R.E News - Assistant Principal - Mission

I would like to personally wish all students, parents, teachers, support staff and indeed everyone in the O'Connor Community a very peaceful, safe and most of all a holy Christmas. What an unbelievable year that we have had. The resilience shown by our community, particularly our students is to be absolutely commended. Christmas is a time to reflect, take stock and to be grateful for all that we have and for all those who have helped us. The following may help with that reflection.

Advent

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.

In this season of Advent, a time of preparation and reflection as we approach Christmas, let us take time out to reflect on the ‘real reason for the season’. 

John Mula, Deputy Director of Catholic Schools in Tasmania addressed this topic a few years back when Director of Catholic Education in Armidale.

Many of us use highways on a day to-day basis. Have you ever considered that before we get to travel on a highway a lot of work has to be done? For months, even years, men and machinery push and shove earth to fill in gullies, cut through hills, tunnel through mountains, to take out corners and curves, to make the road flat, straight and smooth. 2000 years ago John the Baptist echoed the words of the prophet, Isaiah, when he preached: “Someone is shouting in the desert: “Get the road ready for the Lord; make a straight path for him to travel! Every valley must be filled up, every hill and mountain leveled off. The winding roads must be made straight, and the rough paths made smooth.”

Luke 3:4-5 John wasn’t talking about making a highway from one town to another; he was talking about a highway where all the obstacles have been removed for the coming of Christ into our lives. He was urging us to make smooth the rough places in our lives – greed, selfishness, unkindness, thoughtfulness: to fill in the hollows – anger, judgemental attitudes, untruthfulness; to make low the mountains and hills – spiritual laziness, materialism, exclusion of God. Those things that would prevent us from welcoming Jesus into our lives. 

The Season of Advent, which is upon us, is a season for preparation, a time for attending to the disrepair of our highway to Christ that has occurred over the past year. As John Piper writes in A Hunger for God, “Our soul is stuffed with small things and there is no room for the great”

Advent can be an opportunity to clean up the past and find new energy and commitment to our life as a Christian. Advent is preparation time for the coming of Christ at Christmas, when we are invited to accept Christ, not only into the world, but into our personal lives. Journeying with Christ is a life-long journey that leads to joy and peace and, like the highway, we might have to make changes to our lives before we can get started.   

Vinnies Christmas Appeal

This year, the students at O'Connor once again provided items to donate to St Vincent De Paul for their Christmas Appeal. In addition to this, this year a donation came from our staff of $520. Thank you to everyone who participated in the fundraising this year. 

Saints Mary and Joseph Cathedral Parish

Keeping in touch with what is happening in the Cathedral Parish is easy through their website and Facebook pages.

With such a difficult year it has been harder for parishioner's to give to the parish through the plates, particularly when the church was closed. The Parish account details are available on the Parish bulletin.