After
dedicating more than 25 years of his life to her cause, Australian Jesuit
Father Paul Gardiner says Mary MacKillop's canonisation later this year is a celebration of
God in our country, as well as blessing the life of MacKillop.
‘It's
proof to all people that God can do it here', he says. ‘The achievement of Mary
MacKillop in her life was great and wonderful. But the great achievement is
God's achievement in a human soul like Mary's.'
Fr
Gardiner was appointed as the postulator for MacKillop's cause in 1983. He
spent six years researching and digesting the documents prepared about her
life, before putting together the case for her canonisation. The case was later
published as a book, Mary MacKillop: An
extraordinary Australian.
He
says that while MacKillop did a great deal in setting up schools and working
for those in need, what impressed him most in getting to know her story was her
deep spiritual life and union with God.
‘She
considered herself a contemplative', he says.
The
other thing that stood out about MacKillop was her ability to withstand the
negative events in her life. When she stood up to the bishops, Fr Gardiner says
MacKillop wasn't - as some might suggest - a rebel against authority, or even a
feminist. Her actions were those of someone with a deep respect for the
authority of the Church, and were made according to the law and the vows she
had taken.
‘There
is no one in Australia's history you could point to, I think, who had more
respect for law and authority than Mary MacKillop', says Fr Gardiner. ‘To try
to twist her into some sort of ideology is an abuse.'
Even
when submitting to the excommunication, MacKillop acted with respect for the
authorities.
‘She
was never excommunicated, it was all invalid, but she acted out of respect to
the bishop as though she were. She said, "God will bring good out of evil"',
says Fr Gardiner.
‘The
way she handled that, going through it, is a convincing argument to look a bit
further at what was driving this woman. How did she do this, was it a natural
bent to her soul, or was there something else there? And the something else of
course was her close union with God.'
Retiring
as postulator in 2008, Fr Gardiner is currently based at the Mary MacKillop
Centre in Penola, South Australia. He says he hopes to be in Rome for the
canonisation on 17 October, to see the thousands gathered in the square outside
St Peter's Basilica as the banner of MacKillop is unfurled.
‘What
I'm looking forward to is the emotional reaction to seeing it all, remembering
Mary MacKillop as the young Australian girl who was visiting Rome on her own,
trying to get some sort of approval from the Holy See for her order and
frequently visiting St Peter's.
‘Socially
speaking, she was a nobody. Yet here she will be, being proclaimed by the
world.'
By Michael McVeigh