Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

Praise the Beloved! Sing a joy-filled song praising the Lord among the people.
Praise the Holy One with dancing, with melodies and voice!
The humble are adorned with honour; the faithful exult in glory,
singing for joy with thankful hearts! (Psalm 149 adapted from Psalms for Praying : Nan C. Merrill)

The Lord brought out his people with joy,
his chosen ones with shouts of rejoicing, alleluia. Ps 104:43

Well done, good and faithful servant; 
you have shown you have been faithful in small things,
I trust you with greater; come and join in your master’s happiness. 
(Mt 25:21)

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved!

Good afternoon to each of you – family and friends of our Jubilarians, Bishop Brady, our MSC brothers, our Sisters and, in a special way our Jubilarians.

Love is always patient and kind: it is never jealous:
love is never boastful or conceited;
it is never rude or selfish … Love delights in the truth:
it is always ready to excuse,
to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

Come to me, all you who labour and are over burdened and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Mt 11:28)

All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection
and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death.  
That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead. (Phil.3:10-11)
There are three things that last: faith, hope, and love;
and the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor.13:13)

Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit
for your hidden self to grow strong,
so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith,
and then, planted in love and built on love ... until, knowing the love of Christ,
which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God. (Eph 3,16-19)

It’s a rare thing to dedicate an entire life to a singular cause, but Sister Anne Gardiner has done exactly that – to the people of Bathurst Island.

Well before mainstream Australia acknowledged Sister Anne Gardiner as the 2017 Senior Australian of the Year, the Tiwi Aboriginal people of Bathurst Island had bestowed upon her the august title of “Puwanikimawu: a person who provides light to the people”.

Sister Anne’s good deeds among the Tiwi have been steady and unswerving for more than 63 years. The diminutive 86-year-old is typical of the group of remarkable women from the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart who have worked tirelessly at Bathurst island, 70km north of Darwin, for over a century.