May has been an eventful month for the College with regards to the faith life of Staff and Students. In the recent conclave, we witnessed the beautiful processes and rituals attuned to the Catholic Church. We, along with many Catholics and non- Catholics witnessed the election of Pope Leo XIV: On 8 May, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as Pope Leo XIV, becoming the first American to hold the papacy. We pray that the Holy Spirit continue to guide Pope Leo XIV as he leads the Church in the seat of St Peter.
At the College, May was an opportunity for the Year 9 Students to engage in their faith and to learn in a practical sense more about our First Nations Peoples. We were welcomed to the Westmeadows Indigenous Community Gardens by Aunty Joe Russell who introduced to the students the value of working with the land and the benefits of nature. As a backdrop, we used the encyclicals from Pope Francis titled, “Laudato Si`” and Fratelli Tutti. These encyclicals speak teaching about our responsibility as stewards of the environment and of working together to share resources with our neighbours. Students engaged in gardening activities such as weeding, mulching and planting. They also participated in Indigenous cooking and learned about First Nations culture and traditions through traditional art, boomerang throwing and music. The classes were spread over three days and the students responded extremely well returning to the College with further positive memories of their time at Penola.
Faith Corner continues to meet regularly, this time gathering at lunchtimes on Mondays in the PAC foyer for fish and chips and fellowship. We have spent the last few weeks learning about and discussing about the year of Jubilee and how we can be pilgrims of hope. We spent time examining the Jubilee logo and the mascot Luce. We are all on our own journeys of faith and it is hoped that these sessions will provide opportunities to scatter seeds of hope that will benefit our young people well into adulthood.
Thursday 15 May a group of 18 students, 4 staff, Fr Sam Pearson and I headed to St Patrick’s Cathedral for Holy Hour. Holy Hour is held at 6.30pm Thursdays where youth from all over Melbourne gather in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We commenced with dinner at Roccella Italian restaurant before going to the Cathedral for this powerful experience of silence with Jesus.
We have much to look forward to as the year continues and the semester comes to an end. We are planning further opportunities to celebrate the Year of Jubilee. We are well under way of preparing the four pilgrims from Year 10 as we plan to head to New Zealand with schools in the AJASS group in September. We do this to further learn about the New Zealand chapter of the Josephite sisters and St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. We have the Australian Catholic Youth Festival to plan, this time it will be held in Melbourne. It is a great opportunity for young people from around Australia to gather together in praise and worship as they learn about the beauty of the Catholic Faith.
Finally, we are able to launch the new 2025 College banner linked with the tenet, “Never see a need without doing something about it”, written by Fr Julian Tenison Woods to a young Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867 at the beginnings of the Order. Many thanks to all of the students who submitted designs for the 2025 College theme. Serena from Year 8 whose design was chosen for the banner speaks about the symbolism of the image. She writes, “A person in the back is watering their flowers. On one side, are healthy flowers whereas on the other, there are dead flowers. The flower represents us, when we water our flowers, they grow, whereas if we neglect them, they die. In the corner is the college theme, “Never see a need without doing something about it.” - Mary Mackillop”
Congratulations to Serena who responded to a meet a need within the College community.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, pray for us
St Joseph, pray for us
And may we always remember, to pray for one another.
