The painters finished the gym hall over the weekend and this space has been given a whole new lease of life. New roller blinds will be fitted today which will further transform the hall (keep an eye on the blog tomorrow for photographs). As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, some of our pupils will be working with St Ambrose High School art department to create two stained-glass panels for the front of the hall which will add the final finishing touch. Along with the new lighting and sound system, it’s certainly going to be a hall to be proud of!
As promised, here’s the second extract from the Head Teacher’s address from last Sunday’s Education Mass.
“Our faith in Jesus Christ reveals a different path, one which the world can sometimes find difficult to understand.
Pupils, staff and some parishioners will know that I walked one hundred miles of a pilgrimage route in the north of Spain over the summer. Known as the ‘Camino’, this ancient path ends at the tomb of St James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The third day of the pilgrimage found my friend and I on the road at 7.30am, trudging through the pouring rain. It was at this point that my friend questioned me on the actual purpose of a pilgrimage. Amongst other things, I emphasised to him that the destination is key to every pilgrimage (in our case Santiago de Compostela). If we know where we are heading, then it gives meaning, purpose and joy to even the most difficult and painful of steps along the way. Sometimes on the Camino, it was simply a matter of finding the energy to put one foot in front of another. However, even the most reluctant of steps took us a little closer to the tomb of St James!
And that is what Christian joy is about. It’s not that we escape the hardships and tragedies of life – you only need to read the book of Job in the Old Testament to see this isn’t the case! However, what we do discover is that God is alongside us throughout even the most difficult times of our journey.”…to be continued!
