Faith & Mission

Reflections - Jubilee Year

Our theme for 2025 at Academy is "Pave the Way", this was chosen by the Senior Student Leadership Team, but was directly tied into the fact that this year is a Jubilee year in the church. 

So Hannah, what is a Year of Jubilee, what do I need to know?  Great question!  The 2025 Jubilee Year began Christmas Eve 2024 with the rite of the opening of the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican immediately before Pope Francis celebrated midnight Mass for Christmas.

Jubilee years are a time of newness.  They have been celebrated throughout the history of the Church, but their roots go back to the Old Testament.  It was meant to be a kind of ‘reset’ or ‘refresh’ for the relationship between yourself and God and with yourself and your community.  Debts would be forgiven, misappropriated land returned, slaves freed, and the land given rest. Nowadays they are celebrated every 25 years in the Church, but the Pope can call a year of Extraordinary Jubilee at anytime, for example in 2015 into 2016 - The Jubilee of Mercy.  In the tradition of the Church, a Jubilee is proclaimed by a Papal Bull.  This publication is written by the Pope in Latin and explores the particular themes and focus of the Jubilee and can include those who may be Canonised during the celebration, meaning making those already "Blessed" into a Saint.  This year Blessed Carlo Acutis - millennial saint or God’s Influencer - will be canonised.  Carlo was born in 1991 and was a website designer who documented Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions.  Carlo passed away from leukemia in 2006.  His canonisation was detailed in the Jubilee Bull for 2025 titled "Spes non confundit", or ‘Hope does not disappoint’.  

In the words of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop, ‘We are but travellers here.’  For the 2025 Jubilee Year, Pope Francis invites us to reflect on what it means to be pilgrims of hope: This hope is not optimism. It is not a forced positivity in the face of hardship and evil. "Everyone knows what it is to hope,” Pope Francis wrote. “In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring".

“Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt.  Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness.  For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope."

My favourite part of Jubilee is the idea of “Jubilee Indulgence”.   We are called to discover more about ourselves and our faith through pilgrimages (global, local or in your own college grounds), community gathering, prayer and activities that help our neighbours and link back to Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

So please as we embark on this Year of Jubilee, take time to reflect, create a new path for your faith and explore how you can be a pilgrim of hope this year, because if we lead by example we can easily pave the way for our students to indulge in hope.

Welcome to Religion in Term 1!

As we begin a new school year, I am excited to welcome you and your daughters into their 2025 Religious Education journey.  Our curriculum this year continues to explore faith, values and social justice through engaging discussions, creative activities and meaningful reflections.  As you can see below, we have an action-packed Term 1 where we will be studying the following in the coming months!

Year 7: Belonging: The Mercy Story

Year 8: The Sacrament of Baptism

Year 9 completing Synergy: Modern Day Prophets

Year 9 not completing Synergy: Good Vs Evil: Images in the Media 

Year 10: Social Justice: Modern Day Slavery 

Year 11 (R&S): The Nature and Purpose of Religion

Year 11 (T&T): Sacred Texts in the Past

Year 12: (R&S) Ethical Decision-Making and Moral Judgment: Exploring different Philosophies/ers

If you have any questions, queries or ideas on how we could enrich any of these topics, please don’t hesitate to reach out via email (hannah.hale@academy.vic.edu.au).  We love having family involvement in guiding the students on their faith journey and are very much looking forward to seeing your daughters grow over the school year.

Gospel Breakdown - Luke 2: 39 - 40

1. Text: What does it say?  When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.   And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. 

2. Message: What is Jesus’ message?  The description we have of Jesus' developing years was one where He focused on personal growth, relational growth and spiritual growth. Jesus grew His mind, He grew His heart and He grew His faith.  The 30 years of growth laid the foundation for an earth-changing three and a half years of ministry. 

3. Response & Image: What is being asked of us?  These verses tell us that even if we aren’t in the spotlight right now, it is important for you to focus on the foundation of your life.  Only with a strong foundation can you hope to accomplish what is important in the future.

Ms Hannah Hale

Director of Faith and Mission