79. The Soul
Welcome to The Soul, a valuable resource for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lismore and further afield. Developed during COVID-19, The Soul provides Spiritual Communion and support for staff by breaking open themes with thoughtful editorials, prayers, music, resources, family matters, as well as health and wellbeing tips. There will also be some special editions this year as we prepare for our Proclaim Lismore Staff 2023 days at the end of May - early June.
In this month’s edition of The Soul we will explore our purpose as educators, and as children of God.
Have you ever been in your staff room ready to eat your salad for lunch only to find there are no forks available? Improvisation may then take place and a spoon used instead. It does the job, but it isn’t as effective as it might have been.
Sometimes the purpose of our lives can feel like this too. We’re using spoons to get the job done, and it’s working, but it could be much better if we were using forks! As Christian educators, we would often reflect on what we believe the purpose of our life is.
Some people may say ‘to be happy.’ Others may say ‘to leave a legacy.’ Others, ‘to make the world a better place.’
While each of these may be a true and beautiful purpose for our lives, perhaps they are like the spoons that we’re eating our salad with. They’re close to the right utensil, but they’re not quite the right one.
Our true purpose, as Fr Mike Schmitz said, “... Is to know Him (God) and to make Him known.”
Our very lives are living testimonies of God’s goodness and power, and God asks us to share the true story of Jesus with others. This story is not only what Jesus did when He was alive on earth for those 33 years, but also the story of Jesus in the last 2000 years! This story is special because it’s about what He has done in your life. We are called to share this story, and invite others into the knowledge of Jesus that we already have.
Jesus’ purpose is made clear in John 3:16 - ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.’
Holy Week draws our attention to what God has done for us, so that we may have the opportunity to live out our purpose too. God loves us so much and wants to spend time with us, and God desires that we share this love with those in our school and parish communities.
This is our true purpose. To love God, to know God, and to make God known to those around us.
But how do we go about this? Sometimes we don’t realise that someone has unpacked the dishwasher and put the forks back in the drawer. We could be using a fork but we don’t know that it’s right in front of us.
It’s easy to wonder, ‘where do I begin?’ Already, God has revealed to us ways that we can live out this true purpose.
- Pray: Prioritise spending time with God. Even if you give just 5 minutes of your time each day, you will come to know God more, and learn more about yourself in the process.
- Listen: God is speaking to us all the time, so we should practise listening, and being more attentive to the way God is moving in our lives.
- Serve: Through serving others by giving of ourselves and sharing the love of God, we can live out this purpose in a practical way.
As we prepare for Holy Week, we trust that God will guide us and draw our attention to what He has done for us. Let’s pray together that God will give us the strength to live out our true purpose, just as Jesus did.
- No Longer Bound (Forrest Frank feat. Hulvey) - Jesus came to set us free; we are no longer bound. This is the Good News, and this groovy song reminds us of just how powerful God really is.
- Quiet - Stripped Version (Elevation Rhythm) - We live in a world where the loudest voice is often the most heard, but God’s voice is usually heard in moments of silence. The message of “Quiet” is taken from the biblical passage where God promises to fight our battles, all we need to do is be still and trust Him. This song is an honest prayer between us and God, needing to hear His voice.
- Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Aly Aleigha) - Based on the Prayer of the Cherubic Hymn, which is found within the Liturgy of Saint James, this beautiful hymn was used to prepare members of the Church for communion.
- Inheritance (Bethel Music) - "Your presence is my inheritance. What more could I want?"
- Easter Medley (The Movement Worship) - This worship team from Sydney, Australia recorded a medley of songs about the resurrection of Jesus. Add this to your Easter playlist!
- All I Am (Lyric Video) - Sometimes when we spend time in prayer, we don’t know what to say to God but we know that He is listening to us anyway. This feeling is described in the lyric video of Proclaim Lismore Wildfire’s honest, heartfelt ballad ‘All I Am.’
Debunking A Meditation Myth - “In order to meditate I have to stop thinking.” This belief can lead to a lot of frustration when learning to meditate. Just as our eyes exist to see, and our ears exist to hear, our minds exist to think. Click here to read more.
All aspects of God’s creation have a purpose, and that is to reveal something of God to us. We see His majesty in snow-capped mountain ranges, His peace in the depth of a rainforest, His playfulness in the hummingbirds and the impossibly long-necked giraffes. But it is the particular purpose of families to reveal some of God’s most profound characteristics: love, tenderness, mercy and patience.
Our children benefit from knowing that they are placed in a family for a purpose - in families they can experience His love and learn how to love others. Families are also the place where each of us is formed in our own unique purpose and personhood.
You may like to share this handout with your own family or with the families at your school.
- Youth Ministry Equipping School - The annual Youth Ministry Equipping School took place in early February this year where the 2023 cohort of Youth Ministry Officers (YMOs) gathered from across the Lismore Diocese to experience formation, fellowship and prayer. Click here to read more!
- LEAD - The annual Student Discipleship Event, LEAD, took place in early March this year at McAuley Catholic College, Grafton, where approx. 180 senior students gathered together to experience powerful testimonies, inspiring keynote speakers, encouraging small groups and contemporary praise and worship. Click here to read more!
- Proclaim Lismore Spotify - Need music for a Lenten reflection? Want to experience new genres of Christian worship? Take a look at the Proclaim Lismore Spotify account for playlists you can use in your next lesson or in prayer with your students.
- Celebrating Lent and Holy Week with Kids - Holy Week marks the most important season of the Christian calendar, when we remember Jesus’ death on the cross and celebrate His resurrection. This is an incredibly special week during Lent where we can engage the kids in our families, parishes and communities in creative ways.
- Forgiven: The Transforming Power of Confession - Have you ever felt lost, and alone, and isolated in guilt? Like the Prodigal Son among the pigs, we may become aware of our sin. But God won't leave us there. This first session of the video series ‘Forgiven’ explores how God searches for us, runs to us and welcomes us home in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
- Washing of the Feet: Liturgy for Holy Week - The Ceremony of the Washing of the Feet on Holy Thursday is very ancient, but what does it really mean to us today? Through washing one another’s feet, we also commit ourselves to lives of service, in the spirit of Christ, who took on human form, humbling himself in cross-bearing service to others. This liturgy plan is based on the Washing of the Feet Gospel, and can invite your students deeper into what occurred on Holy Thursday.
- The Southern Cross - Stay up to date with the latest local, national and international Catholic news.
All staff in Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Lismore receive The Soul by email. The link in these emails can be forwarded and shared with family and friends. Alternatively, use this form to subscribe as an additional reader to The Soul mailing list.