Mary MacKillop 3

Monday 28th March 2022.

Mass:  Our Lady Star of the Sea, Apollo Bay.

                                                                  Apollo Bay to Portland.

Our day began with Mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea church at Apollo Bay.

Star of the Sea window.

Cape Otway Lighthouse.

Our driver Michael took us on a detour to see the Cape Otway Lighthouse, the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia and considered the most significant.  For many thousands of 19th century migrants, who spent months travelling to Australia by ship, Cape Otway was their first sight of land after leaving Europe, Asia and North America.  

There were over 600 shipwrecks along this rocky coast, and hundreds of lives were lost, which led to the building of this lighthouse, known as the "Beacon of Hope".  The lighthouse operated from 1848 until 1994, when it was replaced with a solar powered beacon.

Kate enjoyed one of the famous scones at this stop. (So did we.)

The Twelve Apostles.

One of those moments.  I walked around a corner, and suddenly, there they were.

I was instantly reminded of the other two occasions in my life when I saw for the first time with my own eyes something I knew intimately from reading and seeing pictures.  The first was Buckingham Palace, and the second was the Treasury building at Petra when you turn the last corner after walking through the Siq.

Michael encouraged us to name these apostles.  Perhaps the smaller one in the front, like the profile of an Australian Aborigine, was the fisherman Peter, looking out to sea.  We were lucky to see them on such a blue-sky day.

The biggest one.

The shoreline.

Penguins?

We were told that the two little white dots below the pointed green vegetation on this cliff were penguins.

The Apostles and us.

Carving the shoreline.

Loch Ard Gorge precinct.

The Razorback.

The sharp edges and bumps along its back are caused by wind-blown spray, the horizontal grooves above sea level are caused by wave energy, and the vertical cracks are lines of weakness where a large chunk of rock may one day break off and crash into the sea.

Port Campbell.

We had a very late lunch in this pretty little town.

Some thoughts to ponder from Michael's Day 3 handout:

"Loke all other forms of life, our spiritual path evolves, interacting creatively with other people, our environment and historical events."  (Albert Nolan:  "Jesus Today".)

"I choose to direct my daily attentiveness toward what will give my life greater balance .....

Attune me daily to the beauty of all creation."  (From Joyce Rupp: "A New Beginning".) 

"Life itself is a pilgrimage and the human being is a 'viator', a pilgrim travelling along the road, making his way to the desired destination."  (Pope Francis:  Misericordiae Vultus # 14.)

"All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents."  (Laudete si #14).

"Find happiness in making others happy."  (Mary MacKillop).