From the Principal

The last lecture

I watched the Western Force play rugby last weekend. My wife and I were guests of the Club Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Rugby Administrator and I were in each other’s Wedding Party, so our friendship spans multiple decades.

The match was very close with the Western Force narrowly missing the opportunity to win after the siren. During the game, parts of the crowd were vocal whenever a decision went against the home team. My friend, Tony, remained quiet throughout and occasionally I would turn to him and ask a question about a particular aspect of the game or a ruling given by the referee.

Being a former professional player and coach, Tony knows the game. He is an expert. Tony responded quietly to my questions and certainly did not contradict the views of other guests or the parochial crowd.

Silence is often an appropriate response. At other times, it is important to speak out.

Last weekend we celebrated the Ascension of the Lord. The feast of the Ascension assures us the risen Jesus, taken to heaven, is still very close to us. Jesus had proclaimed the coming of the kingdom and now the disciples were being asked to continue Jesus’ mission. It was a moment of great transition for the Church as Jesus calls the disciples ‘to go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News’. It was very much Jesus’ ‘last lecture’.

Jesuit Priest, Fr Tom Scirghi SJ, is a regular visitor to Perth and an Associate Professor of Theology at New York’s, Fordham University. Fr Tom describes the custom on some American campuses called the 'last lecture'. A popular professor is invited to deliver a public lecture as if it were his or her last time at the podium. 

It is a good exercise for all of us to consider. If we had the chance to address our part of the world in about one hour, what would we want to talk about? How would we want to be remembered? 

The good thing about our last lecture is that we have the rest of our life to write it.

Robert Henderson

Principal