Dear Parents and Carers,

Last week Year 3 students from Good Samaritan, St Brigid’s and the local state schools made the sacrament of Reconciliation. For many of the children, this is the beginning of their journey of understanding what the sacraments mean in their spiritual and faith formation.

It is also a time when we, as adults, are able to reflect on the importance of the meaning behind each of the sacraments in our lives. Reconciliation is defined as ‘the restoration of friendly relations’ and as ‘an action of making one view or belief compatible with another’. I am sure that if we reflect on occasions within our own lives we would be able to recall times when we have had to restore relationships and, indeed, it may have been done by making our own beliefs compatible with that of another.

One of the greatest stories of forgiveness that Jesus offers us is that of the Prodigal Son. There are many commentaries on the meaning of this story and the way in which the brothers, the elder and the younger, relate to the father. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest of who heads the Centre for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, writes that this story may have been better titled The Merciful Father. Why? Because it is the actions of the father that demonstrate the proclamation of the nature of God’s love and mercy.

The Rule of St Benedict also incorporates Reconciliation into everyday life. In Chapter 4 of the Rule, Benedict points towards reconciliation and the preservation of strong community is made possible by selfless and loving interactions between people. We’re all familiar with the fact that when we don’t reconcile with another, when we don’t forgive, we can often hurt ourselves more than the other person.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus uses the relationship between the father and the son as an image of the God/person relationship. This story expresses the true spirit and style of the historical Jesus. Jesus is saying that God takes the initiative, God loves unconditionally, God knows we have sinned, but God comes running after us.

In my short time at Good Samaritan, I have experienced such a wonderful sense of community. And it is within the community that the restoration, the reconciliation of relationships occurs. I continue to marvel at the way our parent community works to maintain positive relationships with the school. And I am sure that this takes some level of reconciling to make beliefs compatible with another.  In addition to this, I recently had conferences with each staff member and the strongest theme that ran through these was that of developing and maintaining strong relationships with the students. This, too, takes reconciliation as staff encounter frustrations, hurt and annoyances that they ‘let go’ in order to restore the relationship.

So, take a moment this week to identify where God is asking you to ‘let go’ and to practise forgiveness in the present moment because why keep a wound open when forgiveness can close it?

Working with you together, as we journey with Jesus,

Toni Sillis

Principal