PAULINE McGuire is someone who has a few things in common with St Joseph.
One is that her faith came alive with the birth of a child, and a second is that she received a special invitation from someone she couldn’t ignore, just like Joseph with the angel who appeared to him in a dream.
Pauline decided to become a Catholic with the birth of the first of her two children, and the invitation she couldn’t ignore came from Sr Carmel Street, of the Sisters of St Joseph.
Her choices in both instances have been life-changing.
Her decision to become a Catholic happened because she thought her children “were probably going to go to Catholic schools and I didn’t know anything about it so I figured I’d have to answer the question …”
It so happened that she joined the Church at a place with strong ties to St Joseph, Townsville’s Mundingburra parish, now called Mary MacKillop Parish after the Australian saint with a special devotion to St Joseph, and where there is a St Joseph’s School.
That’s where she met Sr Carmel, a friend and particular inspiration who invited her into the Josephite Associates Movement (now called Josephite Companions) for men and women from all walks of life.
More than two decades on from the birth of her children, Liam and Ella, when Pauline made moves to become a Catholic, she’s parish secretary at Mundingburra and she’s a member of the Josephite Companions’ Queensland and international leadership teams.
And as the Church around the world marks a Year of St Joseph and the feast of St Joseph the Worker on May 1, Pauline says “Joseph’s faith and courage is an inspiration to me daily”.
She said she accepted Sr Carmel’s invitation to join the Jospehite Companions way back in 2007 “… probably out of curiosity more than anything … and then once you get inspired by Mary MacKillop, it’s hard to let go”.
And she’s had a feeling of belonging ever since.
“Certainly when I go to North Sydney (to visit the headquarters of the Josephites at Mary MacKillop Place) I often get the feeling that I’ve come home,” she said.
Pauline said she was inspired by Joseph “as the worker”.
“From a Josephite point of view, he’s certainly the quiet achiever and just gets about his job, doing what’s required but doing everything with a deep faith and being true to himself and his beliefs,” she said.
“The other thing that probably I’m attracted to is the contemplative lifestyle and living your life and doing your work with a Josephite heart …
“(That means) being contemplative about what the problem is, looking at all the problems differently, assessing what needs to be done and doing it …
“But also making certain that it’s authentic and the right thing to do.”
Committing to the Josephite charism has had a profound influence on the way Pauline tries to live her life.
“It certainly helps me to focus and look at any problems that come up,” she said.
“I try to be as calm and inspiring as Joseph but that doesn’t always work,” she laughed as she added “… but it certainly helps to centre sometimes, especially when things go wrong in life.”
She decribed the Josephite charism as “the contemplative life and a busy life, learning and working with society …”
She acknowledges the tension between being contemplative and being active.
“But I find it imperative to reflect on what you’re doing and how you’re living your life before you barge forward,” she said.
Along the way, the support and commitment of others among the Josephite Companions, like Mary Stark and Len Horner, has helped Pauline deepen her commitment.
She’s also been inspired by the Mary MacKillops of today, Josephites like congregational leader Sr Monica Cavanagh and former Queensland leader Sr Moya Campbell, who have supported the lay Josephites in Townsville diocese, along with Sr Carmel.
The inspiration Pauline draws from them “is all around the work ethic, really”.
“They do what they need to do but they certainly do it with faith and authenticity,” she said.
“They’re certainly of Australia too, with Mary MacKillop starting an order that I believe’s very Australian and just sort of does the job and moves on to whatever’s required …”
Pauline’s commitment has also deepened through getting involved in ministries of the Josephites and the Companions in Townsville.
She mentioned the MacKillop Gate Ministries, who deliver bags of essentials to newly released prisoners.
It’s a practical side of living the faith she’s chosen.
“That is part of it … doing more than just watching from the outside I suppose – getting involved at a grassroots level,” she said.
