From our Mission Leader
Staff across Kildare Ministries gathered in May to further our progress in building relationships with First Nations people in our communities, creating cultural safety and exploring how we can better share the strengths, beauty and culture of our First Nations peoples’ 60,000-year history.
We prayed over the artwork by one of our Clonard parents, Nathan Patterson, in which he depicts Bunjil the Eagle, protector of the Kulin nations. We also reflected on the power of the Eagle in our Judeo-Christian Tradition, as a symbol of strength; many songs have been composed from Isaiah 40:31…
But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
When we as humans remember that we are supported by something beyond ourselves - the Spirit of Bunjil in First Nations traditions, the ever present Spirit of God's love - we suddenly find ourselves with a mission. We are at once supported by the strength of God's love, challenged by the responsibility to have faith in that love, and courageously bring it to the challenges of our current world.
As Catholics, we recently had a day in our liturgical calendar dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I was with the Star of the Sea community as they gathered to celebrate this day that was so very special to Nano Nagle. Salesian priest Rev Dr Elio Capra SDB led us in the Eucharistic celebration, and shared his love of artist Damien Hirst, who has created many artworks involving butterflies - some of which are depicted within a love heart.
Elio encouraged us to remember that we are all beautiful butterflies; each unique, supported and held preciously in God's endless love. Hirst's love of butterflies has led him to breed them himself, and at one point in their development, a number of the butterflies struggled to break their chrysalis and emerge. Hirst stepped in, and supported the process by breaking the chrysalis, freeing them when they got stuck. Later, however, he found that those butterflies' wings never expanded - rather, they withered and the butterflies died without ever flying.
Butterflies need to squeeze out of the chrysalis to enable their wings to expand fully. The pressure forces fluid out of their abdomen and into the veins of their wings, enabling them to start filling with fluid so they can expand and eventually fly.
The celebration of the Sacred Heart reminds us that each of us is held in God's love, without exception. Our call is to receive that love, so we have the strength to accept and face the challenges of our lives, and those of our divided world. In working through difficulty, we further develop our capacity. It is then that we can really expand our wings and fly to our full potential. This is the source of hope we bring to all those we work with throughout Kildare Ministries.
Our Principals and Community Works Leaders know this work well. They met recently with Fr Michael Trainor. His words also spoke to the need for us all to deepen our awareness that we are part of God's love. He called us to reflect specifically on the intended meaning of baptism - that we are baptised into the very nature of God - immersed into the one being of Christ - we are God's presence in the world. This not only reminds us of our worthiness, but also our responsibility to reach out to each other with respect, empathy and practical action. We are so very fortunate at Kildare Ministries to have been entrusted with the incredible schools and Community Works established by the Brigidine and Presentation Sisters that enable us to do this every day.
Jane Collopy
Mission Leader