Hundreds of families from Sydney’s south-west made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, Penrose Park, for a retreat day centred on the importance of community life.
Held on the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, organisers ran several formation sessions and provided opportunities for the sacraments.
The day ended with the consecration and blessing of a new shrine and its statues of Somascan founder St Jerome Emiliani and Christ’s mother Mary under the title Mother of Orphans.
The Onus Meum Leve Family Spirituality retreat was organised by Somascan Movement Australia, a lay movement based in Chipping Norton, and led by visiting Somascan General Councillor Fr Chris de Sousa CRS with assistance from Fr David Romero CRS and Fr Paul Antony CRS, assistant priests of St Joseph’s Moorebank and St Christopher’s Holsworthy.
In his homily, Fr de Sousa spoke on the importance of a community built on Christ, as described by St Paul, and the example of Mary’s ‘fiat’ as representing her life-long faith, humility, courage and love.
“Mary shows us what Jesus is asking of us … that we are not called merely to say that we believe [but] are called to let our faith become visible in our choices, our relationships and our service,” he said.
A rosary procession followed the solemn Mass. Statues of St Jerome Emilaini and Mary, Mother of Orphans, made locally and based upon the original statues in Somasca in Italy, were ceremonially carried and placed within the new shrine.
Fr de Sousa blessed and entrusted the shrine to God.
“May it be a place of prayer and peace, of friendship and reconciliation, of faith and hope, where children and families may discover that they are loved, valued and never forgotten,” he prayed.
“May all who enter this place find encouragement in times of difficulty, strength in times of trial, and the joy that comes from knowing that they belong to a greater family: the family of God.
“Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Jerome Emiliani, grant that this community may become a living expression of the Gospel— welcoming the stranger, comforting the afflicted, protecting the vulnerable, and accompanying the young in the art of living with faith, courage and hope.
“May this shrine remind us always that Christ is present among us, especially in those who are most vulnerable, and that whatever we do for the least of his brothers and sisters, we do for him.”
In addition to the shrine are plans for a small memorial garden for children who have passed into eternal life.
