Catholic Identity & Mission News
In the first two weeks of Term 4 we celebrate the Feast Days of our final two House Patrons, St Francis of Assisi and St Teresa of Avila. In preparing ‘biographies’ and slideshows about our Patrons, I always draw on their own writings, or sayings that are attributed to them. In the expression of their own Christian faith, these two patrons could certainly guide us in considering how to approach the terrible violence and trauma being experienced particularly in Israel and Palestine at the present time.
These lands are the lands that Jesus would have known so well: He was born in Bethlehem, went to Temple in Jerusalem and travelled widely through the countryside teaching and preaching. Even then, these places were hotbeds of conflict, a factor that resulted in Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. But when faced with conflict, Jesus always preached peace – whether that was by ‘turning the other cheek’, ‘dusting the dirt off your feet’ or by ‘loving one’s enemies’. But Jesus is God, and for human beings, being a person of peace is sadly, too often too much of a challenge. St Francis of Assisi knew and understood this and so while he didn’t write this prayer, it’s writer attributed it to him:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Being people of love, forgiveness, comfort, and care was something that St Teresa of Avila urged people to be when she encouraged us to be as Christ would be in all places and situations. This well-known prayer is attributed to her:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
When we experience emotions of sadness, shock and helplessness, prayer can comfort and reassure us, and it can inspire us to action. In our second reading last Sunday, St Paul reassured us ‘There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your heart and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil 4:6-7). St Paul’s reference reminds us that God is peace, and despite terrible things being done in the name of religions (since the time of Jesus), these things are not God’s doing, they are humanity’s.
As we farewell our Year 12’s next week, having welcomed our Year 7 2024 cohorts at their information evenings earlier this week, we are reminded of the cycles of life and the privilege we have to educating the next generation who will make their mark on this world including as citizens, workers, leaders, parents, and voters. We pray for them – that they will carry the teachings of the great peacemaker – Jesus Christ – and his disciples in St Francis of Assisi and St Teresa of Avila - with them throughout their lives. And as a College community, we continue to pray for peace.
Fiona McKenna
Deputy Principal - Catholic Identity & Mission