“FROM THE LITURGY OF LIFE TO THE LIFE OF THE LITURGY”

The reunion in 2001 of the Benedictine Sisters and the former students of St Joseph’s and St Mary’s was a time of remembering, of thankfulness, of celebration. These things took place in so many different ways during the days of the reunion, including the special liturgies prepared for the occasion. On the evening of Friday, 19th October about 50 people assembled in the New Norcia cemetery to pray Vespers gathered around the graves of the eight Benedictine Sisters buried there. It was a simple yet moving time of prayer filled with powerful symbols – the offering of incense, the sprinkling of the graves with holy water. The chanting of the psalms was enhanced by the sounds of the Australian bush. During the reading of the necrology the sisters placed bunches of fresh local wild flowers that they had picked themselves on the graves of their deceased sisters. We were at one and the same time praying the Office of the Dead, yet celebrating life! On the morning of Saturday, 20th October some 150 people gathered at the monastery gate to recall the arrival of the first Benedictine Sisters (represented by the sisters here for the reunion) in New Norcia.
After the Abbot greeted them, we processed into the church singing an ancient Latin hymn- the Te Deum (We praise you, O God) for a Mass of Thanksgiving. We listened to Sr Maria Teresa Gonzalez read the first reading in Spanish and Aboriginal sister, Sr Veronica Willaway read the second reading. After Dom Chris read the Gospel we listened to the story of the sisters and the children they served, composed and narrated by Dr Katharine Massam. Katharine emphasised five themes – ethnicity, religious community, manual work, school, handwork – each of which was brought to life in the bringing forth of ‘artefacts’ by sisters and students who used or even made them, enhancing the story with their visual impact. As we watched candles, icons, flowers, cooking pots, embroidery, trophies, baskets of fruit, a washing board and soap, and a parasol being placed around Sheila Humphries’ magnificent painting depicting the story in Aboriginal design we heard the story of “hard work, suffering, much courage, and of love”. Abbot Placid, wearing a chasuble made by the sisters and students so many years ago, delivered a homily in which he thanked God for bringing us all – nuns, monks, Aboriginal people – together under Christ here in New Norcia. He expressed regret for the hurt that has been experienced, and gratitude for the many good things that have happened in New Norcia. The gifts of bread and wine were brought up by May Taylor, who initiated the idea of the reunion and played a major role in making it happen, and Sr Anne Moynahan. During the mass we sang in English, Latin & Spanish, bells were rung, and special hand-painted candles were lit. Everything had significant meaning. There was not a dry eye to be seen as we concluded with a special blessing of the sisters surrounded by the ‘old girls’ and ‘old boys’. Dom Eric’s organ postlude, The Alleluia Chorus, resounded through a church full of joy. On behalf of the members of the reunion, the community would like to thank every one who contributed in so many different ways, both in preparation and participation, to this very moving and memorable liturgical celebration.