From the Principal

Every storm runs out of rain

This heading is particularly apt during a month of record rainfall. It is also a reminder that current pandemic challenges will diminish over time and we have much to be thankful in Western Australia and at John XXIII College.

This weekend we celebrate the Feast of St Ignatius. Our Secondary Interhouse Athletics carnival is conducted today and next week our community comes together to celebrate John XXIII day. The following week will include ‘Ward House’ Day as we remember the example of the Founder of the Loreto Sisters. Invariably, these are wonderful events and there have been beautiful John XXIII traditions associated with these special days.

When telling the stories of ‘heroes’ the tale often ends with the high points of their lives. The sporting hero wins the grand final; the musician performs on a grand stage; the actor wins a major award. The stories of Saints are different as we commemorate their passing and recognise, they are beginning a new life with God.

Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ, puts it beautifully when he writes:

‘For Christians all endings are beginnings and are more important than any triumphs along the way.

The Feast Day of Ignatius invites us to turn our eyes to the fifteen years after he was elected first Superior General of the Society of Jesus, and particularly to his last few years in which he lived with serious illnesses. He did not spend these years travelling and in hands-on building of new ventures, but in his office in Rome pushing chaos under the door as he faced crucial questions about the directions of the new Order. He had to put out bushfires, deal with the anxieties of Popes and Bishops, respond to increasing demands for Jesuits, encourage his companions in times of discouragement, and bed down a distinctive way of following Jesus.’

At times St Ignatius could be short-tempered and demanding. He was human. 

German philosopher and non-believer Friedrich Nietzsche once observed famously about Christianity: ‘If you want me to believe in your redeemer, then you’ve got to look a lot more redeemed.’

I wish everyone well for joyous celebrations of all things John XXIII in the coming weeks!

Robert Henderson

Principal