Every morning, as the bright sun rises over Central Australia and the desert country slowly comes to life, a small group of Religious, from a variety of congregations, begin their day by gathering together to praise God.
In Alice Springs and in Santa Teresa, they come together in thanks and praise, and also to support each other and the communities they serve by praying together.
At Santa Teresa, those present can vary according to who is visiting the indigenous community about 80km from Alice Springs, but the core group consists of Divine Word Missionaries, Marists, and Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
Good Samaritan Sister Anita Brennan says the combined morning prayer is a simple, but beautiful way to start the day.
“We have morning prayer together every morning and we take in turns where we will have it,” she says. "One week we will have it at the SVD prayer room, the next week it will be in the Marists' prayer room and the following week, it will be here in our prayer room.
“And it’s really good because it gives us a sense of praying together. And we do pray for Santa Teresa, we pray for the Church, we pray for any special needs of people. So we’re like a praying group.”
Mr Mikhael Loke SVD, indigenous chaplain, of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish, Alice Springs, says the morning prayer gathering of Religious at Alice Springs is a wonderful support for Religious who have often come from communities far afield to undertake ministry in Central Australia.
“There are Religious from many different congregations and orders working in Alice Springs, so it is good to be able to pray together,” Fr Mikhael says.
Those who regularly come together for morning prayer there include the Marist Brothers, the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and the Divine Word Missionaries.
“It’s very good. It strengthens us and helps us, to be able to pray together,” Fr Mikhael says.
Fr Henry Adler SVD, the Mission Secretary for the Society of the Divine Word Australian Province, says that on a recent visit to Santa Teresa, he was struck by the simple beauty of the various Religious gathering together in regular morning prayer in such an isolated and often challenging setting.
“I was delighted to be able to take part as a guest,” he says. “I really thought it was a beautiful thing to be a part of. As Religious, we can become so used to praying the morning prayer of the Church, but to see such a spirit of cooperation and prayerful sharing and support out in Central Australia really had a big impact on me.”
The Religious of Central Australia also come together for social occasions through the year, with a picnic and barbecue every year on Easter Monday, and another in the Advent season.
Pictured above at morning prayer at Santa Teresa are (anti-clockwise) Br Yon SVD, Sr Liz SGS, Br Daniel FMS, Fr Jim SVD, Br Laurie FMS, Br Bruce FMS and Fr Bosco SVD, with Sr Anita SGS behind the camera.
