From the Director of Faith and Mission

20 October 2023

The Lord God has this to say to you today:

I have loved you with an everlasting love and I am constant in my affection for you. I will build you up and I will protect you in good times and in bad.

Jeremiah 31:3-4

The Advent term has brought with it much to reflect, seek justice for, and celebrate. October is the month that Catholic Mission focuses on the work of missionaries around the globe by running a school awareness and fundraising campaign Socktober. This year their focus is on the work of the Salesian Sisters in Timor-Leste. To ensure we are active in supporting our school’s virtue of Justice, we are standing in solidarity with the work of missionaries around the work and have been engaging in the Socktober challenge which will culminate in a soccer penalty shootout on Wednesday 25October. This challenge has provided our 2024 College Captains a view of their important roles next year, as leaders in the faith and mission of the College and community.

October is Catholic Mission Month and we recognise that it is also Mental Health Month. During Jesus’ ministry, he worked tirelessly to show to others the importance of accepting and respecting all people. In the bible it tells many times that Jesus ‘looked’; Mark 10:21 ‘Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him’; Matt 9:36 ‘Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them’; Luke 7:13 ‘When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her’ and John 6:5 ‘ When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming to toward him, Jesus said.. “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ Each time Jesus looked He didn’t just see a person but felt love, and compassion. Jesus’ gift to humanity is the relationship he offers all to have with God. He calls all of humanity to look with the heart in all we think, say and do. Too many in our world, suffer daily from mental illness and it is important that as a community, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus and truly look at people, see them, and let them know they are loved.

This love was shown so beautifully in the final days with our Year12 students. As the school live came to an end for our Graduates, the community came together to let their light shine, to light the way as the graduates walked from the school grounds one last time as students. The celebration ended with the Graduation Mass and Graduation Ceremony on Tuesday night. With Fr Jude as Celebrant, the cohort, staff and families we listed to a reading from The Book of Jeremiah, chosen by Alyssa Gaba, the 2023 Liturgy Captain, prayed the prayers of the faithful with graduates and their siblings and reflected on the Gospel reading and Homily, reminding all how we are the light of Christ that shines our love, talents and spirit into the world. The Mass concluded with the school Choir and musicians performing an inspirational hymn, to send out our Graduates to be light for the world. Each Graduate then received a gift of the Thomas Carr College Cross which had been blessed by Fr Jude.

While the year has come to a close for our 2023 Graduates, as a faith community we begin our lead up to Christmas. November will mark the start of our St Vinnie’s Christmas Hamper Appeal. I ask you all to keep an eye out for ways we can continue to ensure justice for all, and shine our light into the lives of those, most in need.

Fr Jude’s blessing of the crosses

Send your Spirit upon these Thomas Carr crosses and the young people who will receive them. Grant that this cross, a symbol of Your unending love, and sacrifice, be a source of hope and strength for this graduating class in the days and years to come. May the stars on the cross, placed at the spots of your suffering, fill them with the light to survive any struggles or pains they may face. May the incomplete sun inspire them to search for ways to be light in the world, and the chevron remind them that wherever they go, they will always be under the protection of the one body with the Thomas Carr community.