23 JUN 2023 Faith and Community

Families and Friends of Kolbe,

This week marks the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year has passed. As unlikely as it seems with the cold we are currently enduring, this means the days will progressively get longer.

We have shivered through some very cold days and even colder evenings but these occasions are also moments of gratitude. Our staff and students are safe, warm and dry in classrooms and offices, yet not everyone in our society has these luxuries. I am particularly mindful of those on the margins of society at this time of the year.

I entreat you to offer a prayer for those who do not have permanent housing and are forced to sleep rough or in unsafe locations. According to St. Vincent de Paul’s Society, 122,000 people don’t have a home or a safe place to sleep each night.

Here at Kolbe, we have ended another busy term, notably with the celebration of Mass for Chisholm Feast Day. It was also an absolute delight to be involved in our Celebration of Culture Week, stopping to pray each day in a different language. Thank you to the staff and students who lead these prayers each day, I hope it was a meaningful, spiritual experience.

Finally, I am very excited for all that next term will bring. In week one, we will celebrate a Mass placing Jesus in our College Tabernacle in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, enabling staff and students to pray in the presence of our Lord. We also eagerly anticipate St. Maximilian Kolbe’s Feast Day on the 14th of August which will involve Mass and the blessing of the statue of St. Maximilian.

Peace be upon you.

Rob Dellar
Director of Faith & Community