Preparing the Fire Bed
Educating For Hope
Inviting
Preparing the Firebed
In this second Catalyst we welcome and invite you, our Sion schools communities, into a journey of reflection, nourishment, sharing and growth around why we are called to educate for hope.
The Catalysts have a rhythm of inviting, preparing through centering, the catalyst stimulus, some reflecting and an opportunity to respond.
In this catalyst of “Preparing the Fire Bed” an invitation to educate for hope comes from an email by a Sion student…
I’m thankful that through God’s grace, he has given me the courage to voice my opinion, especially in times like these. We as Sionians, are all given a voice. Whether we choose to use it is a different story but I think that if I was in need of desperate help, I would like to know that I have the support of someone’s voice. After all, it takes just one voice, one person to spark hope. And hope, along with love are the most “human” emotions of them all. Hope can be the difference between life and death. I think that whether one is sick, suffering through persecution or trying to find their way during a pandemic; we could all use a little hope. My heart aches knowing that there is not much that I can do to help these people. For now, we must trust in our faith that God will help those in need.
We hope you are inspired and encouraged with excitement and a renewed commitment to education for hope as we continue our Catalyst series together.
On Hope
Our Student Voices
Our students…. our reason for being Sion Schools, must always be our starting point for educating for hope. The voices of our students are our inspiration as they begin to share with us their hopes.
Centering
Take a minute or two to centre into the theme of educating for hope, focusing or meditating on one of the following quotes.
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples. ”
Sr Teresa of Calcutta
“Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
St Francis of Assisi
“The future does have a name, and its name is Hope. Feeling hopeful does not mean to be optimistically naïve and ignore the tragedy humanity is facing.
Hope is the virtue of a heart that doesn’t lock itself into darkness, that doesn’t dwell on the past, does not simply get by in the present, but is able to see a tomorrow.”
Pope Francis
“Life is often a desert, it is difficult to walk, but if we trust in God, it can become beautiful and wide as a highway. Never lose hope; continue to believe, always, in spite of everything.
Hope opens new horizons, making us capable of dreaming what is not even imaginable. We must not let hope abandon us. Optimism disappoints, but hope does not..”
Pope Francis
Catalyst
Hope is a Dangerous Thing
In this catalyst “Hope is a Dangerous Thing” we are led by the thinking of
Very Rev. Dr Kevin Lenehan.
His topic challenges us to build school communities of memory, hope and solidarity.
Very Rev. Dr Kevin Lenehan, is an Australian priest, who is currently Master of Catholic Theological College Melbourne, a college of the University of Divinity. He works in the fields of fundamental theology, theological anthropology and religious education and has previously held appointments in youth ministry, parish leadership, and leadership in Catholic Education.
TRANSCRIPTS
Reflecting
You are invited to take some time to consider what you have heard.
"Hope has two beautiful daughters;
their names are Anger and Courage.
Anger at the way things are and
Courage to see that they do not remain as they are."
- St Augustine
What are the things that
keep you going?
Remember a time when another
person kindled your hope.
What happened and what
did it feel like?
"Hope has two beautiful daughters –
Anger at how things are and
Courage to work to change things."
How does this statement resonate
with your experience?
"Children are our hope for the future and it is up to us to pave the way so that their future is bright. Come one, come all and join together to lift this world to a hope filled place for us and the generations to follow"
Responding
"Within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."
Jeremiah 20:9
Jeremiah knew that hope is a dangerous thing because it drives us to involvement, to speaking out about our concerns, to getting involved. He was not an optimist, but he was a committed hope-er, even when things seemed dark.
Why must he speak out? When do you feel this need to speak about important concerns of today?
In looking at hope in our Sion tradition and the way it calls us to examine our world today, we will find stirrings deep within us. Just as the prophet Jeremiah could not refrain from speaking in his day so we too are compelled to speak out about the things which concern us. Jeremiah indicates that he knows it would be easier to be silent and yet he feels a fire burning within him and he knows he must speak out.
How does this inform how we are invited to educate for hope?
