Mission & Identity

Alleluia, alleluia!

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;

all who come to him will live for ever.

Alleluia!

(from the Mass for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year B)

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat. Last Friday, as part of a Diocesan wide initiative, the College received a Message Stick from Loreto College students who had in turn received it from St Thomas More Primary School. This Message Stick is one of five making a journey around Catholic schools in the Diocese. We marked the moment with a liturgy in our College Chapel. This Message stick has been on display in the College foyer and we will take it to St Aloysius Primary School in Redan on Monday 17 June. 

The following is taken from the liturgy that accompanied the handover:

Today we celebrate the arrival of one of five Message Sticks that will be travelling across our Diocese in honour of 150 years.  Four of these Message Sticks will be carried from school to school to remind us of the inter-connectedness of all our school communities - from the Murray to the Sea. In Aboriginal culture, Message Sticks were passed between different clans and language groups to establish information and transmit messages. They were often used to invite neighbouring groups to corroborees, initiation ceremonies, right of entry to country and invitation to religious rituals. 

To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Ballarat Diocese, five Message Sticks were gifted to carry the message to: 

Be joyful in hope, 

patient in affliction, 

faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12).

(composed by Vicki Clarke OAM)

Following on from their One Night of Homelessness, this week the Year 10 students participated in a Retreat Day. The hope of this day was to engage students in a deeper reflection on that experience and invite students to include the marginalised into their sphere of concern. 

One challenging aspect of the day was the level of attendance. This has also been a challenge on days such as St Patrick’s Day and Edmund Rice Day. After Wednesday’s Retreat Day I received feedback from parents questioning the timing, nature, and effectiveness of the day, especially as it was so close to Year 10 examinations. Let me say straight away: the communication from parents was respectful, well-considered, and indeed welcomed. Through these important questions being raised a fundamental agreement is experienced: that is, we all desire what is best for the young men of St Patrick’s. Every conversation that has this concern at the start and as the goal can only benefit the culture and life of our College. The Mission Team in Term 3 will be offering parents and families the opportunity to come together and discuss “all things mission.” Please keep an eye out for that date, but do not hesitate to make contact in the usual ways. We can all contribute to the SPC common fund of wisdom, just as each of us can make withdrawals. 

Finally, leaders from all schools within Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA – our governing body) met this week to discuss the renewal of the EREA Charter. The current version of the Charter can be found at The Charter - Edmund Rice Education Australia (erea.edu.au). I encourage everyone to read this document, and I look forward to sharing news of the national deliberations with you in a future edition of The Crest. I also invite you to consider the words of the Catechism (at 104) and the invitation to ground our vision of educating in Sacred Scripture: 

In Sacred Scripture, the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her strength, for she welcomes it not as a human word, "but as what it really is, the word of God". In the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven comes lovingly to meet his children, and talks with them.

May St Patrick’s College be united through the faith, hope, and love that is grounded and guaranteed in Jesus.