4 September 2018

By John Rhynehart, Director of Faith and Mission, St John’s Regional College, Dandenong.

The faith community of St John’s Regional College along with parishioners, students and staff from the parish schools of Holy Family, Doveton; St Paul Apostle North, Endeavour Hills; and St Mary’s, Dandenong, gathered for a Eucharistic Celebration of the Assumption of Mary in the College Stadium on 15 August 2018.

Adding to the celebration was the presence of Archbishop Peter A Comensoli and the priests of our region. Not only was it the first visit to St John’s for Archbishop Peter but also his first school visit anywhere since being appointed the Archbishop of Melbourne. We were blessed to host him and blessed by his words and his wonderful and inspired leadership throughout the Eucharist.

I record here a section of Archbishop Peter’s homily as a reminder of not only what the Feast of the Assumption is for us but also what we are called to be because of the Feast. He told us:

From the beginning, the Church has understood herself to be a community brought into existence by Jesus Christ and sustained in the love of Christ. For this reason, the very first task of the Christian community – our first task – is to remain in a relationship of love with God.

In this regard, Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, is our primary point of reference. It is from Mary that we learn our bond with Christ. So, our identity as Christ’s friends is bound up in the life of Mary.

In the midst of the ordinary circumstances of our lives our spiritual Mother points the way to her Son, our redeemer. Through her we can learn to live in this passing world focused on our goal in heaven.

The prayers, music and people in the celebration on 15 August truly reflected the teaching we received from Archbishop Peter. As the Eucharist came to a conclusion, the Archbishop dared us to put into practice that which we have just celebrated. Gathering the Year 7 and 12 students to the centre of the sacred space, he asked the students to ‘eye ball’ each other and make a commitment of prayer – each for the other. Doing so he was able to help the student (and staff) to understand what ‘a relationship of love with God’ looks like and how we live it out.

Now it’s your turn to join us as we continue to look to Mary, the Mother of Jesus as the best possible way to enter into a deep and profound love relationship with our God. Let’s pray for each other.

This article was originally published in the St John’s Regional College newsletter 30 August 2018.