Today we celebrate the Feast of St Mary of Cross (Mackillop), the first Australian saint to be canonised.
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Amongst other things like serving our Lord by educating and catechising impoverished children in rural Australia, St Mary founded a religious order the Brown Josephites. Here are some contemporary members of her order without habits of course, but they do have those snazzy blue scarves, we all remember from St Mary's canonisation:
The poor old Josephites like many other orders which embraced the "Spirit of the Age" while simultaneously ditching their habits, discipline, poverty and commitment have as the photo suggests, been having a little trouble over the past couple of decades in attracting new vocations. It seems that the "New Springtime" has become more of a "New Autumntime". Perhaps they could look to the past and take some of the wisdom of their founder as inspiration for the future regeneration:
"Do not be in a hurry to do away with old things, lest in doing so you leave room for the devil to enter in and interfere with God's work."
