Farewell Address to Year 12 2024

Below is an excerpt from my address delivered at the Year 12 Graduation and Awards Ceremony held yesterday.

This afternoon I want to speak about one of the stories that is foundational to who we are - the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In this parable, Jesus is asked by the lawyer, the question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ Jesus’s reply was a challenge. He told the story of the Jewish traveller, set upon by thieves and left for dead, who was not shown mercy by the levite or the priest. The one who showed mercy was the Samaritan - a most unexpected saviour.

When we think who is our neighbour today, we can be challenged by ‘the other’. The other is not our friend or someone who looks like us. It may be the refugee, the prisoner, the one who thinks and acts differently to us, the one who has the greatest need, it may be someone very challenging or someone angry. It is an uncomfortable parable, and Jesus knew it would be challenging for those listening.

Today one of the areas where I think our greatest challenge is as humans, is being neighbour to our Earth. Young people I believe are most aware of this challenge. Our student body has shown that they think saving our planet is our next great challenge.

Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have taken the resources of this Earth, with no sense of nurturing or renewing the ecosystems. A friend of mine, Pat O’Gorman, wrote a reflection on Who is My Neighbour with a focus on the environment. In it she spoke of humans who walked with heavy footprints on the Earth taking no note of its cries. Another group of humans who looked on the struggling ecosystem but lacked the vision to see the inherent beauty of the environment. Finally, along came some determined and concerned human beings committed to making meaningful change. They walked with gentle footprints upon the Earth. They looked and listened and were moved by compassion. They took the Earth and bandaged it with reverence and love. They poured upon it the oil and wine of restoration and rejuvenation. They made a covenant to take care of the Earth, to make reparation for the past, to change their habits and live with heightened awareness of the web of life.

Before I heard this retelling, I had never imagined the Parable of the Good Samaritan being applied to the earth as the traveler who had been set upon by thieves but I can see now that the message of this parable can be applied to so many aspects of our lives. We must try to live more lightly on the Earth, if we are mindful of how much we buy and if our purchases are sustainable and recyclable we can make a difference. In our relationships with others, we need to be respectful of different perspectives and not think our vision of the world is the only one worth valuing. Or that our view of the world is superior to someone else’s. We are all vulnerable humans and we need to offer kindness to others. I hope your education continues to flourish as you face life beyond the school gates and you continue to see the relevance of stories such as the parable in your lives.

Please enjoy photos of Graduation Week events and activities for our Year 12 students, with their formal still to come tomorrow evening.

Prayer for Year 12

All that is eternal in me welcomes the wonder of this day
The field of brightness it creates offering time for each thing

To arise and illuminate
May I have the courage today to live the life that I would love
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more

May I live this day compassionate of heart
Clear in word gracious in awareness
Courageous in thought
Generous in love.

John O’Donohue Benedictus