2022.05.31 Messages from Sr.MarJo

Our last 2 moments together were occasions for us to try and understand what Assumption Education is all about and what it means for us to be in this Catholic School – Assumption Kokusai.

 

Today, I will try to start speaking about someone whose name is not new to you and who is not only important but who is in fact at the heart of all Assumption Schools.

And this is JESUS CHRIST.

Who is Jesus Christ? Why is it important for us to get to know him? What was his LIFE-PURPOSE – his “IKIGAI”?

1.  Who is Jesus Christ? – the simple answer is that he is a man who actually lived more than 2000 years ago. For Christians, he is the son of God.

2. Why is it important for us to get to know him? – because he offers us a way of living that may actually make us better persons. And for us here at Assumption Kokusai, it is important to introduce Jesus Christ as a way of sharing and offering a model of becoming better human beings.

3. So today, I would like to begin by sharing with you what his life purpose was? What was his life-meaning or his “IKIGAI”?
One primary source to get to know Jesus Christ is the Bible. For those of you who do not know what the Bible is, it is a compilation of books – of sacred writings and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

 

In the Bible, Jesus Christ himself says:
“I came so that all may have life and have it abundantly (of fully).” (John 10:10)

 

So, the LIFE-PURPOSE of Jesus Christ, in his own words, is to give LIFE! You will notice that this is one of our CORE VALUES – LIFE! As we continue to try to get to know Jesus Christ, we will see how he lived his LIFE-PURPOSE – how he gave life.
But for now, I would like to give you an assignment. Could you look around you – in yourself, in your family, among your friends – and notice what is LIFE-GIVING for you. And what does not give life?

As we started this new school year, we knew about the War in Ukraine – now more than 4000 have been killed and 200 hundred of these are children. And the war is still ongoing.
Last week we saw in the news, the massacre of 19 school children and 2 of their teachers in Texas, USA.Are these LIFE-GIVING events?
In 2016 the Sagamihara stabbings of 19 people by a young man at a care home for disabled people, took place in Tokyo. And the reason that the killer gave was to “ease the burden” on their families. Was that LIFE-GIVING?
There is a new Japanese film that caught people’s attention in the recent Cannes Film Festival in France. The title of the film is “PLAN 75”. If you have a chance, look this up and ask yourself, what is the meaning of LIFE?

 

Let us pause for a few moments and listen to these words of Jesus Christ
– “I came so that all may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)