Faith and Mission

This term, our students have demonstrated that justice is not simply something we learn about, but something we put into action. Through the Year 10 Atticus Finch Justice Award, students explored the theme The Steady Hand in the Storm, reflecting on the importance of courage, integrity and standing alongside others in times of challenge. Through their research, writing and presentations, they considered how they can respond to injustice.

Our Year 12 students are now bringing these same values to life through their Ice Plunge Challenge in support of Jesuit Mission. As they prepare for the challenge in the final week of term, they are raising funds to support educational opportunities for children in Hazaribag in India. Their willingness to step out of their comfort zone reflects a commitment to being people for others and making a practical difference in the lives of young people who face significant barriers to education. 

The connection between these two initiatives is clear. Both challenge our students to look beyond themselves, recognise the needs of others and respond with compassion and action. The Year 10 students have explored what it means to be a steady hand in the storm, while our Year 12 students are demonstrating that leadership and service require commitment, sacrifice and generosity. 

We encourage our John XXIII College community to support this Year 12 initiative. Every donation helps Jesuit Mission continue its work in providing access to education and opportunities for children in Hazaribag, helping to build lives of dignity and hope. Donations over $2 are tax-deductible. 

To support our Year 12 Ice Plunge Challenge, please donate via the following link:

Jesuit Mission - John XXIII Year 12

Thank you for supporting our students as they seek to live our College motto, Seek Justice, and continue the John XXIII tradition of being people of competence, conscience and compassion.

Janeen Murphy

Deputy Principal Faith and Mission

Community Mass

Thank you to Year 9 students who prepared our beautiful Friday liturgy this morning, and to Redemptorist, Fr Huy, for celebrating with us. 

We proclaimed the readings of this Sunday – which is also Social Justice Sunday in the Australian Church. See reflection below.

11 September is the date of our next Community Mass. It will be prepared by the Sustainability Club as we embrace the Season of Creation – 1 September to 4 October.  Everyone is welcome at Community Mass!

Community Mass details 

• College Chapel
• All welcome!
• Fridays in term time
• Starts at 8:00am; concludes at 8:30am.

EXCEPTION Next Friday (4 September) as we gather in the gym for a Mass dedicated to father-figures, beginning at 7:45am. 

Reflection for Social Justice Sunday [1]

Social Justice Sunday calls us to recognise that faith is not separate from the 

realities of the world but deeply engaged with them. It is lived not only in belief, but in 

how we respond to injustice, how we carry responsibility, and how we choose to act 

for the good of others. 

The readings speak honestly into this space. The Letter of Pau to the Romans [focuses on] transformation. Faith is not lived by simply following what surrounds us. It requires a change of mind and heart, a new way of seeing. Social justice flows from this transformation. It is not only about action, but about how we perceive the world, how we recognise dignity, and how we discern what is truly good. 

In the Gospel, this becomes even more direct. Jesus speaks of a path that is not aligned with human expectations. It is not about securing life, but about giving it. Peter resists this, wanting to protect and preserve what seems right. Yet Jesus reveals that this way of thinking, though understandable, is limited. 

The invitation that follows is clear and challenging: to take up the cross and follow. This is not a call to seek suffering, but to accept that living truthfully and justly has a cost. To stand for dignity, to act with integrity, to place others before self, these are not always easy choices. 

There is a deep paradox here, to hold onto life tightly is to lose it. To give it freely is to find it, this speaks directly into the work of justice. When we act only for ourselves, life becomes smaller. When we act for others, especially those most in need, something opens, not only in the world, but within us. 

Social justice, then, is not an optional extra to faith. It is an expression of it. It flows from recognising who Christ is and allowing that recognition to shape how we live. The readings invite us to notice where we resist this call. Where do we turn away from what is difficult? Where do we hold too tightly to what is safe? And where might we be invited to step forward, even in uncertainty? 

This is not something we do alone; we are held within something deeper, a relationship with God that sustains and transforms. We are invited, again, to live with openness and courage. 

To allow our faith to move beyond words into action, and to trust that in giving of ourselves, we do not lose life, but discover it more fully. ©

Link here for the Australian Bishops’ Social Justice Statement, Living the Gospel in times of social division. 

[1] McAllister, Rose. "Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - 30 August 2026." Pastoral Liturgy 56, no. 3 (2026): 113-117. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/pastoral-liturgy/vol56/iss3/19