Issue 9 SJC News 2020

Our community has been blessed to have Michelle Brodrick lead us as our Deputy of Learning and Identity. We congratulate her on her new appointment commencing as Principal of Loreto College, Ballarat at the start of Term 3. We thank Michelle for her dedication to living out the Edmund Rice touchstones and values of compassion, innovation and integrity in the many initiatives she has initiated and developed with staff and students.

Upcoming events:

VCAL Geelong Food Relief Appeal donations of non-perishable food are being collected from Homerooms until the end of the term.

Launch of our St Joseph’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and presentation of our Possum Skin Cloak – Week 11

Service Learning Event: Students can fulfil the minimum three hours required by joining in this year’s Winter Sleep out for homelessness. Save the date Friday 24 July Week 2 Term 3 when all members of the SJC community are invited to sleep out at home. More details to come from Leah Irving.

Refugee Week: This year, we will celebrate Refugee Week at St Joseph’s during Week 3 next term with the theme, the “Year of Welcome”. Each year across Australia and the world, we celebrate the positive contributions made by refugees in our society and communities.

Year 12 Renewal: The date has been set for Tuesday 11 August, Week 5 of Term 3.

Last Sunday we celebrated the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi, which celebrates and commemorates the Eucharist at the Last Supper.

For the last two weeks I have been invited by phone, by my parish to attend Mass with up to 50 others, we arrive early, sign in, and sanitise our hands. The Mass is filmed live online for the rest of the Parishioners, we nod or wave our sign of peace. It is comforting to see familiar faces and to share once more in the Eucharist celebration.

We call the meal of breaking the bread and sharing the wine, the Eucharist; this name means ‘giving thanks’. The symbol of the meal is significant. In Jesus’ time, every item of food had to be prepared, and the ingredients needed to be gathered and used before they spoiled. Preparing and cooking food for a meal was a major job.

Meals are very important events. Not only do we physically need food and drink to keep ourselves alive, but we use meals to mark occasions and celebrate events: birthdays; weddings; dates; achievements; disappointments; gathering after a funeral and for reunions. There is a sacredness about gathering with friends and family and sharing a meal together. Stories are told; memories shared; the food is appreciated and more often than not there’s a drink to accompany the meal. Especially after our COVID-19 experience, we treat such occasions with gratitude – as blessed moments of grace – we are living out the Eucharistic reality of welcoming Jesus into our lives and seeking to be more like him.

It was so encouraging for us to be back last week all together as a community after so long, and after the emotional journey we have shared, it was nurturing to gather with our homerooms to connect off screen. At the end of the week, staff gathered, socially distancing in the staffroom at both Edmund Rice Campus and Westcourt to be Eucharistic to each other, sharing word, food and a drink. To nourish and transform our souls with human companionship, welcoming hospitality and a listening ear.

This week we hear the message from Matthew’s gospel, ‘Do not be afraid!’ Jesus told them, ‘What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight’. He shed light upon them so they could spread his message. We too should be inspired by these words. So many of us keep hidden our thoughts, our struggles and even our faith. Our feelings and emotions are what makes us human. The joyful ones, but more importantly, the distressing ones, should be illuminated and kept out of the dark.

We should all try to learn from Jesus’ message that ‘there is no need to be afraid.’ We should not have to walk alone. Although we are not about to ‘proclaim from the rooftops’ our inner most fears, we need to be wise enough to talk through them, share our worries, confess our guilts, and accept support from others around us.

Let’s all put our arms around each other and continue to support everyone in the St Joseph’s community, as we head into the holidays. Let’s keep the light shining on all of us.

We pray that all of our staff and our young men have a peaceful holiday and return safe, renewed and hope filled for the second semester.