A Message from the Principal
Bernard Burgess
Dear Catherine McAuley, Catholic College families,
Caritas Australia provided the following reflection in the fourth week of Lent.
One of the most beautiful expressions in the Bible comes from the prophet Ezekiel (Ezk 11:19). ‘Thus says the Lord, I will take their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh.’ It is a call to be tender and compassionate.
Most of us have heard the story of the two sons in last Sunday’s Gospel over and over. The brilliance of the way Jesus tells stories is that it still gets under our skin. Here are two young men who think they can live on their own terms. One has a sense of entitlement and demands his share of his father’s estate which he then squanders. He is finally prepared to eat humble pie and find his way home. The other son has a different sense of entitlement. He believes that his hard work and reliability should provide him with a greater share of his father’s love. At different times in our life, we can relate more to one or other of these people. Jesus implies that they are both blind to the way God’s love works and that they both need to grow. They have both been dead and now must come to life.
The Caritas story of the week was of Irene, aged 25, living in the Kongolo region in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her father was killed during a war and Irene lived with her mother with very meagre resources, often going hungry for extended periods of time. Irene first became pregnant as a teenager and later had to raise two children with just the support of her mother. As a single mother, it was challenging for Irene to care for her two sons without a stable income. Irene’s life changed after she participated in the Youth Capacity Strengthening program, run by Caritas Australia’s partner, Caritas Kongolo. Through the program, she undertook training in sewing and livestock farming, enabling her to generate income to support her family.
St Paul says that we are ‘… ambassadors for Christ.’ ‘… for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation.’ Let us all be part of building that new creation, setting the world to right as best we can. Our part is to reach out in compassion and love to heal the wounds of the whole human family. Let us all Unite Against Poverty as pilgrims of hope in this Year of Jubilee.
Water Walk
This week at CMCC, thirty four of our students and twelve staff participated in one of the College’s Project Compassion activities – The Water Walk. This was a one hour, early morning walk from the College to the local creek and back, to collect water and emulate the daily routine of many in our world who live in much more challenging circumstances than most Australians, and whose access to fresh water is very limited. The walk itself while symbolic, provided the opportunity for students and staff to “walk in the shoes of those less fortunate” and through this commitment raised more than $1100 for Caritas Australia.
Our thanks to Ms Kelly, our Leader of Ministry for her work in organising this event, the fund raising opportunity supported by students, families, staff and the parish, and for the opportunity for our College community to support Caritas during Lent.
Lastly, in this final NEST for Term 1, I encourage our families to read further in this edition to our Digital Innovation and Learning Leader, Ms Nischang’s article regarding responsible use of social media and the College’s policy and procedures regarding the misuse of these platforms and forums. Families are encouraged to have robust and ongoing conversations with their sons and daughters regarding social media, both inside and outside of the College.
Wishing all in the CMCC community a happy Easter during the upcoming school holidays and a safe return to school in Term 2.
United in Mercy
Bernard Burgess
College Principal