Spring 2004 Seasons A4.indd

m a r i s t s e a s n s 

s p r i n g 2 0 0 4 

a q u a r t e r l y r e v i e w o f t h e s y d n e y p r o v i n c e 

Sharing Our Call in Bougainville, June 2004 

"I am so encouraged to hear that lay people have such a signifi cant role to play in the Marist Project" 

Comment of one participant 

* From the Provincial 

* Around the Communities 

* The Four Seasons 

* Special Features 

* Requested Prayers 

* Jubilarians 2004 

* Archive Corner 

* Brian’s Backpage 

* What’s Jack Reading?

From the Provincial 

Greetings, 

...To follow Christ as Mary did 

Editor Brian Etherington informs me that an unusual feature of this Spring 

edition of Marist Seasons is that it does not feature an obituary. How typically 

Spring! This is the season of new life and hope; this is the season for 

opening up, clearing away obstacles and accumulated rubbish. 

We are about to hold the 13 th Provincial Chapter of the Sydney Province 

and whilst it's coincidental that it occurs in Spring, it is a most appropriate 

time for us to take stock and then move forward in confidence with a fresh 

spirit and open mind. Please pray for its ongoing success. 

The tributes to the Jubilarians contained in this edition encapsulate in well 

chosen words seasons of commitment, love and care of the young. Each 

of these fine men have weathered the winters of life and chosen again and 

again to be springtime people. 

Let us give collective thanks for these men and for those who have supported 

them on the journey. 

Happy reading. 

Brother John Thompson 

Marist Seasons 1 

Spring 2004

Around Our Communities 

Olympic Spirit Rocks Dalton 

Gardens Village 

Undimmed by years and creaking bones, Dalton Garden 

residents threw themselves into the Olympic 

spirit by organising their own torch relay climaxing in the 

“cauldron” flaring to ecstatic ovation. Br Bill Beninati, 

along with Terry Budgen took a stage, Des Murphy’s 

short spurt was dramatic while Berne Giuliani, posing as 

Sean Mulcahy, the Irish champion of the 50 metre crawl 

raised hoots. (Our fourth rep, Silvo, was scorching the 

slopes in his annual winter Olympics at Thredbo.) 

This is but a glimpse of the community spirit in our retirement 

village. 

Des and Bill helping Terry on the Torch Relay 

A few nights before Bill and Sil were hosting a birthday 

party for Br. Neal, who, along with another Christian 

Brother, Michael Knights are our near and very helpful 

neighbours. Bill cooked with his usual verve and flair. Of 

course, we started with prayer to celebrate our brotherhood. 

Monday nights are our regular community nights 

with this same mix. 

The concept of such community living was daring when 

proposed some seven years back. It has proved to be extremely 

enriching, rewarding and timely for the Brothers 

who have chanced it. It has also given us a new energy 

and focus on mission. We hope in this brief overview 

Brothers will deepen their understanding and feel for our 

At the cauldron - Bernie, Des and Bill 

Marist involvement in this vibrant community of some 

300 people- religious and lay, accommodated in a mix of 

town houses, apartment, hostel and nursing home (with 

dementian unity). 

Bill is a smiling presence around the village using his 

remarkable musical talents in liturgies and concerts and 

taking a leading role in social events. He’s Terry Budgen’s 

“minder” with visits and walks, as well as providing 

transport for shut-ins. Outside activities include 

committee work in Education for Aged care, assisting 

Brothers with transport, ongoing involvement with Old 

Boys, family and friends. 

Bill, Dell and Bernie in "colonial clobber" 




As “Fr Mulcahy” Bernie (above) is in big demand for his 

very professional recitations of Australian poets Banjo 

Patterson, Henry Lawson, John O’Brien, with a repertoire 

of more than 20 poems. Some 8 performances this year. 

At the support level Bernie helps out with visits, taking 

Communion, transport, printing of our bi-monthly, “Garden 

Clippings”. After years of service to North Sydney 

community with two days a week on their books, Bernie 

is now powering through his family history. 

Dick- Silverius is still deeply engaged at St. Pats Dundas, 

specially with coaching Maths and footy and tending 

his prize winning roses. Dick’s immense good will and 

talents are on hand for BBQs and other entertainment. 

The Lenehan family involvement, especially at the farm 

at Bathurst is ongoing and insistent. 

Des is mostly out and about as chaplain at Marist Youth 

Care, centred at Blacktown. Keeps his hand in with Lenten 

discussion groups as well as “haunting” social occasions 

like “happy hour” on Friday night. 

Thanks to the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary, 

who have put so many resources into providing the very 

best in aged care, there is a warm, embracing spirit here. 

The community sprit is remarkable where neighbourly 

concern and support is so strong. The inspiration of old 

sisters in their 90’s is powerful. Recently Sister Attracta 

topped 101- green growing and full of sap. Fr. Aub Lawson 

msc, (ex Parra Marist in the 40s) provides wonderful 

service in daily Mass and his cheery spirit. Outside lecturers, 

like Brian Beggs, attracting some 20 participants 

in his present course on Matthew’s Gospel, provide ongoing 

enrichment. 

Bernie with Brigidine Sisters Andre and Eugenie 

In our new form of community living there’s room for 

more creativity and harmony in this stage of our life. Of 

course, it demands a deep commitment and sensitivity 

and brotherly good humour with this close living in pairs. 

In the spiritual life there are many advantages : greater 

peacefulness, more time for reflection and reading and 

more interaction with people who enjoy the greater wisdom 

and vision of old age. As one of our group said “I’ve 

grown so much since I have lived here”. This surely has 

echoes of Jesus' promise: “I’ve come that you might have 

life, life to the full”. (John 10:10) 

So Brothers , get in line…..your time might come too. 

Des Murphy 

Silvo with Br Michael Knights (Christian Brother) 

at the Australia Day BBQ 




Canberra 

Back to the Future? 

The colder southern weather and a chance discovery of three serge soutanes in mint condition have 

seen the younger Brothers at Canberra don the black habit for school. The appearance of the Brothers 

in black has been greeted with interesting responses from the students and some extra time in 

religion class to explain what a rabat is, but generally the comment is something like ‘Brother, you 

look cool in black!’ Pictured above are Brothers Andrew McFarlane, Andrew Moraghan and 

Greg McDonald. 

Westmead - ACU 

Br Cyril Quinlan was honoured 

recently with a luncheon 

at the Strathfield Campus 

of ACU to celebrate his 25 

years of ministry with Australian 

Catholic University. 

Brs Peter Conolly, Tony d'Arbon, 

Dominic O'Sullivan, Julian Quinlan, 

John Thompson (Provincial) and 

Cyril Quinlan 




Final Vows Retreat - District of Melanesia 

The seven Brothers from the District of Melanesia concluded their retreat, which was led by Brs Charles Howard 

and Jeff Crowe. They spent a few days visiting some Marist Communities before returning to the District. Thanks 

to Charles and Jeff for leading the retreat, and to the Brothers and Communities who hosted an extended ministry visit 

for individual Brothers and to Br Chris Wills, who coordinated this program. 

Lino Vira from Espirito Santo, Vanuatu 

and currently teaching at St 

Dominicʼs Rural Training Centre at 

Vanga Point, Kolombangara 

Stanley Bakere from Buka, currently 

teaching at Yangoru High School in 

the East Sepik Province of PNG 

Simon Emil from West Sepik Province in 

PNG and currnetly teaching at St Josephʼs 

Rigu at Mabiri on Bougainville. 

The Young Melanesian Brothers departing after their Community and Ministry Experience and their Retreat. 

Left to Right: John Tukana, Stanley Bakere, Brendan Neily, Mark Poro, Simon Serero, Simon Emil and Lino Vira. 

Zebulun Suri is absent as he departed from Cairns. 

John Tukana from Buka, currently Simon Serero from Madang Province Mark Poro from Guadalcanal Province in 

teaching at St Josephʼs Rigu at Mabiri in PNG, currnetly teaching at St SI, currently assisting with Formation at 

on Bougainville 

Josephʼs Tenaru Solomon Islands Laumanasa House Postulancy in Tenaru. 



The Four Seasons 

Farewell 

Brother Wayne Threlfo over the last 11 

years has voluntarily resided in the College 

infirmary for the sole purpose to be there to 

assist the nursing staff during the day and to 

be on call throughout each night. It has been a 

mammoth task that has involved long hours in 

emergency wards and middle of the night calls 

for assistance. 

Brother has decided that it is time to finish up in 

the capacity, however will still live here at the 

College in the Brothersʼ community. 

On behalf of all the staff and students present 

and past within our boarding community I would 

like to thank Brother for the warmth, manner and 

professionalism in which he carried out this role. 

We will miss him dearly in this capacity, however 

we wish him well and to enjoy the uninterrupted 

sleeps that he duly deserves! 

(Item from Marist College Ashgrove Newsletter, 

Boarders section, 10 th June 2004) 

Misplaced Patriotism 

The following extract is taken from some of 

the jottings Br William Molloy put to paper 

about 10 years before his death probably in 

1959, 60. Could it be referring to Joseph Krohm, 

whose letter from Germany we re-produced in 

the Autumn issue this year? If so Br Clement 

might have been happy 

to see him starve! 

Billy Hughes 

“ A German Brother 

who got into trouble 

with the military authorities 

during World 

War! – for I understand, 

hoisting a German 

flag at the MBHS 

Darlinghurst, was sent 

later to the German Brothers at Samoa. Br 

Clement had gone to interview Billy Hughes, 

then Prime Minister. Brother pleaded and tried 

to make little of what this Brother had done. The 

P.M. listened for some time, then called one of 

his clerks. The man disappeared and came back 

with some correspondence – letters – that the 

German had tried to send to Germany-where I 

believe he had several brothers in the German 

navy – some of them in high positions. Billy 

read extracts which silenced Br Clement. Br 

Andrew would probably remember the German 

Brotherʼs name.” 




A young Priest explains his calling 

Chris Ryan graduated from Marist College 

Canberra in 1992; in his final years, he 

was vice-captain of Mark House. 

After finishing school, he studied law at the 

ANU before studying for the priesthood in 

Melbourne. 

He was ordained in 2001 and is currently parish 

priest at St Benedictʼs Narrabundah. In a recent 

article in the Marist College Canberra, he explains 

to the students why he became a priest. 

“One of the questions that I am frequently asked 

is why I decided to become a priest, especially 

at a young age (I was 27 when I was ordained). 

That is not such an easy question to answer, as 

there were a number of different reasons that 

got me started on the journey to priesthood and I 

found some further reasons along the way. Now, 

having been ordained a little less than two years 

I have found that the reasons that have got me to 

this point sustain and encourage me still. 

One of my favourite definitions of “vocation” 

comes from Frederick Buechner, who writes, 

“the place God calls you to is where your deep 

gladness and the worldʼs deep hunger meet.” I 

discovered what makes me “deeply glad” when 

I was still a student at Marist: through my involvement 

in a Marist youth movement called 

REMAR and a youth group called Discipleship 

I discovered the importance of faith in my life. 

I grew to deeply appreciate the difference that 

Christ makes – the joy and peace he brings, the 

care and comfort he offers in tough times, the 

freedom that he gives us to be ourselves, and 

the exciting adventure that we get caught up in 

when we decide to follow him. 

This discovery helped me immensely as a young 

man trying to work out who I was and my 

purpose in life. And as I began to talk to other 

young people about my experience I realised 

that there was nothing that I enjoyed more than 

watching someone else encounter Christ and 

experience the love and freedom that he wants 

for all of us. 

At the same time, I began to perceive something 

of the “deep hunger” of our world. As a culture, 

we have denied the spiritual dimension of our 

lives for too long, and we are only starting just 

now perhaps to realise that we have paid a huge 

price for ignoring this part of ourselves. The 

symptoms of this hunger are all around us, as 

people look to fill that hunger with all kinds of 

things, whether it is the rampant accumulation 

of wealth or the attempt to escape this hunger 

through drugs or alcohol or a thousand other 

substitutes. And young people are particularly 

susceptible in this regard. 

Perhaps it was that great prophet of our times, 

Mother Teresa, who captured it best when she 

was in Australia and observed that her sisters 

had just as significant a role in affluent Australia 

as in famine-ridden Africa, for the poverty of 

spirit in people here is as real, significant and 

as destructive as the material poverty of those 

in developing nations. From my experience of 

living in the Philippines, I think it is a great and 

tragic irony that our wealth as a nation is in a very 

real sense at the expense of those in Third World 

countries, and yet that wealth has hardly made 

us happier than those people who are materially 




poor because we are physically rich. People may 

not always be able to name it as such, but the 

real hunger in our culture is for God. 

As I came to recognise this hunger, firstly in myself, 

and then more broadly in others that I knew 

and met, and then when I saw how it ʻfittedʼ with 

the deep gladness that I had found in my faith, 

I realised that my real passion was to help other 

people, and especially young people, discover 

that their search was really the quest for God, 

for relationship with him. I had found that I felt 

most fully alive when I was helping other people 

understand how relevant Christ really is, indeed 

how vital and necessary he is in our lives. 

Bit by bit I realised that these insights were nudging 

me towards priesthood, for as I tried to work 

out how I could most fully live this out, I came 

to feel more and more that priesthood was the 

direction that all this was leading towards. Or 

rather, I came to feel more and more that I was 

being led to priesthood, for I firmly believe that 

God put these deep desires, this deep gladness 

within my heart, and that through this God was 

showing me that I had not so much chosen this 

way of life myself as been chosen – called – to 

be a priest. 

I love being a priest. I love doing what I do, 

mainly because what I do seems to fit who I am. 

I think that being a priest has less to do with 

doing a job and much, much more with being a 

particular sort of person – a “God-person” if you 

like, someone whose life points to the reality of 

God, and helps others discover all that God has 

in store for them. 

People frequently ask me if it is difficult to be a 

priest today. I usually answer that I donʼt know 

what it was like to be a priest in any time other 

than our own! I do know that I wouldnʼt be 

anywhere else for anything.” 

Marist News from Mount St 

Michaelʼs, New York 

The Marist 

B r o t h e r s 

have been running 

a school in 

the Bronx since 

1926. Recently 

the Principal of 

the school was 

i n t e r v i e w e d 

about his perceptions 

of the 

school and the 

schoolʼs role in 

the local area. 

Do your students pass through metal detectors? 

So many of the public high schools in the Bronx 

do have metal detectors. However, here we 

have a sense of community and trust among the 

students and faculty. 

What would you highlight as the most outstanding 

quality of your students? 

Our students are surprisingly honest. I say 

surprisingly because it would go against what 

most people would expect of them. The kids 

are tough, street-wise New York City kids. They 

can spot what is authentic from what is phony. 

There is a simplicity and trust in them that is 

really refreshing. 

How have the events of September 11, 2001 impacted 

on the school? 

We donʼt like to think of what happened on 

September 11 th two and a half years ago. And 

yet we live with this. Our students are probably 

more aware of whatʼs going on in the world. 

Most everyone here knows at least one person 

who was killed in the attack. 


(Taken from “Star of Peace” Newsletter of St Patrickʼs 

Marist College Dundas, 21 July 2004) 



Report of the Rosalie 75 Years Anniversary 

Celebration 

The following is a copy of a letter written by 

the College Principal Br Peter Corr, describing 

the anniversary celebrations 

Dear Parents, Staff and Students 

I was very proud to be a member of the Marist 

Rosalie community last weekend attending 

three 75th Anniversary events. On Friday night 

the Mass was celebrated by Fathers Ashley 

Warbrooke, Liam Horsfall and Peter Luton. 

They are all ex-students of our fine College. The 

congregation of parents, students and former students 

participated in a way that was inspirational 

to all. Many parents and ex-students commented 

to me that the prayers of the Faithful, said in the 

different home languages of the students, really 

demonstrated what Rosalie is all about. 

Later that evening 300 plus old boys of the College 

attended the annual Dinner celebration at the 

Broncos Club. Old Boys took this opportunity to 

catch up and share the yarns about their school 

days at Rosalie. The Provincial of the Marist 

Brothers (Sydney Province), Br John Thompson 

attended the function from Sydney and I thank 

him for taking that time out of his busy schedule 

to be with us. Old Boys appreciated the fact that 

quite a few teachers, both present and past, also 

attended the evening. It was good to see Mrs 

Joan Fitzgerald with us again after retiring from 

here at the end of last year. A special tribute was 

Fathers Liam Horsfall, Ashley Warbrooke 

and Peter Luton. 

given to Mr Joe Novak who has been President 

of the Association for more than 30 years, a 

magnificent effort. 

On Saturday we hosted a very successful series 

of games against Redeemer College. Families 

also participated in a picnic and games day from 

11.00am until 3.00pm. The students and young 

Old Boys enjoyed the games that were provided 

by Action Events from the Gold Coast. And the 

parents chatted around the bar and barbecue. 

I extend my sincere thanks to all parents, students, 

ex-students and friends of Marist Rosalie 

who helped with and/or participated in any of 

these events; you have made these 75 th anniversary 

events a great success. 

Br Peter Corr 

Principal 


Fr Peter Luton wishing Brs Peter and 

John the Sign of Peace 



Waiwhetuʼs Grove is a first for Marist 

Brothers 

The following article was taken from “Marist 

Champagnat Family Newsletter”, Marist 

Brothers New Zealand Province Winter Edition, 

2004 

Just over three years ago the Marist Brothers 

launched their first adult community in New 

Zealand. They called it The Grove since it is 

located in Damian Grove, Waiwhetu, Lower 

Hutt. Brothers Douglas Dawick, Mark Field 

and Rupert Woods, and then, by degrees, as 

rooms became available three young women 

moved in. 

The aim was to develop a community that 

would support young adults in their personal 

and religious growth and to establish a network 

of young adults around the Wellington and Hutt 

Valley areas. People would come for a year, go 

about their studies or work, and be part of the 

community. This is quite different from a mere 

flatting situation. 

Now in its fourth year, the Grove Community 

this year consists of Brothers Douglas and Kieran 

Fenn, Marie Chandler (Newlands), Amy Aukusitino 

(Lower Hutt), Karen McLellan (Hawkes 

Bay), Jonny Boon (Khandallah) and Michael 

Keenan (Palmerston North). 

By now, the Grove Community is well known 

in young adult circles and has become a popular 

place for stopping by to catch up, for meals 

(BBQs, pot-luck, Grove dinners, ʻnormalʼ ones 

and so on) or just chill out. Community members 

are part of the diocesan young adult scene 

– the monthly Mass at the Cathedral and ʻThink 

Forumʼ, Kilbirnie Prayer Group, karaoke nights 

and so on. 

A visitorʼs room is available – and thereʼs always 

a couch in the lounge or a mattress on the floor. 

As someone once said, “Youʼre really the Grove 

– House of Hospitality”. 

Parramatta Marist High School 

Some comments made on applications for 

students enrolling in Year 7, 2005. 

"I would like to enroll my son because of the 

high standards of education, its strong belief in 

religion and discipline." 

"My nephew just graduated recently from Marist. 

I believe this school will provide my son with 

quality Catholic education academically whilst 

offering opportunities to develop his character 

with dignity and creativity. The schoolʼs 

facilities are modern and cater to various interests 

of the students." 

"I want my son to be brought up in a Catholic 

environment thereby enhancing his spirituality 

and good values." 

"This school has a high standard of education. 

A good school. My eldest son attended this 

school." 

"Our eldest son is currently a student at 

Parramatta Marist and we are thoroughly pleased 

with the way the school is run and the standard of 

education/sporting opportunities he receives." 

(Newsletter, 23 June 2004) 

The Grove Community 




Catholic Education Week 

This event is celebrated annually in Queensland. To commemorate it this year the Principal of 

St Theresaʼs Catholic High School, Noosaville, Alain Pitot, published the following poem 

written by one of his ex–students in the College Newsletter. We hope it will inspire the young 

students of this, the most recent school in the Marist network, to attempt similar literary feats. 

“Stop for just a minute people – everybody in! 

Eyes here – ears clear – let the poem begin! 

If youʼre sitting there at preschool or at primary school today 

If itʼs college you acknowledge in a dedicated way 

Then I need to give you something like a burst of inspiration 

Like a thirst for what youʼre in for – like a verse of celebration! 

Itʼs Catholic Education Week! Students far and wide! 

Itʼs time to put your seatbelt on – weʼre going for a ride! 

To the many Catholic corners of this legendary state 

From the border to the beachers – from the bush to Torres Strait 

It started with message back in 1845 

The message had a meaning and the meaning has survived 

The pages of the gospel lay the platform for the tower 

The passion of the partnership providing extra power 

Teacher-Student-parent with one common vital goal 

To keep the message pumping in the heart and in the soul 

“So, whatʼs this special message?” now I hear the students ask 

And how can it assist me in accomplishing the task? 

Well, thereʼs a spiritual component measured modestly in prayer 

An emotional component helped by those who truly care 

The simple act of learning intellectually inspires 

Physically, the journey lights the spark of healthy fires 

The cultural component can be measured in the arts 

In the telling of the story – they are all important parts 

Put them all together and the action picture screening 

Lends a spotlight to the message and its very special meaning 

So here we are – the road ahead – a challenge to us all 

To take responsibility – to rise each time we fall 

To acknowledge our potential and endeavour to reflect 

And in striving we are thriving and in learning we are growing 

And in praying we are saying that in yearning we are knowing 

That Catholic Education Weekʼs a great time to believe 

Every day people (just like you) can exceptionally achieve 

And that unveils the message now for all the world to see 

The message – simple this-be the best that you can be 

Be the best that you can be and no matter what your style 

If you place your faith in that and you do it with a smile 

Then Iʼll guarantee you something that I know to be quite true 

The future starts tomorrow and that day belongs to you.” 

Rupert McCall 




Generosity of the Campbelltown 

Catholic Club 

From the Principal, (Mr John Barrington) 

During the last week of Term 2, Mr Kevin 

Goonan, President of the Campbelltown Catholic 

Club visited the school and presented me with 

a cheque to the value of $100,000 to assist 

our school building and maintenance projects. 

Needless to say, I was overwhelmed by the 

generosity of the Catholic Club. In addition to 

supporting Catholic schools, the Campbelltown 

Catholic Club provides financial assistance to 

a wide variety of enterprises including many 

community organisations. 

On behalf of the entire Mount Carmel community, 

I thank the Campbelltown Catholic Club 

for their very generous support. 

(Item from “Veritas”, Newsletter of Mt Carmel 

High School, Varroville) 

At the first Principalʼs assembly for Term 

Three on Tuesday 20 July, Mr Kevin Goonan, 

Chairman of the Board of the Campbelltown 

Catholic Club, presented me with a cheque for $ 

100,000.00. By any standard this is an extraordinary 

measure of support from the Catholic club 

who consistently contribute to the College in the 

most generous way….I extend my very sincere 

thanks to Kevin and the Board of Directors of the 

Campbelltown Club for their continued generous 

support of our endeavours here at St Gregoryʼs 

College. Marshall J McMahon (Principal) 

Item from St Gregoryʼs College, Campbelltown 

Newsletter 

Importance of Teachers emphasised 

again 

Marist College North Shore High Notes 

28 July 2004 Vol 41 No. 21 

Dear Members of the North Shore Marist 

Family 

Recently I read an article on motivating boys to 

learn. It is one of many at the moment and if 

you were to add them to the already extensive list 

of newspaper, journal and magazine articles, research 

papers and books, you would have enough 

reading material to get you through several long 

summer vacations. Why so much literature on 

boysʼ education in recent times? 

Politically, with girls outstripping boys at the 

HSC, the pendulum has swung away from concerns 

about providing educational opportunities 

for girls, to analysing what is ʻgoing wrongʼ 

with boysʼ education. The trouble with such an 

approach is that generalisations are made and 

it becomes easy to stereotype based purely on 

gender. Another implication is that we look for 

scapegoats – blame it on the schools is a common 

one. Most of us realise that things are never 

quite so simple. 

Regardless of the age or gender of the student, 

it is important to know what much of the recent 

research has reinforced in regard to the key factors 

in student learning: 




• 60% of student achievement relates directly 

to the teacher 

• 30% relates to the motivational levels of the 

student 

• 10% relates to the school the child attends 

These sorts of statistics put the role of the teacher 

into perspective. How then as a nation do we 

view our teachers? Probably too often we listen 

to jibes about teachersʼ working hours, holidays 

and stories of incompetence. This is probably not 

the predominant view but it is common enough. 

It begs the question then of how do Australian 

teachers “stack up” compared to the rest of the 

world? In a recent article by Cheryl OʼConnor, 

CEO of the Australian College of Educators, the 

following observation is made: 

With the current shortage of teachers in the 

western world Australian teachers are sought 

avidly because of their excellent preparation, 

their curriculum expertise and their successful 

student management and student welfare skills. 

Internationally they are known to be good teachers. 

As has been said on many occasions here at 

Marist, ultimately it is the relationship between 

the teacher and the student that is critical to the 

success of the educational endeavour, and that is 

why systems are developed to help support and 

encourage that relationship. It is what happens 

in the classroom (and in the playground and on 

the sporting field and on the stage etc) every 

day that contributes more than anything else to 

student achievement. 

As we move into the second half of the year, 

let us acknowledge the great work done by our 

teachers here at Marist and do all that we can to 

foster and encourage the already strong relationships 

that exist between those teachers and the 

boys. 

Regards, 

John Hickey 

Deputy Headmaster 

Marist Brothers Honoured at 

Pagewood 

This item appeared in “The Page” Newsletter of 

Marist College, Pagewood, 4th August 2004 

New House Names for Marist College. As 

part of the Champagnat Day celebrations, 

the Senior Student Representative Council have 

made some significant changes to our College 

identity. 

The new House names for Marist Pagewood 

are: 

HAYES (formerly Blue): Brother David Hayes 

was Pagewoodʼs Principal 

during the years 1976- 

1980 and 1993-1995. In 

that time he significantly 

developed Pagewoodʼs irrigation 

and environment 

with the hope of building 

upon the atmosphere of 

the College. He also put 

in the place some of the 

extra-curricular programs many of the gentlemen 

of the College are involved in today. The 

Hayes House will now have the symbol of the 

torch, representing the extra-curricular programs 

Brother David instituted in the College. 

HOUSTON (formerly Red): Brother Ernest 

Houston was Pagewoodʼs 

Headmaster 

during the period of 

1970-1975. Brother 

Ernest is remembered 

for his extraordinary 

contribution of converting 

the very small 

primary school Pagewood 

once was, into 

the flourishing secondary 

school it is 

today. Some of the 




work he completed included the Library, the 

three sides of the school quadrangle and the 

new science laboratories. Houstonʼs symbol 

will be the book, in memory of Brother Ernestʼs 

contribution to the school library and education 

for our College, in general. 

AITKEN (formerly Green): Brother Robert 

Aitken was one of the 

very fi rst old boys of 

the College. He was 

Principal o the College 

between 1987-1992, 

during which time he 

taught extensively in 

the Mathematics Department 

with some of 

the most talented students 

of the time. On 

many occasions, he has 

returned to Pagewood to observe its progress. 

He is at present, a Principal in Queensland, but 

will return to NSW at the end of the year. The 

Aitken House will now have the symbol “M” 

connecting Brother Robertʼs keen use of religion 

in all he taught and his devotion to Mary. 

MADIGAN (formerly Gold): Brother Ivor 

Madigan is remembered 

as being a near insomniac. 

Brother Ivor knew 

everybody and everybody 

knew Brother Ivor. He 

was extremely popular 

with the students as he 

made each Science lesson 

entertaining. Brother 

Ivor is also remembered 

as Pagewoodʼs lone nightwatchman. 

During the 

period where the College 

had no fence, Brother patrolled the perimeter 

at night, guarding the College from harm. The 

symbol for Madigan is the Southern Cross, in 

memory of Brother Ivorʼs long nights guarding 

the College. 

Winners of the 2004 Catholic Welfare 

Australia Awards 

The Catholic Welfare Australia Awards provide 

a unique opportunity to herald the outstanding 

work of the social welfare sector in Australia 

and the calibre of this yearʼs nominations were 

no exception. This year the award for Excellence 

in Service (Organisational) went to St Vincentʼs 

Adolescents Care, Marist Youth Care. The citation 

reads, 

"Their program offers medium 

to long-term residential 

care for boys who are 

unable or unwilling, for 

a time, to live with their 

families. The time in care 

provides a secure base 

from which the boy and the 

family can access a range 

of services to address their 

needs with the aim of either 

restoration of the boy to the family, or where this is 

not appropriate, to enable reconciliation with the 

family and a moving towards a more independent 

lifestyle." 

...Vivaldi 



Your Prayers 

Your prayers are asked for... 

The Sick 

Br Coman Sykes, Campbelltown Community 

Br Peter Salta, North Sydney Community 

Mrs Marge James, affiliated member Randwick 

Ms Anna Muller, friend of the Brothers 

Mr Peter Dignam, brother of Br Vianney 

Noel Dennis, former Brother 

The recently deceased 

Kevin Lohan, former Brother 

Mr Peter Kelly,ex-student SJC, friend of the Gladesville Community 

James Joseph Atkinson, brother of Br Anthony 

Maurice Shaw, former Brother 

Mrs Mary Ryan, aunt of Br Peter Carroll 

Br Paul Ziegler, New Caledonia 

Elizabeth, mother of Bob Seymour, affiliated member 

Gail Doherty, member of the support staff, Provincial House Drummoyne 

Veronica Long, sister of Jack Littler 

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord 

and may the Perpetual Light shine upon them. 

May they rest in Peace. Amen. 

“Marist Seasons” conveys its sympathy to 

John the husband of, and Gavin the son of 

Gail Doherty, on the occasion of her recent 

death. Gail used to do most of the typing 

for this magazine. She was a very efficient 

and cheerful person to work with and will 

be sadly missed. 



Feature Article 

Tributes to the 2004 Jubilarians 

prepared and delivered by 

Brothers Neville Solomon & David Hall. 

Strength and Gentleness 

Apostles of Champagnat 

He stands as a silent sentinel in the jungle, covered with mould and 

lichen, his hand shot off. In February of 1993 an unknown group 

of Bougainville Revolutionary Army boys came into the grounds of St 

Joseph’s High School, Rigu and torched every building on the property. 

It was Bougainville’s preeminent High School having grown rapidly 

to dominate the educational landscape since its establishment in 1948. 

Today, aside from a few mangled iron frames and crumbling foundations, 

nothing remains of what was a thriving Marist ministry. Nothing 

except the statue of the Founder that has somehow been miraculously 

preserved and, every year on his Feast Day, locals gather to celebrate 

the spirit of a man whose vision continues to inspire an island of people 

struggling for identity, against all hope. 

Travel north for a couple of hours along the pot-holed, treacherous stretch of road from Rigu to 

Mabiri and the scene is somewhat different. From the ashes of Rigu has risen another Marist work, 

a thriving work, a beacon of hope in a land that has been ravaged by war. Time passes, circumstances 

change, but what remains is the vision and spirit of a man that has inspired thousands of 

Marists across 77 countries for 187 years. 

Today we pay tribute to eighteen jubilarians of the Province who have collectively given 940 years 

to the Marist mission - 70 years, 60 years, 50 years and 25 years of commitment to realising a 

dream that came to birth in a remote village in southern France on 2nd January 1817. Time passes, 

circumstances change. 

We live in a busy, complex world, a world characterised by change. It is an exciting world but it 

is also a troubled world. It is a world that needs intellect and heart, a world that needs people with 

both intelligence and compassion, a world that needs the balance that comes from having both 

strength and gentleness. The very qualities that are so beautifully embodied in our Founder, Marcellin 

Champagnat. 

The way he lived his life is an example to us of how we can live ours. Marcellin was a man who 

had a practical intelligence. He was shrewd, resourceful, determined and hard working. He got 

things done. His life was characterised by achievements that are born of strength of character. 

But Marcellin was more than merely a strong man. He was also a deeply compassionate man with 

a warmth and gentleness that meant most people who met him liked him. He went out of his way 

to help people; he was patient, forgiving and generous. His gentleness made people feel valued 

and cared for. 

Strong and gentle, that’s the best way to describe our Founder. Strength and gentleness, they’re the 

two things our world needs. Strength and gentleness, the face of the Founder we see mirrored in 

the lives of the men to whom we pay tribute today. 




Brothers Cassian Blackwood and 

Canice O’Donnell: 

70 years a Brother 

Br Cassian and Br Canice have both reached 

a significant Marist milestone beyond even the 

golden and diamond jubilarians. They have 

both been Marist Brothers for 70 years. That 

means their novitiate year was 1934. In fact Br 

Canice became a Junior in 1928. If we consider 

the history of the world in the lifetime of these 

two men we recall the Roaring Twenties, the 

Great Depression of the 1930s, World War II, 

the Cold War, the collapse of communism, and 

the rise of the 21st century, we discover still, 

these two noble and generous souls alive and 

well and living life in the way of Mary and St 

Marcellin. 

Another esteemed Marist who passed away 

last November; Br Quentin Duffy, was also a 

member of this group who commenced their 

Novitiate at Mittagong in 1934. In reflecting on 

Quentin’s life, our Superior General, Br Sean 

Sammon said: “He had all of those old fashioned 

values that we have come to realise are 

so very important to the life of our human community.” 

And in saying this of Quentin we can 

say it too of our surviving jubilarians, Cassian 

and Canice. 

Br Canice O'Donnell 

Canice is gentlemanliness 

personified. In a 

culture that has lost its 

sense of decency, Canice’s 

respectability and 

modesty are beacons 

for us all. Such human 

qualities have been the 

hallmark of a man who 

is much loved by many, 

far and wide. In earlier 

times in religious life 

when rigour and discipline 

rated ahead of 

gentleness and under- 

standing, Canice erred on the side of the latter. 

He is known to us all as a jolly man, who is 

approachable, humble and down to earth. And 

while we know him for his warmth, we know 

him too as a man who has worked long and hard 

for the good of so many, committed to ministry 

well beyond what some might see as retirement 

years. Somehow Canice got the balance 

right: down to earth, yet refined; hard working, 

yet gentle; jovial, yet discreet. It is any wonder 

that in times past Canice was entrusted with the 

training of our young Marists - a fine model for 

any man aspiring to life as a Brother. 

Cassian too embodies those ‘old fashioned’ 

qualities that our modern world desperately 

needs. For seventy years now Cassian has never 

turned his hand from the plough which he took 

up with commitment and vigour in 1934. His 

loyalty to this commitment has been unwavering, 

a commitment that he takes seriously and 

embraces conscientiously, every day of his life. 

The sharpness of mind which characterised this 

precise teacher who co-authored the famous 

Messel Science textbooks of the 1970s is a 

quality Cassian has retained into his 90s, much 

to the amazement and admiration of many. Cassian 

is a man of great productivity; a craftsman, 

a reader, a writer – a doer, a man of action. The 

scriptures remind us, that our span of life is 

seventy, and eighty for those who are strong, 

Cassian, many thanks for more than 90 years 

of strength, strength at the service of your commitment. 

Here are two faithful servants of the Lord who 

can teach us a great deal now about how to 

teach, how to live, about the wisdom of age, 

about faithfulness, prayer, commitment, service 

and devotion to Mary. We recognise the 

achievements of these two wonderful Brothers 

and ask God to bless them richly at this time. 

Congratulations, good and faithful servants, Br 

Cassian and Br Canice. 




Brother Paul Creevey: 


Of Jesus it was said, ‘Can any good come 

out of Nazareth?’ Of our Founder St Marcellin, 

something similar was said - ‘Lavalla?!’ 

And in more recent times they are saying, ‘What 

good could possibly come out of Brooloo via 

Imbil, Queensland?’ But good has indeed come 

out of Brooloo via Imbil, in the form of one 

of the finest teachers the Province has seen. 

Paul Creevey celebrates 25 years of commitment 

to the Marist dream, a dream he inherited 

from the great men who inspired him – Nivard, 

Terry Mullany, Kieran Geaney, Mark Farrelly 

and Frank Fahey. A dream that was nurtured by 

committed and loving parents, and by the support 

of many of friends, young and old. 

To understand Paul is to appreciate that he loves 

teaching, and that he is very good at it. In fact, 

he is outstanding. Aside from one year on the 

Marist Youth Team, the past 20 years of Paul’s 

life have been devoted to the challenging slog 

of the classroom. A challenge at which he has 

become a master. Be it Religious Education, 

Mathematics, Science, Logic or Philosophy, 

Paul can enthuse a class to the point that they 

want more, and it is more that he gives them. 

Not satisfied with what some see as the 9 to 5 

grind, Paul lines up after school to tutor those 

who need extra help or yearn for further challenge 

and extension. 

Paul’s generosity, energy and drive extend beyond 

the regular classroom curriculum to the 

sporting field where he is known to be an excellent 

coach of rugby, and hockey in particular. 

He has been in Cairns for the past ten years and 

in most of these years he has been selected as 

a coach of representative teams. He is skilful, 

committed and disciplined. 

Paul has also had his fair share of leadership 

in schools. Currently he is the Director of the 

Mind Reach Programme at St Augustine’s, as 

well as Head of Science. On other occasions 

he has filled other Head of Department roles as 

well as Year Co-ordinator and Assistant Principal 

– Religious Education in two schools. 

This exemplary teacher, who lives by the motto, 

‘the heart of learning is the will to try’, is himself 

a student of theology and scripture and so it 

is fitting that in 2005 this generous Marist will 

enjoy a sabbatical year to pursue yet another of 

his passions. Paul congratulations on bringing 

to life the Marist dream for the past 25 years. 




Brother Emile Grogan: 


consider it a great honour to speak about and 

I on behalf of Br Emile Grogan, known affectionately 

to us all as Jack or Jack Emile. 

An array of ex-students from Jack’s days as 

Headmaster at Lismore came forward during 

my time there in the late 1990’s to ask about 

Jack. Middle-aged men were able to recount 

Jack’s efforts around the school, his enthusiasm, 

his outgoing nature, his interest in sport, 

especially baseball and football. Around Lismore 

Jack remains a bit of a legend. 

Jack has been a totally dedicated teacher, coach, 

planner, organiser, friend, brother to all, defacto 

dad to Brothers and Old Boys and yet remains 

throughout humble about his abilities and about 

the strength of his influence. Good people like 

Jack have no need to brag. Jack’s natural ability 

with people is inspirational. 

During my time at St Joseph’s College I have 

witnessed Jack at work, at play, at parties, in the 

classroom, out with that famous whistle (eventually 

banned I believe by one Headmaster), 

fully absorbed, totally involved, fully committed 

to the task at hand. And yet I have always 

found Jack to be approachable, human, warm, 

able to laugh at the inevitable ‘stuff ups’, intent 

on being a good Brother and a man of prayer. 

Who else could have a pub partly named after 

him? Who else taught Murray Gleeson and yet 

remains simply humble, modest and reasonable 

at all times? 

Jack has suffered much over the years with pain 

and illness but borne such afflictions with great 

dignity. Jack, we salute your achievements 

over 60 years, but really we salute you more as 

our Brother, one of Marcellin’s sons and one of 

his outstanding and shining stars. 




Brother Norman Hart: 


Refinement, astuteness, sharpness of mind 

and constancy of commitment are but a 

few of the praiseworthy epithets one could use 

to describe a Brother who has made a magnanimous 

contribution to education at many levels. 

Given his talent, it is not surprising that educational 

authorities have only recently conceded 

that Norman Hart should be allowed to enjoy 

the peacefulness of retirement at the age of 77. 

Preferring to see life’s struggles and difficulties 

more as stormy waters to be charted with care, 

even as opportunities for growth, Brother Norman 

regarded very little as insurmountable and 

his intuition for leadership was recognised at an 

early age. At 32, after ten years of foundational 

hard work as a primary teacher, Norm was appointed 

to his first Principalship in the remote 

North Queensland town of Ayr. Directorship of 

Darlinghurst was to follow before Norm was to 

be swept up into a career that took him to another 

level as supervisor of Marist schools: this to 

be followed by leadership roles in the Sydney 

Catholic Education Offices until 1986 when he 

was appointed the first Director of the Catholic 

Schools Office in the newly established Diocese 

of Broken Bay. This demanding role called 

for someone extraordinary and it was not long 

before Bishop Patrick Murphy could see that he 

had made the right choice in a man who could 

be ruffled by nothing and no-one, and all the 

time exuding that aura of calmness that marks 

the gentleman. 

Norm has an astute mind and a respectfulness for 

others that saw him suitably equipped to take on 

the role from which he has only recently retired. 

In 1994, at age 67 he became a pivotal member 

of a team of people who make one of the most 

professional and significant contributions to the 

life of the Church in this country. The Catholic 

Commission for Employment Relations has, 

for almost the past ten years, enjoyed the steadiness, 

resoluteness, fairness, commitment and 

professionalism of a man whose life has been at 

the service of Catholic education. 

When you have Norm’s talents and 

breadth of experience you have nothing 

to prove and so it is not surprising 

that this humble man boasts little of 

those many achievements of which I 

have mentioned only a few. Behind 

that wry smile, not unlike that of our 

Founder, is a man of strength and gentleness, 

a shrewd man, a smart man, a 

kind man. Norm, enjoy a well earned 

retirement and thanks for so many 

years of such significant and lasting 

contribution to Catholic education. 




Brother Silverius Lenehan: 


Affectionately known to all of us as Silvo, 

Silverius Lenehan remains the ever energetic 

son of a fruit farmer from Griffith, who 

with his brother (one of Dick’s 10 siblings) 

headed off to the Juniorate at Mittagong in 1940 

to become a Marist. More than 60 years on, the 

same enthusiasm and generosity that characterised 

this robust young man bursts forth from the 

cheery, fun-loving Marist whose company we 

enjoy today. 

With all due respect to modern educationalists, 

it was our Founder, St Marcellin whose salient 

definition of education remains the most apt for 

us. “It is not just secular subjects and religion 

that we teach”, he exhorted, “we aim at something 

better, we want to educate the children, 

that is, to instruct them in their duty, to teach 

them to practise it, to give them a Christian 

spirit and Christian attitudes and to form them 

in the virtues possessed by a good Christian and 

a good citizen.” Today we define Marcellin’s 

vision as a holistic education, one that embraces 

classroom and co-curricular activities that help 

form the whole person. And Dick embodies that 

vision. 

He has been the teacher’s exemplar. Dick’s 

classroom career has spanned more than 50 

years, and thousands of ex-students can attribute 

their success, particularly in Mathematics, 

to the expertise of a man who was born with a 

stick of chalk in his hand, who had the knack 

of making the most complicated and difficult 

seem achievable, even simple. 

Always conscious 

though of the Founder’s 

understanding of 

education, Dick didn’t 

confine his energies to 

the classroom. Aside 

from 10 years of organising 

concerts and 

eisteddfods, Dick was 

also a brilliant coach, of 

cricket, of athletics, of 

swimming. But perhaps 

his most memorable 

and successful work in 

the co-curricular area of 




school life was in the coaching of rugby league. 

Dick trained boys who were to become some 

of the game’s legends, in a time when this code 

of football was the fixation of a nation of sport 

lovers. Dick was in the middle of it; he loved 

them, and they loved him. 

The word retirement is not in Dick’s lexicon 

and so this bustling senior Marist, with a bung 

hip and poor hearing, continues to work, for it 

is a generous commitment to the mission that 

has characterised his religious life. That’s not 

to say he doesn’t know how to enjoy himself 

- whether skiing, swimming, working on his 

brother’s farm, sun-baking or enjoying the odd 

social drink, Silvo is there amongst it. But such 

stories are for another time and place. Silvo, 

thanks for 60 years of mirroring the generosity 

of our Founder. He would be surely proud of 

what you have achieved. 

Brother Mel Madden: 


Br Mel has a tenacious spirit about him when 

it comes to compassionate understanding 

for the sick. He does not let go of people in 

need. I have witnessed Mel’s skill, care, energy 

and responsiveness to Br Quentin during 

Brother’s final years at Ashgrove. Quentin 

needed Mel’s support and he got it. So did Br 

Terry Kane. Both Brothers needed a person of 

constancy, reliability and consideration at very 

difficult moments in their illnesses – they got 

all that from Mel and more. 

Mel’s teaching skills are legendry as is his ability 

to supervise, plan, direct and organise. Yet 

Mel remains supremely humble. He has not 

asked for any favours. 

Mel is also simplicity itself, wrapped up in a tiny 

physical frame and remains modest about his 

own considerable achievements. I know about 

his scholastic ability and his current studies at 

ACU, but you won’t hear it from Mel. This 

strength of mind is matched, as I stated previously, 

by his gentleness of spirit. Can a Brother 

be anything else but true like Mel to the heart of 

Christ himself, or to Mary or to Marcellin? 

In our pain, suffering and anguish, as we grow 

old or as we struggle with other people in community 

or with difficult people in our professional 

lives, it is the Mel Madden’s of this world 

who keep our feet firmly planted on the immediate 

need to reach out to others who need our 

help. What finer example can we have of what 

a Brother is all about? 

Mel has taught at Rosalie, Hamilton, Parramatta, 

Cairns, Campbelltown, Casino, Maitland, 

Randwick, Pagewood and finally at Ashgrove 

where he has, over the years, moved from 

school support to full-time studies, community 

support and semi-retirement although that last 

word sits uneasily given the work he undertakes 

each day. 




If you want a first rate security guard for your 

College, ask Mel. If you are looking for help 

with a difficult academic problem, ask Mel. If 

you are not in good health, ask Mel for support. 

50 years of dedicated service to the call of Jesus 

is an outstanding achievement. Mel, we salute 

your life’s work, your achievements and recognise 

your abilities. More importantly we salute 

your compassionate heart which is prayer in 

action. The Province wishes you all the best 

on your golden jubilee and may God’s peace be 

yours on the next step in your vocational journey. 

Brother Bede Maher: 


Bede’s family, the Mahers, are widespread. 

I can remember Bede reading a family history 

entitled “The Men from Mahers”. Bede’s 

Marist family is wider still. For what seems like 

generations to someone like me, Bede has been 

tending to the needs of people – students, staff, 

Brothers, families wherever he has been posted. 

Bede should be awarded a lifetime achievement 

for assisting others. 

60 years of constancy, commitment and prayer 

have paid off. Bede is still tending to the needs 

of the sick at St Joseph’s College, is still eternally 

optimistic, hopeful, cheery, supportive, 

loving, helpful and 

downright practical. 

Never one to 

push himself forward 

Bede has, none 

the less, ‘been there 

done that’. Countless 

hours of preparing 

for the visit of 

the Doctor, driving 

patients to hospitals 

and specialists, organising 

and following up on treatments, working 

with a wide variety of nursing staff, fixing 

broken bones after footy matches, administering 

ghastly tasting cough medicines, answering 

telephones, handling queries…Bede is there. 

Bede has taught and been a support at the following 

places: Randwick, Eagle Heights, Ashgrove, 

Auburn, Mosman, Lidcombe, Innisfail, 

Lismore, Casino, Church Hill, Westmead, Bondi 

Junction, Cairns, Rigu, Maitland, North Sydney, 

Gladstone and since 1978 at St Joseph’s 

College as Infirmarian. 

How many hours sleep does Bede get? No matter 

the time or the hour Bede is ready by the 




phone taking College calls, snoozing (but never 

sleeping), organising, preparing or simply waiting 

for that inevitable crisis that seems to happen 

in boarding schools. If Bede ever decides 

to retire it is going to take about six people at 

penalty rates and triple time and a half to replace 

him. Thankfully there is no evidence of 

that just yet. 

Bede, we offer you our heartfelt thanks for all 

you have done for others. You have asked for 

little or no reward. You exude a simplicity and 

modesty that shines out for all to see. Keep 

on doing your work and living with that gentle 

heart. You have 60 years of dedicated service 

in God’s name behind you and hopefully another 

60 to look forward to. 

Brother Matthew Marshall: 


Friday was what they called him, because 

there was no meat on Friday. Like most of 

us, Matthew Marshall is not quite as lean as he 

was in the days of Friday but in his 50 years as a 

Marist Brother the vigour and energy of Friday 

has never waned. The Marist document, In the 

Footsteps of Marcellin Champagnat, identifies 

five characteristics of Marist education, drawn 

from the life and philosophy of the Founder 

himself. One of those characteristics is ‘love of 

our work’, and it is this one in particular that 

helps define Matthew’s half century of service 

in the Marist way. 

Commencing with 4th class 

at Villa Maria in 1955, Matthew 

had an illustrious career 

as a teacher, with particular 

talents and success 

in the area of technical education 

and manual arts. In 

fact, such was his expertise 

that he was among the first 

of the consultants appointed 

by the Catholic Educa- 

tion Office to provide support for teachers in 

this area of the curriculum. Matthew laboured 

in this field for almost a quarter of a century before 

he was to assume a role that was to be the 

hallmark of his contribution to the Province. 

In 1980 Matthew was appointed to his first 

position as leader of a Brothers’ community: 

Auburn was to be followed by Ashgrove, then 

Randwick, and finally Campbelltown. And to 

each of these places Matthew brought strength, 

and a tenacity of spirit that meant he could commit 

to each community for the long haul. 

It was only in the late 70s that we separated 

the role of the leadership of the Brothers’ community 

from that of Principal, and so Matthew 

was among the pioneers who gave shape and 

definition to a role that is dedicated to the care 

and service of the Brothers. And that is what 

Matt did, care and serve, serve and care, and 

then some. 

The Province is particularly grateful to Matthew 

for the way in which he managed the myriad 

of duties that such a role demands; meals and 

provisions, finance, building and maintenance, 

transport and accommodation needs. But most 

particularly many Brothers are grateful for the 

care Matthew gave to them in sickness and in 

time of need. 




At Ashgrove, Randwick and Campbelltown 

Matthew had particular responsibility for many 

of the senior Brothers of the Province and this 

was at a time when more of us were getting 

older, faster – we were cutting new ground and 

Matthew was at the front. In many ways he became 

an advocate for the elderly and the infirm 

and he did this with an acute understanding of 

their needs, hopes and fears. 

Early in his career Matt was a power of energy 

and strength at St Vincent’s, Westmead. For 

the past 50 years we have benefited from the 

same generosity, professionalism, precision and 

sense of service that characterised those early 

days. Congratulations Matt on giving so much, 

to so many, for so long. 

Brother Joseph McCabe: 


In naming his biography 

of the Founder 

Strong Mind, Gentle 

Heart, Br Frederick 

McMahon may well 

have been drawing our 

attention to the skilful 

balance that characterised 

the life of St Marcellin. 

Joe McCabe, 

whom we honour today, 

exemplifies these 

enviable attributes of 

Champagnat. It is without question that we can 

also say that Joe brings to life the three qualities 

to which Marcellin hoped all his Brothers might 

aspire; simplicity, humility and modesty. 

Not one to boast of his achievements, Joe has 

done much, and done it, ever so quietly and 

ever so effectively. He has been a teacher, community 

leader, principal, bursar, artist, carpenter 

and photographer; a talented man with the 

capacity to turn his hand to a range of tasks, and 

make a success of them. 

The Strait of Gibraltar is that celebrated waterway 

that separates Europe from Africa and it is 

the great Rock of Gibraltar at the tip of the Iberian 

Peninsula that navigators have come to rely 

on as they chart their way through this path in 

the ocean. That’s our Joe, the Rock of Gibraltar, 

the steadfast one on whom we can rely, the one 

on whom we can depend, the one who will be 

there whatever the task, and whatever the cost. 

Joe’s reliability, 

constancy, astuteness 

and capacity 

for hard, 

deliberate work 

may well have 

come to its most 

obvious fruition when he filled the role of Province 

Bursar from 1986 through to 1994. It was 

a period of time in the province when our finances 

required the deliberate, resolute, and yet 

flexible eye that Joe seems to be able to bring to 

whatever he does. 

This capacity to be flexible, to be ever contemporary, 

was seen in Joe at least as far back as 

the early 70s when, as the first Marist Brother 

Principal of a co-educational school he made a 

fist of a job, new to the monks, to the admiration 

of the throngs. Not only was he successful, 

but people came to hold Joe in very high 

esteem, and this has been the pattern of every 

one of Joe’s appointments. For almost ten years 




now he has cut out a niche at Auburn where he 

quietly shares his talents and is much appreciated 

by people with whom he mixes so readily 

and so graciously. 

Joe was inspired to pursue a life as a Marist by 

men like Demetrius and John Baptist Ryan, seeing 

in them men who were good male role models 

for young boys seeking out an identity and 

direction in life. Marcellin insisted that young 

people listen more to witnesses than words. Joe, 

congratulations on 50 years of witnessing so 

generously and so well. 

Brother Ken McDonald: 


Br Ken McDonald was a most 

engaging and interested student 

at Marist College Ashgrove 

in the mid 1970’s. Even then one 

could detect a passion and a likeability 

which eventually translated 

exceedingly well into the life 

of a Marist Brother. 

Ken’s vocational story is remarkable. 

A strong and committed 

teacher Ken soon felt the ‘call to 

the mission’ more explicitly by 

becoming involved in Marist life 

in Papua New Guinea. Latent administrative 

and leadership talents 

were unleashed in various distant 

Marist enterprises. Popular with 

the local population and outspoken 

and passionate on behalf of 

disadvantaged young people in Papua New 

Guinea, Ken has brought his leadership talent 

over the years to the District of Melanesia as 

a community leader, deputy principal, principal 

and district counsellor. 

Ken’s recent challenge has been to support excombatants 

of the Bougainville troubles. At 

Mabiri Ken has certainly given the least favoured 

a special place in Marist education. In 

the process Ken is respected as a local chief, 

tribal elder, educationalist and Brother all rolled 

into one. 

At one spot on the island of Bougainville stands 

that lone statue of the Founder of which David 

spoke earlier. Among other things, it is a reminder 

of the troubles that have ravaged this part of 

the world. But there is hope, because new life 

in abundance has come in the form of a modern 

day Marcellin. If ever there was an example of 

a man and a Brother imbued with the passion, 

strengths and gentleness of Champagnat it can 

be found in Br. Ken McDonald. We celebrate 

today his 25 years in Marist religious life. 




Brother Gregory Moran: 


In June this year at St Augustine’s College, 

Cairns the student who played Marcellin 

Champagnat in the liturgical drama during 

Mass, wore work boots. For some, the idea of 

a saintly priest wearing Blundstones seemed 

incongruous, but Marcellin’s unorthodox dress 

code was indicative of a character that saw him 

shun privilege and put himself at the service of 

others. In both dress and character, our golden 

jubilarian, Greg Moran can be likened to the 

Founder. 

But don’t be fooled by the roughness of the 

boots. Greg’s toughness is in his resolve and in 

his faith. His heart, on the other hand, is kind, 

his manner gentle and engaging. 

Religious life was in Greg’s family; an aunt and 

several great aunts were nuns, there were cousins 

who were Marist Brothers. And so the connection 

to ministry in the Church was part of 

the family story and Greg was to add a further 

chapter when he headed off to Mittagong at age 

12 in 1949. He had an intuition that became a 

resolve, a commitment that he has steadfastly 

followed and allows 

him to proclaim 

today, with 

a sense of surety, 

“I am glad I became 

a Marist 

Brother”. 

Among those who 

inspired Greg are 

Brothers such as 

Fergus McCann, 

Thomas More, Alman 

Dwyer, Coman 

Sykes, Michael 

Flanagan, 

Charles Howard, 

Michael Curnow, 

Terry Mullany 

and Francis Field. 

With such models, 

it is any wonder 

then that Greg 

is a person with a 

deep compassion 

for those in need, 

those on the edge, 

those for whom 

others have not the 

time, the tolerance 

nor the patience. 

Greg’s call to stand in solidarity with those who 

are marginalised saw its most sharpened expression 

during his time at the Marist Centre at 

Mittagong. During this appointment he began 

work in Chaplain fellowship and has continued 

with this ministry dutifully until the present 

time. In the past six or so years Greg has 

also been a committed member of the staff of 

the Berne Education Centre, a special school at 

Lewisham, conducted by the Marist Brothers, 

for students who might otherwise be excluded 

from mainstream schooling. 

In both his prison chaplaincy and his work at 

Berne, Greg brings a supreme patience that is 

born of a deep respect for other people. He is 

present to them, listens to them and resists the 

human tendency to judge and even reject those 

who do not conform. Greg’s own profound spirituality 

means that he understands those who are 

‘on the edge’ and he walks with them in gentleness 

and trust. Where others might have given 

up on them, Greg hasn’t. He is a man who is 

prepared to seek out new ways of doing things, 

particularly when it might be of help to someone 

really in need. 

Greg, congratulations on 50 years of service 

– service that has been faithful to the Founder, 

to work among the young, especially the most 

neglected. 




Brother John Mullins: 


John Mullins owes his vocation to an involved 

mix of circumstances – a loving family, an 

Irish background, life in North Queensland at 

the end of the Great Depression, the Sisters of 

Mercy and of course the Marist Brothers at St 

Augustine’s Cairns. In the 50 years since John 

left the tropical north to arrive and shiver at 

Mittagong, New South Wales, John has been 

a community leader, teacher, principal, sports 

coach, administrator, worked in ten parishes, 

spent time with Bishops and CEO personnel as 

well as with volunteers, parents and students. 

A warm welcome to fourth class all those years 

ago in Cairns by Br Marcellus has given John 

an example of how to be a Marist Brother which 

he has never forgotten. John is a delicate balance 

of good sense, refined nature, diplomacy, 

co-operation with everyone and 

healer of troubled waters. He 

has been an excellent Head of 

Colleges such as St Aloysius 

at Grafton, McAuley Catholic 

College Grafton, Trinity College 

Beenleigh and Good Counsel 

Innisfail. 

“You wait till you get to the 

Brothers” was the dire warning 

of the good Sisters to John 

in his early primary years. But 

somehow John only ever experienced 

the Brothers as gentle- 

men with attractive personalities. This example 

from those days has carried on into his own 

life. 

John completed a secondary and tertiary education 

at a time when such opportunities were 

not common place. He has adapted well to the 

changes in Church and religious life accepting 

some difficult challenges along the way. He laid 

strong Marist foundations at Trinity Beenleigh, 

successfully amalgamating St Aloysius College 

and Holy Spirit Grafton to form McAuley 

Catholic College Grafton, and assisted fully in 

community life in numerous appointments at 

Lismore, Dundas, Drummoyne, North Sydney 

and Beenleigh. John has brought much to the 

expression of Marist life through his personal 

human warmth, his ability to organise a dinner 

table well and connect with family and with a 

wide circle of friends. 

John is also a thoughtful and thought provoking 

man. He is very loyal to his prayer life, to 

community life and to the Church. Countless 

students, as well as the Brothers, have benefited 

from these fine qualities. And what of the challenges, 

difficulties and struggles he has faced? 




We can all admit to that necessary but difficult 

separation from our natural families to our lack 

of experience in the classroom, to the pressure 

of studying while teaching all day and in John’s 

case living outside metropolitan capitals as 

well. But John has persevered not in anger but 

with grace, dignity, good sense and an abiding 

love of people. 

John, the Province congratulates you or your 

Marist milestone. Your achievements are many 

and varied. You are a fine example of strength, 

gentleness and a good heart after the example 

of Marcellin. May God give you the strength to 

do it all again over the next 50 years. 

Brother Julian Quinlan: 


The making of a saint invariably leads to 

heightened interest in the spirituality of the 

candidate. In the case of our Founder, Marcellin, 

recent studies have confirmed that he was 

a man totally open to whatever and wherever 

God might be calling him. The same could be 

said of our golden jubilarian, Julian Quinlan. 

Over the years Julian has taken on work and positions 

which have been asked of him, without 

delving too much into what they would entail. 

Some might mistake this as naivety, but in Julian 

we have a man who has an abiding trust in 

his superiors, 

a good selfknowledge 

and above 

all, an unb 

o u n d e d 

confidence in 

the Lord who 

has shaped 

and guided 

his life. This 

w o n d e r - 

ful sense of 

freedom and 

o p e n n e s s 

took Julian 

to the District of Melanesia in 1966, where he 

worked for 30 years as teacher, principal, community 

leader, choirmaster, organist, boarding 

supervisor and bursar. 

In some ways Julian’s story is reminiscent of 

that of the two young, uneducated farm boys 

whom Champagnat invited to be his first Brothers. 

Our Julian has their same goodwill, their 

savvy and their natural talent, and one can only 

be inspired by the way in which Julian took 

charge of his need to be trained, and with vigour 

and discipline attended to what needed 

to be done. Remarkably, he began teaching in 

Cairns at the age of 17, with some of the students 

in his classes older than he was! During 

his first ten years of teaching he undertook studies 

by correspondence and was awarded a B.A. 




& an A.Mus.A, all the while working fulltime 

as a teacher and even a boarding supervisor. 

It was the same sense of consistency, organisation 

and discipline that saw him through these 

studies that was pivotal to Julian’s unparalleled 

success with choral groups on the island of 

Bougainville. Each culture has its own quaint 

peculiarities and choral festivals on Bougainville 

were their own State of Origin: in almost 

every ‘game’ Julian’s group came out winners. 

And through it all the students not only learnt 

and enjoyed music, but were also engaged in an 

activity that helped build their characters, and 

a mighty model they had in Julian – he taught 

them commitment, discipline, co-operation, 

the value of hard work, consistency and refinement. 

After 25 years of generous service in schools in 

Melanesia, the ever-ready, ever-responsive Julian 

took the opportunity to retrain himself and, 

applying the same vigour and enthusiasm that 

he brought to his earlier studies attained over a 

two year period of renewal, three Masters degrees 

that have equipped him for a role he now 

has as Pastoral Associate in the parish of Our 

Lady of the Rosary at Fairfield. Julian undertakes 

this role, as well as the leadership of the 

community of ten Brothers at Westmead with 

the same cheer and passion as he did when he 

embarked on his apostolic journey in Cairns in 

1955. 

Julian, congratulations on bringing to life the 

qualities of our Founder, your strength of mind 

and gentleness of heart are an inspiration to us. 




Brother Kevin Ryan: 


Kevin Ryan has taught largely in primary 

schools over the lasts 50 years, serving 

young people and their families at Hamilton, 

Tighes Hill, Eagle Heights, Cairns, Innisfail, 

Rigu (in the secondary) as well as assisting at 

the Scholasticate in Suva (Fiji), St Vincent’s 

Westmead and the dormitories and secondary 

teaching at Ashgrove. 

It has been at Ashgrove where a fine setting has 

been provided for Kevin to express that latent 

talent he has in computing and data organisation 

that is still his forte. A College as complex 

and difficult to manage as Ashgrove needs 

someone like Kevin Ryan. 

Kevin displays a patience and a never-ending 

supply of goodwill to anyone at the College 

who needs his help with organisational detail, 

lists and data entry. The Office simply would 

not function without the day to day presence 

and work of Kevin. As well, the Old Boys’ and 

P & F Committees rely on him, I rely on him, 

in fact we all rely on him. “See Br Kevin – you 

will get what you are looking for”, is the usual 

cry around the place. Kevin’s quiet nature is 

fitted perfectly to such a role. No temper tantrums, 

no hands thrown up in horror at any request 

– just a careful smile and the knowledge 

that he can, in fact, deliver the goods. 

I guess that is how Kevin has operated over the 

last 50 years. Maybe that has got something to 

do with coming from North Queensland, surrounded 

by lots of sugar cane, rain, more sugar 

cane and more rain. One learns to be patient! 

Maybe too, that is why Kevin has enjoyed his 

time so much in the missions and expressed the 

desire to return there except for the state of his 

health. 

Kevin has never sought the limelight and thank 

God the Brothers have never forced him to do 

so either. Kevin has always been the diligent 

teacher, the caring dorm supervisor, the observant 

bus driver, the very correct and personable 

office support, the very organised and structured 

producer of lists. Eternally present at the desk 

Kevin expresses a gentleness of spirit that we 

could all have a bit more of around the place. 

Kevin, the Brothers and Marists everywhere 

congratulate you on 50 years of dedicated service. 

You have not wasted your time. You have 

completed so many ordinary tasks with grace, 

sincerity, skill and patience. We thank you for 

your gentleness in community, the constancy of 

your presence and the constancy of your prayer. 

Best wishes from all of us. 

Brother Brian Sweeney: 


It was fortunate for the Brothers when Br 

Quentin nominated Br Brian Sweeney to the 

position of Secretary of the MCC Sports Association 

in 1962. Brian may not have been a 

sportsman of note but he was going to prove to 

be an excellent Secretary. Provincials before 

1962 had noted Brian’s abilities when he began 

his tertiary studies very early in his teaching career. 

The 1962 secretarial position began a lifelong 




association for Brian with all facets of administration 

(and probably administrivia as well) in 

Marist and wider Church life. Brian has been 

associated with countless commissions, committees, 

boards, associations and the like, sometimes 

for the Brothers, sometimes for Bishops, 

sometimes in Australia, sometimes in Rome. 

An extraordinary level of expertise in administration 

had been unleashed. Brian has an amazing 

ability to get to the heart of an issue whether 

that be related to the Constitutions, to Canon law, 

to legal mumbo jumbo and the like 

and to give an opinion that invariably 

(well, almost invariably) turns out to 

be the most correct interpretation that 

the human mind can arrive at. He 

finds these days, that he is sought after 

by all and sundry whether that be 

Bishops, leaders of Religious Institutes, 

the Marriage Tribunal, Canon 

lawyers or Congregations Chapters 

to give some learned opinion. After 

all he has graduated with Honours in 

Canon Law in Rome. But that is only 

part of the story. 

Brian was born in Bundaberg, a city 

built on sugar and rum, the Sisters 

of Mercy and the Christian Brothers. From 

that delightful city Brian came to Brisbane as 

a young boy and attended Marist College Rosalie 

and then Eagle Heights, after the death 

of his mother. Brian’s move to the Juniorate 

at Mittagong confirmed a vocation he has followed 

ever since with clarity, vision and commitment. 

Perhaps for the Province the defining moment 

was his appointment as Province Secretary. 

Brian moulded and reshaped that position in 

the years 1981-1990 and created a significant 

and enduring legacy. Could anyone imagine 

the work of the Province or the work of the Provincial 

proceeding without a full-time Province 

Secretary? Brian also relished the role of Province 

Bursar, the links to the University, the ability 

to reply to some stiff letters on cardboard in 

diplomatic and yet unambiguous terms. 

Brian’s move to Rome as Procurator General 

accredited to the Holy See and his work at the 

General Chapter and on the Constitutions cannot 

go unnoticed nor can his sense of hospitality 

during those years go unmarked. Brian 

proved to be a friendly English speaking face 

in a sea of international Brothers who had little 

ability to speak our language. Again, despite 




studies in Canon Law at the time Brian defined 

elements of the administration in Rome previously 

considered to be unresolvable. Elegant 

representations to seemingly important people, 

a clear sense of the law and persuasive logic 

were his trademarks. Today it is the same in the 

Archdiocese of Brisbane where his opinions are 

respected by all. 

Brian spent considerable years in schools as 

well. He was a teacher and also Principal of his 

old school, Marist College Rosalie. 

Every Sunday Brian graces our table at Ashgrove 

in a most entertaining and charming manner. 

Of late he has assisted me with The Hermitage 

inservice program to France and been 

of invaluable assistance in imparting his knowledge 

about Marist history, patrimony and the 

educational perspectives of the Founder. Brian, 

the Province congratulates you on 50 years of 

fine service to Marist works and life. You have 

an enviable strength about you and a graciousness 

in all that you do. Keep flying the flag of 

clarity, purpose, direction and precision for all 

things Marist and for the Church. 

Brother Faber Turnbull: 


Faber recognised that there was ‘something 

different’ about the young men at the Mittagong 

Juniorate which caused him to abandon 

his attraction to the Franciscans and join the 

Marists. 

60 years later Faber’s attraction to Marist life 

remains amazingly strong, in tact, vibrant and 

visionary. 

Faber’s vocational journey has seen him take 

on Principalships, the Missions, classroom 

teaching, community leadership and formation. 

Now in a gracious, semi-retirement Faber’s life 

is, as usual, filled with good works and a dedicated 

prayer life. Faber is an enduring witness 

to what being a good Little Brother of Mary is 

all about. Here is a man who has taken on all 

manner of local problems and issues, solved 

them to the satisfaction of all and found himself 

promoted to yet another set of demanding cir- 




cumstances. 

Faber relates 

that he received 

maximum satisfactionduring 

his years as 

Director of Eagle 

Heights following 

the legendary 

Brother 

Harold. 

Faber’s missionaryexperiences 

and work 

there deserve 

a special mention. Vanga Point Rural Training 

College, his times at Wewak, Honiara and 

Port Moresby add up to a lifetime achievement 

award for humble service by a Marist Brother 

in far away places. Faber remains dedicated to 

the mission of the Marist Brother, to the needs 

of others, is a man of simple tastes and lifestyle, 

of modesty, of generosity and prayer. 

Faber lives among us here at Ashgrove as our 

Brother, a man who with and by God’s grace 

expresses the gentleness and strength of the 

Founder. Faber, we salute your achievements. 

Keep close to Marcellin’s heart. 

Brother Christopher Wade: 


The present Pope, in challenging religious 

orders to renew and revitalise themselves 

in their founding charisms has encouraged us 

to a creative fidelity in bringing new life to the 

Church. Today we honour 50 years of creative 

fidelity in the life of a Marist who would surely 

assume a significant chapter in any book written 

on school leadership in the Province. For a 

period that spans thirty years Chris Wade led 

Marist schools with a vigour, determination and 

generosity that have left an indelible mark on 

the face of education in five schools. Under his 

influence schools would stir to new life and on 

his departure were invariably left in much better 

shape than when he had arrived. Chris has 

been one of the Province’s finest Headmasters. 

For this normally shy and rather reserved man, 

to be thrust into the foreground and to remain 

there for so long has been nothing less than heroic 

and isn’t heroism born of both triumph and 

challenge, of joy and suffering. 




Our Founder was an unpretentious man with 

an abhorrence for anything not authentic; we 

can bestow the same accolade on our confrere 

Chris. So too we see in Chris, as we do in Marcellin, 

a man of high ideals and a tenacity of 

spirit which can realise what others see as too 

difficult, or simply impossible. Chris is visionary 

and his vision is informed by a sharp intellect 

and an abiding wisdom that finds its source 

in both knowledge and faith. His mother was 

a woman of indomitable courage and strength, 

and so in this instance, we can quite confidently 

assert, ‘like mother, like son.’ 

In our more mischievous moments, those of 

us who call him friend might refer to him, not 

as Chris Wade, but as ‘crystal suede’; such is 

Chris’ appreciation for things beautiful. Beautiful 

things lift the spirit to a higher plane and 

Chris is renowned for not only making schools 

neat, clean, attractive and functional, but where 

possible, making them beautiful. But it was 

not only the improvement of a school’s physical 

environment that was Chris’s legacy. Long 

before the term strategic planning became the 

‘hip’ thing, Chris Wade was doing it; dreaming 

and enacting policies, procedures, projects and 

activities that touched on every aspect of school 

life. 

And while Chris has had a very public face, he 

has also had a very private face and many of 

us can tell the story of a man whose simple joy 

came from identifying and nurturing a flowering 

talent in a student or a member of staff. Others 

too will tell of the compassion of a man who 

has an abiding understanding of human nature 

and a belief that through our frailty we become 

strong. Chris is discretion personified and so 

many of his acts of kindness and understanding 

to those in real need have been unheralded, and 

that matters little to a man who has a passionate 

love for living out a commitment that has not 

waned since he boarded the train for Mittagong 

on 29th January 1953. 

Chris loves our Province and he loves things 

Marist. Chris, congratulations on 50 years of 

creative fidelity to a dream that inspired you 

and that you continue to shape and enrich. 




Jubilee Address in Reply - Brisbane 

In responding today on behalf of all those celebrating 

jubilees my mind is drawn back to that 

image of the defaced and decaying statue in the 

jungle in Rigu. The man represented by that statue 

is basically the reason that all of us are here today; 

his image and memory have endured, as has his way 

of life. Each Brother in his own way - whether for 

70,60,50 or 25 years - has tried to put into practice 

Father Champagnat’s ideals. And just as that statue 

is blemished and incomplete, so we would say have 

been our efforts over the years. But the journey has 

been worthwhile because, as Chesterton points out, 

the basic message of Jesus and therefore the basic 

rationale of religious life - at its most simple- is this: 

In a world which is apparently raging and confounding, 

the main forces at work are in reality love and 

mercy. Every attempt to live life according to the 

Gospel is an affirmation of that truth. 

Before going any further I should like to thank those 

mainly responsible for today’s celebration: our 

Brother Provincial, John Thompson and Council, 

together with Brother Dominic, Province Secretary, 

Ashgrove Headmaster Brother Neville, together 

with the local Marist community; Brother David 

Hall who shared with Neville the preparation of 

today’s tributes and who did so generously and eloquently. 

And finally, our family members, friends, 

ex-students and colleagues present today to join us 

in this happy occasion. If the initial impetus for our 

vocation came originally from the Founder, you 

people are in a very real sense the reason why, under 

God, we are still here so many years later. You 

are the ones who believed in us, encouraged us, supported 

us and prayed for us. You are the ones who 

stopped us from being those isolated and threatened 

islands spoken of by John Donne. You kept us attached 

to the mainland. And in this context another 

group of people to be recognised today are those 

other idealistic men, our youthful companions, who 

began the journey with us but for their own good 

reasons were to find their ultimate call in a different 

way of life. It’s great that some of them have been 

present earlier in Sydney, again here today and in 

the months leading up to today’s gathering. 

So what do we remember and think about when we 

look back? Well, in July of 1934, or 44, or 54, or otherwise 

at a time in 1979 (seems like only yesterday 

doesn’t it?) we nervously and excitedly celebrated 

the solemn liturgy of the Church with High Mass 

and Benediction, and in the course of that with full 

hearts, put on publicly for the first time the religious 

habit left to us by our own Father Champagnat, and 

received our symbolic new names. In so doing we 

were taking part in a ritual entered into by literally 

millions of men and women in their quest for God 

down through the centuries since the time of Jesus. 




In every case, to use the words of Brother Elgar, one 

of our Marist poets, they were putting on: 

“The oldest uniform for the longest war”. 

It was a blessing that we did not really understand 

the full import of what we were doing, nor of the 

vows that were to follow one year later, nor where 

all this would take us. You may be shocked to hear 

me say that, but after all, which married couple understand 

at the time of the wedding the nuances of 

married life and experience, or where these will lead 

them? Rather, we all, religious and lay, set out in 

love with a certain amount of naivete, with bucketsful 

of hope and with trust in the lived testimony of 

people who had preceded us down the same paths 

and whose lives we knew instinctively to have been 

whole and rich. 

Appointments, shifts, challenges, disappointments 

and even some successes came our way as time 

went by. Over the years we have had our share of 

good times and not-so-good times, times of perhaps 

near heroic faithfulness and other times when, to 

borrow a phrase from Brother Xavier, another of 

our poets, we “drifted across the double lines, but 

with a Peter’s heart came back”. For various reasons, 

many of them good, we had not been Brothers 

very long when many of the familiar markings began 

to disappear and a certain amount of confusion 

followed. Sister Sandra Schneiders, a well-known 

writer on religious life, points out that our way of 

life in only 30 years went through changes that took 

western humanity 700 years to accomplish. For 

many of us this has been painful to live through, 

although we know in our hearts that conversion - of 

ourselves and of our form of life - was and is essen- 

tial and that conversion is 

necessarily painful. To 

quote Sandra again: “religious 

life went into the 

vortex of the Council as 

a pretty impressive dinosaur, 

a huge, intimidating 

and seemingly indestructible 

part of the Church. 

It is emerging, like some 

species of the dinosaurs of 

old, as a songbird, much 

smaller, more fragile, less 

controlling and perhaps in 

the long run more essential 

to a world in which beauty is more important than 

raw physical power.” 

So here we all are 70,60,50 or 25 years later having 

witnessed the old form of religious life almost 

disappear and waiting expectantly for the breakout 

of the new version. In all those years we have been 

sustained by the love, support and understanding of 

our Brothers, the most generous, warm-hearted and 

dedicated of men and the very best of life-companions, 

without whom our journey would have been 

unthinkable and impossible. Our Brothers embody 

for us the love of Jesus, the care of our Good Mother 

and the fatherly protection of Marcellin. 

Now at this time of significant anniversary we look 

forward to whatever remains of the journey and 

I would like to use the words of an old hymn to 

encapsulate what I believe to be the heartfelt sentiments 

of all those celebrating jubilees here today, 

and equally of those who, for whatever reason, are 

prevented from being present. In some sense this 

verse sums up the christian and religious vocation 

of all of us: 

I heard the voice of Jesus say 

I am this dark world’s light 

Look towards me, your morn will rise 

And all your day be bright. 

I looked to Jesus and I found 

In him my star, my sun; 

And in that Light of Life I’ll walk, 

Till travelling days are done. 

May God grant that it be so for all of us. 

Brother Chris Wade, July 2004 



Golden Jubilee of Br Christian Dever 

Br Christian Dever receives 

his St Marcellin Champagnat 

medallion from Br Chris Wills 

at Lololima in Vanuatu. Br 

Christian leads the community, 

and is the Director of Lololima 

which is a place of education 

and discernment for young men 

who may enter religious life, lay 

ministry or the priesthood. 

Br Christian receiving a Golden Jubilee presentation from the young men at Lololima. 




When Mother Mary looked for conversions, she found the 

ideal spot on a rugby pitch at Hunters Hill, writes Peter 

FitzSimons. 

On the Gladesville Bridge upwards of 

100,000 cars a day swish by on their way to 

and from the hurly-burly of the city ... while 

she watches, serene. When they’re travelling 

north to home and hearth, they can see her 

out to the left. And she sees them. 

They are the workers of Sydney Town living to 

the north- west. She is the statue of Mother 

Mary, atop the main building of St Joseph’s 

College, Hunters Hill, and she has been there 

for precisely 100 years. 

Using stones from a nearby quarry on the 

river, the main stone building of Joey’s was 

commenced by the Marist Brothers in 1882 

and completed in 1889, with an architect by 

the name of J. F. Hennessy taking a leading 

role, just as he had in designing the main 

hall of the Sydney Town Hall, and in his work 

on the massive St Patrick’s College at Manly 

The St Joseph’s effort was widely hailed as a 

magnificent building, but still something was 

missing... 

In 1903, the second headmaster, Brother 

Stanislaus Healy, put that to rights when on 

a trip to France he secured some religious 

artefacts which he brought home to Australia 

The provenance of this statue is unsure, but 

what is sure is that because of great religious 

unrest in France at the time many statues 

were being vandalised, and though this Mary 

was not quite a refugee, there was no doubt 

that she was made more than welcome in 

her new home. 

Again Hennessy was consulted and he 

designed the cupola for the top of the tower 

on which Mother Mary was to stand. 

She was to have been erected on August 15, 

1904, but this was postponed because of rain 

and she was positioned the next day. 

As recorded by the college magazine of that 

year: “This gleaming image of our Heavenly 

Queen [stands] with hands stretched out in an 

attitude of readiness to welcome the weary or 

to help those who [seek] assistance.” 

And to hear the Joey’s people tell it, that 

assistance extended to all things, including 

their beloved rugby football. 

So the local lore goes - and I’m not making 

this up – when Joey’s were playing Scots on 

July 25, 1981, Scots were holding on to a 9-8 

lead with just one minute to go when the ball 

came to the young Joey’s five-eighth, Peter 

Tonkin, 30 metres out and just a short way 

from the sideline. As the Joey’s brethren tell 

it, Tonkin glanced to Mary and took aim tor 

a field goal. 

Some who were present at the game swear 

that as the ball sailed between the posts for 

an 11-9 win, the statue turned and smiled. 

I know I know. And I don’t believe it for a 

second, either - despite an equally inexplicable 

win that Joey’s had over the Knox first XV on 

that same ground three years earlier. 

No matter. Let it be. 

Let Her be. As she has been for the past 100 

years. 

With thanks to Jane van Seek of St Joseph’s 

College. 




Our Man in Manila 

In this issue of Marist Seasons we reproduce a newsletter circulated by 

Paul Murphy detailing some of the recent work of the organisation “Kuya” 

that Paul is associated with. This organisation ministers to the street kids 

of Manila and we feel sure that all the Brothers identify with, and feel very 

proud of the work Paul does there 

Dear Friends of Kuya 

Mabuhay 

The Canvas of Life 

Last week when Mila and I visited two of our young ex-Kuya adults 

in Quezon City Jail I had cause to wonder just what rehab was being 

provided for the 4,000 jam-packed, vacant-eyed, tattooed souls surviving 

squatter-like inside an area little bigger than the local Barangay basketball 

court? What in all creation might their vision be of the canvas of life beyond 

the grey walls and rusty wire? It seemed to me that their incarceration had 

become their safety net, their security from uncertainty, from danger, from 

lack of companionship and from food foraging/shelter seeking –anxieties to 

them if returned to the streets outside. 

One of the greatest challenges facing us working with street kids is to provide 

them with the tools and opportunities for each to discern where and how their 

self-portrait should appear on this great canvas of life – where do they fit in 

relation to the big picture? Too often the kids' view is so myopic that they see 

but one detail only namely how do I get through this day – and considering 

their fragile circumstances can we blame them for that? Too often I see an 

adolescent child unwittingly take a life option that sends him spinning out of 

control, entirely in the wrong direction – a direction that later circumstances 

prove to be totally irreversible. It’s all such painful stuff. 

At Kuya the staff and volunteers encourage the children to step back and see 

that there is a future, that their own portrait is the centre of a beautiful mural 

and not a single, random brush stroke 

determined by the needs of survive the 

day. 

The noble Gospel virtue of Christian Hope, 

built on the support and encouragement 

of so many like you our readers and 

benefactors, is what we are charged to 

portray to these kids. So God bless you 

all. We need you and so many more like 

you as well. Your contributions provide 

the new canvas and new colours for so 

many. 

Paul with Jovan, Jason 

and Noe – just three of 

the rehabilitated street 

kids residing at Kuya. 




This sewer is the 

Marikina Street Kids 

home. A few so many 

of Kuya’s clients. Most 

have TB! They sleep, 

fight, beg and live 

perilously under the road 

– away from Police / 

Government Social 

Welfare Officers! 

New Opportunities in Special Education 

De La Salle High School Greenhills continues 

to exhibit their commitment and care for our 

kids from the streets of Manila. Once again 

they have provided teachers, a beautiful 

classroom and high standards for seven of 

our children to be able to complete their 

elementary schooling. A new teaching 

strategy aims to bring some of our children 

‘up to speed’ and so qualify them for future 

high school entrance. Neil Ross, Junior, 

Noe, Anthony and perhaps Maklin when he 

is a little more literate will benefit from this initiative immediately. For the 

other children at Kuya, those too illiterate or unsettled for regular schooling, 

will instead attend special classes each day presented by Noto our patient 

centre educator. These literacy classes have been enhanced this year by a 

generous grant from the Marist Bureau of International Solidarity (BIS) in 

Rome. BIS has assisted us with equipment and staff training. This should 

be fully implemented by October. 

During the last three months Kuya has reconciled, referred or stabilised for 

schooling over fourteen children. To achieve this our staff had to track down 

an array of hard-to-come-by documents, as well as arrange for psychological 

testing and updating of all individual case studies. Congrats staff. 

Let me portray a little background information re a few of these children 

– under ‘nom-de-plume(s)’ WIL was an orphaned, abandoned, unwanted and 

abused child who suffered at the hands of a pimp. Later a good lesbian couple 

cared for him but they in turn could not manage him either. Taken from the 

streets he spent a year with us a Kuya. Not surprisingly he displayed very 

anti-social behaviour but thankfully he is quite settled now. This month he 

leaves us to recommence his formal schooling at a Long-Term Residential 

(LTR) centre. The cats, the birds, the roof and the neighbour’s mango trees 

will be happy but we have “lost” a reformed, dear and loving “son”. 

JF was referred to us after running away because of a stepmother 

misunderstanding. He settled down at Kuya and proved to be a very reliable 

child. Recently he was reconciled. Who could forget the outpouring of tears 

and affection shown by JF’s bewildered, tricycle-driving dad on seeing 

him return last week? JF will recommence school but will need on-going 

educational support. 

JA is a very ‘cute’ kid and came to us when his mother could no longer feed 

and care for him. Recently we referred him to long-term residential (LTR) 

care where he can now pursue his studies. 




LON came to us from the streets after running 

away from his drug addicted, alcoholic father. 

His motherʼs whereabouts is unknown. He 

will now recommence regular schooling and 

live in a LTR centre specifically catering for 

boys like him. 

MIKE was a foundling child given to us 

through the Dept of Social Welfare. Skinny, 

covered in sores and decidedly very shy was 

how we received him. After several months 

with us his health was restored and his shyness 

replaced by a new confidence. We deemed him 

ready for regular school. He is now living with 

LON (above) in the same LTR centre. 

JM was a top 14year old boy whom Richard and I found at the Rehabilitation 

Action Centre (RAC) – a special centre where kids dry out from solvent 

abuse. His father had abandoned JM while his mother languished in jail. 

Past family events have since changed and he is now reconciled with 

his mother. He plans to return to school but will need further help and 

follow-up from us. 

PJR ran away from his surrogate mother and stayed with his paternal aunt. 

She was ill and did not have the necessary patience. He found his way to 

the street. Recently he was reconciled with his extended family but may 

still need additional school assistance. 

JH was a quiet, lovable kid whose behaviour was 

impeccable. His situation was the result of a mother 

working in Japan and a conflicting family situation. 

Recently we referred him to an LTR centre where he will 

pursue his regular studies. 

MTʼs father is dead and his mother lives on the street. 

Over the past year he has flowered under Kuyaʼs care. 

Soon he will transfer to a very good Vocational School. 

Gerwin sniffing ‘glue’ 

inside the plastic bag 

with supply in the bottle. 

Richard one of Kuya’s 

Social Workers with 

Marikina Street Kids 

Albin, Oliver, Geraldo, 

Ryan, Cedric. 




I am a Street Boy 

. . . . and this is my lament. 

I go around freely in the street 

… doing what I want. 

I survive by….. 

rag selling and vending, 

car watching and car parking, 

shining shoes and running errands, 

begging and prostitution, 

snatching bags and mobile phones. 

My food is 

found in dustbins 

or from the hand of friends 

and even strangers … or I just steal it. 

Sometimes I do sexual things so 

… who will weep for me if I die of Aids? 

I don’t take a bath 

but I do sniff “glue” and solvents - 

glue sniffing and tattoos define me 

and my ‘family’ barkada (gang members). 

I share what I have with others 

for I understand a needy person better than you do. 

I cry only 

…. when I am beaten. 

I do not listen to advice from elders to make me “good” 

..…why? …. Am I really bad? 

I never plan for tomorrow 

… because my life is just today 

… and my time is this very moment. 

When things go wrong on the street 

I am arrested and beaten 

by the very ones who should protect me 

– the police. 

I am a nuisance to the public 

... to be ignored and warded off. 

I ‘enjoy’ being who I am 

but wouldn’t want anyone to become like me. 

Am I so bad 

… or am I not? 

Do you want to change me or make me better? 

- if so change your attitude to me. 

Robin a client of Kuya 

Center on the streets 

of Marikina. 

Robin's Testimonial 



Archive Corner 

Recent Acquisitions of the Province Archives 

1 Three newsletters produced in 1998 to cover news of events and 

other aspects of the centenary year of the Marist Brothers in the 

Hunter Valley. Supplied by Br Gerard Williams. 

2 “A Life Remembered”, booklet produced to commemorate the life 

and achievements of Br Marcellin Flynn. Supplied by the Provin- 

cial House. 

3 Original tapes and computer disk of the text of the interview of Br 

Montanus McPherson by Br Gerard Williams, as part of the oral history collection. 

4 Booklet of Jubilee Mass 2004, and text of the tribute to the Jubilarians. 

5 CD ROMs storing material gathered by Br Lawrence McCane in preparing his book 

“Melanesian Stories”, supplied by Br Lawrence McCane. 

6 Sets of photos taken by Br Vincent Shekleton during his time in the Phanet Nikhom 

Refugee Camp. 1987 – 9. Supplied by Br Vincent. 

7 Minutes of Extended General Council Meeting at Mittagong 12 – 15 May. Supplied by 

Provincial House. 

8 Province of Sydney Inventory: Communities and Ministries 2003, supplied by Provincial 

House. 

9 “Memories of Marist Brothers High School Kogarah” a booklet written by Tim McMullen 

and sent by him. 

10 Photos and other papers of Br Loman Russell sent by his nephew Brian Collins 

Our Archives Our Story 




Food Parcels for Britain 

I remember being intrigued during our centenary celebrations at SJC in January 1972 when one of 

our distinguished visitors from the UK thanked us profusely for all the food we had sent the Brothers 

in the immediate post war period. It seems to have been a major operation mainly financed by 

our Old Boys Associations. There are only fragmentary pieces of documentation about this work 

still in our archives, and we reproduce a couple of them below. 

Document One 

This appears to be a report sent by Br Paul Lang (“German Paul”) to a central committee of the 

Old Boys Association, giving some details of the work. For the times it would appear to have been 

a major financial commitment 

Lidcombe 

29.11.52 

Report on Parcels for Brothers in England and Scotland 

Since September 1951, to the end of the year, 106 food parcels have been sent to 

our 3 houses in England, and 8 houses in Scotland. These gift parcels contained tea, 

butter, lard, dripping, tinned pork, other tinned meats, jam, sugar and honey. 

Most of these reached their destination and have been gratefully acknowledged. I 

myself, received some 20 letters, and others were sent to Brother Leopold, Brothers 

here whose name I put on the parcels as senders, and also M McHugh* had some 

letters of acknowledgement. 

Since a tea permit is now required, in December I obtained one export permit or 33lbs 

(3 to each house), at a cost of £4/2/6. Now I have to hand a recent permit for 18lbs, 

3lbs to each of 6 houses. 

The freight for each parcel is 10/2, and this makes the parcels expensive, but compared 

with the pleasure they make, and the good they do, it is only a small matter. 

This year I have so far sent 18 parcels. But in the money box, there is nothing left, 

not even a penny. As a matter of fact the OBU owes me some money, but as time 

goes on, they will pay me. 

The OBU sent me in October, £70, from Kog OBU Communion Breakfast £8 and from 

St Patrick’s £5. Brother Leopold sent me from time to time smaller amounts and I sent 

the parcels in his name. The cost of one parcel comes roughly to 30/-, sometimes 

less, but when tea is enclosed, the 11lbs parcel comes to £2, 

Brother Nilus from Birmingham asks for tea, butter, lard, dripping, galantine, trim port, 

cheese, bacon and margarine, and sugar. 





Hoping that the OBU can help to send more of these gift parcels, and that they will 

bring joy and happiness to the Brothers. I am always prepared to send as many as 

possible, even 200 this year, so long as the funds will not break the bank. 

Brother Paul 

*Maybe an executive officer in the Old Boys Union 

Document 2 A letter from Birmingham 

Now I enclose a letter of one of the Brothers to show how they appreciate the parcels. 

Marist Brothers 

34 Edmund Road 

Birmingham 8 

9 th February 1952 

Dear Brother Paul 

It seems to me that in the race between my letters of thanks and your shower 

of gifts I am being left very far behind. No sooner do I write to thank you for 

one parcel than another one or two seem to arrive. I wrote to you last weekend 

and this week I received three parcels two under the signature of Brother Coman 

and one under yours. And what trouble you must have gone to, to get the 

Export Licence for the 3lbs of tea – but believe me, dear Brother, when I tell 

you that we needed that tea very much indeed. In this particular community 

tea, sugar, meat which can be heated (eg the beautiful tins of galantine and 

trim pork and braised steak which you have sent us) with butter and lard are 

the commodities which we find most useful. Jam and milk we can obtain much 

more easily now than 18 months ago but we fid it difficult t obtain tinned fruits 

for an occasional feast day. If you ever are in any doubt you can always be 

sure that tinned meats are the outstanding necessities. 

I hope you will forgive me, dear Brother Paul, for this piece of gratuitous advice 

but I believe you must require a pointer now and again to the changing food 

situation here in order to help you in your choice. 

The meat ration has been cut again and the weekly ration evaporates in one 

meal when before, with care, we often managed two meals. Tea, butter, sugar, 

cooking fats, cheese, bacon and margarine have remained at pretty much the 

same level since rationing began 12 years ago. Jam and biscuits are now off 

the ration system but sweets are rationed still but it is the children who feel 

this although none of them has ever known any other system of buying sweets 

than by producing their ration card. 





No words of mine can convey suffi ciently the gratitude that the Brothers here 

feel to the Brothers of Australia and their generous helpers and supporters for 

this gigantic work of Christian charity carried out so effi ciently, so generously 

and for such a long time. May God and his blessed mother protect and reward 

all of you. 

Yours very sincerely in JMJ, 

P l e a s e N o t e 

As we were then. . . 

Brother Nilus 

Because of our extensive coverage of the Jubilee Celebration in this issue we will not be 

publishing an Australian Marist History feature but shall resume the series in the Summer 

issue. Ed. 



Whatʼs Jack Reading? 

have just finished reading Between The Rock 

I and a Hard Place, Being Catholic Today, by 

Paul Collins, ABC Books, 2004. I enjoy and 

find hard to put down books by Collins. In 

the early1990ʼs I used No Set Agenda, by Paul 

Collins as a text for a unit in the Mastersʼ Course 

at Notre Dame University. The style of writing 

is clear, free-flowing and well documented. The 

bibliography is composed of 90 sources – most 

of these are great works. 

Paul was a Missionary of the Sacred Heart, 

known by many Brothers. He has since left the 

priesthood after 33 years, owing to a dispute with 

the Vaticanʼs Congregation of the Doctrine of the 

Faith over his book Papal Power. For many years 

Paul Collins has worked in different capacities in 

television and radio with the ABC. The author of 

eight books, he is well known as a commentator 

on the papacy and also has a strong interest in 

environmental and population issues. His book 

Godʼs Earth was made into a major television 

documentary by the ABC. 

The chapter contents are as follows: 

1. The Case For and Against Staying a 

Catholic 

2. Catholicism and Spirituality 

3. The Catholic Imagination 

4. Catholicism and Ecology 

5. Catholicism and Conscience 

6. Catholicism and Fundamentalism 

End Notes 

In his chapter on Catholicism and Ecology he 

quotes much from an old favourite of mine, 

Father Thomas Berry, two of Collins quotes on 

Berry follow (pages 134, 135): 

'The danger is that our theological view of God 

is incomplete if we do not take seriously the 

fact that it was God who made the world, and 

that therefore God is profoundly related to it. 

Berry argues that the result is that ʻif we lose the 

splendour of the natural world, we lose our true 

sense of the divineʼ. The only solution is to shift 

Christian faith out of its sin-redemption myopia 

into a whole new ecological context. 

Contemporary secularism and modern science 

have also failed in helping us interpret the 

significance and meaning of the natural world. 

Just at the moment when we have learned so 

much from contemporary knowledge, we have 

lost our ability to interpret the meaning of the 

world. 

The supreme irony is that just at this moment 

when such expansive horizons of past, present 

and future have opened up, mankind is suddenly 

precipitated into an inner anxiety and even into 

a foreboding about himself/herself and the 

meaning of it all. Unable to bear such awesome 

meaning, men reject themselves as part of the 

world around them, the past as well as the 

future. While primitive people … had a sense 

of confusion and alienation … Contemporary 

men have no spiritual vision adequate for these 

new magnitudes of existence … To create such 

a skill, to teach such a discipline, are the primary 

tasks of contemporary spirituality.' 

It is significant that he says that the key 

task is spiritual. Berryʼs understanding of 

spirituality far transcends the superficial, 

psychologised religiosity that characterises 

so much contemporary spiritual discourse. 

He begins with the world itself and says that 

everything must be judged in the light of our 

relationship with it. In this way he shifts 

the focus of modern spirituality outward and 

away from its anthropocentric, unhealthy and 

intense preoccupation with the human and the 

psychological. He says, ʻAll human institutions, 

professions, programs and activities must now 

be judged primarily by the extent to which they 




inhibit, ignore or foster a mutually enhancing 

human-earth relationship! He stresses that if we 

lost rapport with the world, we lost our sense of 

the divine. 

For it is the cosmos which stimulates and 

nourishes our imagination and any diminishing 

of our sense of the natural world stifles our 

imaginative faculty. Without imagination our 

whole inner world would be shrivelled up, and 

without an inner world we simply could not 

relate to the divine. 

Religion is poetry, or it is nothing! How can 

a person be religious without being poetic? 

Certainly God is a poet – it is God who made 

rainbows and butterflies and flowers. It is the 

most absurd thing in the world to think of dealing 

with religion in any other way than poetry and 

music … Take John of the Cross – all the great 

mystics have been poets. You cannot do it any 

other way. 

For those who like action! Blue Horizon, by 

Wilbur Smith, Macmillan, London, 2003. 

Wilbur Smith was born in Central Africa in 1933. 

He was educated at Michaelhouse and Rhodes 

University. He became a full-time writer in 

1964 after the successful publication of “When 

the Lion Feeds”, and has since written nearly 

thirty novels, all meticulously researched on his 

numerous expeditions worldwide. His books are 

now translated into twenty-six languages. 

At heart a story of love and hatred, vengeance 

and greed, Blue Horizon is an utterly compelling 

adventure from one of the worldʼs most 

celebrated novelists. 

All of you old football coaches would love 

Bleachers by John Grisham, Random House, 

Australia, 2003. A lovely story about the good 

influence of a coach and the many ways boys 

become men. The Brothers are great examples 

of this. 

High school All-American Neely Crenshaw was 

probably the best quarterback ever to play for 

the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years 

have gone by since those glory days, and Neely 

has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie 

Rake, the man who moulded the Spartans into 

an unbeatable football dynasty. 

As Coach Rakeʼs ʻboysʼ sit in the bleachers 

waiting for the dimming field lights to signal 

his passing they replay the old glories, and try to 

decide once and for all whether they love Eddie 

Rake – or hate him. For Neely Crenshaw, who 

struggles to come to terms with his explosive 

relationship with the Coach, his dreams of a great 

career in the NFL, and the choices he made as a 

young man, the stakes are especially high. 

This one is outstanding! Worse Than Watergate, 

The Secret Presidency of George W Bush, by 

John W Dean, a Time Warner Group Book, New 

York, 2004. I found this work quite compelling. 

Dean, himself, was a top administrator in 

President Nixonʼs time. 

Secrecy – the first refuge of incompetents – must 

be at bare minimum in a democratic society, 

for a fully informed public is the basis of selfgovernment. 

Those elected or appointed to 

positions of executive authority must recognise 

that government, in a democracy, cannot be 

wiser than the people. House Committee on 

Government Operations, 1960 Report 

In Worse than Watergate, Dean presents a 

stunning indictment of George W Bushʼs 

administration. He assembles overwhelming 

evidence of its obsessive secrecy and the dire and 

dangerous consequences resulting from a return 

to Nixonian governing. Worse than Watergate 

connects the dots, explaining the hidden agenda 

of a White House shrouded in secrecy and a 

presidency that seeks to remain unaccountable. 

Dean lays out a blistering case against President 

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, revealing, 

among other facts, even criminal offences: 




• How the Bush administration has shamelessly 

exploited the 9/11 tragedy, while secretly 

working to scuttle all efforts to discover why 

America was no unprepared. 

• How the Bushʼs deeply flawed secret decision 

making is costing American blood and wellbeing 

abroad and the loss of civil rights and 

liberties at home, while making Americans 

only more vulnerable to terrorism. 

• How Bush and Cheneyʼs blatant and 

unchecked use of Nixonian approach to 

any and all efforts of Congress and the 

news media to check their use and abuse of 

power. 

Worse than Watergate brilliantly reveals the 

serious dangers of a president who, like Nixon, 

is a gambler and believes he is above the law. 

John Dean presents an irrefutable case that the 

tactics of the Bush administration are, in intent 

and reach, the most potentially dangerous threat 

to American life in recent political history. 

Shocking and revelatory, Worse than Watergate 

is the book the Bush team doesnʼt want you to 

read. 

A great novelist of adventure stories is Jack 

Higgins. His new Sean Dillon thriller is Bad 

Company, Harper Collins, London, 2003. 

In the warning days of World War II, Hitler gave 

his diary to a young aide, Baron Max von Berger, 

for safekeeping. Over the years, von Berger 

has used his inheritance to become one of the 

richest and most powerful men in the world, 

developing a secret alliance with the Rashed 

family – long time foes of Major Ferguson of 

British Intelligence, his former – IRA enforcer 

Sean Dillon and their American colleague Blake 

Johnson. 

Now the time for the ultimate confrontation 

is drawing near. The diary and its explosive 

revelations of a secret wartime meeting between 

emissaries of Hilter and Roosevelt will destroy 

the US President Jake Cazalet …. unless Dillon 

can find it first. 

Higgins makes the pages fly. 

Finally, this time, is an intriguing Irish novel, 

Singing Bird, Old secrets, new friendships and 

a journey to the heart of Ireland, by Roisin 

McAuley, Headline Book Publishing, London, 

2004. 

Twenty-seven years after she adopted a baby 

girl in Ireland, Lena Molloy receives a call from 

the nun who set up the adoption. Sister Monica 

claims that she merely wants to tie up loose 

ends before she retires, but Lena is intrigued and 

worried by the call, and has her own loose ends 

to tie up. With her best friend, Alma, she travels 

to the west of Ireland on a secret mission to trace 

the birth parents of her daughter, now making her 

international debut as an opera singer. 

At first the trail seems to have gone cold. Saint 

Josephʼs Home for Unmarried Mothers has 

become an old peopleʼs home and Sister Monica 

in the flesh is dismissive and unforthcoming. 

Then a chance meeting sets Lena on a journey 

through Ireland and into the past, taking her 

through many twists and turns to an outcome 

which in her wildest dreams she could not have 

foreseen. 

This is Roisin McAuleyʼs first novel. Very well 

constructed. It had me guessing until the end. 

Happy reading dear friends. 



The Five Sorrowful Mysteries 

Francis Jammes 

Scourging 

By children beaten when a drunk comes home; 

By the donkey whose ribs are constantly kicked; 

By the shame the chastised innocent feels 

By the virgin exposed and sold for cash; 

By the son whose mother has been reviled, 

Hail Mary 

Crown of Thorns 

By the beggar who never had a crown 

But those yellow friends, a circle of wasps 

No sceptre but a stick to scare dogs; 

By the poet with forehead wreathed in blood; 

From thorns of impossible desire 

Hail Mary 

Recent visitors to Drummoyne 

(Translated from the French by Jeffrey Fiskin.) 

Copied from Marist News” the newsletter of the Province of New Zealand 

Agony 

Crucifixion 

By four horizons that crucify the world; 

By all whose flesh is torn or succumbs; 

By the sick man whimpering under the knife; 

By just men in the ranks of assassins, 

Hail Mary 

By the child dying at his mother’s side 

While other kids play on the pavement below; 

By the wounded bird who suddenly falls’ 

And doesn’t know why this wing turned to blood; 

By burning madness, hunger and thirst; 

Hail Mary 

Bearing the Cross 

By the old woman staggering under a load 

Crying “My God.” By the wretch whose arms 

Cannot rest on a human love 

As the Son’s did on Simon Cyrene; 

By the horse fallen under the cart he hauls, 

The Young Melanesian Monks trying out the council table for size - future Provincial Councillors. 

Left to Right Lino Vira, Stanley Bakere, Zebulun Suri, John Tukana, Simon Emil, Mark Poro, 

Simon Serereo 

Hail Mary 



Brianʼs Back Page 

A Solitary Life in Prison 

Francis Nguyen Van Thuan was 25 years old when he was ordained a Catholic priest in Saigon 

Cathedral in 1953. The young priest had a flair for languages and was sent to Rome where he 

gained a Doctorate. At the age of 40, he was appointed Bishop of Nhatrang and seven years later 

Pope Paul V1 named him Archbishop of Saigon. That was the year the Viet Cong forced the US 

military out of South Vietnam. 

Four months afterwards, he was arrested, bundled into a car and driven 450 Kms north to a jail in 

Nhatrang where he was earlier Bishop. He was to spend the next nine years in solitary confinement 

and a further four years in a “re-education” camp. In solitary confinement, the cell was windowless. 

“I would be plunged into total darkness for weeks”, he relates. “Then an electric light would be left 

burning for as long, to disorient my mind. I could not sleep. Because of the heat and humidity, I 

feared I would gradually suffocate to death. I would lie down near a small drain hole in the floor to 

let the water out trying to suck in fresh air. Because of the continual dampness, tiny mushroom-like 

plants grew from my sleeping mat on the floor. A loudspeaker kept blaring out Propaganda, and, 

yes, I came to fear I was going mad”. 

“Then, one night I heard a voice in the depths of my spirit saying: ʻIf God wants it like this, forget 

the work you have been doing for Godʼs people and entrust yourself into his hands with confidence!” 

A new peace flooded me and stayed with me over the next 13 years of imprisonment. “ Not long 

after that experience, I said to myself: ʻFrancis, you are rich because you have the love of Jesus in 

your heart. Love the prison guards as Jesus loves youʼ. 

“The next day, I began putting this into practice, smiling and saying friendly things to the guards. 

I began telling them of my time in America, Canada and Japan.” The surly guards were at first 

very suspicious and ignored him as someone not worth a momentʼs attention. But little by little, 

they began to change. They began to reply to him and ask him questions. Then one day a guard 

who had been in charge of checking out confiscated Catholic books written in Latin asked him to 

teach him Latin. He began helping the guard immediately. Then a second guard who had heard the 

prisoner singing in his cell asked Van Thuan would he teach him one of the foreign language songs 

he sometimes sang. Which one? “You sing, Iʼll choose!” ordered the guard. Can you guess what 

he chose? ʻThe Veni Sancte Spiritusʼ. “I can't tell you how moving it was some time later to hear 

the young Communist police officer singing the hymn that pleads for the Holy Spirit to come!” 

remarked the Archbishop. 

After 14 years in prison, the Vietnamese Government refused to allow him to stay in Vietnam after 

his release. He was banished and later Pope John Paul II made him a Cardinal and head of the 

Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice. He later wrote of his experiences in a book entitled: “Five 

Loaves and Two Fishes” that was published in 1997. 

(From “The Wayside Stream” by Paul Glynn, SM) 



m a r i s t s e a s n s 

s p r i n g 2 0 0 4 

a q u a r t e r l y r e v i e w o f t h e s y d n e y p r o v i n c e 

Marist Seasons is published by: 

Marist Publishing 

14 Drummoyne Ave 

Drummoyne NSW 2047 

Correspondence to: 

Br Brian Etherington 

Marist Brothers 

8 Alice Street 

Auburn NSW 2144 

Editor ............................................... Brian Etherington 

Production........................................... Terry Gilsenan 

Consultant........................................... William Selden 

Distribution......................................... Drummoyne 

Contents - Volume 3 No. 4 

From the Provincial Page 1 

Around Our Communities Page 2 

The Four Seasons Page 6 

Prayers Requested Page 15 

Feature Articles: 

Jubilarians 2004 Page 16 

Centenary Statue of Mary Immaculate - SJC Page 39 

Our Man in Manila Page 40 

Archive Corner Page 44 

What’s Jack Reading? Page 48 

The Five Sorrowful Mysteries Page 51 

Brian’s Back Page Page 52 

Electronic Edition: 

A colour version of Seasons is available in Acrobat Reader 

Format (PDF). 

If any Brother or Community would like a copy please 

contact Terry Gilsenan or it can be downloaded from the 

International web site, www.champagnat.org

Spring 2004 Seasons A4.indd

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