From the Principal

Living the fourth

There is a strong aspect of story-telling at our Year 12 Retreat. St Ignatius of Loyola gained most of his spiritual insights in the small village of Manresa in Northern Spain. In some European countries ‘to make a Manresa’ means to go on Retreat. It is within this context that our Year 12 students have attended their ‘Manresa Retreat’ this week.

Manresa is the Spanish town where St Ignatius Loyola stopped to pray on his way back from Montserrat in 1522 whilst on his Spiritual Pilgrimage. We see the Year 12 Retreat as a place where students have an opportunity for spiritual reflection and discernment about their relationships with self, friends, family and God. For them it forms part of their pilgrimage through life and faith, therefore aptly named ‘Manresa’.

The purpose of Manresa is to deepen the students’ appreciation of himself/herself as an individual and therefore a person of value to others and a person loved by God. It is also an opportunity for the students to reach out to others in friendship and support whilst deepening their faith and spirituality.

At the end of the three-day Retreat, attendees can be encouraged to the ‘live the fourth’. It is hoped that after appropriate prayer, reflection and contemplation, genuine changes can be made to lead a better life.

Thank you to our dedicated staff for guiding the process and congratulations to our year 12 on their excellent participation in the ‘Manresa experience’.

Living with sincerity and leading with integrity

The theme for last week’s meeting of Loreto Schools Leadership Teams was very appropriate in a time of turmoil for the Catholic Church. Sr Wendy Hildebrand ibvm, spoke eloquently of current challenges and the necessity for continual re-interpretation of the charism of Mary Ward. It is encouraging to be part of Catholic school networks responsive and conducive to growth and change.

Christchurch tragedy

Our thoughts and prayers remain with all the families impacted by the tragic events last week. Traumatic events can cause great distress to young people particularly given the confronting coverage in various forms of media.

Our College Psychologist, Sheleen Davis, has recommended the following links for families seeking advice on how to support young people at this time.

Robert Henderson

Principal