Faith & Identity

I have risen, and I am with you still, alleluia.

You have laid your hand upon me, alleluia.

Too wonderful for me, this knowledge, alleluia, alleluia. (Cf Psalm 138:18,5-6)

The Season of Easter 

What a joy it is to commence Term Two in the Season of Easter. May the joy and power of Christ’s Resurrection fill the hearts of everyone in the St Patrick’s College community. No doubt the busy routines of our term are already underway, but it is always fruitful to stop and reflect upon the “why” and “how” of all the “what” that goes on. 

Christ’s rising from the dead, that wonderful and mysterious event that communicates God’s unconditional and transforming love to each one of us, is the knowledge that education is a great act of hope in the future of our young men. 

When a student engages in the effort to master classroom content and skills or to expand their horizons through an extracurricular adventure, a constant and foundational dynamic occurs. He is learning to trust himself, that he is someone capable of meeting the challenge by understanding what needs to be done and freely choosing to meet it. 

This invitation into mature responsibility motivates and directs every moment at SPC, and the empty tomb on Easter morning guarantees the meaning and value of choosing to meet the challenge. Education is an act of love, and love is the perfection of all we do.    

Edmund Rice Day

The Touchstones of an Edmund Rice Education are one way love is communicated in our contemporary world. Our annual Walkathon and St Pat’s has Talent contest on May 5 invite us to step outside of our normal routines to deepen our experience and understanding of the Touchstones. 

The $40 fundraising target for our Walkathon should not be seen as a burden on the student, but as an opportunity for our College families to recognise and respond to the dignity of many who are facing challenges in our wider community.  I invite you to discuss with your son the innovative and effective ways the family may unite to raise money for our Walkathon.

Also, our fundraising efforts in 2026 are sensitive to the challenging economic times we are facing. When we are inviting a donation, we do not judge any person, for we do not know their individual circumstances. What lies at the heart of our fundraising is the transformation of each student, whereby he chooses to invest the time and effort, intelligently, reasonably, and responsibly, to support the work of our justice partners:

• Edmund Rice Foundation Australia

The Edmund Rice schools of Victoria and Tasmania have a close connection with a number of schools and clinics on the East Coast of Africa.  These schools and clinics are situated in Tanzania, Kenya and the Sudan. They enable students and their families to a live a better life through meaningful education and health programs. A daily meal is given to all students and the provision of hostel accommodation allows young people from rural areas the opportunity to attend school.

• Caritas Australia

Caritas Australia belongs to a network of agencies called Caritas International, which works with communities experiencing poverty, injustice, hunger and oppression across 190 countries. Communities are assisted regardless of their religious, political or cultural beliefs and Caritas works in ways that respect, enhance and build their human dignity and empower them to be authentic agents of change in their own lives, families, communities and societies.

• OnTrack Foundation Inc

OnTrack Foundation Inc is a local Ballarat not‑for‑profit organisation committed to supporting vulnerable members of the community through dignity, compassion, and practical care. Through initiatives such as The Soup Bus and education scholarships, the Foundation provides essential meals to people experiencing homelessness and helps disadvantaged young people stay connected to education and opportunity.

• Mirror of Hope CBO

Mirror of Hope CBO is a community‑based organisation located in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya, working alongside one of the world’s most marginalised communities. Guided by Edmund Rice values of justice, dignity, and compassion, the organisation supports children, young people, and women through education and economic empowerment, walking in solidarity to create lasting hope-filled change.

Mothers’ Day 

Our annual Mothers’ Day Mass will be celebrated by College Chaplain, Fr Eladio Lizada OSJ, in our Old Collegians’ Chapel, commencing at 7am. Breakfast follows Mass, thanks to the team led by our chef Nyarth Wang, Event Officer Tanya Drake, and their wonderful team. This is always a joy-filled moment. 

God of love, we ask you to bless all the mothers here present today, together with those others who, in various ways, fulfil a mother's role.

Give them your love, that they may love those entrusted to them with the love which only they as mothers can give.

Give them your strength, that they may never weary of the demanding role that is theirs, always ready to support,

advise, encourage, and sustain those who are so precious to them.

Above all, give them your joy and peace, that they may always know the special place they have in your heart, that you love them.

Prayer at SPC 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Our teachers are always invited begin their homerooms and classes with a prayer. Indeed, all staff to stop regularly for moments of prayer. Prayer has long been a tradition for Catholic schools, and I renew this invitation to all our families.  

Why bother? Why take the risk? Is the tradition out of date? 

In short, because prayer is the perfecting and perfection of human questioning, and education, indeed growth in all dimensions of life, is all about learning how to ask the next best question. 

If growing through our choices and actions is ultimately a matter of responding to our unrestricted desire to know the reality, goodness, and beauty of this world, and prayer is the deliberate choice to place oneself in the presence of that desire and be open to the mystery of its fulfillment, then why would we not come together to pray? Prayer unites us in deepest bonds of hope and charity. 

• Prayer, which is a personal commitment to encounter the fullness of this life, is an antidote to the reduction of living to mere economic, social, and political training. 

• If our capacity to ask questions is unlimited, then the totality of our questions can only be met by an infinite answer, and that is the mystery we name God. Prayer is the decision to respect the infinite dignity of every person and our true capacity. 

• Indeed, the capacity to ask a question reveals our very being as dynamic, and the gift of answers that are true and good anticipates personal fulfillment. Our questions take us beyond ourselves, and in doing so, we discover that we cannot truly be ourselves unless we are open to the truth and goodness of the ‘other.’  

• Prayer, because its desire is self-transcendence, places all our questions into the realm of truth, goodness, and beauty.  

When we pray, we acknowledge that the truth and goodness that our hearts seeks is a gift and not reducible to mere opinion, because God is its guarantor. We really can know the world as it is. Do any of us really believe that knowledge is no different from mere opinion?

When we pray, we acknowledge that goodness is the realisation of transcendent values, not mere self-satisfaction, because God is the guarantor of value. We can really choose the truly good and act courageously by living what we know to be good. Do any of us really believe that our important life-determining choices are nothing more than self-interest and bias? 

Let us support each other in all the conversations that engage with what is truly at stake in the education of our young gentlemen. 

May God grant us the grace to endure in wisdom and courage.