57. The Soul
As we come to the halfway point of the final term of the year, it is often easy to get caught up in the busyness of the end of year activities. This week, let us pause to reflect on the beauty of our lives and how the things we have seen, heard, smelt, touched and tasted this year allow us to experience Christ in our everyday lives.
Helen Keller, author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer, offers a profound insight into beauty. Blind and deaf from the age of 19 months, Helen had extraordinary insight into understanding that whilst beauty is often described through our senses, it is far deeper than that. Our senses are the gateway to true beauty, they bring us to the edge of what Helen Keller says ‘must be felt with the heart.’ As was suggested in our Parish School Spirituality Days this year, ‘Beauty should do more than provide a “delight to the eyes,” like the fruit that tempted Adam and Eve; it should push us outside of ourselves to lead us to what is ‘true and good’.
Richard Rohr suggests that, “Looking for beauty all around us is a contemplative practice, an exercise in opening our hearts, minds, and bodies to the divine image.”
Children’s author Michael Speechley in his book The Gift wrote, ‘If you look long and hard enough, you’ll see beauty in everything.’
This week, let us open our hearts, minds and bodies to the divine image and see beauty in everything. Let us feel with our hearts and allow beauty to draw us to an encounter with Christ, the way, the truth and the life.
- I’ll Follow You (Jonathan Traylor) - Jonathan Traylor signals the coming of a new generation of faith music - an authentic melting pot of Worship, Christian and Gospel influences, marked by captivating songs and anchored by a heartfelt passion for ministry.
- Beautiful Life (Corrine May) - ‘Smile, it’s a beautiful life’ - in the lyrics of Corrine May’s song, we are reminded of everyday moments that help us to lean into God’s infinite beauty.
- Blessed are You (Sara Hart) - Blessings are moments of beauty and they come in all shapes and sizes in our daily lives. For Sarah’s explanation and inspiration for this song listen to The Commons.
- The Psalm Project (Encounter Catholic Music) - Written by 10 young Catholic artists from the Archdiocese of Brisbane, this album is a modern take on the Book of Psalms.
FATIMA 2020
If you are unfamiliar with the story of Our Lady of Fatima, this is a movie for you. Mary’s appearance to three Portuguese children, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco in 1917, continues to inspire millions. Her plea for prayer and repentance is still relevant today, just as the miracle’s comforting power continues to reassure believers of God’s mercy. As the month of the Rosary comes to end, take the time to sit down with your children and watch this amazing retelling of Our Lady of Fatima.
Socktober - Catholic Mission Australia
It has been wonderful seeing the photos of schools participating in this year’s ‘Socktober’ Celebrations for Catholic Mission Australia. Catholic Mission Australia has provided a suite of resources and encouraged schools to explore the work they do in Thailand. Many schools have held a ‘Socktober Shootout’ to ‘Kick’ their Mission goals and it’s great to see both staff and students having some fun with the sock balls they made throughout the Socktober Challenge. A shout out to St Mary’s, Grafton, who raised a school personal best of $1,747!
Click here for some photos of Socktober across our schools.
Aboriginal Spirituality Kits - Crosses
St James' Primary, Yamba, have had their cross from their Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Spirituality Kit painted by local artist, Deborah Taylor. The cross beautifully connects Yaegl Spirituality and Catholic Faith through art.
A reminder that there are funds for all schools in the 2021 NAIDOC school grants to engage with a local aboriginal artist to paint the crosses in the kits.
- If you’re looking for design inspiration or an image to enhance your newsletter, you can find all prayers and quotes from The Soul on Pinterest.
- Is there such a thing as objective beauty? Join Tsh Oxenreider and Seth Haines in their weekly episodes of A Drink with a Friend where they candidly and informally discuss this notion and many other topics. In this podcast two friends regularly discuss the sacramentality of life and ask each other what they are reading, watching or listening to that is bringing more truth, beauty or goodness to their life. Episodes specifically dedicated to noticing beauty are:
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- The Persuasive Power of Beauty
- Ordinary Beauty #1
- Ordinary Beauty #2
- Michael Speehley’s picture book The Gift, has a deep and beautiful message: There is beauty in everything. This video is a wonderful experience for children and adults alike.
- Our Church has the beautiful gift of being able to draw upon those who have gone before us. We can learn much from the saints and the ways in which they identified and sought beauty in their lives. Don’t miss The Modern Saints by Gracie, which offers a contemporary view into the lives of some well known saints through art and story.
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