Dear parents, friends, staff and students,

Last week in the newsletter, I spoke of the solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus and noted that the Apostles would soon experience a sense of loss and fear. This week’s readings reinforce this idea as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. The first reading (Acts 2: 1-11) tells us of the Apostles crowded in a small room not sure what they are to do next. The Holy Spirit then appears in what “seemed like tongues of fire” and the Apostles were then given the gift of speech. There is a notion that they suddenly understood what their mission was and then were able to explain this to others who also understood. In the Gospel (John 20: 19-23) the support is much clearer with Jesus Himself appearing to the Apostles with the message “Peace be with you”. As a teacher and parent, these messages are particularly appealing to me. Whilst we do not suddenly gain the gift of language or experience visitations of Jesus Himself, the idea that we can suddenly understand the message of God and then find the appropriate words to articulate this, is a life-giving thought. The Apostles then had another of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; courage, which encouraged them to preach the message of God. With prayer and God’s grace, we too can preach this message by our actions in life.

This afternoon and evening we are holding our second ‘LIVE” event for the year. These events are designed to enable the students to explore their own spiritual journey and have an opportunity to take time for quiet amongst the excitement and energy of a concert run by the youth mission team from Wollongong. These events at Mount Carmel were very well supported by the students before the COVID lockdowns and we are slowly building this connection back up again. Thank you to the staff who have given their time to journey with the students and to Mr O’Connell who has organised this as part of his role of youth ministry. A huge congratulations and thank you to the students who have taken this time to think about their own connection with God.

We are again beginning to return to our normal learning experiences that were restricted during lockdown. This week, we have seen the Yr. 11PDHPE students, Yr. 7 science and Yr. 7 & 8 pastoral groups attend excursions or incursions. Next week our Yr. 10 and 12 students will attend the MACE career’s market and we will have our Champagnat Day celebrations. It is lovely to start to return to normal however, we are still to return fully. Again, I thank all students and parents for your understanding as we move slowly in order to protect everyone’s health and safety.

Ite in Veritate

Mr Steve Lo Cascio