Issue 4 SJC News 2021

‘Be creatively courageous like Joseph’

(Pope Francis, Patris Corde, No. 5)

Gospel Spirituality Assembly

We gathered as a College community on Monday to celebrate the Gospel Spirituality Touchstone Assembly, led by our student leaders Jack Doyle and Harry Roache and fellow prefects. This team of students has been creatively courageous like St Joseph to lead our first assembly for the year. Harry and Jack connected our 2021 theme, ‘Living the Golden Rule in the Year of St Joseph’ to launch our ‘Edmund Rice Day’ intentions that are going to make life-changing differences to the communities we support. More details to come in upcoming newsletters. This is truly, ‘Living the Golden Rule’.

Harry and Jack shared their thoughts. “Edmund Rice connected with people who had different experiences to us. Faith was a great source of wisdom and comfort for him. He connected with God through more than just prayer; in fact, it was his actions that were the strongest expression of his faith. Each of us can connect with faith in different ways such as doing small acts of kindness each day.”

“Finding God in everyday acts of kindness, helping others to do their best and finding ways to really help those in need, this was Edmund’s way. As you see his face around the school he might just seem like an old dude, but he's got a lot to teach us about how one person's actions can change the world. And remember it doesn't have to be anything crazy, even the smallest actions can have big impacts.” 

Jack Doyle and Harry Roache

William Baum and Jaeger Fawcett gave an honest account of their perspectives on lifting the profile of the Gospel and Spirituality Touchstone with our students.

“At its core, Gospel spirituality is about being in dialogue about the world around us, and the way we respond to it, through the lens of our Christian values. This year, our focus is on bringing the ideas in the Gospel and making them living parts of our lives at Joey’s.

We shared a video of our Yr 7 boys talking about the 28 days of kindness challenge and the real differences their actions are making. That’s Gospel spirituality. We heard about the connection between Indigenous people and the land we stand upon, and the importance of listening to their stories and ideas. That’s Gospel spirituality. When we talk about our theme of the golden rule, treating others how we would like to be treated, which is present in ideologies and religions across the world, that’s Gospel Spirituality.

We are the team that rallies you guys together to raise funds for our African brothers in Mannya by getting behind Edmund Rice Day. That’s Gospel Spirituality.

It’s about recognising we are walking together, and that our spirituality, whatever that means for each person as they journey, can support us to ‘listen’ deeply and guide us as we strive for meaning, significance and purpose. Through this, we are pushed to look outward and take action to journey with our ‘neighbour’.” 

William Baum and Jaeger Fawcett

Feast of Saint Joseph 19 March 2021

Tomorrow, Friday 19 March, we acknowledge the Feast day of Saint Joseph. This has special significance this year as Pope Frances has dedicated it as, ‘The Year of St Joseph’.

Having a strong connection to the charism of Mary MacKillop, having attended and taught at schools that emphasized the call to, ‘Never see a need without doing something about it’. Very much, like Edmund Rice’s actions. St Joseph was the Saint that guided the order of Josephite Sisters. Here are some thoughts on the courage of St Joseph I have gathered from a reflection on the feast day from Sr Monica Cavanagh, the Congregational Leader of Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.

“Joseph’s courage comes to light when we see him step outside the norms of his Religious Tradition and take the pregnant Mary into his care instead of casting her aside as the Jewish law required, he should. We see it again when we find Joseph taking Mary and Jesus into the safety of Egypt as a refugee as Herod pursues the death of this new-born Child. Here Joseph carried out his role as protector of Mary and Jesus. Pope Francis highlights that like Joseph, everyone has been entrusted with the role of protection – protecting all of creation and showing loving concern for each person.

We see Joseph’s creativity at play when he transforms the stable into a birthing place for Mary and when he chooses Nazareth as the home where he will bring up the Child Jesus instead of returning to the wrath of Archelaus in Judea. It was here in their home in Nazareth that Joseph and Mary taught Jesus the values that shaped Jesus’ ministry – inclusivity, respect, compassion, tenderness, courage, resilience, hospitality.

Our world is in urgent need of Joseph’s creative courage. We have seen it in our frontline workers throughout the pandemic. We see it in people revolting against structures of government that hold people in situations of oppression, and we see it in the faces of those left homeless or unemployed through the experience of COVID-19. We hear it in those giving voice to realities where people are unjustly treated, as revealed in our recent Australian Aged Care Report and in the voices speaking out against the destruction of planet Earth urgently calling all to address the impact of climate change.

Every day we learn of the courage of parents dealing with mental health issues impacting their children's lives. Of employees taking stances for the good of society, of teachers managing on-line learning for their students, of aid workers steadfastly working with those at the fringe of society and the poorest parts of our world, and of journalists bringing to our attention people and situations where oppression occurs. Like Joseph, they have let no obstacles deter them from acting with courage.” Sr Monica Cavanagh RSJ https://www.sosj.org.au/feast-...

Robert Falzon, also reflects on how St Joseph may have responded to his astonishing call to be the foster-father of Jesus and spouse of Mary.

“What does it mean for fathers and husbands in today’s world? There is so much to be learned from St Joseph – so much we need right now in this present age! It is prophetic that Pope Francis calls us back to St Joseph with his apostolic letter Patris Corde (With a Father's Heart). Being a husband and father is possibly the hardest and greatest task I have been given. St Joseph teaches me, and us, much about these noble roles.”

One of his reflections from a Father’s perspective is also on courage.

“Courage — Manage yourself; find ways to be calm in the chaos and stress of life. Avoid the strong pressure to reactivity, anger, uncharitable responses and immaturity. I can have faith in my fears, frailty and weakness. God is with me/us.”

Robert Falzon, a husband and father to four adult children, is an author, businessman and the founder of the national menALIVE ministry.

https://www.catholic.org.au/im...