Newsletter 7: 30 May 2023

Dear Colleagues,

National Reconciliation Week 2023 - Be a voice for generations.

As we celebrate Reconciliation Week, the theme draws all Australians to reflect on tangible ways in which we can in our everyday lives be a voice for reconciliation.

Pope Francis reflects in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est that “the just ordering of society and of the state is a central responsibility of politics,” and that the Church “cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. All Christians, their pastors included, are called to show concern for the building of a better world. This is essential, for the Church’s social thought is primarily positive: it offers proposals, it works for change and in this sense it constantly points to the hope born of the loving heart of Jesus Christ.”

As Brother Dan Hollamby AM, a Director of the MSA Ltd Board, explains, a First Nations voice to parliament is central in the historic Uluru Statement from the Heart. "It is about listening to the views of those who will be directly affected by decisions being made. It is about what Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Bowman calls Didarri - deep inner listening which puts personal views and prejudices aside, and allows true discernment to happen. It is an essential step on the journey towards National Reconciliation which can only make our nation stronger." As the nation prepares for this historical referendum on a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution, let us pray that all Australians make decisions that reflect in some way “the hope born of the loving heart of Jesus Christ”.

All Marist educators are reminded of the three online symposiums.

As we prepare for the celebrations for Champagnat Week, your attention is drawn to the Champagnat Global Webinar Building the Global Compact on Education in Marist Schools on 8 June or 15 June. Further information, registration and timing can be found on the flyer on the following page.

The following prayer is commended to you as we commence celebrations for Champagnat Week.

Guide us in our search for wisdom.

Open our eyes and ears, our hands and hearts

to find the gifts in each other.

Make us fully awake to your presence in our lives.

As Marists may we learn to follow you

with simplicity, humility and modesty.