AUGUSTINIAN BULLETIN BOARD – NOVEMBER 2007

Live with Christ in your hearts

If you understand correctly what we have been told to do about our treasure in heaven, and trust it loyally, and accept it seriously, then he wasn’t telling us to lose our capital, but showing us the best place to invest it. None of us, after all, can help thinking about our treasure, or following its fortunes on a kind of mental journey in our hearts.

So if our fortunes are buried in the ground, our thoughts will drag our hearts downward. But if they are in a heavenly saving deposit, our hearts will be lifted upward.

So, if Christians want to practice what they know perfectly well they have openly professed --- it’s true, not everyone listening to me here knows what this is, and oh, if only those who do know didn’t know it to no purpose!--- so if any of you really want to lift up your hearts, then it’s up there, up there that you must deposit what you love.

Placed on earth in the flesh yourselves, live with Christ in your hearts; and just as the Church has been preceded into heaven by its head, so let Christians be preceded by their hearts. Just as his members are going to go where Christ their head has gone on before, so all of us when we rise from the dead are going to go where our hearts will now have gone on before.

So let us go hence, with that part of ourselves with which we are able to do so; the whole of us will follow where part of us has gone on ahead. Our earthly home is falling into ruin, our heavenly home is eternal. Let us transfer our assets where we are intending to settle.

St Augustine: Sermon 86,1

New Augustinian Assistant General

In the new General (international) Council of the Order of Saint Augustine last month, Fr Rommel Par O.S.A. was appointed to represent the needs of the Asia-Pacific region to the Prior General of the Order.

He replaces Fr Eusebio Berdon O.S.A., who recently completed the maximum-allowable two terms (twelve years) in that position.

Rommel Par was born in the Philippines, and made his first Augustinian profession there in 1988. He studied philosophy and theology in Manila, and then received a doctorate in philosophy from the Universita di San Tommaso (Angelicum) in Rome, while residing at the Augustinians’ Collegio Santa Monica near St Peter’s Basilica.

In 1996 he was appointed as the director of the St Thomas of Villanova Institute of Philosophy at Quezon City, near Manila, and a member of the Augustinian seminary staff there. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1998.

In 2002 and 2003 he was the Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the University of San Agustine in Iloilo City, and in 2003 – 2007 the President and Rector of the Colegio San Agustin at Biñan, not far from Manila. It was while there that his election as an Assistant General occurred at the General Chapter in Rome in September 2007.

The passing to eternal life of Fr. Ralph Cameron O.S.A.

After a brief illness, on Sunday afternoon, 21st October 2007, the death occurred at Manly Hospital of Fr Ralph Raymond Cameron O.S.A. of the Catholic Parish of North Harbour. He was eighty-two years old, and in his fifty-first year of priesthood.

He has lived and served at Manly Vale almost continuously for the past twenty years, and was active in ministry there until six weeks before his death.

Born at Mount Morgan in central Queensland in 1925, he received his primary and secondary education in Cairns at St Monica’s School and St Augustine’s College respectively. He is one of eight past pupils of St Augustine's College in Cairns to serve for many years in the Augustinian Order.

From school in 1940 he became a clerk in the Court House at Cairns.

Joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941, he became a member the aircrew in the RAAF 100th Squadron of B-29 Liberator bombers. The squadron was awaiting assignment to the Pacific conflict when progress in the Second World War made this deployment unnecessary.

After his demobilisation from the RAAF he returned to his position in the court house at Cairns, and then in 1948 successfully applied to join the Order of Saint Augustine.

He was then sent to the United States for university studies, Augustinian novitiate and the required studies for the Roman Catholic priesthood. He obtained a Master of Arts degree there, and was ordained a priest in Washington D.C. in 1956.

Upon his return to Australia in 1958, he was sent to Brookvale to teach at St Augustine’s College, which was then only in its third year of existence. He soon won particular acclaim there as a teacher of mathematics.

A decade later, he was appointed as the third Rector (Principal) of the College, and held that post for seven years, beginning in 1968.

Following four years of teaching at Villanova College, Brisbane, Fr Cameron in 1978 was elected to the office of Provincial, to lead the Augustinians in Australia. Of the six Australian-born Augustinians who have held the Office of Provincial to the present day, Fr Cameron is the first of them to die.

After returning to the staff of Villanova College from 1983 to 1986, he was appointed in 1987 for the first time to the staff of St Kieran’s Parish in the Sydney metropolitan suburb of Manly Vale, which parish is now part of the Parish of North Harbour, centred on the former Manly Vale and Balgowlah parishes.

Except for his time at Echuca, Victoria from 1993 to 1999, Fr Cameron has been based at St Kieran’s Priory at Manly Vale since 1987.

Although officially retired in recent years, Fr Cameron nevertheless continued to preside at a number of church services, and remained as chaplain to some parish groups and to local nursing homes.

At St Kieran's Church in Manly Vale (Sydney), there was a vigil service for him on Thursday, 25th October, and a Requiem Mass on the following morning. His burial took place in the Augustinian section of the nearby Frenchs Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Memorial cards of the late Fr Cameron will be mailed by the Provincial Office upon request. Write to P.O. Box 679, Brookvale NSW 2100, Australia or e-mail osaadmin@bigpond.com

Australian National Augustinian Youth Encounter 2007

The tenth Augustinian National Youth Encounter took place from 7.30 pm Friday 19th October 2007 to noon on Sunday 21st October 2007 at the Collaroy Conference Centre, in the northern beaches area of Sydney.

Attendance was drawn from the Augustinian parishes of North Harbour (Sydney), St Clair, Coorparoo and Mareeba, and from the Order's St Augustine's College at Brookvale (Sydney).

As well as provide the participants with input on Augustine and his spirituality, times of personal and communal prayer, and opportunities for recreation and socialising, the event was used to "test run" a number of activities planned for the ninth Augustinian International Youth Encounter, which will take place at the same venue from the evening of Monday, 21st July to noon on Sunday, 27th July 2008. (See the news item below.)

Images of the recent National Encounter and its Collaroy venue are available in a photo gallery named “Augustinian International Encounter 2008” at http://www.augnet.org

This Encounter will take place at Collaroy (Sydney, Australia) from the evening of Monday, 21st July to noon on Sunday, 27th July 2008, which is immediately after the conclusion of World Youth Day 2008.

These Augustinian international encounters have been regularly held for the past twenty years. The previous ones all took place in Europe – four in Italy, two in Spain, one in Germany and one in Ireland.

Assigned to occur in Australia, the ninth Encounter will be the first of the series to occur outside of Europe. To co-ordinate the planning and preparation for the event, the Australian Augustinians have employed a full-time Project Officer, Michael Dela Cruz. He can be e-mailed at michael.delacruz@augustinians.org.au

The venue for the Encounter will be the Collaroy Conference Centre. It is located overlooking the Pacific Ocean and some of Sydney’s northern beaches. As well it is not far from an Augustinian parish (North Harbour) and primary/secondary school (St Augustine’s College, Brookvale).

Images of the conference centre and of Collaroy generally can be seen on the Internet in the photo gallery of http://www.augnet.org that is entitled "Augustinian Encounter 2008.” General images of Sydney appear there in a separate gallery named “Australia: Sydney.”

From talk about the Encounter at the Augustinian meeting of youth animators in Rome recently, it is already known that groups of Augustinian young adults will be coming to Collaroy in July 2008 from parts of Asia, Europe, Africa, the United States and South America.

More information about the Encounter is available on the special web site http://www.aye2008.org or from Michael Dela Cruz at the e-mail address listed above.


Augustinian Parish, Mareeba

A Healing Mass was held at St Thomas of Villanova Church in Mareeba, Queensland at 10.00am on Saturday 6th October 2007.

This Mass was for those who have experienced the loss of a child through miscarriage, still-birth, neonatal death etc., whether it be a recent loss, or even decades ago.

The Mass was celebrated by Fr Abel van der Veer O.S.A. from the St James’s Augustinian Priory at Coorparoo, Brisbane.

On Sunday 7th October St Thomas’s Parish celebrated its patronal feast of St Thomas of Villanova (which actually fell on Wednesday, 10th October) at the 10.00am Mass. The parish choir led the singing and following Mass the Augustinian Friends hosted a sausage sizzle on the Reconciliation Lawn adjacent to the parish church and the Augustinian Priory.

St Augustine’s College, Sydney

At St Augustine’s College in the Sydney metropolitan suburb of Brookvale, the death of Fr Ralph Cameron O.S.A. was particularly noted. He joined the college staff in 1958, which was its third year of existence. He then taught there for seventeen years, and for the last seven of those years was the third Rector (Principal) of the College.

In recent years (1987-1992 and 1999-2007) when he was stationed at St Kieran’s Priory in the adjacent suburb of Manly Vale, part of his pastoral ministry involved offering sacramental assistance to St Augustine’s College, e.g., where there is Mass on Wednesday mornings, and where the Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered to all grade levels a number of times annually.

In a press interview upon Father Cameron’s death, the present College Principal, Mr Tim Cleary, said, "By all accounts Fr Ralph was a highly intellectual religious and educational leader with outstanding personality and a great sense of humour. Fr Ralph was the third Rector (Principal) at StAugustine's College between 1968 and 1974 and always enjoyed coming back to the College for Masses and celebrations. He will be remembered for his enthusiastic and passionate homilies."

In the primary and lower secondary sections of the College during the past three months, students have learned knitting so as to produce woollen squares. Part of social justice education, these squares were then sewn into blankets as part of the Wrap With Love project (see photo above).

A college representative reports, “It was a big surprise for us all when the boys came up with so many colourful and creative blankets.”

The College web site is 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

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.

“Family life is a great blessing, but can also present significant personal challenges.” This statement is the leimotif of a course of Augustinian Spirituality that is presently being offered at the Augustinian Parish of St Clair in the west of metropolitan Sydney.

The course on five consecutive Wednesday evenings began on 17th October 2007 and concludes on 14th November. Its facilitators are Fr Peter Jones O.S.A., the Director of the Centre for Augustinian Spirituality at Greystanes nearby, and Sarah-Jane Greenway.

The course is entitled, Discovering Friendship in Family Life: An Augustinian Spirituality for Families.” The parish web site explains, “St Augustine’s rich insights into human relationships have contemporary relevance to our own triumphs and struggles in living in families.”

The course seeks to draw on the experience of participants. One couple attending the course commented, "Our Parish has been associated with the Augustinians for many years. We had often heard of Augustinian spirituality but knew little of its deep meaning in today’s world, and especially in our ordinary day to day lives."

"The words we heard from Augustine, written 1600 years ago, were fresh and vibrant to our ears, minds and hearts. We have enjoyed the three sessions thus far, and as a married couple with adult children have found time to talk and discuss these words; how the concept of true love and friendship is still livable in 2007. Also that family life is a precious gift given to us all that can be nurtured as the family grows".

"Fr Peter Jones (pictured) and Sarah-Jane have led us to explore St.Augustine’s words in a simple and meaningful way," they concluded.

Another participant stated, "What I liked about the course was the frankness of the presenters about who Augustine was."

She continued, "I am really interested to hear what Sarah Jane has to say about integrating Augustine's rule of living with family life and how Augustine lived the Gospel values in his own life."

The Holy Spirit website is located at 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.

Over a number of years, the parish has intentionally increased its outreach to the poor and to anyone in need of emergency relief, and laudably done so in a way that has brought about considerable “hands on” involvement of parishioners.

For example, emergency food store relief and bread collection has its own dedicated area in the Parish Centre that was renovated and newly blessed in November 2006. New freezers located nearby now house the bread collected on Thursday evenings from the Baker’s Delight franchise.

There are twenty-eight parishioners involved in food distribution and in packing the bread for freezing. (Persons needing the bread can then take it from the freezer at any time of night or day.) Those calling for assistance often comment upon the pleasant surroundings of the parish centre, and at times stay awhile and talk.

The number of people seeking emergency food assistance has increased during the past twelve months. There have been 900 requests from adults and families, and about five percent of the clients have sought assistance more than once a month.

Exterior funding sources for the stocks in the foodstore come from the local City of Stonnington (of which the parish suburbs of South Yarra and Prahran are a part), under the Emergency Relief Program of the Commonwealth Government. In the 2006-2007 financial year, the parish-run Emergency Foodstore received $7,600.

This parish activity, conducted by volunteers, offers the added advantage in being the only program of this kind that is open to offer assistance on the weekends – 363 days a year, except Easter Sunday and Christmas Day.

Additional funding comes by way of donations from St Joseph’s Parish, the Toorak ecumenical Christmas Emergency food relief, and from a number of local Catholic schools and interstate Augustinians.

St Joseph’s Parish web site is www.ozemail.com.au/~osasthyarra

Centre for Augustinian Spirituality

For the past ten years the Centre for Augustinian Spirituality has been in operation at Greystanes, in western metropolitan Sydney, Australia. Four Augustinians live there in community.

After eight years as Director of the Centre, Fr Laurence 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.

A previous retreat program for Augustinians was repeated at the Centre on 8th-10th October 2007, and attracted a dozen local and interstate Augustinians.

Called a Colloquium, this program was first offered in 2005, and is designed to provide a relaxed and fraternal forum whereby the Augustinians can feel supported, and support one another in reflecting on themes that have significance in the personal, communal and ministerial dimensions of our lives. Saint Augustine was presented as a mentor and guide.

The colloquium concluded with an affirmation of each participant by the other members present. Fr Peter Jones O.S.A. (Director), commented, "This was a powerful moment in the days together as there was a conscious and genuine affirmation of our brothers. The experience both of affirming others and receiving from them was a great experience of our fraternity."

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 approximately 1,000 male students in the upper primary and secondary years of education. It began at a smaller location in Whinstanes (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) on 25th January 1948, and moved to its present site at Coorparoo (Brisbane) in 1954.

Recent issues of weekly Villanova newsletter to parents indicated that the fourth and final term of the 2007 academic year proceeds at full pace. The myriad academic, pastoral and social activities reported in the newsletters include extracurricular musical experience for students of music, a dance for younger students, and the annual general meetings of the Villanova Parents and Friends’ Association and of the Villanova Sports Club.

Student fundraising occurs per medium of student groups at the College, including the school’s St Vincent de Paul group, the Augustinian Youth Movement, and AFAS (Australia-Filipino Augustinian Solidarity). The latter group successfully raised funds for practical construction projects at an Augustinian-related academy at Murcia in the Philippines.

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

Real Life, Real Power

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

.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 over 1,310 pages of text, which also contain over 1,770 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 2,500 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

• 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: www.ozemail.com.au/~osasthyarra

• 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/en/default.htm

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