Assistant Principal - Mission

I’m Always Waiting

Life is framed by waiting. We spend much of our life in expectation of what might come next. At the College we excitedly awaited the end of the term and holidays. When we focus intently upon what is to come we can fail to fully experience what is present and real.

As we move toward our goals and challenges, we experience increasing tension in our days as we consider all that ‘has to be done’. Each task we complete offers a sense of relief. This approach is cathartic in some respects but also leads to a pattern of busyness. Interestingly this attitude can conversely create an illusion of not being able to complete tasks. Tasks can seem to become an ongoing series of challenges that have no end. Either way we focus on the goal and not the present.

The challenge is to not let the present slip by. Waiting often causes us to fail to notice what is truly real; the ‘now’.

Waiting of course is difficult. Patience is not a skill our society seeks to develop in its members. Patience is often only referred to when we need to be polite. Patience is not a virtue associated with success. Successful people are people of action. Patience requires one to hold back and experience what is present. Patience requires one to live in the ‘now’.

St Ignatius would suggest that the best way to achieve patience and develop a habit of waiting joyfully would be to linger in the present. Soak up everything the present moment offers. Notice the beauty in the simple aspects. Everything is beautiful and able to offer an experience of God. By lingering in the present moment we are better able to perceive what is; rather than what was or might be.

Beauty is not extraordinary or exceptional in itself. Beauty is all around us in every way. Often, however, we are so caught up in the future or the past that we miss the beauty of every moment. When we wait patiently and linger in the present we see with clarity the extravagant abundance of beauty around us.

As the academic term draws to a conclusion, pause for a moment and consider if  you can linger in the present?  In being attentive to the ‘now’ how might beauty be revealed in new and extraordinary ways? Will being truly present allow you to see the gifts you have in our life and not only appreciate but enjoy them to the fullest?

I wish you well as you contemplate these thoughts and wish you all the best as you enjoy the holidays. 

What’s Happening In Our Parishes? 

For further information to our associated parishes’ please use the links below

Here you will find ways to join with the local community, specially planned events and times for reconciliation and Masses. 

St Augustine's Parish including St Francis Xavier

Mary Help of Christians Parish