By Mr Patrick Donnely, Assistant Principal Mission and Identity 

Cornerstones

Once a fortnight, our staff can engage in the program Cornerstones. This is an opportunity to look at a range of topics that help develop their spiritual formation. The first session was “The Essence of Prayer”. Each fortnight will have a different reflection from the staff who are partaking in this program.

Essence of Prayer

I have always found prayer personal; however, when I was younger, I found that I was praying to God who was in a distant place. When looking at the basics of prayer, it does remind us that we are praying with God near and with us. The “Who” of prayer calls us to be open and build our relationship with God, something that we often forget when we are in prayer. We bring our story to that exact moment in our lives and meet God. It is not about feelings, as we will miss God and lose out on the essence of prayer. As we enter the space of dialogue with God, the image of God is then presented to us. Some see a male father figure and others may see Jesus on the cross. For me I see the light breaking through the darkness and in my day to day, it is the sun, shining down on us. By having the image of God in prayer, it helps build a relationship with Them. The comment, “We don’t contain God, God contains us” challenges my younger self’s perception of God being in this distant place when praying. As I have grown, and my relationship with God has grown, I now understand that when praying I do know that God is near and with me; however, They are not going to be in the exact place I am expecting Them to be. I am not able to contain God. Prayer is daily, otherwise we lose the essence of it. The more you do it the more of a habit it becomes. Doing this in the classroom helps my students learn that just showing up and doing prayer is “success”, as we can’t fail with prayer.

Vocal prayer allows us to engage in outward expression in the community. Spontaneous prayer can seem “messy”; however, if you listen, it is the collective voice of a community in an open dialogue with God. This supports us all in the sense of belonging and community. Traditional vocal prayer engages us in ways that give us structure and commonality. In this style of rote prayer, we can just ramble without thinking about what we are truly praying for. We need to be still and know what we are praying for. When talking about prayers like ‘The Lord's Prayer’ and ‘Hail Mary’ people do hear people say it like a race. I recall being at mass with my grandparents and you would hear the older members of the congregation race each other. My sister once won the race as she said ‘Amen’ just one second faster than the nun. Through vocal prayer, it is clear that faith is a decision. We simply do not feel it and feel that God is with us, we just know it. This means that we do not just rattle them off or we have to be in ‘holy mode’ in order for us to pray. This allows us to have our relationship with God and be in an open dialogue with Them. The essence of prayer.

Pastoral Care Liturgies

Pastoral Care liturgies have started again! This is a great opportunity for PC classes to come together and celebrate through the form of a liturgy. This week we saw Romero 1 and Rice 1 start us off. This term will be Romero and Rice, and they will then have a second time in Term 3. Donovan and McAuley will be in Terms 2 and 4. It has been a privilege being welcomed into the PC classes as a guest as it allows for an open Dialogical culture. 

Donovan House Mass

On Wednesday of Week 5, Donovan will make the journey to St Mary’s Church during Wellbeing to celebrate Mass as a House. House Masses are new this year but will be something that all will love. Each House will work with me, and their House Leaders, to create the Mass. Each PC has construed a prayer for the Prayers of the Faithful and the House Leaders have selected the relevant readings. With ‘Wisdom’ being Donovan’s value, their House Mass will be around the theme of Wisdom and the overall theme for 2025 ‘Light the Lantern’. Donovan families, please keep an eye out for a letter regarding this.