Statement Released: Monday, May 22, 2006

Sr Sandra Lupi, Ms Leanne Perry, students of All Hallows College, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the Holy Spirit is the mysterious person of God, best summed up in the Creed of the Church when we proclaim “I believe in the Holy Spirit the Lord and giver of life.” The Holy Spirit therefore is the life giving person of the Trinity associated intimately with Gods initial act of creation when the spirit hovered over the chaos and brought life out of it. But at the same time the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit who hovered over creation a second time with the coming of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit was released in its fullness after Christ’s resurrection from the dead. This release happened specifically to shape a new creation, a new heaven and a new earth which Christ challenged the Apostles to open their eyes and see. Before Christ’s resurrection the Apostles were unable to see what Christ was referring to, after the resurrection and the release of the Spirit they were then able to discern the presence of God, and the reign of God in their midst. The well known story of the “Road to Emmaus” is merely another example of their renewed capacity to see, in the light of the resurrection. In the story they meet one whom they believe is a total stranger, only to recognise at the very end of their encounter through the power of the Holy Spirit the presence of Christ. As Christ then breaks bread with them and celebrates as he celebrated with others throughout during his public life, in a most powerful symbol of what God wanted for the world and what the world could become if only people could recognise his message and work for its realisation. Paul, the last of the Apostles, described the full implications of that message is his magnificent theology of the Body of Christ, namely that the risen Christ exists in each and every person, that Christ is as real as the person beside us, especially people in need, the poor, the suffering, the neglected, whom we often tend to overlook and sometimes reject. All of us are called into this vision of Christ, in order to promote it with appropriate action, directed at our brothers and sisters who belong to the one family of God. It is an incredible, exciting vision of reality if only we have eyes to see. It is a vision I wish I had heard about earlier in my own life.

All Hallows College exists to provide quality education within a context of faith. It endeavours to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit creating the physical world certainly, but even more importantly, recreating the world in its fullness and in doing so equipping all people especially young people through quality education to play their own unique, irreplaceable role in promoting the reign of God. Please God this participation in the work of the Kingdom will happen for students of All Hallows School wherever life may take them. My only regret is that I learned the Christian message too late, and I hope that you students will learn about it in its fullness much earlier than I did. May God bless you always as you seek the will of God in your lives. May these new buildings here at All Hallows enhance the splendid education that will equip you for life and enable you to promote the common good wherever you may be. May you, like the Apostles, on the road to Emmaus be able to recognise the risen Christ in the people who enter your lives, lives which as you will find, pass all too quickly. May Mary the Mother of Jesus and the Venerable Mother Catherine McAuley pray for the continued success of All Hallows College into the future. I congratulate Sr Sandra Lupi, Principal, Miss Leanne Perry and all those associated with the completion of these buildings that will enhance the education of young women for the common good of our world and the greater glory of God.