Mission & Catholic Identity News
From the horse’s mouth
August 1, in the southern hemisphere is known as the ‘Horse’s Birthday’. All thoroughbreds have a same birthday so their ages can be standardised for comparison, due to a lack of historical records of actual birthdays. One way they say that you can determine a horse’s age is by looking at the teeth. So, if you were buying a horse and you wanted to confirm the age, you would open the animal’s mouth, stick your head inside and check the teeth. Hence, your information would be correct and ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’.
Wouldn’t it be good if our information gathering were ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’? It seems to happen too often these days, with the advent of various technology and social media that our information gained is second hand or by ‘Chinese whispers’. Too many bullying cases in our schools and in society are caused by second hand information, and not really knowing the person or what has happened. Sometimes we need to get back to basics and follow the ‘do unto others' concept. That essentially no religion misses entirely and is found in some form, in almost every ethical tradition.
Some food for thought
"For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarrelling ceases"
- Proverbs 26:20
"Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself "
- Confucius
"Recognise that your neighbour feels as you do, and keep in mind your own dislikes"
- Sirach 31:15
"The most righteous person is the one who consents for other people what he consents for himself, and who dislikes for them what he dislikes for himself "
- Muhammad
"One should never do wrong in return, nor mistreat any man, no matter how one has been mistreated by him"
- Plato
Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola (31 July 2020)
St Ignatius promoted the themes of seeing our talents as gifts, of making the best use of them and most importantly, doing so in a spirit of generosity and service. An Ignatian spirituality is a mindset or way of looking at reality, informed by a faith in God. Ignatius believed the world was of God and thus God could be found in all things especially in the activities of humankind. Ignatius knew that to have lasting impact, to be real, spirituality has to be lived.
On the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, let’s be encouraged to have an adventurous sense of the world. To see the world as a gift to be enjoyed. To use your talents well and generously. Let us be members of a St Peter’s College community that seek to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
Whole School Prayer
Every Friday at 2:00 pm, we offer a whole school prayer gathering through Zoom facilitated by Clyde North staff member, Mr Jean-Paul Antoine. All staff and students are welcome to attend – please watch out for Mr Antoine’s email invite.
We are travellers here…
On 8 August 2020, we celebrate the feast of St Mary of the Cross aka Mary MacKillop co- founder of the Sisters of St Joseph with Fr Julian Tenison Woods.
The below prayer written by Mary MacKillop, is a favourite of mine.
We are travellers here,
Called to embrace the world, inspired to love,
United we stand as one.
We are travellers here,
Stirred by a burning desire,
Christ offers hope, a spirited holy fire!
The world is in need of healing grace,
Crossing the bridges of culture and race.
With pioneer courage, make sacred this place.
We offer our lives as pilgrims of peace,
working and praying so love may increase,
a heart full of yearning that hardship may cease.
Our hands are a blessing of care and concern.
We reach out to others, so others may learn
The Spirit is with us, this we believe!
No boundary, no challenge will silence our dream,
A fire of justice the world has not seen,
Christ ever shining, the life giving stream!
Upcoming Events
- Our Term 3 Charity is St Vincent de Paul. Keep an eye on various events and activities that will be organised by our Social Justice Captains to support Vinnies.
- Breakfast Club will be re-opening ASAP on both campuses. Email Mr Williams here if you would like to donate items to our Breakfast Club.
- MacKillop and Kolbe Houses will be celebrating an abridged House Feast day in the next few weeks.
Matthew Williams
Deputy Principal - Mission & Catholic Identity