Blessing of the New Buildings for Blessed Mary Mackillop School, Keilor Downs

Address given by Archbishop Denis Hart
at Blessed Mary Mackillop School, Keilor Downs,
on Tuesday, 24th May, 2005, at 10.00am

...

Dear Teachers and my dear young friends,

I am delighted to be with Father Portelli, with your Principal, Mrs. Goodyear, your teachers and friends, as we bless this new school building.

I am particularly proud of Blessed Mary MacKillop Parish because the magnificent church that you have built has meant that God and his praise and love are right at the centre of your hearts. The old church, now a well-renovated school building, helps us to realise that our time at school is a very precious journey.

First, we come to learn of God who loves us and whose goodness is near to us at every moment.

Second, we reach out to God by coming to the church for Mass on Sundays and other occasions, by regular prayers in the class and by learning and living in the way that Jesus has taught us.

I am grateful to your parents for sending you to a Catholic school where you learn the truth about Jesus and about human life, so that you will be fit to be parents, leaders and workers in the future.

Our faith comes to us from the apostles and is guided by the 265 Popes that we have had, from Saint Peter right down to Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope shows us how good our God is and how close he is to us. I knew Pope Benedict years ago as a young priest and he would always greet you in the Square in a friendly manner. He was very helpful to tourists, as well as being a great teacher and writer and man of God. He shows us that prayer is important, that study and learning are important too.

That is why I ask all the teachers at Mary MacKillop to pray each day themselves, to really go on loving the children and love learning because we want the young people of Keilor Downs to have the very best preparation for life. I thank our teachers for all that they are doing.

The other part of the story is what you can do as young people. Like Jesus when he was young, you work with your parents and teachers seeking to be true and honest, training yourselves so that you will be satisfied with doing your very best.

That is what Jesus meant when he said, “Love one another, as I have loved you.” He was a great teacher and now he invites you to learn, a wonderful storyteller and now he invites you to listen and be ready to take this wonderful opportunity of learning. He suffered and was courageous when things were hard leading to his cross, as he invites you to be generous and big-hearted if there are things to suffer. He was there for all people. Someone who understood others and reached out to them and who loves us perfectly in the Eucharist when he comes to us.

Just like he told his followers on the road to Emmaus, he stays with us at every moment. This is why it is so important that our school be near the church and that we use the church as a place of prayer and silence.

As I bless this new building may it be a place of learning and discovery, of joy and hope, of opening out to goodness and preparation for life. Thank you to students, teachers and all who have shared in making this great project a reality.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.