This week in our school community: 19 September 2025

“Let you who is without sin cast the first stone.” (John 8:7)

 

As we’ve prepared to begin the Lasallian month of peace and mark International day for peace on 21 September it has been my responsibility to lead this week’s assemblies on the topic. Our specific focus has been on how each of us can be an agent of peace, allowing the message and love of peace to abide in our true and inner selves. The key message was how we are called to respond by using the power of words, not violence, particularly when we come up against conflict, aggression, discontent or differing views that we struggle with. There are many stories in scripture where Jesus shows us how to respond to this with a peaceful heart- through silence or words that cause the other person to examine their own motives or reflect in some other way. The story of the woman caught in adultery is a perfect example. The men who throw the ‘guilty’ woman to the ground in front of Jesus, baying for her blood and punishment by stoning, are met with the now famous words of Christ “Let you who is without sin cast the first stone.” (John 8:7). Their thirst for violence seeps away as each of the men comes to a realisation.

It has been important to share this core principle of Catholic Social Teaching with young people in light of the recent killing of Charlie Kirk, continued violence against innocent victims in Ukraine and Palestine and the London protests. As I shared with students, we are all born out of love and taught from an early age that hitting out is wrong, in school that physical aggression is wrong. Therefore, as grown adults there is never a justification for turning peaceful protest into violence against police officers going about their work, for killing a political activist because you disagree with him or for mass killing of people in war. Our young people are the future of the world, their voices are powerful and can be voices of love, of peace and of hope – as our Lasallian district mention in their theme for this year – ‘we are bridges for peace: from conflict to connection’. This wonderful parable they’ve shared to reinforce that message is the perfect reminder of the power and impact we are all called to have on our world.

There was a woman who wanted peace in the world and peace in her heart and all sorts of good things, but she was very frustrated. The world seemed to be falling apart. She would read the newspapers and get depressed.

One day she decided to go shopping and she went into a mall and picked a store at random. She walked in and was surprised to see Jesus behind the counter. She knew it was Jesus because he looked just like the pictures she’d seen on holy cards and devotional pictures. She looked again and again at him and finally she got up enough nerve and asked, ‘Excuse me, are you Jesus?’ ‘I am.’ ‘Do you work here?’ ‘No,’ Jesus said, ‘I own the store.’ ‘Oh, what do you sell in here?’ ‘Oh, just about anything!’ ‘Anything?’ ‘Yeah, anything you want. What do you want?’ She said, ‘I don’t know.’ Well,’ Jesus said, ‘feel free, walk up and down the aisles, make a list, see what it is that you want and then come back and we’ll see what we can do for you.’

She did just that, walked up and down the aisles. There was peace on earth, no more war, no hunger or poverty, peace in families, no more drugs, harmony, clean air, careful use of resources. She wrote furiously. By the time she got back to the counter, she had a long list. Jesus took the list, skimmed through it, looked up and smiled, ‘No problem.’ And then he bent down behind the counter and picked out all sorts of things, stood up and laid out the packets.

She asked, ‘What are these?’ Jesus replied, ‘Seed packets. This is a catalogue store.’ She said, ‘You mean I don’t get the finished product?’ ‘No, this is a place of dreams. You come and see what it looks like, and I give you the seeds. You plant the seeds. You go home and nurture them and help them to grow and someone else reaps the benefits.’ ‘Oh,’ she said. And she left the store without buying anything.

Mr Robinson

Lay Chaplain