APRE

This is my first newsletter article for a few weeks, and it’s fair to say, it’s been an interesting time.  From what I’ve seen and experienced there have been many difficult, challenging, frustrating, bonding and exciting moments.  I hope that my article this week finds you healthy and sane!   

EASTER

The Catholic Church is currently in the season of Easter.   This is regarded as the most important season in the Church’s calendar.  It lasts for 50 days, ending in Pentecost, and celebrates the resurrection of Christ, giving thanks for new life.  I feel the expectant return of our students beginning with Week 6 will be like a celebration and we are excited to have our students return back to school and things to return to “normal”.  

PARISH

We still aren’t able to attend mass, and perhaps won't be for a while  yet.  I know Fr Dave at the parish is still open for people to come in and see him if required.  The parish office is located in the Ryan Community Centre on Morindo Drive.  He has also been creating some wonderful reflective videos which you might like to watch with your family.  Keep an eye out on the Ministerial Region of the Good Shepherd facebook page, they are great messages and highly entertaining.

CONTEMPLATIVE CORNER

We’ve decided to include a different contemplative practice in the newsletter each week that you might like to do yourself or as a family.  St Benedict is well known for creating a rule which outlined how to live for those who resided in monasteries.  Since then, many people have used his approach of peace, prayer, humility and stillness to lead them to contemplation and listening to the word of God with 'the ear of your heart',  as he described within his rule.  It is this prayer, stillness and listening which inspires our Contemplative Spirituality.  

Today’s Practice: Finding Beauty Outside: Find a place outside, it might be in your yard or anywhere you might travel to, the beach, the bush, etc.. Simply sit and look at and listen to the earth and environment that surrounds you. 

Focus on something specific, such as a bird, a blade of grass, a clump of soil, cracked earth, a flower, bush or leaf, a cloud in the sky or a body of water (sea, river, lake…) whatever you can see. Simply be aware of your focus, be still, be silent, listen… Following this quiet time, there may be, on occasion, value in allowing yourself to give expression in some way to their experience of this quiet, still listening through a journal, poetry, drawing, painting, etc.