By Beth Doherty (Religious Education Leader)

Year 9 Youth Ministry students were invited this term to create their own Homily as their final task for the unit.

A Homily is delivered after the Gospel during the Celebration of the Mass, and is generally a reflection on the readings of the day by the priest.

This is the first time that Hennessy Catholic College has offered the Catholic Schools Youth Ministry Australia (CSYMA) Youth Ministry unit to Stage 5 (Year 9 and 10) students and they have enjoyed their journey and learned lots along the way.

During the semester, Ms. Beth Doherty (Religious Education Leader) and Mr. Peter Igoe-Taylor (Rice House Leader) took the students through modules that looked at how students can better understand the work of the Church in the world and engage with their faith in a positive way.

Activities they completed for this unit included writing letters to Pope Francis, designing their own retreat for high school students and learning more about scripture and biblical criticism.

Their Homily task was pitched to them as an opportunity to reflect on the Gospel messages that they often hear at church, but do not always understand.

They were encouraged to make their homilies relevant, entertaining and based on a Gospel narrative.

Year 9 students Cybele Hewitt, Majella McGrath, Bella Cooper, Jack Apps and Logan Apps all achieved an A grade for their task.

Jack Apps gave us a good laugh with his Homily on the Baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:21-22)

“When I was little, my baby sister was getting baptized in late 2009. Halfway through the service, my sister started to cry and I (me being me) said to the reverend, “I don't think she likes that God”. At that exact moment everyone broke out into laughter. I was completely oblivious to the sentence I had just said and my mother remembers me just looking around at all the people laughing and asking her “what are they laughing about”, she said, “one day you will understand”.

Bella Cooper wrote about the Wedding at Cana (John 2:3-10) and saw it as a positive message for life:

“After reading this bible passage and taking some time to understand the message it is trying to convey, I have come to the conclusion that it is a powerful message about how you can live your life. You can live it either positively with a glass half full mindset or negatively with a glass half empty mindset. Just as Jesus has demonstrated by turning the empty jugs of water into rich and delicious wine to keep the wedding attendees happy, which in turn ended up keeping Jesus happy because he cares about us and how we feel.”

Logan Apps chose the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and imagined himself in the scenario:

“If I was laying on the side of the road dying, I would love for somebody to help me even if it is my enemy or a complete stranger from a different religion.”

Cybele applied the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13: 1-9) to modern-day relationships, commenting on superficiality and encouraging her peers to deepen their friendships:

“Firstly, it is said that some of the seed was scattered along the path and was eaten by birds. This seed, indeed, this relationship can be seen as those who follow others and conform with the stereotypes. In our modern context, relationships of convenience or those that arise simply because it’s ‘cool’ or ‘other people are doing it’ never end well. These relationships are often shallow, lacking in sustenance and genuine connection. In the story, the bird eats the seed on the path, simply because it is there.”

Majella spoke about Mary Magdalene seeing Jesus after the resurrection (John 20:11-18) and spoke of inspiring people in her life. She remembered Fr Tom Thornton (former Parish Priest of St Mary’s) as someone special:

“Fr Tom was our priest about three or four years ago and he gave me my first Holy Communion, First Reconciliation and my Confirmation. Mary Magdalene was my chosen confirmation name because of her progressive status and relationship with Jesus as a woman and the world’s first feminist. Fr Tom related his homilies to modern life, he made our faith tangible, it was something we could reach out and touch, he made it real. He was very active in the community and he became a good friend to me and my family. He taught us the life of Jesus in a new light and helped me understand my faith growing up. He was just a normal person who tried to live well and for others.”

The Year 9s have done an excellent job at interpreting the stories from the Gospels and relating them to their own lives.