Veritas - From the APRIM

Veritas - From the APRIM

Year 6, 8, 9 and 11 Reflection Days

Reflection Days are an integral part of a Catholic Education. This is amplified through the Dominican traditions of our school, as contemplation was a hallmark of St Dominic’s spirituality and preaching. Indeed, the pillars of Prayer and Study are contemplative and inform the pillars of Community and Service (Ministry).

It is becoming increasingly apparent that reflective practices are routine for high performing professionals across many realms. CEOs, elite sports people, school Principals and good teachers regularly take time to reflect on their own actions and experiences, assessing the areas that are going well and those they need to improve. It appears as if the long-practiced religious tradition of contemplation is being adopted by the secular world.

What a Reflection Day in the Catholic tradition offers is far more than that of secular society; it incorporates the transcendent and is underpinned by faith. At Blackfriars Priory School the reflection days follow themes – a means of focussing the reflection on certain aspects of life. For our Year 6s, who are the elders of the Primary School, the theme was leadership, and they explored examples of excellent leaders and their qualities, as well as recording aspirations for their own leadership. The Year 8 and 9 Reflection Days were run by NET Ministries, a group of young men and women who travel the country living on the good will of their hosts, delivering reflection days to groups of students. They are modern day evangelists, catechists and missionaries. Our Year 8s theme was Agents of Change (Year of Youth), whilst our Year 9s theme was The Reach (Social Justice). NET Ministries were superb, and they successfully engaged our young men, who were excellent in their openness and approach. Our Year 11 Retreat was delivered by RealTalk and the theme of their presentation was Life and Love – an exploration of sex, relationships and identity. It was very engaging and the students were excellent in their approach to a presentation that was true to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

It must be emphasised that our students are exemplary in their approach to these opportunities. Both NET Ministries and RealTalk presenters made a point of commenting on the Catholicity evident in the groups, and were highly complimentary of the boys’ attitudes and openness to engaging.

Easter at Blackfriars Priory School

Blackfriars honoured the traditions of the Catholic Church through a variety of ways before and after the Easter Holidays. For Holy Week, 14 Stations of the Cross were arranged at the front of the school, adorned in purple fabric. Apart from this excellent visual reminder of the solemnity of Holy Week, it provided students with an opportunity to experience a Liturgy of the Stations.

The major liturgical event for the whole school was the Last Supper and Passion performance. Students witnessed a re-enactment performed by our student leaders (Prefects, YCS and some House Captains). It was a moving experience and the extent of this was evident in the amazing manner in which our highly reverent students exited the Fr John Neill Gymnasium in silence past the crucified Christ (acted by Head Prefect, Sebastian Deluca). It was in this mood that our students departed school for their Easter break.

Their return to school was in the knowledge of the Risen Lord, and no doubt this was evident from their Easter Sunday experiences. Again, the whole school experienced re-enactments of the Empty Tomb and the Road to Emmaus – Luke’s account of the disciples discovering Jesus’ resurrection amidst their despair, fear and confusion. Staff members Mrs Dot Eiffe, Miss Alison de Souza and Ms Anastasia Lambis performed the roles of the three women who found the empty tomb, and their performance was moving. The same Student Leaders performed in the Road to Emmaus section, and Carlos Garcia’s performance of the overjoyed disciple announcing Jesus’ resurrection was a highlight. This time, students gave a rousing applause for what they had seen, and upon exiting each were given an Easter Egg as a mark of the celebration of new life.

All the performers should be proud of the impact they had on the Blackfriars community over this penultimate Christian festivity. Mr Bob Becker, our drama teacher, coordinated both plays and provided excellent direction for a moving and reverent experience that would have pleased God.

Easter presents the extremes of life: the suffering Christ and the ecstasy of His resurrection. Life can be very difficult, and this event reminds us that God is always with us, that our suffering is innately human, and that there is always hope. We cannot understand why there is suffering, but through faith we know that even God’s only son had to endure it, and that it is all ok in the end, where the promise of love remains for eternity, minus the suffering.

Mr Matthew Crisanti

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND MISSION