Year 8 Faith Formation Day with Fr Rob Galea

On Tuesday, August 12, our Year 8 students had the privilege of spending their annual Faith Formation Day with Fr Rob Galea. He shared his personal testimony of moving from a troubled teenage life to finding God, which deeply resonated with our students. His lively and heartfelt songs added to the engaging and relatable experience.

The second session, led by Miss Wendy Smith (Year Level Coordinator) and Sr Lawrence Nicolas (College Chaplain), invited students to reflect on Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” From this, the students created their own unique crosses as a personal expression of faith.

The day concluded with an “Instructional Mass” celebrated by Fr Rob, where he carefully explained the symbols and meanings behind various parts of the liturgy. This allowed the students to appreciate more fully the richness of our Eucharistic tradition.

Fr Rob was accompanied by fellow musicians Thomas Byrne and Zeb Fernandez whose contributions helped enrich the day. We are especially grateful to Fr Rob for his witness and enthusiasm, offered so generously despite his jetlag after returning from Rome, where he performed for thousands of young pilgrims during the Jubilee of Youth and received the Catholic Music Award for Best Worship Song at the Vatican.

Ava Olivia – 8 Kulin, shares her experience of the day:

“On our Year 8 Faith Formation Day, we were fortunate to have Father Rob Galea visit our school as a guest speaker. He shared his personal experiences growing up in his home country of Malta, his relationship with Jesus, and music in a way that captured the attention of the Year 8 students. What made the experience even more engaging was that we were able to sing along to his songs and join in with hand gestures and dance moves. 

After hearing all about his life, I was struck by how much he had changed and how honest he was about his past mistakes. He shared with us about his relationship with Jesus and how Jesus will be there for us, and he will always have a chair waiting for us to sit down and talk to him. One important lesson I took away from the day was that it is possible to turn your life around if you put your trust in Jesus.”