Faith and Mission

Harmony Day invites our College community to celebrate Australia’s rich cultural diversity and to reflect on the shared belief that everyone belongs. It is a time to notice the many cultures, languages and stories that shape who we are, and to consider how we create a community where each person feels welcomed, valued and respected.

As part of this reflection on culture and belonging, we also marked St Patrick’s Day, which provided an opportunity to look back on the significant contribution of Irish migrants to the life of the Church in Australia. In the past, Irish Catholics, particularly religious sisters, priests and brothers, played a foundational role in establishing parishes, schools, hospitals and welfare services across the country. Their strong faith, commitment to education and service to the poor helped shape the identity of the Australian Catholic Church and laid the groundwork for many of the institutions we benefit from today. Remembering this history highlights how migration has long enriched our Church and strengthened its mission.

As a Catholic school, the values highlighted during Harmony Day are deeply connected to our faith. The Gospel consistently calls us to welcome the stranger and to recognise the dignity of every person. Harmony Day offers a practical way to live this call in our classrooms, playgrounds and staff spaces, reminding us that difference is a gift that enriches our shared life.

This focus on belonging and welcome continues into Term 2 when our College hosts the Migrant Jubilee Cross on Friday 24 April (Week 1). The Cross is travelling across Australia as part of the Jubilee Year celebrations and honours the faith journeys and contributions of migrants and refugees within the Catholic Church and wider community. It stands as a powerful symbol of hope, resilience and hospitality, and invites us to reflect on the experiences of those who have made a new home in Australia.

The presence of the Migrant Jubilee Cross offers our community a special opportunity for prayer and reflection. It reminds us that the story of the Church is one of movement, welcome and shared journey, and encourages us to continue building a school culture where people of all backgrounds feel they belong.

Please join us for our Community Mass at 8am on Friday, 24 April, to celebrate all the gifts that our migrant and refugee communities have given us as Church.

Janeen Murphy

Deputy Principal Faith and Mission

Community Mass

Dates for your diary

• Week 8 – Thursday 26 March, commencing at 7:30am in the Library Courtyard
• Week 9 – Thursday 2 April, commencing at 8:00am in the Chapel

WEEK 8 LITURGY

Thursday, 26 March, is the next community liturgy. 

As the College looks ahead to Holy Week, commencing Sunday, 29 March, there will be a blessing of palms at 7:30am in the Library Courtyard, followed by a procession to the Chapel for Mass, where Year 12 students will assist in proclaiming the Passion of Jesus. 

Homeroom Leaders will participate in the procession and, as a symbol of the significance of this week, will take a palm to be displayed in their Homerooms. We look forward to welcoming our Homeroom leaders to the Library Courtyard by 7:30am on Friday. 

WEEK 9 LITURGY

Thursday, 2 April is Holy Thursday and a shortened version of the Way of the Cross will take the place of Mass. This liturgy will take place in the Chapel at 8:00am and will be led by students and families, as well as Chapel Choir. 

There will be NO Friday Mass in Week 8 or Week 9. 

WEEK 10 LITURGY (first week of Term 2)

Friday 24 April is the day that John XXIII College will be host to the Migrant Jubilee Cross. Mass will be followed by a procession of the cross to the Library. There will be further details in next week’s newsletter.

Thank you to students in Campion House who prepared this morning’s Mass. We proclaimed this Sunday’s Gospel, the raising of Lazarus from the dead, a sign that Jesus is the giver of true life. A reflection on this Gospel is below. 

Do not be afraid to ask if you have any questions regarding Community Mass. Contact: Mary-Anne Lumley: mary-anne.lumley@johnxxiii.edu.au

Sacraments

Do you have a child in Year 3, 4 or 6?

Families are encouraged to enrol their child in their parish without delay. Next week, many parishes will be closing their enrolments for 2026. The College website has links to sacrament program information from some of our local parishes. 

Students will be preparing for the sacraments of Reconciliation in Year 3, First Holy Communion in Year 4 and Confirmation in Year 6. 

Preparing for the sacraments is a three-way collaboration of family, parish and school. This means that parents exercise their right in choosing to enrol their child in the parish; the school provides the learning experiences to prepare the children, and the parish arranges the celebration of the sacrament. Parishes require that students be enrolled.

Parents often have questions about the Sacrament program, so please don’t hesitate to ask. Below are some useful points of contact: 

• The priest or sacrament coordinator in your local parish
• John XXIII College website
• The Archdiocesan website: Parishes & Mass Times

• Mary-Anne Lumley: mary-anne.lumley@johnxxiii.edu.au  or via phone on 

  08 9383 0513

Good News for the 5th Sunday in Lent

The reflection is part of a longer homily by Jesuit, Richard Leonard. 

… The Gospel account of Lazarus is given to us to help us think about the tombs in which we lie hidden and the life to which we are called. The bad spirit seduces most of us into having some form of secretive life. It might be a secret we can’t tell, a sin we can’t confess or a memory we want to bury. At its worst it can be a lifestyle or a pattern of unethical behaviour we have divorced from the rest of our lives. We may even con ourselves into believing that all of this is normal and ‘not so bad’.

These tombs often look similar. They seem small on the surface, but as we get away with our secrets we bury ourselves in them more deeply. We jealously guard the entrance, displacing energy to defend our tombs and we’re ashamed if anyone rolls away the stone and sees the mess inside.

But this Sunday Jesus stands at the entrance of our tombs and calls us out of them. We’re asked to face down the bad spirits that keep us locked in secrecy, to move away from shame, embrace repentance, recognise the price to be paid for being true to what’s best in ourselves and we’re invited to know the light and life of Christ’s healing and forgiveness.

No one can pretend that this journey is easy, but it’s what Lent is all about: the journey from the tomb of our own particular deaths, through penance to the new life of Easter. May our Sunday Eucharist allow us to see the Lord stand at our tomb and gently call us by name, ‘Come forth’. And at his word may we be unbound and let go free. 

©Richard Leonard