Dear Families,

This week is bookended by two Sunday’s where we celebrate and remember two important women in the history of the Church. Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast Day for Australia’s first Saint, Mary Mackillop of the Cross and this Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption.

St Mary Mackillop devoted her life to ensuring that even the poorest of children had access to an education with her first school, St Joseph’s at Penola in South Australia opening in 1866. I was fortunate enough to visit this little schoolroom built in a converted stable a few years ago. It was amazing to see how different, but also how similar Catholic Education is today when compared to that little school in a rural part of Australia. Many who are not Catholic, but who chose to send their children to Catholic schools, name one of the main reasons for choosing a Catholic school as being how welcoming we are and our sense of community. As humans we are drawn to be in community, to connect to others and to be known by others. When Mary Mackillop started the Sisters of St Joseph, and opened up her first school, she created a community where even the poorest in society felt a sense of belonging.

Greg Sheridan wrote a piece in The Weekend Australian titled “Time to reassess Mary, the first Christian”. In it he spoke about Mary’s absolute devotion to God, such that when the Archangel Gabriel came to tell her she would become pregnant with the Son of God, her response was “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.” He also discussed the tradition of Mary being the original source for Luke’s Gospel. That is not to say that Mary sat beside Luke as he wrote the Gospel since Luke’s Gospel was written well after her Assumption into Heaven, but that his Gospel was partly based on an oral tradition of stories told originally by some of the Apostles and Mary the mother of Jesus. Luke’s Gospel is often said to be focused on fellowship and community. It is certainly the warmest of all four Gospels and it probably most closely mirrors what we create in Catholic Schools. It is the only Gospel to have the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, one a parable told to teach us how to care for others, and another teaching us about belonging and forgiveness. These qualities of caring for others, belonging and forgiveness are key features of Catholic Schools.

So this week, we can think about how Mary, the Mother of Christ passed on this tradition of community, care and fellowship through the oral stories eventually recorded by Luke and how St Mary Mackillop of the Cross, continued this tradition by creating school communities where we care for others and people feel a sense of belonging. It is now our role to continue to maintain communities where all are welcome, where all are cared for and everyone can feel a sense of belonging.

Congratulations to the Rhodes Family 

Emily Rhodes and family welcomed a healthy baby girl, Harper Jane Rhodes, in July. Congratulations and best wishes to the Rhodes family.

God Bless

 
Leah Taylor
Principal