St John Paul II College Nicholls eNewsletter

Message from the Principal

Loving Lord

Today we remember the veil of darkness transforming to the brightest light;

The most dreadful end becoming the most beautiful beginning.

We remember with trembling hearts the depths of despair fading to reveal hope everlasting;

the curse of death defeated by eternal life.

Today we remember with thankfulness your willingness to be pierced for our sins.

We sing with abounding joy of your miraculous rise, from death’s tomb to resplendent life.

Thank you for the promise of heaven and your generous invitation of eternal life for all.

Amen

Julie Palmer

From: Australian Catholic University (2021). ACU Book of Prayer. HeroPrint.

In our calendar, this is the most important liturgical time of the year, where on Sunday we celebrate our Lord’s rising from the dead. However, before we get to the joy of the resurrection, first we must encounter Jesus through the agony of his betrayal and denial, his suffering, crucifixion and death. We remember that Jesus died for all of humanity, so that we might have life.

As we come to the end of Holy Week, I am conscious that you will receive this newsletter on Holy Thursday afternoon or evening. This is the night that Jesus gathers the disciples in the upper room, he predicts the betrayal, and yet he celebrates with his friends and institutes the Eucharist – the first sacred meal. He blesses and breaks the bread and gives it to his friends, he offers the wine and gives it to them to drink. His body and blood become for us our spiritual meal. We commemorate this every time we gather to profess our faith, to worship as one, and to participate in the Eucharist.

Our faith can at times be complex and difficult to understand, and it can test us as well. In the simplest way, the Easter Triduum invites us into a very human story as well as a divine one. A man who was treated suspiciously because of what he had to say, because of how he treated others, and because he attracted so much attention, and in turn, followers. The authorities were confused about what to do with this man who preached and taught, and performed miracles. He was let down by his friends, who denied him, and who ran away. He suffered a cruel and agonising death. His time in the garden I imagine was one of intense sadness, fear, and loneliness. Jesus begs his Father to take away this cup. We see Jesus at his most vulnerable, and utterly human. He resigns himself to “Thy will, not mine”. Jesus was then mocked, and made to carry his cross, and died in an undignified manner. We then wait, and hope, and pray. We look to Mary his mother, who stands by the Cross, and stays with her Son until the end. On Sunday morning, we learn of Jesus’ rising from the dead and we claim triumph and victory over death.

Every one of us can perhaps call to mind our own moments where our friends might have let us down, where we have experienced much loneliness and perhaps fear, and we have endured our own nights of torture. Perhaps we can identify with Our Lady, who waited by the Cross. And maybe we can also relate to our own Easter times in our lives where new birth arrives, and we gladly rejoice. All of this and more, is reason for us to remember that the Christian story is ultimately one of hope. We remain an Easter people.

I wish all families a happy and holy Easter.

RESPECT

Aretha Franklin famously sang about it. I am sure that our students are well versed in the fact that our College has only three attitudes of behaviour that we call behaviour norms. These are: respect yourself, respect others, and respect the environment. I think these are a neat encapsulation of all that is necessary for a calm, well-ordered learning environment. Respect speaks to our core values of justice, peace, and courage. I would hope that our students are well informed about how we best animate these three fundamentals of respect.

I have noticed that increasingly, many agencies, shops and commercial organisations now have signs that remind customers and clients about respect, and announce a zero tolerance approach to abusive and threatening behaviour and language. Often, when calling an organisation on the phone, this announcement will form part of the triage process before speaking to a real person! My local post office has this sign:

I used to wonder what precipitated the need for these announcements and warnings, but I guess it is because the incidence of abuse aimed at staff is very much on the rise, and people cannot refrain from demonstrating their intolerance, impatience and disrespect. At our College, similarly, we cannot accept abusive behaviour or language, or intimidating emails or phone calls. I remind all parents and students, that like hospitals, post offices and other agencies, we will not respond to, nor tolerate language, or behaviour that intimidates, threatens or disrespects staff.

I like to think that as Catholics, we afford one another the inherent dignity and respect afforded all humanity, and we treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. In both the Gospel of Matthew (7:12) and Luke (6:31) we have the Golden Rule from where this mutuality comes: “In everything do to others what you would have them to you, for this is the law and the prophets.”

Dr Craig Wattam
Principal