This week in our school community: 13 September 2024

We were delighted to begin the year officially with the celebration of Mass as a whole community in memory of our patron, St Gregory the Great.  

Mass of St Gregory the Great to begin the year

We were delighted to begin the year officially with the celebration of Mass as a whole community in memory of our patron, St Gregory the Great. We were reminded by both Fr Martin and Fr Bill of his role in spreading hope to these shores with the flame of Christendom in the sixth century.  St Gregory’s life was filled with many blessings (started with so much wealth); opportunities gifted to him from an early age.  Yet he took these and the map laid out for his life and found the path God had planned for him.  Gifting his riches to those who truly needed it and using his talent for music, diplomacy, oracy and vision he has had the most profound and long lasting effect on our world.  So too, at the beginning of a year when we focus on being ‘pilgrims of hope’ are our students being reminded that they all have something special to share, the journey is ahead of them to embrace.

Agents of Peace

Each year on 21 September the world focuses on an International Day of Peace. At the same time, the Lasallian community invites us to celebrate a whole month on this important theme and culminates with the Lasallian Day for Peace on 21 October.  We begin this focus on Monday with our weekly school theme, ‘Agents of Peace’, and start by reflecting on the small things that make a big difference and commit to helping seeds of peace grow.  Each of us is called to be an agent of peace, the very start of bonds and positive relationships.  As we are fully aware, there are some awful conflicts in the world right now, which seem way beyond our reach or we may not think we can solve them.  This time last year we considered the continued war in Ukraine appalling, yet fast-forward 12 months and the violence continues with even more war and loss of innocent lives in Palestine and Israel now.

There are many ways which people describe and envisage what peace is.  From the ‘peace and love’ movements of the past and hippy culture, to ‘absence of war’ and ‘harmony between all individuals, starting with me’.  However, I love this quote from the Theologian, Walter Brueggemann, which really challenges the heart of peace and combines the idea of love with true love of neighbour in action:

“Peacemaking doesn’t mean passivity. It is the act of interrupting injustice without mirroring injustice, the act of disarming evil without destroying the evildoer, the act of finding a third way that is neither flight nor fight but the careful, arduous pursuit of reconciliation and justice. It is about a revolution of love that is big enough to set both the oppressed and oppressors free.”

The message of peace must still begin with the individual and courage.  As Brueggemann highlights, it requires finding a way to actively show love whilst avoiding being an aggressor too.  As the famous saying goes, ‘Every Lake began as a drop of water, each beach with a grain of sand’.  Just as a plant needs light to grow, so do we.  This light can come in many forms, light is a symbol of joy and hope within 'dark' times. Light brings energy, warmth and visibility.  In scripture we always hear about Jesus being known to Christians as the light of the world.  ‘God has chosen you to do his work’ (St John Baptist De La Salle).  St John Baptist de La Salle reminds us that we have been chosen by God for a special mission and purpose.  In order for peace to grow we need to spread God's light and love to one another.  It is reminder from De La Salle of the message we began our year with when speaking of being pilgrims of hope, this is truly one way of spreading hope by being agents of peace.

Mr Robinson

Lay Chaplain