Religious Education

 One person might have a gift of insight.

If the gift is used, it will develop and grow; if not, the person becomes blind to seeing the needs of others.

Another person has a gift of listening.

This person can come alongside someone and give confidence and strength, and the talent grows and wisdom increases.

Yet another has a gift of speaking, this person helps others understand the issues in a problem, and, with use, this gift grows and matures.

Help each of us, Lord, to see and to use the talents we have.       

Amen.

God calls us all to appreciate and celebrate our own talents, be they in the field of creative arts, public speaking and debating, on the sporting field, in an academic realm or even those which are less obvious to many but are still equally worthy of our recognition. We all have our own particular talent and it is up to us to recognize and develop these talents as best we can, and then to share these talents with others. Jesus himself spoke of this shortly after sharing with his apostles, the “Parable of the Talents”.

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matt 25:40)

There are many activities in the life of the College that provide us with many opportunities to appreciate and indeed to celebrate, the diverse range of talents that are profoundly evident in the students of St James College.

This was extremely evident over the last week of Term 3, and during the first week of the holidays, when twelve Year 10 students set off to Balgo  for the Immersion Trip. These young men volunteered to sacrifice a substantial part of their holidays, to work at the Luurnpa Catholic Primary School in Balgo. They spent four days working with the young indigenous children in and out of the classroom. The connections our students made with the young people they were working with were very profound and deeply moving.

The Luurnpa School community welcomed us into their community with open arms. Many thanks to Mr Barry Ennis and his wonderful staff for being so supportive of this immersion experience.

Thanks also go to Ms Kaye Longhurst and Mr Andrew Davis who accompanied us on the trip. A huge thankyou especially to the Lasallian Youth Minster at St James, Joel Harriss, who, apart from keeping us all well fed with some culinary masterpieces, was the driving force behind this wonderful experience.

St James College proudly recognises and supports achievement across a broad field of endeavor. With that in mind, I wish every young man the very best as they enter the final term of this year, to recognize, develop, and above all else, be proud of the special individual talents that each individual possesses.

Martin Callanan

Religious Education Coordinator