Catholic Identity

Staff Spiritulaity Afternoon

Last week staff participated in an afternoon of learning, Spirituality and developing their faith. We welcomed Mrs Angela Finn who worked in the Catholic Identity space for many years at St. Mary’s Primary. We acknowledged her wisdom, guidance and her role as a caretaker of our St. Mary’s story and Catholic traditions. Maria Forde also assisted our staff in facilitating - bringing her gift of music and setting the scene for us all with light and love. Here are some of the excerpts from our learning journey…

‘Human beings are made up of body and spirit. To be spiritual means to live in the presence of God according to the values of the Spirit. Spirituality is concerned with the way people live in relationship with God. For Christians this means living the Christian life of faith in God, of hope in God’s goodness and mercy and of love for God, other people and the world around us’

(Woods, L.)

‘With their openness to truth and beauty, their sense of moral goodness, their freedom and the voice of conscience, with their longings for the infinite and for happiness, human beings question themselves about God’s existence. In all this, they discern the signs of their spiritual soul’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

’...It is the innate being that resides within everyone; it is your sense of self and your beliefs and values. Having a sense of Spirituality means having knowledge of yourself, your self worth and your relationship with a greater truth.’

(Hegerty, J. 2008)

‘Spiritual growth is a lifelong journey sustained by God’s spirit through our own, into living as people of God’ ‘...Whatever makes a person wiser, more loving, more fully human is making them reflect more fully the image of God’ (Groome T.H. Educating For Life’)

We are all on journeys that take us beyond our borders and inform and are impacted by our spirituality. Sometimes our journeys are literal, but we journey in many other ways as well. We journey through careers, relationships, ups and downs, highs and lows. We journey through obstacles and toward accomplishments. We journey through seasons of life and formation. We journey through from birth through childhood, adolescence, adulthood and eventually death. As we traverse this landscape, we all ask the same essential questions whether we know it or not: Who am I? Who is God? What is the meaning of life - in the bigger picture? In the day to day? What makes me come alive? What do I long for?These are sacred questions that humanity has asked for thousands of years. When we ask them with intention and actively engage in the search within us our journeys are transformed. Our spirits are enlightened. Whatever it is that draws you in, brings you closer to your true self and the divine, One thing is for certain you are led down the path of living a full and happy life. Just as God wants for us.

Holly Morris

Catholic Identity Leader