Thursday 14 August 2025
As many of you will be aware by now, our theme this term, in our Chapel Centenary year, is the theme of ‘service’, which has guided our reflections during Chapel services for the term. One of the messages that has particularly landed with the students is the theme of humility which C.S. Lewis famously described as "Not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less". Mr Max Masters gave a compelling message last week in Chapel where he described the invention of a philosophical ladder...
He writes: "What if I told you that in the 6th Century, a man invented a ladder in which you ascend upwards by climbing down the rungs? A ladder where the further you climb down, the higher you get?
Seems impossible, right? The ladder was invented by a monk called St. Benedict of Nursia, who has come to be known as the Father of Western monasticism. He founded the order of monks (and later nuns) who would be called the Benedictines. They follow The Rule of St Benedict, which is an outline of rhythms as practices to follow that put one on the path towards holiness… [He continues…]
It is the ladder of humility. St Benedict writes this in his introduction to the chapter: “Scripture speaks to us clearly, brothers and sisters, saying: ‘Whoever exalts themselves will be humbled, and whoever humbles themselves will be exalted’ (Luke 14:11). So, if we want God to raise us up, we must first lower ourselves. This ladder represents our life on Earth, with its steps set by the Lord in His own heart.” Jesus' life is ultimately the one whom this ladder is modelled off…"
There is something very stark when we encounter humble service, and this term, it is a delight to see this increasingly around the College, as student find different ways of serving. We have raised funds for Mental Health Awareness, and this week is Red Nose Day. This raises funds for CureKids NZ, which does incredibly important work, raising money to fund cutting-edge research for some of the most challenging health issues facing our population.
On Monday of this week, to kick off Red Nose Week, we were fortunate to have representatives from Cure Kids NZ speaking in Chapel, one of whom was Eva – the CureKids Ambassador, who spoke humbly and sincerely of the day-to-day challenges she has faced being born with serious organ issues. I don’t think there was one student who didn’t feel for her, as she described the year that she has been through, as she has fought infections which has nearly claimed her young life. I do encourage you to, as you are able, make a donation to this important charity. You can donate here.
And finally, on another note, I wanted to write about a fascinating pilot retreat we held off-site at the Mary MacKillop Centre in Mission Bay for seven students who have been part of our Lent Serries Course, called ‘The Big Silence’. Students who participated in that course were given the opportunity to take part in a half-day retreat focused on Jesus’ parable, ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’. Led by spiritual director and experienced retreat leader, Mr Eamon Butler, it was a privilege to watch our students gather for this special occasion. Beginning at midday, we were glad to start with a meal and then engage in three meaningful input sessions that explored the three characters of the parable – the younger son, the elder son and the father. Time was then given for students to enjoy time by themselves, reflecting and writing in journals about their insights. Finishing with a meal, every person spoke warmly at the end of the day about what it had meant to them. We look forward to offering these opportunities more regularly next year as well.
Peace and grace,
The Chaplains: Rev Gareth Walters, Mr Antony Horacek-Glading and Mr Max Masters