Chaplain

2006 is almost over, done and dusted. Results for most disciplines are, or will shortly, be available for anxious students. Teachers will either rejoice or face a time when they lament the results and seek the reasons for poor outcomes. The main sporting fixtures are over and the usual triumphs have been celebrated. The music and artistic accomplishments have been noted and rightfully praised. Religious Education has been subject to testing and scrutiny but the whole area in which I operate is untested, probably because it is next to impossible to gauge spiritual growth in young men or indeed in any person. Are there possible markers which can be used to measure success or failure in this field? I am unsure but I do know there are three areas where I attempt to measure my own spiritual health and which I feel have relevance to the young men at the College. Prayer is an area where the individual communicates with the creator, both by speaking and listening. It includes, but goes way beyond, a shopping list of things that we desire for ourselves or others. It is the ability to get into contact with God. It requires constancy and discipline in regard to time and place. I would hope that every student would come to a longing for communication with God and take the necessary steps to achieve this. The Scriptures are a constant and insistent spur to find the Jesus factor in our daily lives. That is what the early Christian communities from where the Gospels arose did and it is reflected in the singular nature of each Gospel. The Jesus presented is a Jesus living and challenging in their daily lives. I find the Sunday Gospel, with its widespread choice of the four Gospels, as a constant and pertinent challenge to me. I would hope that each student would take up the challenge of the Sunday Gospel and find the Jesus challenge within it. Transformation is change written in capital letters. What was before becomes something different, though the seeds of change are already there. An event in our lives, an intervention of another brings about something quite significant. The most profound transformation in human history occurred when the dead body of Jesus was raised to life. We have the opportunity to share in this epoch making event each time we celebrate the Eucharist. It is therefore sad to hear people say that the Mass is boring. Maybe the actions and the words become pretty similar and repetitive but the reality is so much deeper. We are challenged right from the start: • To admit our faults and with God’s help attempt a transformation of our way of life. • We are challenged in the readings to reflect the life of Christ.

• Our simple gifts change into Him who underwent the greatest transformation in human history. • Our feeble efforts at transformation are strengthened by sharing the sacred meal with our risen Saviour. Transformation is such an exciting prospect that God has reserved it for something very special, the sacrifice and sacred meal we refer to as the Mass.

I suppose I have to be content that there is really no definitive measure of spiritual growth. I do believe that these three indicators of Prayer, Gospel Reflection and Eucharistic Transformation provide some sort of measure both for myself and the students at the College.

Father Mike McMahon, SAC

Chaplain

Pastoral