iServi News | 4 February 2022 | Term 1, Week 1
In 2022, we are focused on our College Value of Compassion.
At Servite, we aspire to live our charisms by growing in community, being of service to those in need and living like our mother Mary.
The compassion of Mary, seen in the Sorrowful Mysteries, is recognised as a key characteristic of a Servite, one who strives to continue the example of Mary in their life (Constitution: The community of Servants of Mary, para. 52).
Our Marian identity calls us to act with compassion. As we reflect on the current challenges of our society, compassion can help us grow as a community that is supportive of one another and set the tone for our thriving school.
Christian compassion is bound up with the mystery of the Cross. To share the suffering of another person means that we can bring light into the pain of their life. Just as Jesus’s love and compassion led him to the cross and provided us with redemption, we too can walk with the suffering, being a redemptive sign in their time of need.
Compassion is a powerful aspect of the human experience and positive psychology research indicates that we can learn to increase our compassion towards others. Weng’s (2013) research suggested that compassion can be cultivated and as a result greater altruistic behaviour may emerge within people. Further research on compassion indicates significant improvements in the psychological wellbeing of individuals and growth in social connection between individuals (Neff & Germer, 2017) as people grow in compassion.
Our understanding of compassion is also explored through the life of the many saints and doctors of the Church. Their teachings on the virtue of compassion within our own lives, and for the world, helps us to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven. Saint Augustine, in his Confessions, written in the early 5th century, discussed the fraternal compassion we owe to others. Saint Bernard, in the 12th century, said that Christ is our primary teacher of compassion because He willed His passion so that we could learn compassion. Saint Thomas Aquinas, in the 13th century, noted how our compassion can help alleviate the suffering of a friend.
Throughout 2022 our learning community will collaborate and support each other to grow in Compassion, helping us to become all we were created to be.
Mr Ryan Wiles
Director of Ministry