AUGUSTINIAN BULLETIN BOARD - for September 2010

God never loses his charm

Love of the world and the world’s friendship make us into God’s enemies. He too fails to produce what he has promised, he’s a liar and a cheat, is he? That’s certainly why people never stop pinning their hopes on this world, and yet who have ever reached everything they hoped for? However far on they get, it immediately starts losing its charm for those who get there. Other things start being longed for, other attraction hoped for; as soon as they come along, whatever comes your way, it loses its charm for you.

So hold onto God, because he never loses his charm, because there is nothing more lovely than he. The reason these other things lose their charm, you see, is that they can’t last, because they are not what he is. Nothing, O human soul, nothing after all can be enough for you but the one who created you. Anything else you may get hold of is junk, because he alone can be good enough for you, who made you to his own likeness. That was the tone of the words, Lord, show us the Father, and that’s enough for us. There alone can you have absolute security, and where you can have security there will be a kind of insatiable satisfaction; because you won’t be satisfied in such a way that you want to leave the table; nor will anything be missing, so that you experience a sense of want.

St Augustine: Sermon 125, 11....

...Emergency: Pakistan Floods Appeal

In August 2010 a humanitarian disaster of massive proportions hit Pakistan, with an estimated twenty million people affected by the worst floods the country has seen in decades.

Pakistan is a country in South Asia, bordering India, Iran and Afghanistan. Of the population of 173 million, 60% live on less than $2 a day.

Caritas Australia is accepting donations to their Pakistan Floods appeal online at http://www.caritas.org.au or in Australia phone tollfree 1800 024 413.

Augustinian International Youth Encounter 2010

Two Augustinians and ten young adults from Australia attended the recent tenth International Augustinian Youth Encounter, held at St Alban's in London on 9th-15th August 2010. There were over 275 participants.

The Encounter is a week-long event held every two to three years, gathering young people from Augustinian communities around the world to celebrate the diversity of cultures and the unity of being one body in Christ, as influenced by the teaching and writings of St Augustine of Hippo.

The torch for hosting the event was passed over to the English-Scottish Augustinian Youth representatives from the Australian Augustinian delegate who hosted the previous Encounter in Sydney in 2008. The London Encounter bore the theme, “I Call You Friends”.

The theme was taken from Jesus’ parting message to his disciples in John 15 in connection with Augustine’s own search for true friendship, only to discover it is only possible when it is founded on Christ.

Buenos Aires, Argentina was announced as the next host for the Augustinian Youth Encounter in 2013.

Annual International Social Justice Course

The annual Augustinian international course on The United Nations and the Social Doctrine of the Church was held last month in Melbourne for Augustinian delegates of Justice and Peace, and for other interested parties. This is the first time that this course took place in Australia.

It was conducted at St Joseph’s Augustinian Parish in South Yarra, Melbourne, Australia from the 25th-28th August 2010. It preceded an annual DPI/NGO Conference, from 30th August to 1st September 2010 (photo at left), held by the U.N. in central Melbourne for 1,600 delegates.

The Augustinian Order participates in an NGO – a non-government organization – that is registered at the United Nations, and has an NGO Office in New York. The leader of this NGO is an Augustinian from Nigeria, Fr Emeka Obiezu O.S.A., and he participated in the South Yarra gathering.

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.

A new initiative of the Spirituality Commission of the Parish Pastoral Council begins on Wednesday, 15th September 2010, when a Wedding Anniversary Mass will be celebrated in Holy Spirit Church, St Clair at 7.30 pm.

Couples with a wedding anniversary in September are invited to partake of the Eucharist and to renew their marriage vows. Family and friends of the participating couples are also invited to attend.

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

Rochester Church Centenary Celebrations

A minor change has been announced in the celebrations for the centenary of St Joseph's Church, Rochester, Victoria - a former Augustinian parish.

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............ .......Photo: The former St Joseph's Priory, Rochester.

Under the new arrangements, all of the planned commemorative activities will now occur on the same day, on Sunday, 3rd October 2010. Contact the parish (office hours) on (03) 5484 1073 for more details.

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.

Mr Matthew Hutchinson (at left in photo) has been appointed as the College’s inaugural Head of School, commencing January 2011.  He is presently the Deputy Principal of St Kevin's College at Toorak (Melbourne, Victoria), a P-12 school of 1,770 boys.

This newly-created position at St Augustine's College has become available through the development of a new management structure that is commencing in 2011.

Mr Tim Cleary will remain as the College's Principal with Matthew working in the capacity of Head of School. This new position will encompass a broad range of tasks and responsibilities, including the leadership of the educational programme in support of the Principal.

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

Villanova College, Coorparoo

Villanova is a college of the Order of Saint Augustine at Coorparoo in Brisbane, Australia. Villanova is a day school of over 1,000 male day students in the upper primary and secondary years of education. It began at Whinstanes on 25th January 1948, and moved to its present site at Coorparoo in 1954.

In proceeding with its Strategic Plan of 2008 - 2011, the College will redefine and reconfigure a number of leadership roles as of 2011. The role of Assistant Vice-Principal - Student Development and Administration will be re-named College Administrator to indicate more fully and more accurately the focus of the role.

The role of Vice-Principal - Mission will be re-named Vice Principal - Ministry, Mission and Evangelization. The role of Curriculum Coordinator will be re-named Director of Studies. A new role, Director of Religious Education, will commence in 2011.

The college web site is: http://www.vnc.qld.edu.au

Augustinian Parish, 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 of Manly Vale in 1952 and at Balgowlah in 2004.

Recently, Christians and Muslims came together in a gesture of intercultural unity to share the Iftar meal, the traditional dinner that marks the end of fasting during Ramadan.

After the Azan (call to prayer) delivered by Ahmet Keskin, Fr Peter Wieneke O.S.A (parish priest) welcomed those present, and led the prayer of grace. The fast was then broken with a dinner of Afghani cuisine, with Christians and Muslims seated at each table. Fr Peter Jones O.S.A. of Brookvale delivered a talk entitled Breaking Bread in the Christian Tradition.

The evening was co–hosted by the Social Justice Group of the Catholic Community of North Harbour and the Affinity Intercultural Foundation, a Sydney-based Muslim intercultural group. Seventy people participated in the evening.

Bishop David Walker D.D. (Diocese of Broken Bay) celebrated the 6.00pm Vigil Mass at St Kieran’s Church, Manly Vale, on Saturday, 28th August 2010. This was part of his practice of celebrating at least one scheduled weekend Mass annually in every parish of his diocese.

On the previous Friday, 27th August, a celebration was held in honour of Saint Monica. The event was organised by the two Catholic parish schools in North Harbour, St Cecilia’s (Balgowlah) and St Kieran’s (Manly Vale), and featured a 10.00 am Mass and morning tea.

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.

...................Photo: Sanctuary of St James's Church, Coorparoo.

The Journey to Easter program of the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) is a program for persons who are interested to learn more about what Catholics believe and practice. The journey continues each Sunday evening, starting with attendance at the first part of the Evening Mass at 6.00pm. This year's journey begins in October.

The Young Adults Bible Group resumes its regular meetings on Friday, 3rd September, at 7pm in the Priory. New members are always welcome to the group. The next Dinner for Young Adults will be held in St James' Priory on Sunday, 5th September 2010 after the 6.00 pm Parish Mass. 

Please contact the parish on (07) 3397 1671 during office hours for information about this event, or any other parish activity. You can view the parish web site: http://www.stjames-coorparoo.org.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. 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.

Under a "cathedral" of trees on the banks of the Barron River not far from Mareeba, the indigenous people of the parish hosted a Bush Mass on Sunday, 16th May 2010. Celebrated by Fr Rob Greenup, the Mass was preceded by an "earth," "water," and "smoking" rite.

The homily was preached by Deacon Ralph Madigan. After Mass there was billy tea and damper prepared by the indigenous hosts of the afternoon, and a time for conversation. This Bush Mass is an annual event in the Mareeba Parish.

St Joseph's 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.

The parish has announced the recent completion of two new emergency housing units (see photo at right) in a vacant parish building at 54 Fitzgerald Street, towards the edge of the parish's property.

This project was made possible by the supervision and generous support of the St Joseph's Emergency Housing Association.

The Annual Emergency Housing Film Night was held in the parish on 26th August, followed by a supper. It raised $4,700.

The South Yarra parish website is: http://www.parishofsouthyarra.org.au

Augustinians in South Korea

The Order of Saint Augustine first went to South Korea in 1985, and two Australian Augustinians were in the group of four priests initially sent there. The Order in Korea accepted its first Korean-born candidates in 1990, and still regards the task of training its Korean-born Augustinians as a primary ministry.

The Augustinian Delegation of Korea now staffs three communities, located at Incheon, Kanghwa Island and Yeon-Chon (north of Seoul).

The Augustinian Delegation has nine Koreans in solemn vows (five priests and four lay brothers), three in simple vows, one novice and two postulants. There are also three expatriate Augustinian priests, two from the Cebu Province (Philippines) and one from Australia.

In September 2010 the Delegation looks forward to its twenty-fifth anniversary.

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


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 next AFA gathering will be its Annual Mass, luncheon and Dutch Auction at the Parish Centre, Manly Vale (Sydney), beginning at 12.30 pm on Sunday, 19th September 2010. To obtain more details about this event or about the Augustinian Formation Association generally, contact the staff of the Provincial Office on (02) 9905 3049 during office hours.

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 four Lay Congresses: in Echuca in 2001, in Brookvale (Sydney) in 2004, in South Yarra (Melbourne) in 2007, and in Coorparoo (Brisbane) in 2010.

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 next annual meeting is scheduled for 17th-19th September 2010.

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 leader of the Augustinian Friends is Sylvia Phillips, 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 2010

The Augustinian Justice and Peace Course, which is used as part of the formation program for Augustinian Volunteers Australia, was conducted at Augustinian Priory, Brookvale (Sydney) during the three weeks from 1st – 20th February 2010.

There were six candidates for Augustinian Volunteers Australia 2010. Two came from Brisbane, and the four from the Sydney region are from the Augustinian Parishes of St Clair (Parramatta Diocese) and North Harbour (Broken Bay Diocese). 

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.northharbourcatholic.org.au

• 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