COLLEGE THEME
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St Monica's College Theme 2010
Our 2010 theme is derived from the title of a biography written and published in 1971. The theme will have broad and deep significance for our Monican community as we live it throughout the months of 2010. The College theme is Something Beautiful for God.
This theme is the title of a book British writer, Malcolm Muggeridge, wrote about Mother Teresa of Kolkata. His book tells of a woman living out her faith and commitment to God by offering servant leadership to the neediest people of India. She was truly doing something beautiful for God and we will be called to undertake our own Monican acts of service in 2010.
Something Beautiful for God will have many aspects. We shall appreciate life given to us by God. In humility, we shall be of service to others as we reveal to them the love of God, the splendour of humanity, and the value of living in community through family, College, and society - locally and internationally. What a treasure and tribute that, if at the end of our life on earth, we stand before God and offer God our life that was of service to others. That will indeed be something beautiful for God.
Monicans will be people of thanksgiving in 2010 – thanking and praising God for all that God has endowed upon us. In gratitude, we will be urged to do Something Beautiful for God as our gift to the One who loves us. We shall do this through our songs of praise, our joy-filled dancing, our tenacity on the sports fields, the ongoing development of our many talents and especially through our quest for knowledge. We shall take as our examples people of the past, like Saint Monica, and those of the present for whom doing Something Beautiful for God has been their mission and privilege.
When we care for the environment we shall be doing something beautiful for God. God has created an environment that provides the essentials of air, food and water; that enriches our health; that is spectacular and at other times simple to the senses; that is haven for all God’s creatures; and home to flora and fauna. Something Beautiful for God should inspire us to care for nature so that future generations survive.
Our 2010 theme will be gentle when we stop and stay awhile with God in prayer. It will be tough when we persevere to be faithful to the message of the Gospel that frequently calls us to action. It will be fun filled when we gleefully do something beautiful for God that we really enjoy doing, something that God will smile upon as he sees us embracing the life he has created for us. Our theme will lead us on voyages of discovery: what really is beauty; how do I appreciate the beauty that encompasses me; why did God grace me with the beauty of life, the wonder of nature; and when shall I stop and literally soak in the beauty of God that surrounds me?
Something Beautiful for God will be lived out in 2010 through our words, our actions and our faith.
B.E. Hanley
College Principal |
St Monica's College Theme 2009
St Monica's College, Epping is a school with a special mission – to make each Monican alert and responsive to God, to the world and to their own inherent value as a child of God. At SMC we seek to educate the whole person. Thus the 2009 College theme is a simple but powerful two word exclamation, ‘Fully Alive’.
In 2009 we shall become fully alive as we draw closer to Jesus Christ and to his Gospel messages. The Gospel is the foundation on which everything else rests. This relationship with God and Gospel will remind us of our finest Christian model, St Monica, who became truly alive through her prayers of petition and thanksgiving.
We will be urged to be fully alive in the Monican spirit. This will call us to be faithful to our past and all that has been achieved at this great College; committed to making our present an energizing and fulfilling experience that excites and inspires us; and eager for our future when all our good acts will be rewarded with collective and individual satisfaction. We shall meet many great Monicans of past decades as this year progresses.
In 2009 we shall be invited to be fully alive through positive relationships with others. This will bring forth from us genuine compassion for the other; kindness and empathy; reconciliation; and the formation of strong and lasting bonds of friendship and camaraderie.
No one of us can be fully alive whilst there are others in need. When one Monican is lost and confused – we are all damaged. When we see injustice we are fully alive only when we confront the situation and work to bring change. Poverty, war, racism, bigotry and all types of selfishness abound in the world. The person who is fully alive is active in bringing about a world where there is respect and care for the neediest and the least powerful.
In 2009 we shall seek to be fully alive in mind, body and soul. Our classroom activities will concentrate on problem solving and clear, high order thinking. This will enrich our mind. We shall seek to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle, and we shall treasure our environment through sustainable practices.
Importantly we shall be fully alive in our soul through deepening our prayer and perseverance; committing to reconciliation and restorative practices; and knowing God in freedom and love.
Monicans will become fully alive through Jesus Christ who assures us with these Gospel words: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
B.E. Hanley
College Principal