Religious Education

OUR LADY'S FEAST DAY

As a special part of our annual celebration of the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary: Our School and Parish celebration. The staff and students of our school have come together to create - what we hope will become an annual tradition - 7 recognition awards for students who enact qualities of Mary we want to see within our School Community.

These qualities as chosen and discussed by the School Community are:

• Love
• Honesty
• Thankfulness
• Responsibility
• Compassion
• Integrity
• Leadership

Each of these qualities brings together our knowledge and values of Mary, Our Mother. As a school we celebrate that Mary was specially chosen to be the mother of Jesus. She was specially chosen because she looked out for others, both physically through helping the sick and needy and spiritually by praying and praising God. Our award acknowledges students in our school who also bring to light the special traits of Our Lady through their works for others. Let's look into these qualities and their recipients for 2024:

LOVE

When we think about Mary, the first word that people say is LOVE. Mary had a strong love for God, which made her the mother of his Son, Jesus. This love was then given to Jesus as he grew up to be our saviour and God. In her story, Mary teaches us to show love all the time, even when it is really hard to love others. This is a quality we want in our everyday life. 

This year, the student who is being recognised for showing the quality of LOVE is Caoimhe Anderson in Prep.

HONESTY

Mary was never scared to speak truthfully to everyone around her. She spread the Good News of Joy, Hope and Faith to the people around her. Her HONESTY is a quality we want in our everyday lives. 

This year, the student who is being recognised for showing the quality of HONESTY is Apollo Robotis in Year 1.

THANKFULNESS

When God asked Mary to be Jesus’ mother, she became forever thankful. Even though this role was dangerous for her, she took it on with a loving and caring heart, thankful for God putting his trust in her and to have her in his plan. Thankfulness is a quality we want in our everyday lives. 

This year, the student who is being recognised for showing the quality of THANKFULNESS is Lennox Nanai in Year 2.

RESPONSIBILITY

By accepting the role of being Jesus’ mother, Mary did so with humility and responsibility. She was responsible to look after God’s Son. To teach him faith, love, and love. She was responsible for teaching him about his father and how he would change the world. To be responsible is to be like Mary teaching others to make the right choice. 

This year, the student who is being recognised for showing the quality of RESPONSIBILITY is Amaira Barot in Year 3.

COMPASSION

One word everyone describes Mary as is loving and caring. Her compassion for the people around her and her Son is the most important thing we take from her example. To be compassionate is a quality that makes us like Mary looking after Jesus. 

This year, the student who is being recognised for showing the quality of COMPASSION is Mariam Toma in Year 4.

INTEGRITY

Mary always stood up for her faith. She was courageous in her love for God and never tried to hide that from anyone. This integrity in her actions shows us that we should always be ourselves even when others tell us to act differently without reason. This is a quality we strive for within our School Community. 

This year, the student who is being recognised for showing the quality of INTEGRITY is Armanita Sako in Year 5.

LEADERSHIP

Our School is named after Mary who led by example. She is the light of our school community. Through her Love, Thankfulness, Responsibility, Compassion and Integrity, she leads us into a good life. During our time at Our Lady’s we strive to do the same; to lead by example. 

This year, the student who is being recognised for showing the quality of LEADERSHIP is Cruz Robotis in Year 6.

This week's Gospel, Jesus asks us; "But you, who do you say I am?". In the light of our School Feast Day, we have been given clues within the 7 values of Mary to answer this question. Who is Jesus to you? - Just a good guy who lived 2,000 years ago? A role model? A friend? The Word come down from heaven? Nobody? Everybody? Our saviour? An inspired man of God? The Messiah? ... only you know that answer.

May God bless you and keep you,

Mr Angelo Iacopino

aiacopino@olps.vic.edu.au