The Foundation of Jesus Christ in a 'Fullness of Life'

Perhaps the greatest driver of Catholic Identity in a school is the shared sense of dedication needed to follow in the Mission of Jesus Christ. Both in the Gospel and at the end of every Mass, we are reminded to ‘go’ - go and do something in the service of God and others. Jesus does not just talk about saying the right thing or practicing religion. He wants us to share in His mission by inviting us into action.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus constantly tells us who He is and who we can aspire to be. Several times in this Gospel we see Jesus declare ‘I am’ -  always using a metaphor for the reader’s sake regarding things that nurture life; bread, the vine, light etc. In our work in schools, we endeavour to imitate Jesus as shepherds. In being ‘good shepherds’ we seek to lead and enable students to have full and authentic lives. We do this by leading them in an encounter with Christ who is the gateway to the Father (John 10:7).

When we invoke John’s Gospel regarding “enabling students to achieve a ‘fullness of life’”(John 10:10) we take the pastoral aspect of our teaching duties seriously. Like the Good Shepherd we know each student by name, we search out the lost student, we nurture the hurting student, and we encourage the ‘flock’ of students in our class toward living water, both in their life and in their learning. Conversely, we look to warn them of the possible dangers in front of them and where they may encounter the ‘wolves’ that arise along the journey. 

Above all, through the foundation of Jesus, we lead them to the God of love, goodness, truth and beauty.