Mission Report

by Director of Mission, Mr Geoff Brodie

This week’s Gospel is surely one of the most well known in our Catholic Tradition. At the start of this Lenten Season we hear that Jesus heads out into the desert, only to be tempted by the devil (Matt 4:1-11).

Fr Richard Leonard SJ suggests that

“[this] Gospel is about knowledge… Satan knows who Jesus is. His temptations are an attempt to get Jesus to betray his humanity and not endure the limitations of his daily life. Jesus knows that the only way to be true to his divinity is allow us to see it shine in and through his human life. The rejection of the temptation to compromise his frail human frame gives us the hope that we, too, can glimpse the power of God’s greatness in every moment we reject the desire to be directors of our own destiny and to see good triumph over evil in the choices we make.

It’s a relief to know we don’t have to be God!

May this Lent see us do what we are created for: to use all our knowledge to praise, reverence and serve the Loving One who willed us into being.

In love, God has willed us into being to be whole, to be holy. However, holiness is not to be confused with being perfect. Holiness is knowing we need God’s help in our imperfection. It is knowing we need the forgiveness of others when we make mistakes. Holiness is when the love of God and neighbour motivate our actions. It is about handing our life over to love, little by little. Sometimes we need to remove ourselves from the drama of everyday practical living and move out into a desert to experience and know this anew.

The gift and risk of a Catholic education is to educate the whole person for a meaningful life. Our Christian responsibility is to be witnesses to the ultimate value of a holy life. Lent reminds us that we are not alone in the struggles of this life. Indeed, we have a God who shares our challenges and suffering in Christ. The confusion and pain of this life are transformed because, through Christ, we also share in the joy of the Resurrection. This joy is experienced in the love of family and friends, united with Christ, so that we need never feel alone. May we receive the grace to reject all temptations and proclaim the peace and unity of God’s love for us.

May God continue to bless us in our Lenten Season.