Veritas - From the APRIM

Solemnity for Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

These were the immensely powerful words of Jesus to Simon Peter, the fisherman, after he had told Jesus he was “…the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” When Peter heard these words, he would not have fully understood them. I’m sure this would have also been the case when Jesus told Peter: ‘“Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.)’ (John 21:18-19).

This theme of Peter’s incomplete understanding is very comprehensible, given that no-one can fully comprehend God. Peter appears to have been a reasonably average person in many ways, except for his faith and loyalty. He wouldn’t have seen himself as much of a leader, given the context of leaders in his time. When Jesus died, was buried and rose again, Peter was a witness and would have taken great heart that Jesus was amongst them in body again. However, following Jesus’ ascension, Peter (with all the disciples) was scared. This changed with Pentecost, as the Holy Spirit inspired them, under Peter’s leadership, to spread the Gospel to the world.

I was reminded of the Holy Spirit, in particular the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, when I attended a Confirmation preparation session at Rosary Church on Monday evening. These are Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgement, Courage (Fortitude), Knowledge, Reverence and Wonder and Awe of God. Given Peter’s evangelistic talents, it is clear that he received these gifts from the Holy Spirit. Peter was also martyred, which is a sign of his fortitude. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus instilled this gift of fortitude to which he alluded when he told Peter that he would lead his Church which would hold out the gates of hell.

The disciple St Stephen was also martyred. He had also received the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. He was stoned at the hands of Jewish priests and other Jews. They did this out of anger after St Stephen had told them a few ‘home truths’. (See Acts 7 for this amazing speech.) It ends with St Stephen being stoned with the approval of the Jewish Pharisee and Roman citizen, Saul (who later became known as St Paul).

Saul (Paul) was a major persecutor of the Church until he had a profound conversion experience (Acts 9). He was struck down by a blinding light (literally blinding), and heard the voice of Jesus say “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”. I encourage you to read this in detail, but essentially Saul’s profound conversion experience was completed by other faithful and forgiving early Christians that had been instructed to do so by God. From this point, Saul became known as Paul and went on to have the most profound influence on the spread of the Gospel.

Paul took the Good News of Jesus Christ to Jews and non-Jews alike, with the conversion of the latter being quite contentious on the matter of circumcision. This led to a ‘spirited’ meeting in Jerusalem between Peter and Paul and other followers (see Acts 15 and Gal 2:1-10) in what is considered the first Council of the Church. It is amazing that Peter, the first apostle and the first Pope, and a companion of Jesus; and Paul, a person that probably never met Jesus before the first Easter, a persecutor converted so profoundly, would even meet let alone ultimately work together to spread the Gospel. These are the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Like St Peter, St Paul was also martyred. There is no biblical reference to this but it is thought that he was beheaded in Rome around the year 63CE.

Saints Peter and Paul: Apostles, Martyrs, Catechists, Evangelists; two of the greatest Church leaders.

They had a significant influence on St Dominic who carried around Matthew’s Gospel and Paul’s letters. St Dominic also had a vision of Saints Peter and Paul, and this is depicted in the Fra Angelico artistic work shown.

Confirmation and First Communion Program and Candidates

The timing of the Solemnity of Saints Pater and Paul, two that were profoundly affected by the Holy Spirit, is fitting given that our Confirmation candidates and their parents met on Monday afternoon and evening in preparation for this sacrament. I am pleased to announce the following as our candidates and wish them all of God’s blessings in their preparation:

Nathan Bishop

Alessandro dos Santos

Marcus Gill

Hudson Page

Antony Barresi

Max Sampson

Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH) and Refugee Week

In 2017 our Young Christian Students (YCS) and Prefects initiated the support of Blackfriars for ACRATH and this support is continuing in 2018. As you are aware, the YCS team organised a barbecue to raise funds for ACRATH, selling 500 sausages across the school.

Given Week 8 was Refugee Week, and a significant proportion of people who are trafficked are indeed refugees and asylum seekers, our support of this initiative also served as an act of solidarity with our fellow brothers and sisters who are refugees, some of which we are blessed to have in our community.

Congratulations to the YCS team for their excellent work, which honours the Dominican Pillar of Service. More information regarding ACRATH can be found via the following link: https://acrath.org.au/

Cans, Cans, Cans

The Vinnies Winter Appeal is underway and students and their families are strongly encouraged to donate a can or several to this drive. We are competing against St Mary’s, St Dominic’s, Christian Brothers, St Aloysius and Mercedes on who can donate the most cans. This competitive factor is not overshadowed by the real meaning and reason for our efforts: solidarity and charity - again underpinned by the Dominican pillar of Service.

Mr Matthew Crisanti

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND MISSION (ACTING)

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