Veritas - From the APRIM

Thank you to all the generous families in collecting a staggering 4,336 cans and food items to donate to the Vinnies Can Drive

Veritas – From the APRIM

Saints Monica and Augustine

The feasts of mother and son Saints Monica and Augustine are the 27 and 28 August respectively. They both had an incredibly significant influence on the early Church. St Monica was born in 331 and lived a difficult life. She was a faithful Christian married off to a Roman non-believer who was violent. Monica also endured the violence of her own mother both before and during her marriage. These times were difficult for everyone and many young women must have suffered, even without the violence of Monica’s experience.

St Monica was very faithful and prayerful and wanted Christianity for her three children. However, her husband didn’t allow it. Through persistence, her constant prayers eventually led to his conversion and the subsequent baptism of their children.

There was another horrific suffering St Monica experienced; the wayward and depraved life of her son Augustine (although her other two sons were religious and pious.) Only the parents of a wayward child can understand the level of hurt and angst this can cause.

Augustine rejected the faith and lived a debaucherous life. This persisted until he heard the brilliant preaching of St Ambrose. All the while his mother had been persisting in her efforts to convert him, and it was her introduction of St Ambrose that was his turning point. However, St Augustine did not convert immediately as he did not want to give up his impure life. He is famous for the quote: “Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.” Ultimately, in his late 30s, he did make the leap toward purity. His stunning intellect and ability to articulate the truth then came to the fore. He went on to become a prolific writer whose theology contributed significantly to our inept understanding of God and Christ.

There are a few ever-pertinent aspects to the stories of Saints Monica and Augustine. Firstly, the love of a mother (and/or father), and all the persistence that entails, can ultimately succeed. St Monica’s faith sustained and nourished her in her suffering, and the model of the suffering Christ must have been a great comfort to her. Secondly, many people do not ‘see the light’ until they have matured, and this is typically later in life for men than it is for women. It is also true that God’s grace is eternal and unconditional. The story of the parable of the generous land owner and the vineyard workers (Matt 20: 1-16) is relevant here. The workers all arrive at different times, some work for many hours and some for virtually no time at all, and yet they all receive the same reward.

For teachers, particularly of those who are feeling pressured to have their Year 12 students succeed, or even just pass, there are a few very important lessons from Saints Monica and Augustine too. It is tempting to blame parents for the failings of a child, and the lesson here is that such assumptions may be unjust. Also, the student that is a source of frustration for a teacher may end up being a saint. Hence the best a teacher can do is persist in a hopeful, patient and loving manner. Even if the student isn’t doing the required work, and they do not appear to be learning, they will be learning from the teacher. In fact, the lesson inherent in the teacher’s disposition is possibly the best lesson the student could learn. It could be a model of God’s grace.

Vinnies Can-drive Competition and lessons in charity

I am very proud to announce that Blackfriars collected 4,336 cans (or non-perishable food items) for Vinnies since the start of Term 2. Last year we collected about 2,500, and we were aiming for 3,000 this year, so we have way exceeded our aim.

This was a competition so there are winners to announce. However, the purpose of the competitive aspect of this is to tap in to the competitive spirit of the boys so we end up better serving the poor in the spirit of the Dominican Pillar of Service. This competition was between classes and Houses, as well as between schools. The Primary class that collected the most cans with 515 was Year 5 La Forgia/West. It was closely followed by Year 4 Holland with 415 cans. In the Secondary School, the class that collected the most cans with 434 was the Denifle Home Group of Mr Baldacchino. On the back of this, Denifle collected the most cans with 526. Congratulations to these winners. Regardless of these results, every contributor has pleased God, so every contributor is a winner.

We are waiting to learn how we went as a school in comparison to the other schools we competed against and I look forward to reporting this in a later issue.

On behalf of Vinnies, and moreover the people they serve, thank you to our wonderful school community.

Thursday 8.00 am Masses

This year the readers for the Thursday 8.00 am daily Mass in the St Albert the Great Chapel have come from our secondary Home Groups on rotation around the school. Our students and staff have been encouraged to attend to help build a sense of community with local parishioners. Following Mass, a light breakfast is served by one of our Young Christian Students Captains, Francesco Freda. It is attended by parishioners, staff and students that have attended Mass. Typically, the parishioners who attend have a connection with Blackfriars in that their sons or even daughters are old scholars, or they are former staff members. These gatherings are very pleasant. It is enjoyable for the parishioners to engage with our students and eye-opening for our students to see the long-term belonging our Catholic Dominican community provides.

In the below photograph are Helen and Tony Smith (parents of old scholars and family of teacher Margaret Snelling and students Joseph and Frank Snelling), Dr and Mrs Turnball (parents of one of the few girls to matriculate at Blackfriars, also on their 55th wedding anniversary), Helen Kane (mother of old scholars), Fr William Loh OP, John and Tess Holland (parents of old scholars and current Vinnies volunteers), Angela Honner, Michael (a regular parishioner), Colleen Harford (former member of staff and parent of old scholars), Alison Hutt (current parent on the verge of becoming Catholic), students Nathan Venour (partially hidden), Daanyaal Shakoordeen and Francesco Freda (YCS Captain).

Fathers’ Day

In preparation for Fathers’ Day, our students undertook a buddy activity pairing older students with younger students to discuss fathers, grandfathers and other significant male role-models in their lives, and they prepared Fathers’ Day cards together.

A Happy Fathers’ Day to all the fathers of the Blackfriars Priory School community. I offer this prayer for you:

God our Father,

We give you thanks and praise for fathers young and old.

We pray for young fathers, newly embracing their vocation;

may they find courage and perseverance

to balance work, family and faith in joy and sacrifice.

We pray for fathers around the world

whose children are lost or suffering;

may they know that the God of compassion

walks with them in their sorrow.

We pray for men who are not fathers

but still mentor and guide us with fatherly love and advice.