Faith & Identity

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:21-22)

There are so many moving parts at St Patrick’s College. There are the adventures of 1276 students gathered into six year levels across two schools, seeking achievement in many academic disciplines. Each student has his own developing sense of progress and success. The Wellbeing program seeks to align with that personal sense of progress and success by offering insights and approaches to overcome the many challenges this world presents to young men. Significantly, there is a wide range of co-curricular and extracurricular activities that enrich students' experiences and broaden their horizons. Let us not forget the importance of families, Old Boys, the wider community of Ballarat and the regions, and the daily toil of staff. 

A question arises. What unites all that has just been described? What is it that brings together, relates, and organises all the people and events of St Patrick’s College? As we approach the mid-year mark, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on this question. 

As a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice Tradition, we find our reason for existence in our faith in God, wo is the direction for every choice and action, and the motivation to endure all challenges. The One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has been revealed to us through Jesus, as Perfect Love. It is when we understand that every choice and action is perfected by love that the whole range of events of the College is united to have its full impact. When our motivation is to seek the good of others, our choices and actions share in the creative and transformative power of God, which shifts the odds in favour of a world liberated from fear and jealousy, conformed to God’s justice and peace, and that includes every person within its care. As Pope Leo wrote in his Apostolic Letter on education, “The educational community is a ‘we’ where teachers, students, families, administrative and service staff, pastors and civil society converge to generate life.” 

Jesus proclaims his great message this way in the Gospel of John: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. (John 10:10-15) 

We are all learning how to share in Jesus’ mission of the good shepherd. No one in the St Patrick’s College community should be seen as a hired hand, as we all belong in the bonds of friendship and love. Through all our adventures, may we come to a deeper knowledge of one another. May we never flee from our neighbour in need. May we be willing to endure self-sacrifice for the sake of each other, so that we may transform suffering into peace and good. This is what is asked for in every event at our College. This is the education and formation for which we exist and for which we take up our responsibility in the Kingdom of God. 

May our term break flow with every grace and blessing, and may we return to the bonds of community in Term Three. May God bless us all, in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.