Dear Family and Friends of OLSH College,

From May 27 – June 3 Australia celebrates National Reconciliation Week.

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The dates for National Reconciliation Week are the same each year - 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively. (Reconciliation Australia National Reconciliation Week)

On Wednesday morning, after an extended period of debate, the House of Representatives passed the bill for the referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament to be inserted into the Constitution. Julian Lesser MP contributed the following words to the debate that are worth reflecting upon:

“Over thousands of years, Australia’s Indigenous people have made their peace with this land, and it’s become part of their soul. Lives infused by the land, the seasons and the stories of their ancestors. The 2021 Senior Australian of the Year, Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann, calls the contemplation of this land “deep listening”, “dadirri”—the ability to stop, contemplate and listen. To listen to the deep waters of our country, to the present as well as times past; to listen and to hear the beckoning of change. This is such a moment for our country and for the home we share, Indigenous and immigrant, drawn from every creed and from every corner of the world.”

As people of Heart, as an OLSH College community, may we listen respectfully over these coming months to the voice of the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Pentecost – as we seek to be on earth the Heart of Christ.

A Prayer for Pentecost

May the Gifts of the Holy Spirit bring fire to the earth so that the presence of God may be seen
in a new light, in new places, in new ways.
May our own hearts burst into flame so that no obstacle, no matter how great,
ever obstructs the message of the God within each of us.
May we come to trust
the Word of God in our heart, to speak it with courage,
to follow it faithfully
and to fan it to flame in others.
...Give me, Great God, a sense of the Breath of Spirit within me as I... (State the intention in your own life)
Amen.
~ Sister Joan Chittister, OSB

United always in our shared OLSH Spirit,

Anne O'Loughlin
Principal