Mission Report

by Director of Mission, Mr Geoff Brodie

We are in a rich time in our Liturgical Year. The Season of Easter has ended, and we have returned to what is called, perhaps distractingly, Ordinary Time. There is nothing ordinary about the next Sundays as we celebrate wonderful and defining beliefs of our Catholic faith.

Last Sunday was Pentecost where we celebrated the living and ever-presence of God in our world.

The love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Spirit of God dwelling within us, alleluia. (Rom 5:5)

This Sunday we celebrate the fundamental and essential mystery of the Trinity: The One God who is perfect love in three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Cor 13:13)

The following Sunday is the Body and Blood of Christ, where we are reminded that God’s love transforms all suffering into joy.

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ.  (1 Cor 10:16)

Our Touchstone of Gospel Spiritualty expresses our desire to nurture and encourage the spiritual growth of each person in our community. This occurs through prayer, reflection, symbols, sacred stories, rituals and sacraments.  The gift uniting all these privileged moments is Jesus’ invitation to love without limit.

This year of course has been a very different one. Our many liturgies at St Patrick’s College have not been able to take place. However, we have discovered new ways to deepen our friendship with Christ. Many thanks to Ms Anne-Marie Driscoll who for many weeks has prepared and sent out materials for the sacredness of Sunday to be observed by families. As all our students return next week, we will need to give serious thought to the ways our boys will be offered liturgical moments. How may our students encounter the transforming friendship with Jesus?

Though many things have changed this year, it has been an opportunity to be clear about what we trust and rely on. To be more accurate, to be clear about who we trust and rely on. We do many things for the sake of our family and friendships. Our hopes, dreams and endurance emerge out of and for the sake of our family and friendships. We are kind and generous to others for the sake of a mutual friend. The coming liturgical weeks teach us that friendship with Jesus Christ is the gift of mutual friendship with all people, allowing us to be united with the bonds of love that can never be broken. We learn to say with St Paul

I have not lost confidence, because I know who it is that I have put my trust in, and I have no doubt at all that he is able to take care of all that I have entrusted to him (2 Tim 1:12)

Life-long friendships remain a great gift of St Patrick’s College. Most significantly, our friendship with Christ, encountered and nurtured especially in liturgy, transforms all our knowing, choosing, acting and loving for the sake of perfect love – eternal friendship with God. Our friendships are an education in eternal life and our liturgical life teaches us to hold friendship as sacred. It would take more than several months of isolation to shake our trust in this beautiful truth.