To be honest, being born and raised in Australia, I’ve taken St. Mary of the Cross for granted. I never did much to learn more about Mary MacKillop’s story and background in my younger years. I grew up knowing that she established the Josephite order and became Australia’s first Saint, however, that was the extent of my knowledge. I saw her portraits in churches and schools but silly me, I overlooked the greatness of our homegrown hero and like with any person, the more you know and understand a person, the more you learn to admire them.
When you look at her life, or at the life of any Saint, you see the conviction and spirit that comes from something beyond themselves. Mary was excommunicated, founded an order, yet went to great lengths to serve others and bounce back from any trials. I guess that’s the scary thing about when you look up to see the greatness of the Saints, it’s easy to think that they are in a league of their own, and we can’t catch up to their level. When I look to St. Mary of the Cross, I have admiration for the goodness of her character. She shines brightly and beautifully for two reasons, one, because she’s Australia’s first and only Saint and also for the many outstanding qualities she possessed which drew others to her. She was patient, caring and compassionate to name a few, but clearly, full of something special.
When I was kneeling in adoration yesterday, I was reflecting on the greatness of the Saints, like Mary MacKillop and I had another one of those ‘aha’ moments. As I gazed upon the Blessed Sacrament, it was brought to my attention that it’s all God. Simple- all that is good within the Saints, and all that is good within me, is God.’
Knowing that ‘the good’ is God, means that you, me, and those ‘Greats’ are similar! Okay, not completely but try to sit back and ponder what I’m trying to get at. Truly, if God is goodness itself, then it feels comforting to know that we can have something in common with all those Great Saints in heaven. This special thread of goodness woven through each of us, that interior beauty we possess individually, are our own special qualities which come from Him!
I came to the end of this simple truth… if we choose to embrace our own good, knowing that God Himself IS good, and rejoice in this beauty we possess, the more beautiful we will become. All that is real, good and true is a reflection of God. St. Mary of the Cross is a reflection of this and I guess the Saints are more polished mirrors of what we can be. The closer we are to God, the more ourselves we become. So, let’s keep buffing and polishing our reflections, to be beacons of light like Mary, striving to be closer to Christ and inspiring others to do the same.
St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop,
Pray for us!
maya.
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