Faith & Mission
FRIENDSHIP IN ACTION
My reflection for this newsletter is based on the work that Year 7 Blue are doing in the preparation for their class mass next week. The theme that the students chose was friendship. Working with the class, I could observe them putting the principles of real friendship into action. The students listened attentively to others as they explored possible themes, readings and prayers. They volunteered to put their skills and talents to the service of the class as readers, musicians or artists. Importantly, they shared the fun of working on a common project.
There is a view in the community that scripture readings cannot speak to 21st century students. The readings that the students chose for their mass are certainly not frivolous and fluffy. St Paul in a letter to the community at Colossae in modern Turkey challenged his readers to:
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Our Year 7 Blue students were recognising that deep friendship is not always easy to live out. In their choice of Gospel of Luke, the students went even further with respects to the demands that friendship requires.
If you do good only to those who do good to you, should you get some special praise for doing that? No! Even sinners do that! If you lend things to people, always hoping to get something back, should you get some special praise for that? No! Even sinners lend to other sinners so that they can get back the same amount! So love your enemies. Do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back.
The students noted in the development of their theme they wanted to make an aspirational commitment to build a year level based upon the powerful bonds of friendship. That in the words of St Paul they would:
clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
What a year level they would become if these were to be their guiding principles.
Morning Masses
As indicated in my reflection, our first Class Mass for the year will be held in the College Chapel on Wednesday 23 March at 8.05am. Parents of the students of Year 7 Blue are particularly welcome to join their daughters in the celebration of their mass.
Normally, our class masses are held on a Tuesday morning at 8.05am. All Academy parents are welcome to come along in participate in our mass.
Reflection Days Update: Yrs 10, 11 & 12
New date and destinations for year 11 & 12
Read more on Senior School page
Year 10 Reflection Day
Read more on Middle School page
Mr Mark Hyland
Director of Faith and Mission