17 July 2024 · 2024-07 newsletter
June 10 saw the arrival of four young Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary from the Philippines.
Australia and the Philippines are one Province, but these Sisters were coming to visit the Sisters and the Province house for the first time. They were able to stay for three weeks which was a great joy for both the older Sisters as well as the younger ones.
This time together gave our younger Sisters an opportunity to get to know more about the Province history as well as getting to know the individual Sisters in person, rather than always via Zoom.
Once Fr. Biberger, the Director General of the Sisters Family, arrived on June 19 there were gatherings of all the province Sisters – three were able to travel from Perth for the occasion. One special day was an outing where the sisters visited the places in Sydney where our Sisters have been active over the years. First, we were able to visit a newly blessed “Schoenstatt Meeting Room” in Old Mount Druitt. The MTA picture, which for more than 50 years was in Sacred Heart Church Mount Druitt, now has a place of honour in this new meeting room.
At Holy Family, Emerton, we were able to visit the former Sisters’ House which is now a Centre for Australia’s First Nations people. Here too the former Chapel has been named the Schoenstatt Sisters’ Room.
The Sisters’ first province house was in Ashfield where now Wesley Mission offers various outreach programmes for homeless people etc. The staff of Wesley Mission were very hospitable and allowed our Sisters to see rooms in the house which are now offices, and we were able to compare pictures from the past – e.g. where the former Chapel was, the living room etc. – with the present day usage.
The first Sisters to arrive in Sydney were carers for an elderly woman who lived in Vaucluse and so after driving past this house (most probably renovated by now) we had a picnic lunch at Watsons Bay and enjoyed the ocean at the Gap.
The final two stops were Lady Macquarie’s Chair to see the Harbour and then St. Mary’s Cathedral, where, at the back Chapel, we were able to sing praise to our Blessed Mother, to the joy of one of the staff.
The Sisters spent five days in Retreat given by Fr. Biberger. This gave them a time for reflection and inner renewal. Homilies each morning helped all Sisters to grow more deeply into the province ideal.
The whole time was very blessed and everyone agreed it was too short – a repetition is definitely needed.
We Sisters give thanks to God and our Blessed Mother for this time, not only with the Sisters from Cebu but especially for the three weeks spent with us by our Director General, Fr. Bernd Biberger.
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