Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community
Has the business of daily life returned? Has your life returned to the hustle and bustle of pre-COVID so much that you have forgotten the joy of being with family or friends and sharing time together? Given the last two years, are we trying to catch up on everything at once? Have we forgotten the importance of just being there for each other?
I was reflecting on our College theme this morning, given that both our Community and Opening Masses needed to be cancelled, and the lack of opportunity to formally launch and celebrate the theme.
Our theme this year is “… be hospitable to one another without complaining” (1 Peter 4:9).
What does it mean to be hospitable?
Just before my son returned to Canberra my whole family sat down to dinner and I opened a bottle of wine to share. My son scanned it with one of his apps to tell me it was worth about $130 and asked why was I wasting it drinking it with them. My response was that wine is for sharing and I could not think of any others with whom I would prefer to share it. He was thrilled and felt a genuine sense of hospitality, I think. I did not need to tell him that I had been given it many years ago and I was clearing out older wines before they turned. It was its age that gave it the value.
I also asked myself, how do you show a genuine sense of hospitality to yourself? I remember a story I came across a few weeks ago and it made me wonder how I would have reacted?
I understand this to be a true story published in the Washington Post on 8 April 2007, authored by Gene Weigarten:
A violinist played in an arcade outside the Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning. He played six classical pieces for about an hour. During that time over 1000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
After three minutes, a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace a little and then hurried to meet his schedule. After four minutes, the violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw the money in the case and, without stopping, continued to walk.
After six minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then, after three minutes looked at his watch and started to walk on. After 10 minutes, a three-year-old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the boy looked at the violinist. The mother and the child continued to walk, although the boy turned his head several times.
Several other children repeated this action. Every parent, without exception, hurried them briskly on. The musician continued to play for one hour. Only seven people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.
When the musician finished playing, silence took over. No one noticed, no one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best violinists in the world. He played some of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Now I understand that just previous to that event Josh had played at a Boston Theatre where tickets sold in the hundreds of dollars each.
I wonder if in the busyness of my day, would I have stopped to listen to Josh and I wonder if, in being hospitable to myself, should I compel myself to do so.
Now I understand that classical music might not be to everybody’s taste and that the violin might not be the instrument of choice. I also understand that in cities all over the world many street performers play and we can become impervious or complacent in hearing them. It might also be that the place and time might not have been appropriate because people were rushing and it was cold. But, surely if we could not find the time to stop to appreciate the beauty of one of the world’s finest musicians playing some of the best music ever written on one of the most beautiful instruments ever made, then what else are we missing?
There is much in this world about which we could despair. Floods in Queensland and northern NSW, war in Ukraine, the continued threat of the coronavirus with talk of another COVID-19 strain in Omicron sub-variant BA.2 or the news of Japanese encephalitis being found in Victoria. For all of these events we need to pray as a collective. We need to pray for all the victims and those who suffer, and we need to offer support where we can.
We cannot, however, allow these things to dominate our lives, so much so that we miss the beauty that is all around us and perhaps miss the potential to recognise and develop an unexpected talent.
At these times, we must ensure that we manage the narrative that we share with our children and minimise any catastrophising. We must continue to express that we live in a very safe and beautiful part of the world and that we continue to move forward with positivity and hope.
Our hospitality to ourselves is to stop and enjoy the many beauties around us and our hospitality to our families is to share those beauties with them.
Catherine McAuley once said “you must waste time with visitors”. Well, we must waste time with each other and allow time for socialisation and beauty sharing.
I wonder if I would have recognised Josh Bell playing that morning?
COVID-19 update
Late yesterday we received an updated operations guide for dealing with COVID-19. The most significant change is that if a student or staff member tests positive through a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) but they do not have symptoms or have not been in contact with anyone who has COVID-19, it is recommended that they get a PCR test within 48 hours and stay isolated until they receive their result. If the PCR test is negative, the student or staff member can return to school.
We will look to implement this change next week.
In the Spirit of Catherine
God bless
Philip A Morison
Principal
