Dear Parents and Carers,

As we begin the second half of the term, I become conscious of how quickly the time is going. No sooner does it seem that we have started the year and the year begins to pass without us even noticing.

As I watch and interact with our Good Samaritan students each day I wonder how time will be for them as they grow older. There is an old understanding that as you grow older time seems to go faster. The pace of our modern world certainly seems to keep getting faster and faster. When we feel like we want the days to slow down so we can appreciate the lives of our children for a little longer we can look to the people of ancient times and what they did to live their lives to the full.

One such person is St Benedict. St Benedict was an Italian monk who founded the Benedictan monastry and became the father of Western monasticism. Benedict had a sister whose name was Scholastica. Bendict lived part of his life as a hermit but came to understand the need for living in community and it was from this point that his ‘rule’ was written.

The Rule of St Benedict, as it is known today is ancient having been written in the sixth century. Yet it is amazing how authentic and necessary the rule is today - more than fifteen hundred years later. The rule itself is very simple, direct and clear. It is an uncomplicated text that concerns itself with the ideas and attitudes of what it means to live in community with one another. The Rule of St Benedict is concerned with life: what it’s about, what it demands and how to live it.

One of Benedict’s well known phrases is Listen with the ear of your heart. When Benedict says ‘Listen’ he is telling us to pay attention and to attend to the important things in life. He guides us  to let nothing go by without being open to how we might be nourished by the event and the inner meaning that it may have for us.

As I sit and write this newsletter I am struck by the thought of what led me to Good Samaritan. I take up this role as my third principalship but I am certain that God led me to this community. In this first part of Benedict’s Rule, he sets out the importance of not allowing ourselves to become our own guides but rather have a willingness to listen for the voice of God in our life. By doing this we can come out of what the limitations that we, and others, can place on ourselves.

As we work through the year together, we will start to unpack the Rule of St Benedict as a charism for the life of the Good Samaritan school community. So as the time this week passes by  take a moment to ask yourself:

Have I listened with the ear of my heart? Have I listened to what God is telling me through this event that I am experiencing? Have I listened to what God is telling me through my own child?

Have a great week.

Toni Sillis

Principal