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Order of Malta Australia

News

“SERVICE” IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURE – An Hour of Reflection with a Chaplain

02/09/2024 


Reported by Noel Mifsud, Hospitaller, Central Southern Region, Australia

 

LINK TO THE RECORDING:  Reflection with Bishop Eugene Hurley – 31 Aug 2024 – Service in the Holy Scripture

In our series of online reflection by chaplains of the Order of Malta, Bishop Eugene Hurley, Emeritus Bishop of Darwin and Order of Malta Conventual Chaplain ad honorem generously shared a reflection on “Service” in the Holy Scriptures with members of the Order on 31 August 2024.

His reflection asked us to consider those whom we serve, and how we do so – begrudgingly, judgementally, as a matter of duty or lovingly? What do we know of them?

Bishop Hurley shared stories from his 60 years of priesthood where the poor, the lonely, and the stranger touched his life.

  • God’s profound love and mercy revealed to him in the wisdom of a Catholic Aboriginal woman in the remote NT community of Wadeye, Port Keats.
  • God’s tenderness revealed in an encounter as a newly ordained priest with a seemingly unreachable brother priest
  • He recalled when parishioners embraced the stranger, belying a profound tenderness for the other.
  • Finally, he recalled a lesson he heard directly from Mother Teresa who said to a poor sick Hindu man when he quizzed why she was cleaning the mud off him that she loved him because God lives in him.

For I was hungry, and you gave me no food, I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ Matthew 25: 43-45

Psalm 95 reminds us that “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart”. Bishop Hurley reminded us that as Member of the Order we are called to open our hearts in service to the sick and the poor, “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum”.

We wish Bishop Hurley every blessing as he departs for Timor Leste to accompany the Holy Father Pope Francis on his visit.

 

The Australian Association

The Australian Association, formed in 1974, currently has in excess of 300 members and aspirant members across every State and Territory of Australia. We also have ongoing and strong links with the Order’s National Associations throughout the Asia Pacific Region including in Singapore and the Philippines and with members of the Order in New Zealand, Hong Kong SAR, Thailand and Korea. The Order of Malta is committed to serving Our Lords the Poor and Sick worldwide and has done so for over 900 years. This website shares with you the history, mission and current activities of the Order of Malta in Australia, and provides links to the work of the Order world-wide.