Reflection: “If there is something that needs to be done, get in and do it”

As a young student at a Catholic Boarding School in Victoria, Australia, I remember thinking about what I should do with my life. I already had a feeling of being called, by God, when I was helping people in the neighbourhood who needed assistance with their shopping, lawn mowing or general help about their property.

I came from a good family which was dedicated to God and was committed to their Catholic faith. The rosary was recited, as a family, each evening, and anything that was happening in the local parish, we would attend. I was an altar boy and regularly attended Mass in the parish during the week.

Being a person who did not relish the thought of studying for a long period of time, and having already decided that the Priesthood was not for me, I decided that I would like to assist, where possible, the priests in their ministry, doing the small things that could be done by a non-ordained person, and hence becoming a Religious Brother in a Religious Society.

I can remember the day I decided that I would offer my life to God as a Brother, in a particular Religious Congregation. I wrote away to them to make enquiries about becoming a member. Back came the information, I had requested. As I was reading it, I noted that the rising time for morning Prayers, Meditation and Mass, was, as I thought at that time, far too early for me to make a good start for the day. I immediately, told myself that, that Order was not for me.

I contacted a family friend who had already joined the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart as a Brother. I asked him about the possibility of having information sent to me about the MSC’s. When the information arrived, I did not see, at what time, the community arose each morning, for Morning Prayers, Meditation and Mass, so decided within a week or so, that this was the order I would apply to for Admission as a Brother. I did not realize at the time the significance of what was happening. God had already started preparing me to work with him, as a brother in the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, by allowing me to make that decision, even though it was for shallow reasons, but at the time they were significant.

Moving forward, I made application to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart to enter their postulancy. Much to my disappointment my application was rejected, because I was too young. I accepted that decision and worked for a year. During that year, two Missionaries of the Sacred Heart came to our local parish to conduct a Parish Mission. Fr Tony O’Brien MSC had been asked by the MSC Vocations Director, to speak to me, about my vocation, during his time in the parish. We had a couple of conversations, and again, I made application and joined the 1968 Postulancy group.

My life was about to change forever, and I could feel the hand of God, in many of the happenings during my journey. Even though I knew somebody in the order, I had never considered asking to join the MSC’s, but God allowed me to decide not to join another order, by using such trivial facts, like getting up too early.

I have always felt I was called to be a Missionary of the Sacred Heart by the hand of God.

I enjoyed my Postulancy and Noviciate. We were a big group, 36 in total.

During our Noviciate, we were blessed to have a Novice Master, who himself, had been a former Missionary in Papua New Guinea, and was a wonderful example to all of us, showing us that he was a man of Prayer and Mission. At times in the Noviciate, things seemed too big for me to handle. A chat with the Novice Master would put my mind at peace, and soon I found I could go ahead, and my problem/s became less as time went by. I discovered early on the road of Religious Life how important Prayer was for setting a Mission for my future.

My first Profession was August 2nd1969.

When my time in the Noviciate was completed, (December 30,1969) I stayed in Douglas Park Community and worked on the dairy farm, milking the cows, and attending to our younger cattle. I later worked in the kitchen, cooking for the community. I enjoyed these two years now that I knew how to pray and I had a knowledge of my mission.

My mission had become clearer to me now, and I set about trying to achieve it – to be helpful to anyone who needed something done for them, to always be respectful of persons asking for assistance, not turning a blind eye/deaf ear when asked to help. Living in Community is very important to the success of Religious Life- always look ahead and offer to be helpful, offer help, before being asked, being respectful to other members of the Congregation, respect always anyone who has been placed in your care. In general, doing what you think God would expect of you.

After four years at Douglas Park, (1968-1971) I was appointed into our Education Apostolate and posted to Daramalan College in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. I stayed there for two years, where I lived in a large community of 25 Priests and Brothers. I became the Bursar of the College, a large Boys College, of 1200 students. I was responsible for the finances, the maintenance of and general running of the business side of the College, the non-teaching staff members and fee collection. Living in a large Community and working in a large workplace allowed me to continue living my Mission.

I was moved to Chevalier College in Bowral, New South Wales, Australia, and stayed there for twelve years. (1973- 1985) I was the Bursar of that College and the Community. During my time there, I was able to oversee the construction of several new buildings, including a free-standing Chapel, which is a wonderful architectural construction, and a fitting place for worship, by the current and past students and parents of the College.

A new road system was constructed within the College grounds. As I was able to drive the College bus, I organized and accompanied students, and sometimes parents, on tours throughout Central Australia, Tasmania, Darwin and New Zealand. Each of these trips covered many thousands of miles and usually took over two weeks, or longer, to complete.

I spent time with the Parents and Friends of Chevalier College, as I believed that if we expected the parents to be involved in the College, we needed to let the parents see us supporting them. I attended many gatherings where parents were in attendance and was well known in the local town. This was important to me to be able to do this as I believed it important that as a Religious Congregation, we were not only available for educating children but also interested in the parents who were associated with the College.

My time at Chevalier College was a very happy time for me. I was disappointed to leave. I felt my vocation become stronger, because I was happy and felt supported in my work.

In 1986, I went back to Daramalan College in Canberra, for another four years, (1986-1989) where I once again became the Bursar of the College. My duties were similar again to my previous time spent there. The College was slightly smaller in number, but it was a co-educational College now.

I was placed in charge of the Post Noviciate Brothers for twelve months. There were three trainee Brothers in the Community, who worked in the College by day, and studied in the evenings. I was not sure if I was a good formator, but I did my best, with a little help from the Formation Committee.

In 1990, I became the Provincial Bursar of the Australian Province. (1990-1997) and a member of the Provincial Council. This work was very challenging but rewarding. It gave me a chance to put my Mission ideas into practice, and I was able to work towards the needs of the Province and its Mission.

There were challenging times for me – trying to work through ways to enable the Province to generate extra income from our investments and properties. I was fortunate to have had a good team to work with – growth in our Colleges was noticeable at that time, which put extra burdens on our finances, as new buildings were required to accommodate the increasing numbers of students, expansion of the Indian Mission was encouraged and needed to happen. At the end of 1997, I completed my time as Provincial Bursar.

In 1998, I was granted a sabbatical. I went to Dublin, for a 12-week, Pastoral Ministry Course, at the Redemptorists house called, “Marianella”. All the courses were excellent, but I particularly enjoyed the Self Awareness and Support Sessions, and Prayer and Spirituality lectures. I was able to, for the first time in many years, stop reflect and adjust my ideas on my Mission. I was away from Australia for 9 months and while in England, I met up with my parents, who came over so we could tour together. We toured Europe and Scotland for 42 days. I enjoyed the time spent with my parents, and the opportunity to spend time with them, once again. My dad died a couple of years after the trip.

Another place of interest I visited was the Holy Land, where I spent some weeks visiting places, I had heard about or read about while reading the Scriptures. Jerusalem was a place I always wanted to visit and was so appreciative when I got the opportunity. My time there changed many of my impressions about how and where Jesus came from. I found this time another chance to look at my life and adjust thoughts and ideas I had formed.

In the early months of 1999, I went to Fiji, for 5 months, to assist with the finance work for the Pacific Union, as it was known then. This was my first opportunity to live in a missionary area. The humid weather was a big challenge to me, the work was great, the local people were wonderful.

For 6 months beginning July 1999, I began a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Unit, at Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania, Australia. While finding this a real challenging time for me, I entered the course with the following in mind: to stretch myself beyond my shyness, improve my listening and responding skills, to spend time discerning direction in ministry and to spend more time engaged with God in prayer. In my opinion I achieved all of these Even though, one of the results of my discerning during the CPE unit, was that I should move out of working in the finance area, and move into Pastoral Work in schools. However this never eventuated. I accepted this and continued working in the finance area. While attending the CPE at the Hospital, I also sought a placement at an aged care facility in a neighbouring Parish to where I was living in an MSC Community. I am happy to say, that the time during the CPE unit of study was the most challenging in my life after the Noviciate. I could also say the CPE unit changed my life more than anything else I can remember. It was a time when I realized that being available and listening was very rewarding.

In the year 2000, I went back to Fiji, to work as the Bursar of the Pacific Union. Again, I found the humid weather difficult. Funding our work in the Pacific Union was a challenge, and it needed many hours of work, with the Local Superior, to find a means to keep our rather large numbers of MSC seminary students and a delightful number of Pre Novices, in food and study. I spent considerable time with the students and enjoyed my time in the Pacific.

Beginning the year of 2001, I was appointed to a Catholic Institution in Canberra, where I oversaw the finances of a Child Welfare centre. This work was interesting, but I could not settle, as I really wanted to be working in an MSC apostolate. I left that position after 18 months. I lived in the Daramalan College Community during this time.

Beginning July 2002, I returned to Daramalan College in Canberra, to work in the College.

I was working as a Chaplain in the College, and after only four months I was requested to help the College out, and become the Business Manager, as it was then called. Seventeen years later I completed what was supposed to be only a few weeks in that position. Working at Daramalan was very rewarding for me, and it allowed me to continue to live my mission. During these seventeen years, I lived in the MSC Community at the College and was the College’s Building Supervisor for many building projects. Some of these buildings were award winning buildings, for their architectural features and some for the brickwork included in the design. I was at Daramalan College for 23 years in total, during three appointments. It was a time of great growth for me, and extended me in my personal life, spiritual life and my abilities I was a member of the College’s Executive, the College Board, member of several board sub committees, and the parents and friends’ association.

In 2009 I was granted a few months leave from work, to visit Issoudun, to spend time with other MSC and OLSH sisters from around the world, for a seminar on the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. This was a special time in my life, and a time I expanded my knowledge and devotion to our beloved Mother of God. While on leave I also attended a Mini Sabbatical, at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania. The workshop was an annual event, that integrated the spiritual, medical, psychological, pastoral, and practical issues concerning Elders. The time spent in Dallas, allowed me to extend my interest in people, as they aged, and for the elderly.

In 2018, I was appointed Superior of the Community at Douglas Park. Douglas Park is one hour south of Sydney and, at that time, it was our Noviciate, and we also had a Retreat House in operation. There were also several hundred hectares of land, and a Community of about fifteen MSC’s. I was at Douglas Park for two years, as Superior and was then appointed to Kensington Community.

For the past six year, I have been in the Kensington Community, in Sydney, and worked in a variety of positions, mostly with Properties, in various states in Australia.

My life as a Religious MSC Brother, has been very rewarding for me. I have followed one of my early ideas, “If there is something that needs to be done, get in and do it”. I am most grateful for the many experiences and opportunities (for growth) that I have had in following my vocation as an MSC.

Barry Smith MSC. Australian Province