A time for remembrance and reflection
November is a month of remembrance. Remembrance is an important aspect of every society as it contributes to our sense of identity; it helps us reflect on our experience and learn from it.
In the Christian tradition, the month begins with the celebration of All Saints. This is an opportunity for us to remember and give thanks for those who have gone before us, those whose lives inspire us, who have lived the values of the gospel in their own context. A saint is someone whose life reflects God’s love, who has offered that love to others in word and deed, whose life has embodied Jesus’ teaching. In the last few weeks the Church has proclaimed two new saints, Pope Paul VI and Oscar Romero. Their lives were wonderful examples of holiness in the twentieth century.
The word ‘holy’ has as its root the idea of wholeness and completeness, a person who is wholly and completely as God created them to be, fully themselves, fully alive and reflecting God’s love. As generation follows generation, the Church presents us with models to emulate. Pope Francis is on record as saying that we need more than plaster saints in the church today, we need saints who wear trainers! In school we work to become a true ‘communion of saints’ by providing the opportunity for everyone to discover what makes them ‘fully themselves and fully alive’. We seek to live in an atmosphere which is supportive, within which people are sufficiently confident to take risks and confident enough to have times of quiet to hear God’s call or their own ‘inner voice’.
In secular society November is likewise a time of remembrance, when in communion with the country and the wider world, we cherish the memory of those who died in war, with particular significance this year as it is the centenary of the end of the First World War. Enormous sacrifices were made by many in the pursuit of freedom and justice. There have been many efforts made to preserve the memories of the First World War generation before they are lost. St Mary’s has a ‘log book’ which dates from 1901-1927; recently digitised by the Wren Library and available on the St Mary’s website, an entry from Tuesday January 29 1918 shows that “a Soldiers' Tea party was given in the Convent garden”. The log goes on to say that “the soldiers arrived in the garden at 2:30 and remained in the garden until tea, which was served in the gymnasium at 4 o’clock”. The gymnasium was “artistically decorated”, “the gramophone and piano were in incessant use” and the afternoon was “thoroughly enjoyed by both soldiers and entertainers”. The log book is just one of the ways in which we are remembering our history and heritage; as it is our 120th anniversary this year, our History Department has set up regular Time Traveller sessions for our students which look into the history of St Mary’s, and we have an ‘In Her Shoes’ campaign in honour of our foundress, Mary Ward.
We know we need to remember as accurately as we can in order to learn through our collective experience. We remember the fallen of all conflicts and cherish the hope that one day we will be able to resolve conflict without violence. The United Nations comment that ‘war begins in the heart of man and that is where peace must begin’, is important to us at St Mary’s and is why we keep a minute of silence in most assemblies to reflect on the peace we have within and pray or desire that it will grow and spread. Last year we invited our sister schools across the world to join us in this and many have committed to do so in schools from Australia, many in Africa and the Americas as well as schools in Europe and India. This attention to peace and our work for justice, such as the raising of money in the recent Fun Run, are ways in which we try to follow in the footsteps of saints like Pope Paul VI and Oscar Romero.