STAFF RETREAT

    'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your                   strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbour as yourself.’                      Luke 10:27

On Friday 10 May 2019, our staff experienced a retreat at the Hermitage in Mittagong. The weather was ‘chilly’, the accommodation was comfortable, the surroundings were picturesque and the food was plentiful.

Our facilitators, Beth Riolo and Pat O’Gorman, took us on a journey that lead us to thevery beginnings of St Brigid, Gwynneville. We were reminded that, at the core of our being, we have a strong heritage in Good Samaritan education that is based on the Gospel way of life around the Rule of St Benedict.  

St Benedict was born in Norcia, Umbria in Italy, of a wealthy family in 480 CE. He had a twin sister, Scholastica. Benedict was blessed by God. He spent time in retreat – (in the cave of the heart). He founded the monastery that became the roots of the Church's monastic system. Instead of founding small separate communities he gathered his disciples into one whole community. His own sister, Saint Scholastica, settled nearby to live a religious life.

The Rule of St Benedict is beautifully embedded in our St Brigid’s Vision and Mission Statement:

• That Christ is at the centre of everything we do.
• That we provide a quality education that is solid to encourage lifelong learning.
• That our students become good citizens to take their place in the world.
• That we treat others with justice, love and compassion.

 Some final thoughts:

• LISTEN – to God, to others, to yourself
• REFLECT – on your actions, your thoughts, your impact
• ACT – with kindness, maturity, compassion
• SEEK – wisdom for the appropriate people
• OFFER – your wisdom with humility and without the expectation that your way is the way it will happen.

MISSION - ONE HEART, MANY VOICES 

We are called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do. (Pope Francis)

Last week, I was privileged to be able to attend a three-day conference, in Sydney. I travelled up and back each day by train immersed in a world unfamiliar to me, with most sitting, not conversing, spending time on devices, while the awesome world passed by.

I felt exhilarated as I watched the sun rise over the calm, glassy water, and the bushy escarpment beneath me made me curious as to what could be lurking. This, truly, is God. But where was God in my carriage?

 I had a lot of time to reflect on the focus of the conference:

 Include                        Dialogue                      Encounter      

The carriage I sat in did not demonstrate inclusion, in fact, when people entered the train carriage, most heads were down, perhaps hoping that no-one would come and sit next to them. And if someone did sit in the same seat, I could see the shuffle of bodies, so that there was not even body contact.

Dialogue only existed in the way of texting and typing. No-one made eye contact and struck up a conversation or attempt to know another’s story.

I didn’t encounter anyone.

Again, where was God in my carriage, in my seat? Did I miss an opportunity to Look at Others with the Very Eyes of God = LOVE.

 So, in conclusion, the retreat and the conference rekindled in me something I have known, but needed reminding of -

• LISTEN (with the ear of the heart)
• LEARN (the story of others)
• LIVE (go and do the same)

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 

The last session for our Year 6 students will be Thursday, 30 May  2019 at St John Vianney’s Hall, Fairy Meadow at 7.00pm.

I ask that you keep our Year 6 Confirmation candidates in your prayers as they continue on their journey in faith.

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2019 

This year, National Sorry Day 2019 falls on Sunday 26 May 2019 and is a day when we pause to remember the Stolen Generations of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

It leads us into the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation and National Reconciliation Week which is held each year between 27th May and 3rd June.

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2019 is Grounded in Truth: Walk Together With Courage.  

At the heart of reconciliation is the relationship between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. To foster positive race relations, our relationship must be grounded in a foundation of truth.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have long called for a comprehensive process of truth telling about Australia’s colonial history. Our nation’s past is reflected in the present, and will continue to play out in future unless we heal historical wounds.

Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples.

The Gospel calls us to stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society. It is our Christian responsibility to stand for and contribute to a vision of a reconciled, just and equitable Australia.

SAVE THE DATE