In the first week of the last half term of the academic year, Thornleigh brings us a highly reflective assembly that touches on some key messages that are important to the Salesian community. These messages were brought to us by staff, students and friends of Thornleigh Salesian College, who have worked very hard to produce this assembly.

The first message that is brought to us is that of unity. With the Feast of Pentecost approaching, it is important that we stay united as one Salesian community as that unity gives us the courage and strength to overcome the dark cloud of fear and anxiety that is currently covering the world. The Holy Spirit allowed the disciples of Jesus to bring light to a dark world by giving them the strength to leave their hiding place and spread the message of Jesus, united as one Catholic community.

This brings us to the second message, that of spreading the word of God. Teacher Dan Antonio cleverly used a kernel to describe the transformation of the disciples at the hands of the Holy Spirit. By calling upon the Holy Spirit, the disciples were transformed from scared followers to courageous messengers. By calling upon the Holy Spirit, we too can gain the courage and strength to proclaim the word of God.

This message was reinforced by this week's guest speaker, International Catholic Speaker Katie Prejean McGrady, who spoke to Thornleigh students in November. She reinforced Dan Antonio's message that we can use the events of Pentecost to inspire us to spread the word of God. Katie also stressed the importance of coming together as a community, in order to spread the messages of Jesus.

Finally, another message that was subtly included in the assembly this week, but that is just as important as the others, is that of racial injustice. In the past few days we have all seen the protests in the United States, that were triggered by the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. As a community, we serve a God who values love, mercy and justice, and therefore it is important that we pray for all those affected by injustice and inequality around the world. The assembly ends with the words of Martin Luther King, and we are asked to consider those words.

We hope you enjoy this week's assembly.