Mission Report – July 14, 2016

There is no escaping the fact that winter is upon us. There is the evidence of snow, rain, sleet, hail, showers and seemingly moisture coming out of the ground. There is also the unmistakable sight of the -‘moon-boot’ around the College; wounds from the sporting ovals of Ballarat, and in such great numbers that one wit among our students suggested we should be selling them from the College shop.

The limited daylight is another annual sign of the times. Small children now find their own homes an intimidating encounter in the late afternoon unless there is someone tall enough to turn on the lights. This happened the other evening when our three-year old daughter was asked to collect her pajamas from her room and bring them to the bathroom. The sight of the dark hallway was too much and she stopped at the doorway. She raised her hand up to me in an offer I could not refuse, so I took it and we happily wandered down the dark hall into a dark room to collect her pajamas from under her pillow. She did not ask for the light to be turned on: holding her parent’s hand was enough to dispel any fear or uncertainty.

Is this not a walk of faith? If we have a trusted hand to grasp, then we can face what otherwise might freeze us with fear and doubt. This is the same promise that we are given in Christ when life presents us with challenges that we cannot possibly face on our own, no matter how brave we try to be. Our Catholic faith is not a set of logical propositions that we employ, like a recipe, to choose our path. Rather it is the love and friendship of a God who will never leave us on our own in the dark.-

The dark winter moments in our life will always occur, but we have the light of Christ to show us the way. May we all share this great gift of love and friendship and never miss an opportunity to be a light and comfort to those in need. –