Pope Francis has something to say to the Youth…

After many gatherings of young people from across the Globe at the Vatican reflecting on the Challenges facing the Church in the modern-day, Pope Francis has responded through his letter to the youth, Christus Vitit.

Christ is Alive (Christus Vivit) is the post-synodal apostolic exhortation that has been written after the Synod on Young People, Faith and Vocations in October 2018.

In his letter, Pope Francis highlights the following key points:

• Jesus is our guide, highlighting He himself was a young person during His ministry years. Using the scriptures to reflect on Christ's life as a young man, he calls the Church to look to young people for inspiration.
• He reminds the young people that they are the Church of now.
• He calls young people to find God’s love; reminding them that God loves and values each and every one of them.
• He encourages them to take up their dreams and hope for the future.
• In the final chapter of his letter, Pope Francis reminds us of the value and wisdom held of family and the elderly.

“...a young person stands on two feet as adults do, but unlike adults, whose feet are parallel, he always has one foot forward, ready to set out, to spring ahead. Always racing onward. To talk about young people is to talk about promise and joy.” (CV 139)

“Filled with the love of Christ, young people are called to be witnesses of the Gospel wherever they find themselves, by the way they live.” (CV 175)

If you wish to read the whole letter, click here: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20190325_christus-vivit.html

Year 9 Retreat Day #Loveyourselfie

Late in the term, our Year 9 students gathered at Williamstown Town Hall for their annual retreat day. The focus of the day was to explore issues of identity, self-esteem and body image through the theme #Loveyourselfie.

Students engaged with the guest speaker, Annie Lawerence, her mock beauty salon detoxed their ideas of beauty through social media, infused their idea of beauty from the words of Greek philosophers and left them with a great challenge to continue to remind themselves daily that they are beautiful, that they are a masterpiece and that they are unique.

To continue to explore this theme, students also engaged in a liturgy reflecting on the Psalm, ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully made’. They reflected on the masks that people wear around different groups of family and friends and were given the opportunity to make their own mask. The day ended with an affirmation activity to allow the students to hear from others the unique characteristics that make them unique. Overall it was a fun, reflective day that reminded students that they were created in love and with dignity and that they truly are beautiful and unique.

Some words from the students

“This retreat made me realise that inner beauty is all that matters. It made me realise that I am more beautiful than I think. This retreat made me understand myself which gave me a complete answer of who I am."

"I found the Year 9 retreat extremely informative and eye-opening. Learning about what is really important in a person really helped me to learn what I should focus on in myself and in others. I found the activities very interactive and enjoyable and helped a lot in encouraging people to look within themselves and be proud of who they are."

Danielle Fairthorne - Director of Catholic Identity