“Once Jesus was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. He said to them, ‘Say this when you pray:
“Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come; give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.”
Luke 11:1-4
Sunday’s gospel reading provides the foundation for The Our Father prayer. As Jesus explains to his disciples what to say when praying, he introduces us to the ‘Our Father’. Thomas Aquinas stated:
“The Lord’s Prayer [the ‘Our Father’] is the most perfect of prayers… In it we ask, not only for all the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired. This prayer not only teaches us to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them”
Jesus tells us that we must persist in prayer, to continue to pester God. He then gives us very good news, a very consoling piece of information: He says:
“Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
This sounds perfectly fine, but the challenge is believing and this comes down to faith. Believing in God brings hope. Hope in the fulfilment of his promises. The more we pray, the happier we become. The more we pray, the less anxious we become, and we are filled with a greater peace of mind and heart. The more we pray, the more we understand ourselves, for we come to know God more intimately, by experience and we really only know ourselves to the degree that we know God personally. The more we pray, we begin to see the hand of God in our day to day life, that is, we see Him acting in our life. We begin to see that He loves us, personally. That makes life so much more meaningful. May we be strengthened by prayer and hope it strengthens our relationship with God and all those around us.
Click here to read more on the importance of prayer.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Each year on 15th August, we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast day commemorates the death of Mary and her bodily assumption into Heaven, before her body could begin to decay–a foretaste of our own bodily resurrection at the end of time. It is the most important of all Marian feasts and a Holy Day of Obligation for all Catholics because it signifies the Blessed Virgin’s passing into eternal life.
The Gospel for this holy day recalls Mary’s actions after the announcement of Jesus’ birth by the Angel Gabriel. Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is also with child. Elizabeth greets Mary with full recognition of the roles they and their unborn children will play in God’s plan for salvation. Mary responds to Elizabeth’s greeting with her song of praise, the Magnificat. Both women recall and echo God’s history of showing favour upon the people of Israel.
Therefore, the Gospel highlights Mary’s faith. Mary’s faith enabled her to recognise the work of God in her people’s history and in her own life. Her openness to God allowed God to work through her so that salvation might come to all. Mary is a model and symbol of the Church. May we be like Mary, open and cooperative in God’s plan of salvation. The College has had a long tradition in celebrating mass on this most important day of obligation and will continue this tradition. All parents are most welcome to attend this or any of our masses throughout the year.
Term 3
As we welcome back all the staff and students to Term 3, I would like to formally welcome our new LOTE teacher Miss Amor. I am confident that the College community will welcome her with open arms and provide her with all the love, understanding and encouragement from this wonderful community. May her time here at the College be filled with joy, happiness and friendships. As we welcome Miss Amor, it is with great sadness that we announce that Mrs Keogh has resigned from her teaching position for family reasons. This was a painful decision for Mrs Keogh but the appropriate one for her young family. We would like to sincerely thank Mrs Keogh for her contribution to the College and wish her great encouragement as she cares for her family. We thank Mr M. Bourke who will replace Mrs Keogh and continue his association with the College.
I reminded students at the College assembly on Monday, 29th July that the term brings all students an opportunity to reboot and re-
evaluate their goals after reviewing their Semester One reports. Whether it is to improve because of a lack of effort or because you wish to set an even higher standard, all boys are encouraged to do their personal best at all times. Students are to remain hopeful that they can improve and add value to the College environment by making great choices, taking the opportunities to learn and being enthusiastic about their learning. Charles Swindoll once said:
“The remarkable thing we have is a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.”
It is our attitude that we have control over and the one thing we can change by making better choices.
On Tuesday, 24th July, our Year 10 students and their parents attended the 2020 Year 11 Subject Selection evening. This begins the process of selecting courses for their senior years at St Dominic’s. It is an important time as each student selects the right pathway that will lead them to success. Mr Godsell, Mr Gorton and myself spoke about making the right choices so that they can succeed in their senior schooling. I pray that the difficult conversation is had between the parents and their son, so that he will make an informed decision that will benefit him as he moves into senior education.
All students should have received their Semester One Report. I encourage all families to review their report and reassess their goals for Semester 2. Setting new targets will assist all students in continuing in a positive learning journey. There may also need to be some difficult conversations around the necessary improvement for a number of students. I would also encourage parents to discuss any concerns with their son’s teachers so that, in partnership, we can attain the required outcome.
Y12 Major Works Showcase
The Y12 Major Works will be showcased to the College community on Tuesday 30th July. Having a preview of the works, I would like to congratulate all the students on the impressive major works that
were displayed. It was obvious that much time, effort and love has gone into the major projects and I am certain that we will receive some outstanding results. Great work doesn’t happen without the expertise of experienced teachers, therefore I would like to thank Mr Easterbrook, Mr Zammit, Ms Knowles, Mr Williams, Mrs Bright, Mrs Torpy and Mr Wilson for their commitment and dedication to their students. You must be very proud of their work. A special thanks also to Mrs Monteleone and the hospitality team for providing some delicious food.
College Assembly
Also at our College assembly on Monday, 29th July, we acknowledged the outstanding achievements and contribution made by our Rugby League, Football, Touch Football and Basketball Teams. The achievements of our 9/10 Touch and Senior Basketball Team needs a special mention. The 9/10 Touch Team came second in the State Championship while the Senior Basketball Team continue the long tradition of success of our team in the NSWCCC tournament.
While acknowledging the success stories, I may note that it’s not in winning or losing that defines who we are, but rather the
sportsmanship that we display; the friendships we make; the teamwork we encouraged and the support we provided each other throughout the season or competition. It is these values that will be remembered long after students finish school. These also provide the foundations for our attitude, our commitment and our dedication and thus reflects who we are as a community.
College Athletics Carnival
The College Athletics Carnival was held at Parker Street ovals on Friday, 26th July with boys wearing their House shirt or the colours of their House. The carnival was a great success with all students participating in this community activity. It is involvement in these community days that students recall when they meet up years later at their reunions. For students who didn’t attend you missed this great opportunity to be part of this wonderful community. Unfortunately, the champion House could not be named on the day as some events are yet to be completed.
Seize the day and reboot for Term 3.
Dominus Mea
Let Your Light Shine
Mr M. Ronchetti – College Principal
