Roisin Maguire – Online Presence

As we move towards a different way of presenting our newsletter I just wanted to write a few words to wish you a very happy Christmas.

We continue to live through challenging times and perhaps things aren’t exactly how we thought they would be, by now.

However, the human spirit is strong and it has been impressive to see how our schools and communities are rising to every challenge. Even in the darkness the lights are shining and great things are happening. People are supporting each other and reaching out to each other.

I was privileged to be able to attend a concert with our Junior schools, this week which was also attended by a group from Asylum Link Liverpool, It was humbling and wonderful to hear the voices of our younger students and the refugees and asylum seekers singing together; it was truly uplifting.

It was also an honour to be able to travel to COP26 with young people from St. Anselms and St Ambrose. There has been a lot of negativity around COP26 but I can honestly say that our young people give me a sense of great hope for the future. We were inspired by what we saw and heard and I know our young people are working hard to find solutions to the problems created by the generations who have gone before them.

Despite the situation we are currently in, there are signs of real hope and it is important that we hang on to that hope as we navigate the future. Remember it is only in the darkness of the night that we can see the stars.

There is a beautiful Jewish proverb which says “I ask not for a lighter burden but for broader shoulders”.

I pray we all can celebrate the light of Christmas and that our journey through Advent is one where we are able to listen and respond to the call of those less fortunate. We who have so much are called to reach out to others who have so little.

Our prayer for you this Advent and Christmas is the prayer of Pope John XXII –

‘O sweet Child of Bethlehem, grant that we may share with all our hearts in this profound mystery of Christmas. Put into the hearts of men and women this peace for which they sometimes seek so desperately and which you alone can give to them. Help them to know one another better, and to live as brothers and sisters, children of the same Father. Reveal to them also your beauty, holiness, and purity. Awaken in their hearts love and gratitude for your infinite goodness. Join them all together in your love. And give us your heavenly peace. Amen.’