Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

Yesterday, we celebrated the Feast of St Mary Magdalene. Many in the Church have confused Mary Magdalene as being the prostitute of Galilee. However, as biblical exegesis teaches, she was the woman that Jesus had cured, whom seven demons had come out (Luke 8:2). It was not too long ago that this day dedicated to Mary Magdalene was just considered an optional memorial in the Church’s liturgical calendar, rather than a feast. However, in 2016 Pope Francis moved to elevate the memorial to a feast. Why is this important? It places her on par with the apostles in line with what St Thomas Aquinas gave titled her many centuries ago, ‘Apostle of the Apostles’.

In the Gospels, Mary Magdalene accompanies Christ to Calvary. She is there when Joseph of Arimathea places the body of Jesus in the tomb and is the first to witness the Risen Christ and first to recognise Him “Rabbuni!” which means “Master!” in Hebrew. Mary Magdalene is also the first to announce the joyful message of Easter that He has risen, “I have seen the Lord” (John 20:18) to the other apostles. Her loyalty and generosity to the service of Christ is a wonderful example for all of us who are called to serve Christ’s Church.

Staff Faith Professional Learning Day

On Monday 12 July our Staff participated in a Faith Formation Day facilitated by Dr Andy Mullins. Dr Mullins was headmaster of Redfield College in Dural, NSW (1996 – 2010) and Wollemi College (2011 – 2014). He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame Australia. He is the author of Parenting for Character: Equipping Your Child for Life. His doctoral studies focused on virtue development and neuroscience.

The day consisted of three sessions: ‘What does it mean to be Catholic?’, ‘How to be Salt and Light’ and ‘Prayer.’

We began the day exploring the great riches and traditions of our Catholic Faith from its very inception from Christ and his apostles to the many saints who gave witness throughout history. The session highlighted the wonderful gift and privilege we have as teachers to impart the ‘treasures’ of our Catholic faith within our community and in particular our students.

The second session focused on St John Paul’s statement that “Catholic Schools …are above all to be schools of holiness. They exist primarily to give saints to the world” (St John Paull II Millennial message to Australian Catholic School Students). That above all, Catholic schools are places of holiness where students learn to know and love God. We discussed practical ways to foster holiness in our students by providing opportunities to develop the virtues such as justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude.

In the last session, Staff explored how we can be “Christ like to others” through nurturing our relationship with God in prayer which concluded with adoration with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament led by Fr Simeon at St Catherine of Siena Parish Church.

The day was a great opportunity for our Staff to develop their knowledge and faith to be authentic witnesses in a Catholic school and consequently encourage others, especially our students to develop their relationship with God.

GOSPEL REFLECTION

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B