Our
pilgrimage in the spirit of Fr Dunlea. - Saturday
21st May. Sutherland to Engadine. (Two reports from pilgrims)
When we
go on a journey it empties our pockets and fills our minds with memories. When
we go on a pilgrimage it empties our pockets, fills our minds and changes our
hearts”
(Cartoon by Michael Leunig)
The walk
can be seen at a number of levels. An
historical adventure, a gathering of friends, or even a pilgrimage. ..or all
three.
The
experience encompassed all three. The social gathering could have taken many
other forms, the history could have been revisited in several ways but the
pilgrimage was unique to our journey, the reflections and the people who shared
it.
We
gathered at the site of Fr Dunlea’s house on the corner of Glencoe and Flora
Sts in Sutherland. We were able to paint a detailed picture of the historical
significance of the sites along the way to allow us to enter into the “spirit”
of Fr Dunlea’s legacy – a
pioneering and inspiring story that was
to become the beginnings of our vibrant St John Bosco Parish.
We
reflected on Fr Dunlea’s blend of compassion and pragmatism and how he found a
source of inspiration in the motto” I sought my God, my God eluded me; I sought
my soul, my soul I could not see; I sought my brother and I found all three”.
Fr Dunlea’s journey with the boys spoke of him putting his faith into action in
the face of need. He showed compassion to his brothers and sisters,
particularly the abandoned. His pioneering spirit was undeterred by the
scepticism of others. Do I “buckle”
under the weight of criticism or disapproval at the expense of showing
compassion to my fellow human beings?
We
reflected on the paradox of human traits within Fr Dunlea, “saint and sinner”.
We noticed the paradox of the area we were walking through: the stillness of
the bush and the fast pace of the highway existing simultaneously as we trod
the corridor that bordered them both.
As a form
of prayer, the pilgrimage is an incarnational prayer, a prayer of the body. Fr
Tom’s prayer was a prayer of walking with the boys to a new home. How do I pray
with my feet? How do I pray with my hands? Do I reach out in practical and
tangible ways to those outside my “comfort zone”?
We
reflected on the old and the new. What value do we place on things because they
are old or because they are new? Are we able to see and feel the grace or
energy of shrines and holy places? How is the grace of Fr Tom felt and seen in
our parish today? Can we revisit old traditions, old values and see them with
new eyes? What do we take for granted? What would we like to preserve and to
pass onto future generations? When do we need to step out into the deep and embrace
a future that is unfamiliar and uncertain?
We
reflected as we came close to our destination, our coming home, with new eyes
and renewed hearts. We saw reflections of nature in a still pond. We were
greeted by some ducks (did they know Fr Mick had placed a
Leunig cartoon on the front of our pilgrimage reflections?).
We
entered the pilgrimage with hopeful hearts and finished it full of joy at our
experience. We shared time and place and purpose. We finished our pilgrimage in
our St John Bosco Shrine with a prayer in our Mary Mazzarello Chapel. We shared
food and drink before we parted to continue our own reflections on the meaning
of our pilgrimage.
We took
one step and then another. “All we do our whole lives is go from one little
piece of holy ground to another” (J.D. Salinger). We covered our little piece
of local holy ground, and may it transform our hearts as we journey on.
“On each
trip may I take with me, as part of my travelling equipment, a heart wrapped in
wonder, with which to rejoice and embrace all”
Thanks to
all who inspired, supported and participated in this pilgrimage.
Report No. 2
What a wonderful day it was! It's not often that one is awarded time solely to concentrate, contemplate and indeed meditate on the religious
significance of the man Fr Tom Dunlea - idealist and hero (as one of the Reflections mentions), and his particular actions of those months July to
October 1940 which precipitated what is today the wonderful and caring parish of St John Bosco Engadine, born, nurtured and grown out of what is
today acknowledged as his crowning glory - Boys' Town at Engadine. And what wonderful foresight (no doubt through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit)
there was in Cardinal Gilroy's decision to ask the Salesians of Don Bosco to continue Dunlea's work of both BT and of the parish (in fact there was a
clear clause in the charter itself which Gilroy had drawn up specifically dealing with and requiring the furtherance of the parish by the Salesians).
Look at how BT and the Parish have both grown under the wonderful core values of Dunlea and Bosco (I've always said that these two men's values go
hand in hand - they fit like a glove)! Fr Dunlea commented in June 1947 that BT was ". the Town of charity, unity and kindness .". I reckon the same can
be said for what our St John Bosco parish has become - indeed " .. a Parish of charity, unity and kindness" - three most cherished core values of Fr Tom
Dunlea.
Many, many thanks to all at the PPC on this truly wonderful little pilgrimage in remembrance of this particular snippet in the life of Fr Tom
Dunlea on the verge of establishing a permanent place for BT and the founding of the Parish at Engadine.
Warm Regards,
Ron Delaney
Pilgrimage Reflection sheet that was given to the participants.
* Reflection Starter
The walk can be seen at a
number of levels. An historical adventure, a gathering of friends, or a
pilgrimage! Or all three! Most of
our reflections will be about it being a pilgrimage, which takes nothing away
from the other levels of the walk.
“When we go on a journey it
empties our pockets and fills our minds with memories. When we go on a pilgrimage it empties our
pockets, fills our minds and changes our hearts.”
Reflect about the different levels for gathering today.
Share some of them as we walk along.
(M. Leunig Cartoon)
* At the bike track just before reaching Princes Hwy.
We walk this journey with Fr Thomas Dunlea (1894-1970)
who founded Boys' Town at Engadine, in 1939.
Fr Tom Dunlea-entrepreneur, philanthropist, priest. Fr Tom Dunlea who
despite his eccentricities and his own at times turbulent battles with inner
demons, was able to charm almost all who made his acquaintance irrespective
of class, culture or creed. Fr Tom was blessed with a wonderful
sense of idealism and heroism. He
blended compassion with pragmatism and found a source of inspiration in the
motto "I sought my God, my God eluded me; I sought my soul, my soul I
could not see; I sought my brother and I found all three." It appears that
Fr Tom was always in search of his brother and sister, or they of
him. Dunlea's love of animals and of
people, particularly the abandoned, were legendary. Dunlea was a pioneer, whose
vision, optimism and zealous drive remained undettered by the skepticism of
others, which in fact often fuelled his ambitious dreams. Paradoxically
however, this external exuberance and confidence often belied inner fears and
torments.
Notice the paradoxical traits within Fr Tom Dunlea – such a mixture. Notice the paradoxical traits of nature as we
walk along .. name some of them .. city and bush, living and dying … they are
images of Fr Tom - sinner and saint …
and images of our lives. -Reflect
on the person of Fr Tom – and ourselves in the light of him.
* Reflection Boys Town Camp
Site. (Loftus Oval)
As a form of prayer, a pilgrimage
is an incarnational prayer, a prayer of the body. A pilgrim is a person who
prays with their feet. Christ Himself was often a pilgrim,
traveling from His native Galilee to the Temple in Jerusalem for the ancient
festivals. Even as a youth He took part in this religious expression. The
Gospel story of the child Jesus being found in the Temple records one of these
early pilgrimage experiences (Lk 2:41-52).
Fr Tom’s prayer of walking with the kids towards a new home? What aspects of our lives as a prayer does
that make us more aware of?
* Reflection at the Old and New Hwy
“While pilgrimages
may lead to a variety of places and objects, each points to the same mystery:
the Holy! The shrines that are the final end of the journey seem to
radiate a special type of energy which we have in the past called grace. Part
of the reason for taking a pilgrimage is to take in some of this energy or
grace, for centuries of history seem to verify that those who visit holy places
come away radiating the energy-grace of those shrines.”
Can we feel some of the grace of Fr Tom on his journey so many years ago?
* Reflection Three ways which way?
Toward what holy place shall we
set our feet? As we begin to look closer, we can see that it is not necessary
to cross oceans or journey through deserts, for there are shrines of the Holy
close at hand. One of the more beautiful aspects of the pilgrimage is that the
"new" is not always the best and that the "old" is not
always useless and unexciting.
We are on our pilgrimage to the place of our birth as a community!!
* Reflection Water and Bush
What is important is not so much
the where, as the how of our pilgrimage. Whether we journey to Mecca or around
the block, we should journey in the spirit of the ancient pilgrim.
The purpose of all trips, as G.K. Chesterton used to say, is to
come home. So, the purpose of the pilgrimage is to come home - but to come home
with new eyes and a new heart. If we return home the same as when we left, then
the pilgrimage has not been successful and perhaps has just been an historical
or social thing, which is nice – but not a pilgrimage.
Imagine seeing with new eyes, of living with a new heart.
* Final Reflection at the
Church.
We are indeed pilgrims by birth;
as J.D. Salinger has said: "All we do our whole lives is go from one
little piece of holy ground to another. "
A Blessing Prayer for our continued life Journey.
Blessed are You, Lord, my God, for You have created a wide
and wonderful world in which I may travel.
Be my ever-near companion, 0 Holy Guide of Travelers, each time that I journey,
and spread the road before me with beauty and adventure.
May all the
highways ahead of me be free of harm and evil. May I be accompanied
by Your holy spirits, Your angelic messengers, as were the holy ones of days
past. On each trip may I take with me, as part of my
traveling equipment, a heart wrapped in wonder, with which to rejoice and
embrace all.
Along with the clothing of wonder, may I have room in my luggage for a mystic
map by which I can find the invisible meaning of the events of this journey,
of possible disappointments and delays, of possible breakdowns and rainy day
troubles.
Always awake to Your sacred presence, to Your divine compassionate love, may I
see in all that happens to me, in the beautiful and the bad, the mystery of
Your holy plan. May the blessing of
God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be upon us all where ever we journeys and
lead us home again in safety and peace.
Amen+
What has been the gift of the pilgrimage for you?
- Many of the reflection on pilgrimage come from Edward Hayes –"Pray
Always". 
