St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

CRC Sydenham celebrates St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

 

The Catholic community of Catholic Regional College Sydenham nourishes each person’s personal relationship with Christ through fostering a climate that allows for a free response to God’s call to faith. (CRC Sydenham Mission and Vision Statement 2019).

 

On Friday 9th August, the College gathered to celebrate the Eucharist in the hall and remembered Australia’s first saint, Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Fr Tuan Anh Do was the main celebrant and he spoke eloquently about St Mary’s response to the needs of the local children in her day, during a time when women in general, lacked a voice and influence. St Mary of the Cross MacKillop responded naturally, quickly and with the grace of God to those in need. We too, as a College community, strive to emulate the patron of the Sisters of St Joseph by responding to the needs of those that touch our school.

 

Each cluster has a connection to an organisation. During this term, the clusters will raise awareness of their catholic organisation, they will seek to educate the school and broader community about the challenges many less-fortunate, for whatever reasons, face in our society. We hope to make a small positive impact in the lives of these people. As such, ‘we endeavour to teach, challenge and transform the world through a Eucharistic community’ (CRC Sydenham Mission and Vision Statement 2019).

 

As Christ gathered with his disciples and over breaking of bread, the sharing of stories, He challenged and transformed his communities, and ours. Today, what we do we do for the glory and honour of God. Our College theme, ‘For we are God’s Masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do the good works He planned for us long ago’ (Eph 2: 10) is a reminder that through our actions we impart God’s grace onto others and likewise, we receive His grace. Our Pastoral Care program has sought to highlight social injustices that occur in our world. The exploitation of child labour and third world workers for the greater profits of large corporations have been viewed and discussed in our College’s pastoral care program. Through education, we hope to better inform our students that their decisions in purchasing goods and services can help challenge exploitation by big businesses world-wide.

The Student Leadership group organised a Winter Sleep out in early September, to raise awareness and much needed donations for the homeless in Melbourne. Small actions can have great effects and we thank the staff and students that have indicated their support to this cause. I wish all of the clusters the very best in their endeavours to raise awareness and contribute to the organisations that are doing their best at helping those in great need.