Veritas - From the APRIM

Veritas - From the APRIM

Jesus is always with us, and never disappoints

Blackfriars celebrates Term 3, Assumption Term, as the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, Mother of God occurs during this term. It is also the name of the province for our Dominican friars. Assumption Term is a very busy one for ‘Marys’, with feasts for St Mary Magdalene, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and the Assumption. St Dominic’s Day also falls in Assumption Term which is fitting, given the name of the province. The Dominican links with the ‘Marys’ are strong, with St Mary Magdalene being the patroness for the Order of Preachers, because she was the first preacher of the Good News – or Gospel – of Christ’s resurrection. Her Memorial Day of July 22 was elevated to rank of Feast in 2016 when Pope Francis made that decree, also calling her the “Apostle of the Apostles”.

St Dominic’s connection with St Mary, Mother of God is particularly profound, as he received the Rosary from St Mary in a vision. This strong connection to the Rosary is reflected in the name of the local Dominican Prospect Parish – Our Lady of the Rosary Church and indeed Rosary Parish School. It is in this church that some of our Year 3 and Year 4 students progressed through the sacraments this year, culminating in Year 4s and a Year 6 completing their First Communion over the past two weekends. They are pictured above and below and should be congratulated.

As we enter Term 4, which is designated as Advent Term, one of the first feasts is for St Luke on 18 October. This is fitting as a segue from Assumption Term to Advent Term as it is in St Luke’s Gospel that most of what we know of St Mary Mother of God and St Mary Magdalene is found. It is also the Gospel that presents the Christmas story as very ‘earthy’, with Jesus placed in a manger, with animals, shepherds and angels.

The term ‘Advent’ can be translated as ‘coming’. Term 4 includes the beginning of Advent. There is a strong sense of anticipation during Advent, particularly for children as they wait for Christmas to arrive, which is the ‘coming’ of Jesus our saviour. There are other significant arrivals for our students, such as Year 12 subject results, and we know how highly anticipated they are. These can be a source of pride and joy for students and their families, but also a source of disappointment. But that is life – suffering is inevitable, even for those that get the ATAR they seek there will be a suffering of sorts at some stage in life. But this is where the coming of Jesus our Saviour is different; Jesus never disappoints. In Term 3, seven of our students completed their initiation into the Catholic Church through receiving the Sacraments, which means they prepared, waited for and finally received Jesus. For them, this was Jesus’ ‘coming’. The sacraments punctuate the Lukan ‘earthy’, special points in a person’s life that reveal Jesus’ presence: Baptism is associated with new life, Reconciliation is associated with the human frailty of sin and rebirth, Confirmation is associated with a matured understanding and spiritual consciousness, Communion is particularly special as it is literally receiving and being one with Christ’s body and blood, the Marriage vocation is associated with God-like love and creativity and provides the conditions for new life, the Holy Orders vocations are the commitment to being Jesus ever-present, and Anointing of the Sick is associated with life’s end. Jesus remains with us through all of life’s joys and sufferings, and never disappoints.

Pictured above: Max Sampson, Alessandro dos Santos and Marcus Gill

Nazareth College St Dominic’s House

On Friday 21 September, Head and Deputy Head Prefects Sebastian Deluca and Dyson Hilder joined me in a visit to Nazareth College where Blackfriars old scholar and former teacher Christian Martino leads St Dominic’s House. We were invited to share information on our school, St Dominic and The Four Pillars for their St Dominic’s House liturgy, which was a beautiful, moving spiritual experience. Sebastian and Dyson represented Blackfriars with pride through their presentation. We were treated with great hospitality by the staff and students at Nazareth College and look forward to continuing this relationship going forward.

Social Justice Sunday – 30 September

The Australian Catholic Bishops’ 2019 Social Justice Statement is titled A Place to Call Home: Making a home for everyone in our land. Given the latest census data indicated at least 116,000 Australians are homeless, this remains a significant social justice issue. Safe and secure housing is a human right. More information on ways to help, as well as resources and multimedia presentations are available through the following link:

http://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au/

For our students, staff and families, enjoy the spring holiday break if you are getting one, and enjoy the anticipation that Advent Term represents.

Mr Matthew Crisanti

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND MISSION (ACTING)