Cassie's+Journal+=)

=**Personal Journal Page**= **// Reflection on Boori "Monty" Pryor's visit to Killester //**

Yesterday, Wednesday 29th July, the year 10s of Killester had a very special visitor, in the form of Australian- Aboriginal Boori "Monty" Pryor. From the moment Boori entered the small hall to the time the bell rang, signalling the sad time to say goodbye, the whole year level was excited and found it extremely hard to stop laughing. Boori's visit was not primarily for entertainment, rather to open our eyes to different forms of religions, cultures and ways of life, such as the Aboriginal way of life that is so different from our own, enhancing our studies in the topic //World Religions: Many Faiths, One Humanity//. Throughout the visit, I saw Boori's great love for his people, and saw him express his love of culture, religion and stories in a way that is different to most when speaking of their religion. Boori was relaxed, and appeared to enjoy himself very much as he shared personal stories with us, which happened to be hilarious, enhancing our deep listening skills and our knowledge of dialoguing, not just with our words, but also with our actions. Boori opened our eyes to seeing that what religion means to some people and their cultures, doesn't always mean the same thing in another person's way of life. Boori told us about the terrible suffering Aboriginals of this land we call home had to endure, including personal stories that reflected these unfair sufferings, which, he said, have been turned into novels and will be filmed shortly. All around me, I saw the whole room laughing and responding to Boori's great stories, during which everyone dialogued with Boori in some way. Boori's stories connected many different people of many different faiths, cultures and backgrounds together with the simple action of dialogue, and brought together nationalities that had originally caused each other great sufferings. Throughout the visit, I felt compassionate towards Boori and his people, and Aboriginals as a whole (since there are many different clans or groups of Aboriginals around Australia), because of the terrible suffering and inequality they had to endure and are still enduring today, even when some actions are stereotyped, or didn't directly involve individual Aboriginals. For example, Boori shared a story about how he was abused as he walked down a street because one Aboriginal man, who Boori had nothing to do with, had burned the Australian flag recently. This was unfair on Boori, as it had nothing to do with him, and I felt saddened and disappointed with the people of this country many people of many nationalities call home. Most of the visit filled me with laughter, though, as Boori is a fantastic story teller, and has a way with words and actions that communicate his hilarious stories effectively. Boori's visit taught me that Aboriginal people //do// have a religion, even if most people say it is just their '//black people's culture'//. There is a difference between religion and culture, which varies from faith to faith and even from person to person, as there is no one way to practice or interpret faith. It comes down to what you believe and do as a person, and how you act towards others from your heart. I learnt more about the Aboriginal culture, such as the great importance of stories, symbols and ways of life- because the Aboriginal culture is so old there were no books or holy scriptures except these stories, symbols and practices, which have preserved the Aboriginal culture all these years. I also learnt to a deeper extent the damaging effects the early European settlers had on Aboriginal and their faith, culture and religion, and that their suffering still runs deep in their veins, even today. Boori's visit opened my eyes into seeing how simple things can affect people in ways you would never expect unless you knew what it felt like to be that person. Overall, Boori's visit was much, much more than a fun incursion. It was a chance to learn life lessons, about being human and seeing life from a different and unique perspective. Boori has taught me the power of story telling is underestimated, because for some people, particularly Aboriginals, stories are a major influence in life, and Boori's stories have influenced me to think about my actions and their consequences carefully, and to live life to the fullest, even if it means enjoying the simple life.

//**Jesus and Dialogue in the Gospels**//
(b) The Canaanite Woman's faith Matthew 15:21-28

(c) The passage is taken from Matthew 15:21-28, and is the story of Jesus dialoguing with a Canaanite woman, which, at the time was unheard of because Jews, like Jesus, looked down upon Canaanites or Gentiles because they had different beliefs to the Jews. The Canaanite woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter, who is possessed by a demon, and at first Jesus does not answer her. His disciples tell Jesus to send the woman away because she is shouting at them and because she is a Canaanite woman, and belongs to the 'dogs'. The woman begs Jesus to help her daughter, and shows that she respects the fact that He is a respected figure for the Jewish people, causing Jesus to realise that she is worthy of His help because they have resolved their differences and can see that the issue is not about which religion they follow, rather the fact that they can put their differences aside and help those who need it.

(d) This passage is an example of Jesus dialoguing with another because He and the Canaanite woman state the fact that they believe and respect different things, and although they each believe their religion is right, they put aside these differences so that they can assist the woman's daughter, who is in need of Jesus' help. Jesus says that He is only there to help the lost or confused Jews, while the Canaanite woman refers to him as Lord and says that although it is true; he was sent to help the Jews, since there are no Jews with them who are in need of help, Jesus can heal her daughter if He chooses to. They both put aside their respectful differences and Jesus heals the woman's daughter.

(e) The story demonstrates that humanity can be found between different religions, races and people if they choose to peacefully put their differences aside. Part of humanity is helping those in need, regardless of their race, religion or gender, which is why, after testing the woman's faith slightly, Jesus decides to heal her daughter. It also shows that prayer and faith is important, because although the Canaanite woman believes in something different to Jesus, she respects that He has his own beliefs and she states this, which allows Jesus to heal her daughter.

(f) The movement towards peace and goodwill in this story is when the Canaanite woman acknowledges Jesus' power and that he is a respected figure for the Jewish people; and when Jesus accepts that the woman is sincere. Jesus and the woman move past their differences, allowing them to work together to heal the woman's daughter. Jesus and the Canaanite woman change because they put their differences aside and acknowledge that although they believe in something different, they each believe in a god respectfully and they respect each other's individual faith and culture, similar to our school theme of appreciating each other's individual differences and worth. The result for Jesus is the knowledge that he helped someone in need and that one of the Canaanites, if not more, respects Him for who He is, while the result for the Canaanite woman is that her daughter is healed and she knows that Jesus respects her as a person, regardless of her beliefs, while the disciples learn to accept differences between other religions and cultures.

(g) I experienced an important interaction with someone close to me that taught me that it is better to accept that you have done something wrong in the past and let it go if you cannot change it, rather than to dwell on it at the present. They stressed the importance of changing something if you can, but if you cannot, it is important to let it go because otherwise you will waste your time and energy worrying about it when you cannot change it anyway. This person asked me if I had ever done something bad or something that I wished I could change. I started to tell them about it, but they told me just to think about whether or not I could change it. When I answered 'No, I can't change it.' then they told me just to let it go, and I think that is a very important lesson that changed my outlook on life forever.

__Scaffold questions:__ //How this unit has been for me? 1. What have been my frustrations? My achievements? 2. What have I learned? 3. What is my faith tradition? How has studying this way, and this topic, cultivated my own spiritual path, or deepened my understanding of my own faith tradition?//

1. My frustrations throughout this unit have mostly been about the fact that there didn't seem to be a black and white way to approach this assignment. The criteria was a little vague and I had never even heard of wikispaces before, so I was unsure of how to approach the project. It was frustrating when we tried to locate information because we had to sift through all the information, picking out what we thought was relevant and then discuss why we thought it was relevant and add anything to it if we could. My achievements have been the fact that I have learnt so much about other religions, not just Christianity but also Islam, Hinduism, Buddism, Sikhism and Judaism through our excursion that allowed us to branch out from the Christian/Catholic religions. I have also learnt more about dialoguing and about working with a wikispace, something I otherwise would not have learnt about.

2. I have learnt that there is more to religion than just worshipping and praying. It is more a celebration of life, a way of life that each individual chooses to follow. I have learnt more about these other religions outside of the Christian and Catholic area, and have seen these faiths practiced, in action. I have gained an insight into religions I would probably not have without this unit, and have learnt that a person's religion cannot be defined solely by their faith, as no two Christians are alike, no two Hindus are alike, no two Sikhs are the same, they choose what they want to follow, what comes naturally to them, which is a good way to approach religion.

3. My faith tradition is Catholic. This topic and studying this way has made me realise that a person's religion cannot be defined by their stereotypical beliefs, practices or clothing. It is more about the connection that person feels with their faith and their god(s), not about what a person defines their religion as being. It is more important to be content with your faith, all of it or parts of it and your interpretation of it, and who you are as a person rather than to follow the entire beliefs of that religion but disagree with some. This topic has opened my eyes into seeing that there is more to each religion than what makes it different from the other religions of the world, but rather what makes them similar is important, as all of the religions we studied are seeking peace and goodwill in the world, regardless of the other religions and what they believe followers of this faith should be doing. I now think that perhaps it is not a question of whose religion is 'right' or 'wrong', but more that we should accept that each religion thinks differently, and suits different people, but in the end they are all working towards making the world a better place, as it should be.