Courage Starts Here!

Preparation

This liturgy celebrates the Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop and aligns with Matthew 6: 25 – 34, focusing on trusting God and caring for others. There is more material provided than may be needed, so you are encouraged to select and adapt what best suits your community and timing. The aim is a clear, engaging and meaningful liturgy that connects Mary MacKillop’s story with everyday life for young people.

WE GATHER

Welcome & Introduction

Good morning everyone and welcome. Today we gather as a community to mark the Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australia’s first saint, but more importantly for us today, a young woman who chose to live differently in a world that did not always make that easy.

Mary MacKillop was not interested in status or image. She was interested in people. Especially those who were overlooked. Especially those who had nothing to offer in return. She built her life around the belief that education, dignity and hope should never depend on background or circumstance.

We live in a world that constantly tells us to worry. About results. About our reputation. About the future. About whether we are enough. In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks directly into that pressure and says do not let worry take over your life. Trust that God knows you, sees you and holds your life with care.

Mary MacKillop did not live a stress-free life. Far from it. She faced conflict, criticism, instability and uncertainty. Yet she kept moving forward, not because everything made sense, but because she believed in something bigger than fear.

Today is not just about remembering her. It is about asking what her life challenges in ours. Where are we being called to trust more deeply. Where are we being called to step outside comfort. Where are we being asked to notice someone else’s struggle and actually respond to it. As we begin, we open ourselves to that challenge.

Gathering Song

Firm in the Faith (John Burland) (All Are Welcome Here, John Burland Music)

WE LISTEN

Scripture

adaptation from Matthew 6: 25 – 34

Scripture Video

Don’t Worry (Matthew 6: 25 – 34) (Scripture In Motion)

Reflection

Worry is something most of us know well. It is not always loud. Sometimes it is quiet. It sits in the background of your thoughts. School pressure. Social pressure. Expectations from others. Pressure you put on yourself.

And in a world where everyone seems to be performing a version of their life, it can feel like you are constantly not quite enough.

Jesus speaks into that directly. Not with denial of real life pressure, but with a challenge not to let it define you. He points to birds and flowers as a way of saying there is a bigger story happening than the one your anxiety is trying to tell you.

Mary MacKillop lived in a very different time, but she knew pressure too. She dealt with instability, misunderstanding, and moments where her future would have felt uncertain. She was not protected from struggle. What stands out is that she did not let struggle decide her direction.

Her life becomes a challenge for us. Not to pretend everything is fine, but to ask what we do with what we are carrying. Do we shut down. Do we isolate. Do we become so focused on our own stress that we stop seeing anyone else. Or do we, like Mary, keep choosing to act. To notice. To respond. To stay connected to something bigger than ourselves.

Maybe trust is not about having no worries. Maybe trust is about refusing to let worry be the loudest voice in your life.

50 Facts about Mary MacKillop (Palavra Viva Catholic Community)

Action Moment

Take a moment. No noise. No performance. Just honesty. (pause) Think of one thing that has been sitting in your mind lately.

Something that feels heavy, uncertain or stressful. (pause)

Now, instead of holding it alone, imagine placing it into God’s hands.

Not because it disappears, but because you do not have to carry it in isolation. (pause)

Now think of one situation where someone else might be struggling. (pause) Noticing is not enough. (pause) What is one small action you could take this week that actually helps someone else feel seen or less alone.

(Pause) Mary MacKillop said, “Never see a need without doing something about it.” (pause) Noticing without action is incomplete. (pause)

Now decide what your version of that looks like in your world right now.

WE GO

Sending Forth Song

Go Make a Difference (Steve Angrisano & Tom Tomaszek) (Spirit & Song, Oregon Catholic Press)