The Black Swan Exhibition Opening 3 November 2013

Madonna of the Sweet Kiss is a beautiful image also in the Exhibition at the Black Swan Gallery Binalong.
The opening is Sunday 3rd November and will run through to December.

Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Binalong NSW

Religious Icon Our Lady of Perpetual Succour

This is one of the Icons I am writing for the exhibition at the Black Swan, Binalong NSW which will run during October to December 2013.

This is an Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, know also as Our Lady of Perpetual Help or The Madonna of the Passion, I have spent 50 hours in the preparation of this beautiful Icon and five others of the Mother and Child Jesus. 

 This Icon is based on the Icon written by Saint Luke. It is in Rome in the care of the Redempetorist Fathers. My husband and I attend Mass on a regular basis at the Redemporist Monastery, St Clements, at Galong NSW. It is a privilege and a great grace to join with the Fathers in their prayers on Saturday morning in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour (Help).

The esteemed icon has been in Rome since 1499, and is permanently enshrined in the church of Sant'Alfonso di Liguori in the Esquiline Hill. is known as the Virgin of the Passion or Theotokos of the Passion due to the Archangels surrounding the image.

The Redemptorist priests are the only religious order currently entrusted by the Holy See to protect and propagate a Marian religious work of art.

Today, Our Lady of Perpetual Help's solemn feast day is celebrated annually on June 27.

St Mary MacKillop of the Cross Iocn



St Mary of the Cross, MacKillop  Icon by Sue Orchison

"There where you are, you will find God". Mary MacKillop of the Cross

Religious Icons

I am very excited as I am currently in the process of having a web page constructed to display my Religious Icons. I have been writing Icons since 2005 and have completed around fourteen Icons that are housed in various parts of Australia.

• I have an exhibition which I am working towards in October at The Black Swan, Galong NSW for which I am writing Icons of The Virgin, Mother of the Sweet Kiss and The Mother of Perpetual Help - after the image written by St Luke and several other images.

I also love creating rosary bracelets.

They will be available on my new web page - Sues Religious Icons.

On the occasion of my daughter's wedding I created wedding candles for the special occasion.
I will have them available for you to see and order if you have an occasion approaching for which you would like a personalised candle.

I will let you know when the Sues Religious Icons web site is ready. Watch this space...!!!

Many blessings Sue

The Good Shepherd, Icon

The Good Shepherd, Icon

This is The Good Shepherd icon I have recently completed. It is a gift for a friend who was good enough to "water divine" on our property.

We had a bore drilled and have a good water stream under our property. We are so please to have an additional source of water as this past summer it so extremely hot that dams that had not dried up in the 9 year drought dried up in January/February 2013. The temperature was in the mid 40'sC and the wind was constant. It was a very dry atmosphere and the earth was parched. The plants suffered greatly from the severe conditions

We each need to do our utmost to look after the planet we share and to care for our neighbour.

'The Lord is My Shepherd, I lack nothing.' Psalm 23.




WaterMin drilling our new Bore



Oh Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to Thee

Oh Immaculate Virgin Mary
Never was it known at any age that anyone who fled to your protection
implored your help or sort your intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence I fly to Thee oh Virgin of Virgins my Mother,
to Thee do I come, before Thee I stand sinful and sorrowful.
Do not oh Mother of the Word Incarnate despise my prayers,
but graciously hear and answer them.
Amen.
This statue of the Virgin Mary was given to my Grandmother Mollie, on her wedding day November 1922. Last November it was 100 Years old.
She has always had a very special place within our family home.
Oh Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

Scapular Promises

The Sabbatine Privilege
The Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel has promised to save those who wear the scapular from the fires of hell; She will also shorten their stay in purgatory if they should pass from this world still owing some debt of punishment.

This promise is found in a Bull of Pope John XXII. The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and, speaking of those who wear the Brown Scapular, said, “I, the Mother of Grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in purgatory I shall free so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.”

Our Lady assigned certain conditions which must be fulfilled:

1) Wear the Brown Scapular continuously.

2) Observe chastity according to one's state in life.

3) Recite daily the "Little Office of the Blessed Virgin."

or:

3a) Observe the required fast of the Church as well as abstaining for meat on Wednesday and Saturday

or:

3b) Recite the Rosary daily

or:

3c) With permission, substitute some other good work.

Pope Benedict XV, the celebrated World War I Pontiff, granted 500 days indulgence for devoutly kissing your scapular.
The Morning Offering
O my God, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary (here kiss the scapular as a sign of your consecration), I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus from all the altars throughout the world, joining with It the offering of my every thought, word and action of this day. O my Jesus, I desire today to gain every indulgence and merit I can, and I offer them, together with myself, to Mary Immaculate, that she may best apply them to the interests of Thy most Sacred Heart. Precious Blood of Jesus, save us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
http://www.ourladyspromise.org/scapular.php

THE PROMISE
OF THE GRACE OF MERCY FOR THE DYING

The 15 St. Bridget Prayers 

"It pleases Me to grant everything souls ask of Me by saying the chaplet. When hardened sinners say it, I will fill their souls with peace, and the hour of their death will be a happy one. Write this for the benefit of distressed souls; when a soul sees and realizes the gravity of its sins, when the whole abyss of the misery into which it immersed itself is displayed before its eyes, let it not despair, but with trust let it throw itself into the arms of My mercy, as a child into the arms of its beloved mother (...). Tell them no soul that has called upon My mercy has been disappointed or brought to shame. I delight particularly in a soul that has placed its trust in My goodness. Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior"
(Diary, 1541).

"At the hour of their death, I defend every soul that will say this chaplet as I do My own glory (...). When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God's anger is placated and his unfathomable mercy envelops the soul" (Diary, 811).

Promises

1.	I will deliver 15 souls of his lineage from Purgatory.
2.	15 souls of his lineage will be confirmed and preserved in grace.
3.	15 sinners of his lineage will be converted.
4.	Whoever recites these Prayers will attain in the first degree of perfection.
5.	15 days before his death I will give him My Precious Body in order that he may escape eternal starvation; I will give him My Precious Blood to drink lest he thirst eternally.
6.	15 days before his death he will feel a deep contrition for all his sins and will have a perfect knowledge of them.
7.	I will place before him the sign of My Victorious Cross for his help and defense against the attacks of his enemies.
8.	Before his death I shall come with My Dearest Beloved Mother.
9.	I shall graciously receive his soul, and will lead it into eternal joys.
10.	And having led it there I shall give him a special draught from the fountain of My Deity, something I will not for those who have not recited My Prayers.
11.	Let it be known that whoever may have been living in the state of mortal sin for 30 years, but who will recite devoutly, or have the intention to recite these Prayers, the Lord will forgive him all his sins.
12.	I shall protect him from strong temptations.
13.	I shall preserve and guard his 5 senses.
14.	I shall preserve him from a sudden death.
15.	His soul will be delivered from eternal death.
16.	He will obtain all he asks for from God and the Blessed Virgin.
17.	If he has lived all his life doing his own will and he is to die the next day, his life will be prolonged.
18.	Every time one recites these Prayers he gains 100 days indulgence.
19.	He is assured of being joined to the supreme Choir of Angels.
20.	Whoever teaches these Prayers to another, will have continuous joy and merit which will endure eternally.
21.	There where these prayer are being said or will be said in the future God is present with His grace.

 http://www.medjugorje.org/pieta.htm

The Royal Albatross Centre, Dunedin New Zealand

Did I ever tell you about the amazing visit we had to the Royal Albatross Centre, Dunedin NZ.

It was a wet and very, very windy day. We wondered if we should bother to go to the Albatross Centre but as we wanted to visit and we were running out of holidays we went to the Centre.

It happened to be the ideal conditions for visiting the Albatross Centre. You see albatrosses are so heavy they need wind to enable them to get lift to fly. 

And on that day - fly they did. We were privileged to have about eight albatrosses flying around us. They glided majestically around for hours thoroughly enjoying the weather conditions. And there were babies in the nests also. 

The tour was very interesting. The wing span is huge - as tall as me - and that is only one half of the bird. This photo is our favourite of our trip in New Zealand.

Albatross in flight, Royal Albatross Centre, Dunedin NZ

Welcome to the home of the Royal Albatross

The Royal Albatross Centre is located at Taiaroa Head on the tip of the Otago Peninsula, Dunedin. Owned and operated by the Otago Peninsula Trust, a charitable trust, whose purpose and objective is the protection and enhancement of the Otago Peninsula. Taiaroa Head itself, a nature reserve is managed by the Department of Conservation.
As well as being the only mainland place in the world to view Northern Royal Albatrosse in their natural habitat, Taiaroa Head has a strong historical connection. From Maori settlement in the 1300's to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi: the establishment of the lighthouse and fortifications in the late 1800's, and its use as a defence base during World War I and II, New Zealand's culture and history is uniquely celebrated here alongside wildlife. ............................... for more information- http://www.albatross.org.nz/

Pope Benedict XVI in Australia - My Memories

His Holiness Pope Benedict in Australia

My meeting with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, with my husband Geoff and His Excellency Giuseppe Lazzarotto Nuncio to Australia, at World Youth Day was a wonderful occasion for Geoff and I.
We were among the many thousands who were blessed with a meeting - be it ever so brief.
It is one of those questions you ask your self - how did I get the privilage to be standing here holding the hand of His Holiness Benedict XVI the Vicar of Peter.
In my many years working in the Catholic Church I have met many wonderful people. Men and women who have chosen to follow a Calling from Christ with their life. Be it priest, nun, wife, husband, musician, artist, teacher, prayer support - people who have felt or heard a call to - come follow Me - and have put other things asside to walk the journey following the Gospel Call to love one another as I have loved you.

I know there is much shame is the Church, much pain in the body of Christ. In many, many ways - "the Body of My Son is Broken".  We are each called to heal. Christ has no body now but your - no hands no feet on earth but yours. We are called to fogive and to be forgiven. To find the brokenness in our own lives and seek wholeness. This Lenten Season is a time of Grace. A time to stop and seek the Face of Christ in our lives.

The Saviour Wreath Meditaiton Bracelet - Who am I because of my Baptism. What does God say to me in the desert of My life. What revelation have I received on the Holy Mountain. The Blood of Christ cleanses me and calls me on to misssion, intercession, prayer and praise. In the dark times of life I must continue to seek the light of the Ressurection.

At St Mary's Cathedral Sydney, just before the enacting of the Last Supper and the Stations of the Cross, which were absolutely amazing.

We were with thousands who slept the night at Randwick Racecourse.

Pope Benedict XVI on Sydney Harbour at World Youth Day

Australia Day at Wombat 2013, at the Tractor Pull

Vintage 1929 Tractor, pulling 36metres

Happy Australia.
We went to the Australia Day breakfast in the Newson Park at Harden NSW, 
Ultramarathon runner Greg Donovan is the Australia Day Ambassador this weekend. Mr Donovan and his son Matthew raced into the record books with their 150 kilometre run across Antarctica last year. Greg shared the story of their ultramarathon mission to raise money for type 1 diabetes research.
Then we went off to the Tractor Pull at Wombat.

Wombat Tractor Pull

The tractors take it in turns to pull a load and the one that pulls it the furtherest is the winner in their section. There and a number of sections - catering for the oldest models to the newest. Great fun.

Andrew pulled 39 meters in his John Deere diesel Tractor

After popping into Poppa's Fudge Factory in Young to buy some of their home grown olives for dinner. It has the most delicious Fudge!

I look around these days and the words of Dorothea Mackellar's poem ring true-

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

These words ring true as I look out from the veranda across the fields. During January 2013 we have had the highest temperatures ever recorded.  This has persisted for many days leaving the land and trees gasping for water.
At the promise of rain today - 26th January -  we looked forward to the break in this event. But alas - the rain was on this hills around us but none eventuated on our little plot. What a difference it is from when we first arrived two year ago.

The approaching Storm - went around us and we received no rain

Today Bargara, Queensland and the surrounding area have been devastated by mini Cyclones, with flooding rains and high destructive winds causing much damage to the beautiful seaside town.
In this Country the elements can be harsh. Droughts, floods and fire scar of Australia's landscape causing pain and hardship to its people and wildlife.
Australia is a land of mateship. In hard times the people of this Nation pull together to assist each other. To share the pain and burden of this untamed land.
Australia is a beautiful country. We are very blessing to be able to call Australia home.
God bless Australia and all its people - both the traditional owners and more recent arrivals .
YAH - the rain has arrived - 10.30pm!!! err well 1ml is better than nothing!