Thank you

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of this Term. How quickly has it flown past? The week after next is Holy Week and, as our school term draws to a close, our Catholic tradition celebrates the lead up to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus.

Despite the speed, there has been a great atmosphere of cooperation and purpose as teachers and students quickly settled into the school year. There has also been great parent support for the various activities held during this term, including the Opening Mass, the House Swimming Carnival, Learning Mentor Meetings and numerous other events. All these efforts can only improve the opportunities available to the students in our College.

Lent

Lent, as we know, is a time of reflection that helps us to prepare for the great celebration of Christ’s Resurrection at Easter.

Hopefully this Lent, we’ve all taken a little time to examine our habits; to put the face of Jesus on the people we encounter, and see if our habitual tendency is to feed Him or to starve Him, to clothe Him or to ridicule Him, to comfort Him or to provoke Him, to be a positive influence on Him or a negative one? Am I helping Him or am I hindering Him? What can I do on a day-to-day basis that demonstrates that I am really trying to “Love one another …”?

If our habits are not to our liking, there is no better time than now to start new ones! Even if there is only a bit over a week to go.

Easter

Holy Week for Christians is a time of special intensity. It is a week during which we do things that we don’t usually do and hear things we don’t usually hear. Holy Week has been held in great reverence since the very early years of the Church and no other Christian observance has interested the world so much. The rituals of the Church are complex and laden with meaning and proclaim to the world the liberating Good News that Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again.

Our Easter celebrations, starting with Palm Sunday and continuing through Holy Thursday and Good Friday to Easter Sunday, direct our attention to look further into the Cross, to see in it and through it the mystery of a profound love, a love that does not forget, a love that is sustained in us through the Holy Spirit. At Easter, we remember the death of Jesus and we celebrate the new life of His presence within us. What we celebrate from Friday to Sunday is the core of our faith: “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.”

It can be easy to simply focus on the “big events” that occur over Easter and forget about the life of Jesus before these momentous events. Jesus’ attention had been focussed on offering fellowship to the poor, the marginalised, the outcasts and it was from these groups that He chose the people who were to be the leaders when He was no longer there. Jesus’ work now continues through us Christians – Christ followers – who, in the Mass and the Eucharist, eat and drink with Him after He has risen from the dead.

For Christians, Easter is the matchless remedy for all forms of hopelessness. The Resurrection of Jesus is the basis for the deep trust that cultivates our faith and love. Easter is never over, Jesus lives on in all Christians; it is in us that His presence is in the world.

So as we look forward to the end of a very busy term and the accompanying rest time, I am also particularly encouraging everyone to reflect on what Holy Week, and in particular the events of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday mean in the context of our Catholic tradition. By all means have a great holiday after this short and busy term but please don’t lose sight of the true significance of Holy Week.

God bless.

Michael Delaney

Principal

St Joseph's College, Echuca

Issue 5 · 03 Apr 2019

In this issue