Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community,
Welcome to the end of Term 3 and congratulations to you each and every one of you. You have made it. Perhaps the end of term might provide some of those quieter moments where reflection and thanksgiving are possible.
Today we celebrate Mercy Day. Reflecting upon this gives me a great sense of joy as it is one of those special days in the College calendar which is uplifting, provides a real sense of community and brings us all together to celebrate. The day has many traditions built into it here at the Hill; a whole College Liturgy, the Year 12 parade, competitions, display of business talent by the VCAL students, the games and fundraising rooms and, of course, ‘Mercy Has Talent’ or ‘Mercy Idol’. None of this will happen this year and while sad, strangely enough, Mercy Day still provides great opportunity to be thankful.
Firstly, the fact that we can celebrate Mercy is cause for celebration. Where would be if Catherine McAuley, on inheriting substantial funds from the Callaghans and Coolock House, decided to live a comfortable life rather than using those funds to help the poor, the uneducated, the sick and the imprisoned? Indeed, what if she never founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831? What if Sister Ursula Frayne never left Ireland to come to Perth to establish a school in 1849 and then on to Melbourne in 1857 to establish the Academy in Fitzroy. What if Sisters never left Carrick-on-Suir in Ireland to establish a house in Mansfield and then travel to Lilydale to start to build our community in 1896? What if? Where would we be? What of our existence?
In reflecting upon all of this, I often ask myself: why? Why would those Sisters have left the security of their home county to come to Australia to establish schools and eventually hospitals? Was it out of a sense of adventure; were they simply bored? Was it that times were tough in Ireland at that time, so Australia provided the prospect of a better life? Was it a sense of duty? Was it a sense of camaraderie to their friends? I think not; I think it was a genuine calling and to act in Mercy.
We often talk of Mercy being a verb. We reflect that Mercy is about doing and acting rather than talking. Mercy is found at the margins. Mercy is being courageous and doing that which no one else will do. Mercy is doing the unpopular simply because we know it to be the right thing to do because we are called to do it.
The Sisters knew this. They came here to share their talent with us and to model that which we know. Be Your Best. Give Your Best. The Sisters knew the importance of this and to teach us the importance of it. They came to give us of their talents. Each and every one of us is called to develop our special skills to help and improve the quality of life of all around us, whether that be globally or locally, whether it be our Mother Earth or helping the homeless that walk the streets of Lilydale or the person sitting 1.5 metres from us. Indeed, Mercy Day is as relevant today as it was last year and every other year.
The end of term is also a time to give thanks for our successes and, indeed, Term 3 has been very successful. Each and every one of you has contributed to that success and for that I am eternally grateful. I am so proud of our community. I am thankful for a dedicated committed hard-working staff that continues to provide educational opportunities for each and every student. I am thankful for a community where parents and students all work together with common purpose to support that vision. Indeed, this holiday take some time to rest, sit in the sun with a good book and replenish the soul.
Happy Mercy Day and God bless each and every one of you.
Some very quick reminders:
- Term 4 will resume on Monday 5 October with a full remote learning curriculum. I expect other government announcements before then, so I will write to you as information becomes available.
- In this newsletter you will find information about the feedback process for Student Progress Interviews. Please take the time to do this survey.
God bless
Philip A Morison
Principal
