy from Dungarvan, three of us from Mareeba, Vera Clair, Jeanette Hartley and Kay Morrow, drove to Cooktown, accompanied by Fr John McGlone OSA who was relieving our parish priest Fr Rob Greenup OSA at the time.We attended Mass at the gravesites along with about fifty others. Bishop of Cairns, James Foley concelebrated Mass with Augustinian Fr John. It was a moving and joyful occasion.

We then repaired to the Restaurant ‘1770’ overlooking the Endeavour River for a delicious meal. It was a truly joyous and heart-warming occasion with most of the Sisters’ present – a true commemoration and tribute to the original Sisters from Dungarvan. For the celebrations two Sisters of Mercy had travelled from the present day Dungarvan, making the events even more special.Augustinian Friends congratulate and thank the Sisters of mercy for their hospitality, their friendship and their constant presence in our lives.(Coincidentally it was thirty-one years to the day since Mareeba parishioner Kay Morrow arrived in Sydney from Scotland!)

A small oasis of quiet and hospitality in suburban Sydney, Australia, the Augustinian Centre at Greystanes seeks to assist persons and groups of all faith backgrounds in their spiritual journey. The resident Augustinian community there offers spiritual direction, reflection days, courses in prayer, meditation and personal development, and individual residential directed retreats.

In mid-June the Augustinian Spirituality team welcomed six teachers from Villanova College (see photo above) as part of the retreat programme for staffs from Augustinian colleges in Australia. This was the first such experience for this group so the focus was on an introduction to Augustinian spirituality.

As well as a general reflection on Christian spirituality and meditation, there was an overview of the life of Saint Augustine and an exploration of Augustinian perspectives on community and education as they find relevance in daily life at the College.

An introduction to the Augustinian world formed part of the experience with some input on use of Augustinian websites to learn more about Augustinian spirituality and ministries. The celebration of liturgy and the mealtimes supported a prayerful and rich community experience for the retreat.

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 .

On Sunday, 24th May 2008 fifty members of the Augustinian Parish of North Harbour (Sydney, Australia) travelled across Sydney to Auburn to visit the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque. The parish Social Justice Group organised the tour as part of their work to help develop dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and to encourage greater understanding of each other.

They were met at the Mosque by a group of young Muslim men and women who are actively involved in developing inter–faith relationships. One of the hosts gave a tour of the Mosque and some background on the Muslim faith. The visitors viewed the midday prayer session from the top floor of the Mosque.

The Mosque is designed in the Classical Ottoman style, and was completed in 1999. The construction was funded mainly by the local Turkish community. The name of the Mosque reflects the shared legacy of the Australian and Australian Turkish community.

The Social Justice Group together with “Affinity” (a Muslim organisation promoting inter-faith understanding) is holding a forum in the North Harbour parish area on 15th August 2008 as well as another “home encounters” program beginning in October.

Having completed its first major building program, an Augustinian Priory in Inchon City in 1994, the Augustinians of Korea in December 2006 developed an adjacent property and opened the St Rita Spirituality Centre (see sketch below).

The building has continuously proved its usefulness. Recent activities in the Spirituality Centre included an initial Augustinian spirituality seminar last February, a ten-week programme introducing the laity to the Divine Office, a novena prior to the Feast of Our Mother of Good Counsel, and a six-week program leading into the Year of the Apostle Paul. This program introduced Paul’s life, missionary journeys and his major letters.

Preliminary arrangements are already in hand for a second Augustinian spirituality seminar in the month of October 2008 on the theme of Saint Paul and Saint Augustine.

Seven of the Augustinian Friends group in Mareeba, along with Fr Rob Greenup, made their annual trip to Cooktown with an overnight stay on Tuesday, 27th May 2008, returning to Mareeba on Wednesday, 28th May 2008. This time we had two Kuranda Friends making up the group and it was lovely to show them Cooktown as neither had been there previously.

The Augustinian and Sisters of Mercy graves (see photo) still look in good order. Taking a leaf blower with us, Graham used it like an expert clearing all of the eucalypt leaves! We washed the grave stones using water only, washed the fence to get rid of cobwebs and generally tidied up. For the first time it rained lightly while we were working, and it kept us cooler.

We had our evening meal on the verandah of the presbytery which overlooks the Endeavour River – truly a magnificent view. Fr Rob celebrated Mass for us the following morning.

Next month a few of the group are heading back to Cooktown to celebrate with the Mercy Sisters who are holding Mass at the cemetery. This year marks the 120th anniversary of Sisters of Mercy from Dungarvan (Ireland) first arriving at Cooktown, and hence a number of special liturgies and other events will be held.

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.

As a fund-raising effort for the parish's involvement in World Youth Day the youth of the parish presented Back 2 Basics, a programme that was held from 11.00 am to 4.00 pm on Sunday, 25th May 2008 (see photo below).

The parish will be a catechetical centre during the week of World Youth Day, and 575 pilgrims from overseas and from elsewhere in Australia will hear a visiting bishop giving instructions on the Faith.

As well, 365 pilgrims will be billeted in Holy Spirit Parish School from 14th to 21st July 2008.

The parish web site is http://www.holyspiritstclair.com.au

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 has been present in the parish since 1976.

After more than twenty years as Parish Priest of St. Joseph’s Parish in South Yarra, Fr. John Barry O.S.A. will begin a well earned retirement on 7th August 2008.

During his time at South Yarra, he has overseen many community outreach innovations such as an emergency crisis shelter, ten emergency housing apartments, a food bank, a frozen bread program and pastoral visitation for the isolated, sick and mentally ill. Fr. Barry (see photo) recently established a small library for use by parishioners and others.

At his instigation, St. Joseph’s Parish is presently on a partnership with Melbourne Affordable Housing to convert the Parish Convent into 12 independent living units for people suffering from mental illness. Fr. Barry’s successor will be Fr. Brian Buckley O.S.A. who is returning to Australia after twenty-five years on the Augustinian missions in Korea.

The parishioners of St. Joseph’s will welcome Fr. Buckley in August. Fr. Barry will receive a six-month sabbatical soon after the handover to Fr. Buckley is complete.

Since the opening of a new parish centre late in 2006, plans have existed for a parish library. The library was opened on 11th May 2008, and is called the Barry Library, in honour of Fr John Barry O.S.A.

News Flash: The Province Social Justice Office has encouraged that assistance be given to cyclone victims in Burma, and in recent weeks this has successfully happened. As of 1st July 2008, a total in excess of AUS$7,000 has been sent to Caritas Australia from a number of Augustinian ministries. To read more on the Social Justice page on this web site, click here.

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.

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.)

Augustinian Volunteers Australia invites interested young adults to assist its future planning by completing the obligation-free survey attached to this web site.

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

It’s all happening! The colossus that will be the ninth international Augustinian Encounter for Young Adults is now over a year into its planning stage.

(Photo at left: Intending Encounter participants from the Augustinian Vicariate of the Orient, Philippines.)

This Encounter will commence initially at Brookvale and then for its final six days be based at the Collaroy Conference Centre on Sydney’s northern peninsula. It takes place from Monday afternoon, 21st July 2008 until the morning of the following Sunday.

(Monday 21st July 2008 is the day immediately after the conclusion of World Youth Day 2008, with the Pope's Mass at Randwick on the previous day.)

From bookings received so far, it is known that attendance at the Augustinian Encounter will host about 300 young adults and their Augustinian mentors. Already the following countries have indicated their participation: Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, England, Ireland, India, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, U.S.A., Canada, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Slovakia, Italy and South Korea.

Michael Dela Cruz, who attended the meeting of Augustinian Youth Animators in Rome in July 2007, is employed by the Australian Province as the full-time projects officer for World Youth Day (15th – 20th July 2008) and the International Augustinian Encounter (21st-26th July 2008).

With an air of excitement Augustinian Friends from across Australia gathered to celebrate ONE WORLD WITH AUGUSTINE, remembering back to the time of the millennium when celebrations began here and as if in a ripple effect worked their way around the world through the various time zones.

Augustinian Friends groups from North Harbour, Greystanes, Newcastle, Perth, Kyabram and South Yarra were all part of the Australian experience.

All groups explored the theme of Friendship. Some like Newcastle and Greystanes, chose to begin their program during the One World Week continuing it over a number of weeks. Others, like South Yarra and Kyabram, chose to work on a study program during the week with a celebration at the end, while another group in Sydney opted for an evening, the feast day of Alypius and Possidius, joining in the celebration of Mass with a homily given by Fr. Tony Banks OSA detailing the lives of both of Augustine’s friends followed by some discussion and a report on the world wide celebration of One World Week. In Western Australia, Margaret Wilcox was able to encourage her Bible Study group in Dunsborough to bring along a friend and discuss and celebrate Friendship and to realise how this was basic to Christianity of all persuasions.

Well done Augustinian Friends! To be linked to the thirty Augustinian groups from around the world all celebrating Augustinian spirituality in some way or another gave a real sense of what it means to be Augustinian.

Our thanks goes to Kate Everitt and the Irish groups for instigating this initiative.

Amici is the Friends' newsletter. 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.

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 1,398 pages of text, which contain over 1,860 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.

Over 2,750 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 90,000 separate (distinct) visitors have used Augnet at least once, in a total of 580,000 visits (i.e., an average of over six visits each). These persons have made a total of 1,132,416 Augnet page visits. There was a monthly record of 38,166 visits to Augnet during July 2007, which is an average of 1,210 visits a day. The second-highest monthly tally of 34,936 occurred in April 2008.

On 12th October 2006 Augnet received 1,000 visits within one 24-hour period for the first time. On 16th January 2008 there was a new daily record of 2,353 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.

Contact:

Augustinian Ministry Websites 2008