Principals Update

“And indeed Christ, when he rose up from the earth, drew all to himself (cf. Jn 12:32), rising from the dead (cf. Rom 6:9). He instilled in the Apostles his animating Spirit, and through his Spirit built his Body which is the Church” (Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope [New York: Knopf, 1994],181).

This is a time in the Church’s calendar for our own personal Lenten reflections whereby we might consider our identity. Searching for our identity is part of life, it is a search that our students are very much aware of and it is a journey of discovery that they find themselves on each and every day. As Catholic adults, we are called to reflect on our own lives and our own actions. We identify our “self” as a family member, spouse, sibling, carpenter, farmer, statistician, teacher or in some other profession or role. We also identify ourselves as Catholic, or as members of a parish. Identity involves discovering who we are as persons and what our role is by answering these questions: who am I, and why am I here? Growth in the awareness of our Christian identity is a lifelong process that shifts as we change. It is rooted in Baptism, where we are transformed into our true identity as sons and daughters of the Father. St Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, challenges us to put away our former life and put on a new self.

“You should put away the old self of your former way of life . . . and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth” (Eph 4:22, 24).

In other words, St Paul tells us to turn from sinful ways and take on our new life in Christ. In so doing, we become one with Christ, where we find our true identity. We accept this challenge during Lent, as we journey with Christ through life’s difficulties. It is challenging though, life is never easy for any one of us. Neither was it for Christ.

As Jesus travelled to Jerusalem for the last time, his time to fulfil the Father’s plan for the salvation of humankind was drawing near. Jesus’ actions in washing his disciples’ feet, giving us his Body and Blood at the Last Supper, and accepting his agony and subsequent death on the Cross give us hope in difficult times and model faithful endurance when darkness seems to be all around us. In times of suffering, failure, family breakups, loss of friends, or a loved one’s death, Jesus’ death gives us hope for a new tomorrow. Uniting our suffering with Jesus, helps us see that to know ourselves we must turn our lives over to the Father. With hope, we trust that he will sustain us, thus preparing us for our eventual resurrection. Such enduring hope is the bottom line, if we are to recognise our true identity.

Easter is a celebration, a time to rejoice. It is about new life. When we rejoice in Jesus’ Resurrection, we also celebrate Christ’s gift of himself, which transforms us and enables us to become a self-gift to others. When this happens, we are renewed by the blessings that Easter gives us. During Easter, we rejoice in Jesus’ conquest over death and anticipate the Holy Spirit’s coming on Pentecost. We also recognise Jesus’ ongoing presence with us as we face the challenges of our own lives, knowing that we are never alone. Jesus continues with us through his Church, the ongoing gift of his presence. We rejoice that our hard times and pain, like his, will be overcome, and that we will be rewarded some day. Each Easter, by the power of God’s grace, given through the Holy Spirit, we renew our desire to cultivate our gift of self. We commit ourselves anew to the Risen Christ and to follow in his teachings. It is a time to renew ourselves and to commit to being a better person, serving others and striving to live up to the challenge of living out the Gospel values that Jesus modelled for us as teacher.

We approach the end of Term 1 with a break in studies where we can all take time to renew and prepare. May the joys of Easter be a lived experience in your family and may each member of our community return safely in Term 2, renewed by the personal Lenten journey of self reflection and the joy of Easter.

Brendan Watson

Principal