Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home Features

Guardians of the faith

byGuest Contributor
7 September 2021
Reading Time: 4 mins read
AA
Eternal guardians: Peter and June McLeish.

Eternal guardians: Peter and June McLeish.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

FOR June McLeish, of Burleigh Heads parish, it was a small advertisement in the New Idea magazine on classes for Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) that triggered a deep and meaningful faith journey.

June was not baptised as Catholic, so it was more curiousity than anything else that prompted her to attend the RCIA classes.

“I think I was looking for something bigger than myself, but I didn’t know what that was,” she said.

She recalled vividly her first encounter with a Catholic priest, and their first moment of prayer together.

“It was like a bucket of Holy Spirit had just fallen on me,” she said. “I couldn’t explain it then but I knew that the search was over; I was home.”

From this powerful first encounter, grew June’s steadfast connection to priests and their ministries over many successive years.

“I would like to personally acknowledge Fr Kevin Smith (Bulimba parish) and the late Fr Martin Doyle (Camp Hill parish) who have been such a great influence in my life,” she said. “I would also like to generally acknowledge priests as the hardest working members of our Church.

Clergy support: June McLeish, a strong supporter of priests in Brisbane archdiocese, with Fr Kevin Smith.
Clergy support: June McLeish, a strong supporter of priests in Brisbane archdiocese, with Fr Kevin Smith.

“They spend their lives in service of others and despite the highs and lows that we go through, they are always there to listen and walk with us.”

When asked what made June decide to become an Eternal Guardian by remembering the Church in her Will, she explained that it was very important to her to ensure that her lifetime of blessings was reflected in her Will.

“I have left a gift to the Priests Foundation because faith needs to shape the future for the next generation,” she said.

Related Stories

No Content Available

“This is my way of not taking the dedication of priests, which I have personally experienced, for granted.

“It is my way of extending a helping hand to them when they need it, during their retired years.”

June has also remembered the Mary MacKillop Bursary Fund in her Will and she spoke about the significance of young people in the future having the chance for faith to mould their developmental years.

“I did not have a Catholic school education, and I feel like I missed out on faith when growing up,” she said. “The gift in my Will to enable Catholic education bursaries for children in extreme hardship, is a good opportunity for me to help others to have the chance that I did not have for faith to be sown during school years.”

In yet another gesture of great generosity, June has also remembered Centacare in her Will and is keen for her gift to be used to develop pet therapy services in the future, for children who are in vulnerable circumstances.

June’s pet dog Pinky is her constant companion and one of her greatest joys.

“We all need a source of great joy in our lives and therefore I think pet therapy is essential in community service, and I’m sure will be even more beneficial in the future, with the ever-increasing focus on the mental health of young people,” she said.

Friendly companion: . June’s pet dog Pinky is her constant companion and one of her greatest joys.
Friendly companion: . June’s pet dog Pinky is her constant companion and one of her greatest joys.

If Wills are meant to be a reflection of our values, then for June this certainly rings true, as every aspect of her Will is inspired by a personal story of faith.

“I cannot imagine coping with the struggles and challenges of life without God’s blessings,” she said.

“If I were to leave a legacy, it was only ever a legacy of deep and abiding gratitude, for the faith that has sustained me.”

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Student flash mob 2200-strong marched and sang to church steps to open Eucharistic Congress

Next Post

Paulina loves how everyone unites under the fresh-look Centacare brand

Guest Contributor

Related Posts

No Content Available
Next Post
Joy: Paulina Labbe with Centacare client Guy.

Paulina loves how everyone unites under the fresh-look Centacare brand

Reject euthanasia Vietnamese Catholics politely ask their local member, Annastacia Palaszczuk

Global Christian leaders join forces to warn about the world’s climate crisis

Global Christian leaders join forces to warn about the world’s climate crisis

Popular News

  • Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy

    Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mass with signs of indigenous respect launch historic Plenary Council assembly

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘For the moment, no,’ – Pope Francis dismisses resignation rumours in wide-ranging interview

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Future First Nations teachers honoured with Rome scholarship

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Called to share the message of Jesus at mission school

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Plenary Council assembly reaches decision day about the Church role of women
News

Plenary Council assembly reaches decision day about the Church role of women

by Mark Bowling
6 July 2022
0

AMIDST global debate about the role of women in the Catholic Church, Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge says...

‘For the moment, no,’ – Pope Francis dismisses resignation rumours in wide-ranging interview

‘For the moment, no,’ – Pope Francis dismisses resignation rumours in wide-ranging interview

5 July 2022
Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy

Plans for indigenous elements, memorials to trauma, to complement Catholic liturgy

5 July 2022
Spirit of Mission: A group of young people including university students, seminarians and ministry workers present at the Xavier School of Mission held June 20 to 24. The mission school hosted guest speakers and workshops to encourage people to go out and proclaim the Word. Photo: Joe Higgins

Called to share the message of Jesus at mission school

4 July 2022
Cathedral green packed with families for festival day

Cathedral green packed with families for festival day

4 July 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping