<March 2008>

How did Christ humble himself? John himself tells us: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Being immortal he took on mortality in order to die for us and by his death kill our death. This is what the Lord did; this is what he offered us.

Being great he humbled himself, being humbled he was killed, killed and risen and lifted up on high in himself in the resurrection of the dead, having lifted us up now in faith and in the confession of the just.

So he gave us the way of humility. If we keep to it we shall confess to the Lord, and sing, We will confess to you, O God, we will confess and call upon your name. It is rather shameless to call upon his name if you don’t confess to him. First confess, in order to prepare a dwelling place for the one you are calling on, that is to say calling in. After all, your heart is full of wickedness. But confession sweeps out the uncleanness you are cluttered up with inside, and cleans the house into which the one you are calling in is coming.

But anyone who calls him in before confessing is deliberately insulting him by asking him in. If you wouldn’t dare invite some holy people into your house unless you had first cleaned it out, in case something should offend their eyes, will you have the nerve to call the name of God into your heart full of wickedness, unless you have first swept out all the iniquity inside by confession? So confession humbles us, humbled it justifies us, justified it lifts us up on high. Because if we are proud, God opposes us; if we are humble, God exalts us.

Augustinian Volunteers Australia

The Order of St Augustine in Australia, commonly known as Augustinian Fathers and Brothers, is introducing an outreach of lay women and men to the needy places of ministry in Australia and, in the future, elsewhere in South-East Asia.

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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. It is within the Diocese of Cairns.

On Wednesday 13 th February 2008, Arthur Collins, an Aboriginal member of Mareeba Parish, organised a march of about 1,000 people down the main street of Mareeba as part of the Federal Government’s Sorry Day.

Students from St Thomas’s Parish School, St Stephen’s Catholic College and Mareeba State High School joined with members of the Stolen Generations and many other indigenous and non-indigenous people in the march.

Mareeba Parish Priest, Augustinian Fr Robert Greenup (see photo) was asked to address the crowd and he said:

“We gather on this day because down in Canberra the Prime Minister of our country is saying sorry – sorry for the government policies of the past that resulted in the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal people. We are gathered here because we are sorry too. Terrible things were done. Very hurtful things were done. And we are sorry.We can’t undo the past. We can’t change the past "

"But we can change the future and we want to change the future. That is why we are walking together today. Because we want a future where the indigenous people of this country, and their ancient culture, and their unique spirituality make a valued and important contribution to our Australian way of life."

"We are sorry for the mistakes of the past but we look to the future with this hope."

Three Australian Augustinians (photo below), Fathers John Barry O.S.A., Gerald Dullard O.S.A. and Patrick Fahey O.S.A., have this month marked the fiftieth anniversary of their ordination to priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church.

All three celebrated together at St Joseph's Parish, South Yarra (Melborne), where two of them serve. Fr Patrick Fahey also was guest of a celebration at St Kieran's Church at Manly Vale (Sydney), where he is based.

On these occasions the jubillarians were joined by their fellow Augustinians, local parishioners, friends, and by numerous family members who travelled interstate to be present.

Three Augustinian novices in Korea, Paul, Matthew and Francis (photo below), made their first profession of vows at the St Rita Spirituality Center in Incheon, South Korea at 2.00 pm on Saturday, 1st March 2008.

Fr. Brian Buckley O.S.A., who is one of the founding members of the Order’s entrance into Korea twenty-five years ago, was the principal celebrant and homilist at the Mass of Profession. The homilist was Fr John Sullivan O.S.A., who was novice master of these three young Koreans during the past twelve months. Frs Buckley and Sullivan are Australian Augustinians who in their youth attended Villanova College at Coorparoo (Brisbane).

Just one year after opening of its St. Rita's Spirituality Centre in Incheon, the Delegation of Korea arranged its first Augustinian Spirituality Seminar there on 15-17th February 2008. The theme chosen was "Augustine and service in the Church."

About 200 people attend the seminar (photo below), which was especially aimed to attract those with some familiarity with St Augustine, his life and thought. The seminar nevertheless gave the presenters an opportunity to demonstrate their own deep knowledge and love of the Bishop of Hippo.

There were four presenters. The three of them who are Korean diocesan priests are all doctoral graduates of the Augustinianum, Rome. The fourth speaker was Seoh In-Seok Jacobo O.S.A., who is the Prior of the Augustinian community at Kang-Hwa and the Coordinator of Lay Augustinian Associations. His talk was "Christian Pilgrimage as seen in the Confessions of Augustine.”

This was the first such seminar on Augustine at the St. Rita's Spirituality Centre in Incheon, but, thanks to the positive response received last month, it most probably will be the first of many such occasions.

One World Week With Augustine

This is an Irish initiative to bring people together to explore some of the spirituality of St. Augustine, to have fun in the process, and to have a sense of being united with others elsewhere in the world who are enjoying a similar experience.

The idea was developed by Kate Everitt, of the Augustinian youth ministry in Drogheda, Ireland from her experience of the One World Week with youth groups. Kate, along with Bernadette Toal and two Irish Augustinians are organising the project.

Already at least thirty groups have enrolled in Ireland, England, USA, Australia, Ecuador, Kenya, Philippines, Netherlands and Canada have signed up as participants. One World Week With Augustine will therefore take place in at least
eleven nations that are spread over all six inhabited continents of the world.

Participating groups will undertake to study a particular aspect of the spirituality of St. Augustine, and then celebrate the fruits of their exploration in a Celebration Day. In this they will be united in spirit with other groups celebrating elsewhere during the designated One World Week With Augustine. It is also possible that groups geographically near to one another may come together for this event.

The theme chosen for exploration is friendship in the spirituality of Augustine. Each group will explore the theme in a series of four meetings at any time of their choice between early April and the week of 11th-18th May 2008, using materials that will be prepared and provided by the coordinating committee mentioned above.

Then each group will be invited to hold a celebration day in the week May 11th-18th, 2008. This week was chosen because May 16th is the feast of St Alypius. Groups that are nearby may decide to come together for this celebration day.

Suggestions will be offered for the format of this day, but each group will be free to give it the shape most suitable for itself. It is suggested that each group make some record of the event for circulation to others by whatever means they wish – photos, You Tube video clips, emails, website, print, etc.

Groups can be of any age, and of any range of ages. Persons can enquire about and/or express interest in forming a group to participate by visiting the home page of the Augnet web site http://www.augnet.org by following the prompts. Background reading and resource materials are already uploaded on Augnet.

Enrolment is also possible via the Augnet, and there is also a forum available by clicking on the bottom banner of the Augnet page.

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.

The individual units within the parish's 2008 Lenten program consists of a reading, and reflection of the next Sunday’s Gospel, followed by a session of “Catholics Making a Difference” from the Café series.

“Catholics Making a Difference” is a part of the resource, helping Catholics to explore their faith, through works, witness and word. Each of the seven talks are challenging Catholics to make practical responses in the areas of social action, human rights and sharing the Good News.

As the series is shown on video, the parish is holding these sessions in the Parish Meeting Room. The groups meet during Lent on Monday Mornings at 10.00 am, Wednesday Evenings at 7.30 pm and Thursday afternoons at 1.30 pm.

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.

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, 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.)

It is anticipated that attendance at the Augustinian Encounter will be at least 400 and their Augustinian mentors. Already the following countries have indicated their likely participation; Belgium, England, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Slovakia and South Korea.

Furthermore, registrations are anticipated from Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Panama, South Africa, Spain, USA, and Vietnam. In the coming months this list will grow.

Michael Dela Cruz (photo above), 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).

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.

In supporting the "Sorry" spoken by the Rime Minister of Australia on the opening day of Federal Parliament on 13th February 2008, the College carried this theme into its opening Mass of the year, which was celebrated on campus in the Brimson Centre by Fr Peter Tangey O.S.A., who is a member of the chaplaincy team of the College.

* 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

The Catholic Community of North Harbour (a parish conducted by the Augustinians in metropolitan Sydney, Australia) will bring the internationally-acclaimed religious songwriter, guitarist and singer, Jesse Manibusan from Texas, USA to Sydney, Australia in March 2008.

He will be offering a series of liturgical workshops for adults, a youth festival for young adults and educational events for school groups from Monday 24th March to Sunday 30th March 2008 inclusive. These events will take place at St Kieran’s Parish Centre, Manly Vale (Sydney, Australia) and at St Augustine’s College, which is located nearby in Brookvale.

Jesse Manibusan (see photo below) is a pastoral musician in Grapevine, Texas, where he resides with Jodi his wife and their three children.

He engages his audience with a mix of rap, rock, pop, reggae, gospel and other musical styles in order to bring alive the Good News of the Gospel. He holds a master's degree in multicultural ministries from the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, California.

Jesse describes himself a Catholic lay evangelist who uses music, comedy and stories to connect with people. Very much in demand in the United States as a motivational speaker, Jesse’s uplifting message touches all generations.

He says, “God gives us life. We may have disappointments, we may be really angry or depressed. It’s good we can have a moment to say to God, ‘Thank you for life.’”

He has a unique gift of being able to engage and reach out to any audience – at a retreat, or within a large group of adolescents at a youth festival, and with a crowd of 500,000 people who heard him in Toronto during World Youth Day 2002.

A dynamic speaker, Jesse shares from the heart the love of Christ and the call to live out baptism in every aspect of life! He challenge every age group and generation, "You're Catholic, so what?"

Jesse has released a number of CD collections of religious music, and was named Artist of the Year by the United Catholic Music Association (U.S.A.)

Awards and recognition aside, Jesse puts everything in perspective. “It’s not about me,” he said. “It’s about God. And it’s not an issue of whether we believe. It’s an issue that we know God believes. Every time we mess up God says, ‘Get up. I believe in you. Don’t be afraid to be who you are. Get over it. Know who I am. Look to me and see a reflection of yourself.’ This is about God believing in us.”

He says, “Our song is our prayer. So let's pray our words and our deeds point to Christ...anything else and it's just entertainment."

Precise details of specific Jesse Manibusan events, their date and venue during 24th-30th March 2008 are available on a special web site: http://www.realliferealpower.com.au

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

The work of the Spirituality Team for 2008 commenced at the beginning of February. Already quite a number of commitments were on the calendar with further planning taking place for courses and prayer days at the Centre. The 2008 programme brochure is being finalised.

Fr Paul Maloney O.S.A. travelled twice in February to give retreats to parish groups. First was a weekend retreat for parishioners from Terrigal parish which was held at the Josephite retreat centre at Kincumber. The retreat was well attended. A couple of weekends later Fr Paul was off to Canberra where he addressed a men’s breakfast gathering at one of the local parishes.

Elsewhere in this Current News you will read of the orientation programme for the newly formed Augustinian Volunteers Australia. On four occasions the group visited the Centre – 1.an introduction to the orientation; 2. a spirituality reflection on the first visits to the projects where the volunteers will serve; 3. theological reflection facilitated by Volunteers Co-ordinator Paul Wilson; 4. an introduction to the Augustinian foundations for justice and peace ministry. Whatever the volunteers may have learnt at the Centre the team here were in turn inspired by the enthusiasm of the volunteers.

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 .

Villanova College, Coorparoo

Villanova is an Augustinian day school for male students in the upper primary and secondary years of education. It was begun by the Irish Province of the Order of St Augustine at a smaller location in Whinstanes (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) on 25th January 1948, under the rectorship of the late Fr R.B.("Ben") O'Donnell O.S.A.. It was transferred to its present site at Coorparoo (Brisbane) in 1954.

This year 2008 will be a year of celebrations to mark the sixtieth year since the College was established. It began at Whinstanes in 1948, when only 42 students made up the roll call of 1st February 1st that year; the roll call of the College in 2008 is 1,154students.

Fr Michael Morahan OSA, Rector (Principal) of the College stated in one of his first Newsletters for the year: “On Tuesday at the Mass of the Holy Spirit to celebrate the beginning of the Academic Year I spoke to the boys the need for planning ahead, making wise decisions about what we might wish to achieve and the need to work with the support of each other to achieve those plans."

“I was focussed on the students’ own plans for the year, but took the opportunity to share some of the ideas that are being put forward in the Master Planning process for College facilities.”

"Over the past decade we have a long list of significant projects completed. Whinstanes playing field was the fruit of many decades of buying houses one by one, six in all I believe, then a major engineering work to build it all up to the same level. The net cost was several million dollars. At the same time the Learning Enrichment Centre buildingwas completed. Following that we planned and completed the Augustine Centre. This also required the acquisition of five houses. The main quadrangle was paved, trees planted, and shade structures and a stage built. At Villanova Park we completed the Cor Unum Centre, bought extra land for the two new football pitches and cricket ovals as well as providing space so that we can finalise two new car parks. Recently the landscaping of part to the Middle School area was completed."

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 (see photo), 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.

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.

The AFA prays for and raises funds for the formation of future Augustinians. It is based in Sydney. Among 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.

For more information 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.

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 1,324 pages of text, which also contain over 1,790 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 2,500 large images in extensive photo galleries illustrate of 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 69,616 separate (distinct) visitors have used Augnet at least once, in a total of 470,380 visits (i.e., an average of seven visits each). These persons have made a total of 920,394 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 21st July 2007 there was a new daily record of 3,804 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.

Augustinian Volunteers Australia

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Augustinian Ministry Websites 2008