34. The Soul
The Porta Fidei retreat theme series culminates this week with a focus on teaching as a vocation. Many attending the Porta Fidei retreats find that this session gives them a fresh perspective on the ‘why’ behind their choice of career.
The peer to peer delivery of the Porta Fidei talks brings authenticity to the message and assists participants to reflect meaningfully on their own relationship with God and how that relationship guides them in the mission of enabling students to achieve the ‘fullness of life’ (Jn 10:10).
The term vocation comes from the Latin ‘vocare’ which means to call. The Porta Fidei retreat is about renewing and hearing once again the call of Christ into a radical relationship with Him and into the vocation of teaching. In this sense, the vocation of teaching is explored in a different way than in a group of graduating students still discerning their future vocation. We sometimes need a reminder of the link between our career choice and this life-giving vocation which provides us with the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ by serving the young people we teach.
The 1982 Vatican document Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith reminds us that as lay educators we should “be profoundly convinced that (we) share in the sanctifying, and therefore educational mission of the Church.” Jesus calls us into this vocation of teaching and gives us a task, a mission to accomplish - to go and make disciples.
In the lead up to Proclaim Lismore Staff 2019 we reflected on the Proclaim Lismore journey and were asked “Why do we have Catholic schools and why do we work in them? Why did you choose this path? Watch This is our why to be reinvigorated in our vocation as Catholic educators.
In this transcript of her Porta Fidei talk on Teaching as a Vocation, Deb Rennes shares personally on the sources of grace that have enabled her to live out her vocation as a teacher.
More highlights and reflections on the Porta Fidei Retreat can be found in this reflection video.
Although the Porta Fidei retreats were all cancelled in 2020, we remain hopeful that they will return in 2021. The dates and venues are already locked in. Keep an eye on MyLearning next year. We hope to see you there.
- 17-18 June - Bonny Hills
- 19-20 August - Invercauld House
- 2-3 September - Coffs Harbour
- Walk on Water is an uplifting breath of fresh air to help us get through a challenging day or week. This joyful worship hymn is especially for those days when we find it hard to just put one foot in front of the other.
- To help reflect on this week's theme, Audrey Assad’s modern take of a classic hymn, Be Thou My Vision, will help guide us to surrender our vocation to God. It is also believed that the hymn is based on a poem that may have been written by an Irish Saint who experienced blindness later in life.
- If you ever feel in awe and wonder at God’s creation of the universe, So Will I provides many reasons why we sing God’s praises.
One of the Never Stop songwriters, Laurie Pratt, talks about writing the latest Wildfire single and the meaning behind the lyrics.
Remember to get your class honing their lip-syncing skills for all or part of the Never Stop soundtrack. A new film clip will be created using a montage of video submitted by schools having fun by lip-syncing, dancing and creating actions to this new song.
Submissions can be made via this google form link or via email to School Evangelisation Consultant, Matt de Dassel: matt.dedassel@lism.catholic.edu.au.
Here is an early entry. Well done St John’s College Woodlawn!
This video created for the 2019 SHINE Gathering focuses on the meaning of vocation and calls us to listen with our heart and seek answers where we find joy.
- All Saints and All Souls days begin the month of November and pose the question: What does it mean to be Holy? Proclaim Lismore Staff 2017 and 2019 focused on our call to become Saints, reiterating Pope Francis' call for all Christians. A summary of his Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate - Rejoice and Be Glad in 2018, and a clip from the Pope can be found here:
- Short Courses in Theology - Free online at ACU
Click the image above to submit your prayer intentions. Each week the prayer intentions are passed onto the Carmelite Sister's at the Carmelite Convent in Goonellabah.
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Proclaim Lismore Staff
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