Faith and Mission

As September arrives, we turn our attention to the Season of Creation. This is a special time in the Christian calendar for reflecting on how we relate to the earth and to one another. The theme for this year is Peace with Creation. It reminds us that human wellbeing and a healthy natural world go hand in hand. Justice, care, and respect are at the centre of this message.

Our College's motto, Seek Justice, connects directly with the purpose of this season. Seeking justice means recognising the value and connection of all people and all living things. The suffering of the earth and the suffering of people in need are deeply linked. We are called to respond with action and solidarity. Our goal is to care for the planet and to make sure our choices bring fairness and hope, especially for those who are most affected by problems in the environment.

This year is also the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si. This important letter encourages everyone to care for our common home. Laudato Si asks us to look for God in nature, in each other, and in ourselves. As we think about its message after ten years, let us renew our efforts to make better choices, reduce waste, support care for the environment, and grow in gratitude for the world around us.

During the Season of Creation, we have an opportunity to look at our actions and think about how we can make a positive difference. Every step toward justice and peace matters, and together we can support a healthier and fairer world for all.

This weekend, we also want to recognise and thank all the fathers, grandfathers, and father figures in our community. As Fathers' Day approaches, let us celebrate the men who show care, strength, and support. These qualities reflect the loving care of God. If you are a father or a father figure, whether by birth, adoption, or through guidance and support, we wish you a happy Fathers' Day and hope you feel appreciated and valued.

Janeen Murphy

Deputy Principal Faith and Mission

Community Mass

Sustainability Club will be preparing our Eucharist next Friday, 12 September. All in our community are invited. Mornings are warmer and brighter in this Noongar Season of Djilba, the first Spring. It is also the Church Season of Creation, from 1 September to 4 October – the Feast of St Francis of Assisi. (See reflection below from Jesuit, Father Andrew Hamilton).

If you have any questions about Community Mass, please contact Mary-Anne Lumley.

Community Mass details

College Chapel
Fridays in term time
Starts at 8:00am concludes at 8:30am.

Sacraments

Confirmation

Tonight, a large group of Year 6 students will be confirmed in the Parish of St Thomas Apostle, Claremont. Let us keep them and their families in our prayers. We look forward to sharing photos of this special event.

Further information provided by some local parishes is here.

To find contact details for any parish in the Perth Archdiocese, go to this link.

Parents often have questions about the Sacrament program, so don’t be afraid to ask.

The parish priest or sacrament coordinator is the best point of contact for sacraments in a specific parish. For any general enquiries about the sacrament program, contact Mary-Anne Lumley or via phone on 08 9383 0513

Good News for the Season of Creation

Pope Leo’s Prayer Intention for the month of September is:

For our relationship with all of creation. Let us pray that, inspired by Saint Francis, we might experience our interdependence with all creatures who are loved by God and worthy of love and respect.

The short (2-minute) video invites all to join in prayer with the Pope and the worldwide Church.

In this reflective piece, Father Andrew Hamilton invites us to consider our relationship with God’s Creation.

In southern Australia September introduces spring, with the greening of trees, the nesting of birds, flowers bursting into colour and lengthening of days. It is the season of nature at its most beautiful. For Christians it introduces the Season of Creation that comes to its climax on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi. We identify him with kindness to animals and birds and a simple way of life in which he found God in nature and in living close to the earth.

The late Pope Francis was inspired by the spirit of St Francis in his commitment to simple living and to nature. He saw this spirit as central to the respect for the Environment as our home to be treasured and respected. We owe the Pope’s intention for September to his inspiration. It is not surprising that in it he appeals to the spirit of St Francis in calling us to care for the world our home. He calls on us not to exploit the earth and treat it as our mine and our dustbin but to see it as a place to be treasured and respected. He sees this attitude as more than something to read about and to agree with in our minds. It is something to pray for and to expedience. The world of nature with all its rich connections is more than something to pray for, something out there. We are invited to experience, to feel the world as part of us and ourselves as part of the world. We shall then suffer if the physical world is wounded and exploited, if animals and birds are deprived of their habitat, and if forests are felled and their rich ecology destroyed for gain. When the rich and delicate relationships between plants and animals, wildflowers and insects, bees and honey, insecticides and propagation, are destroyed, we human beings also suffer.

The prayer refers to human beings together with animals, birds, insects, plants and microorganisms as loved by God. It sets them together in their relationships which show them to depend one another. This contrasts with the more usual Christian view of human beings above the world and all other things given to them to enjoy and to use. The human world is separated from the environment of which it is part. This implies that we can weep for the world devastated by exploitation and celebrate its preservation and nurturing. Not only other human beings deserve our respect and love but the whole of creation. Human beings are made in God’s images, certainly, but the whole world also images in its own way the beauty and the love of God.