Catholic Identity – 2 May 2019

Prayer for Easter:           

(Words of Trish Hindmarsh in Educator’s Guide to Catholic Curriculum)

Risen Lord walk with us as we strive to – 

• be faithful to the Gospel
• be a leaven in the dough for society
• be a light on the hill
• be a gift of wisdom for the young people we educate.

Risen Lord walk with us as we pray for our students so that they will –

• become the parents, the voters, the workers, the shapers of the future, understand the dignity God has given to them
• be Christ like people, able to offer healing, hope, and loving commitment to the world in which they are blessed to live and work,
• be the loving, peaceful people God invites them to be.

Risen Lord walk with us, today and every day, Amen

Stations of the Cross

Term 1 concluded with a beautiful presentation from our students on the Stations of the Cross at each campus. Through hymns led by Cantabile and Officer Music Ministry, prayers of veneration at the Cross, through media and artwork depicting the themes of the Stations chosen, and drama, students achieved highly in their engagement with this important story. The themes were: Jesus meets people, Jesus’ humanity, Jesus Falls, The Cross and the resurrection. Many students from across the three Campuses contributed to this beautiful liturgy and inspired us as we moved into Holy Week and the Easter season.

Prayer for Sri Lanka

We offer sorrow for our Sri Lankan community at the senseless loss of life. One of our Year 12 students told me that one of the Churches affected was her Church when she lived in Sri Lanka. Our community held prayers on Care Group to pray for victims and their families. Our Year 10 and 11 students gathered in the Hall for a memorial service last Thursday. The discussions that followed in RE classes provided a meaningful space to talk about these terrible acts, and the place of prayer in this response.

One student asked what is the use of prayer. We are not afraid of questions like these from our students, and the expression of doubt is an important aspect of our aim to be a community open to dialogue, questioning and discernment. As a Catholic community searching for ways to be the light of the world, to be a community that can show the world a life-giving way to live, prayer has an important place. When we pray we stand in solidarity with others. When we pray we become tuned in to the needs of the world and so build empathy. When we pray we open ourselves to becoming a path for God to act through our hands, heart and feet. When we pray we allow those affected by suffering to be heard, to belong, to heal, to express their grief. For many of our Sri Lankan students there were tears shed at this prayer. Prayer draws us together as community and enables us to grow to be the loving, peaceful people God wants us to be.

A wonderful media release has come from the Islamic Council of Victoria in response to the crisis in Sri Lanka and sums up our shared response to the unnecessary violence in our world.