Catholic Identity & Mission News

My topic in this newsletter article – Reflection Days! On two consecutive Fridays, members of our College community have participated in important Reflection Day events. Firstly, on July 24, Mr Tishan Lokuge and I accompanied 12 amazing Year 11 students as they assisted with the St Thomas the Apostle Parish Confirmation Retreat. With the sacrament of Confirmation celebrations fast approaching at St Thomas the Apostle, Ms Christine Salu, Pastoral Associate at the parish, asked if some of our students would help out as nearly 100 candidates enjoyed a day of preparation and reflection that included prayer, song, dance, testimonies, craft, games, and rehearsal for this important occasion. Christine had the day organised to a tee and created a program that allowed our students, and all participants, to feel comfortable in working together, and to come to a greater understanding of the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. 

Seeing our students welcome, support and lead the Confirmation candidates was a real treat. Their efforts, in my mind, combined our most recent annual themes – they represented the reason for hope, and they acted in great Christian love towards young people who were strangers to them at the beginning of the day. The ‘personal touch’ that they brought to the day reinforced that nothing could ever replace human connection, emotion and intelligence – a topic that is front and centre in Pope Leo’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas which critiques the increasing use and influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in our world. Which brings me to my other Reflection Day – Staff Spirituality Day.

Each year, St Peter’s College sets aside one day of professional learning which is wholly dedicated to our Catholic Identity and Mission and that day is Staff Spirituality Day. This year, we took a closer look at Pope Leo’s encyclical, the title of which translates to ‘Magnificent Humanity’. We then celebrated the magnificent humanity of our staff by completing workshops centred around human connection, prayer, creativity and collaboration – things that AI can’t do. We also heard from Fr Jithin Anto and Sr Faustina Ede from St Thomas the Apostle and St Agatha’s respectively. Fr Jithin addressed questions from staff about the nature of God, the Church and how we are called to live today, while later in the day, Sr Faustina shared her story and experience of vocation. In both instances, the uniqueness of God’s creation, including ourselves, was emphasised, as was the free will and agency that we are blessed with. Again, gifts of humanity that cannot be replicated in machines. 

Reflection Days such as these are so important because they encourage (force?!) us to take time out and to be present in the ‘now’, and that can be a challenging but privileged thing to do in the busyness of life. One activity of Staff Spirituality Day involved the Wim Wenders’ film Perfect Days and in the reflection booklet that accompanied it, I included this quote along with Jesus’ assurance that God wants us to have life to the full. Perhaps if we don’t have the opportunity to have a day of reflection, or in the aftermath of our Reflection Day experiences, the sentiment of this quote might linger so that we appreciate all the moments we live each day.

“Now is now. Next time is next time.”

In the film, Hirayama says these words to his niece Niko.

They repeat them while pedalling across a bridge at sunset and, if I had to reduce Perfect Days to a single idea, it would be precisely that. Every instant deserves to be lived; every moment is valuable. In Japanese, this concept is called ichi-go ichi-e, and while it sounds beautiful, it requires something hard to achieve in this frantic world: presence.

It happens when you accept that your life unfolds here and now.Not yesterday, with regrets about what could have been.Not tomorrow, with anxiety about what might come.

Life happens now.[i]

[i]  Alvaro Garcia 

https://medium.com/change-your-mind/perfect-days-the-movie-that-changed-my-life-9b358b072712

Fiona McKenna

Deputy Principal - Catholic Identity & Mission Leader