14th February 1966 Prayer

Today is the anniversary of the foundation of our College in 1966. We pray for our College community; past, present and future.

Father,

please pour out Your blessings

upon our whole school community

so that everyone grows

in the knowledge of Your truth, love, wisdom and peace.

Bless each member of Mazenod College

with good health, happiness, and prosperity.

Help us to support one another’s dreams and aspirations,

celebrating both the achievements

and the challenges we have faced over the past 59 years.

In Your divine presence,

we find strength and inspiration.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

St Eugene de Mazenod… Pray for us…

Moments of Grace- St Eugene de Mazenod

Missionary Community

Forming community

On the 25th January 1816, Eugene and four young men gathered in a common room to sign a formal petition to the Archdiocese to approve and authorise their congregation. They had two aims:

To preach missions in the small towns and villages of Provence
To form a community of missionaries governed by a rule, that they serve the local diocese and grow in holiness.

To Bring Good News to the Poor and Most Abandoned:

One of the primary purposes of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate is TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS to “those people whose condition cries out for salvation”

(Constitution no. 5).

As members of the De Mazenod Family, we can work with OMI’s in partnership to grow and strengthen the Church in our own communities, to ensure that we can continue to bring the Good News to the poor and most abandoned, to the youth and the uneducated.

“The recent pandemic enabled us to recognise and appreciate once more all those around us who, in the midst of fear, responded by putting their lives on the line. We began to realise that our lives are interwoven with and sustained by ordinary people valiantly shaping the decisive events of our shared history.” Fratelli Tutti.

We are the ordinary people and we can help shape the future of those whose need our help as we are all members of the one family in Christ.

REFLECTION:

How do we individually and collectively contribute to building our missionary community at Mazenod College?

2025 DMFEN Student Leaders Conference

Taking on the Flying Fox, building connections, understanding more about St Eugene and the De Mazenod Family Charism, learning more about synodality; enjoying the beauty and the wonderful surf at Coolum Beach, and discovering plenty of strategies to be effective leaders, featured in our 2025 DMFEN (De Mazenod Family Education Network) Student Leaders Conference. This annual event was hosted by St Eugene College this year at the beautiful Luther Heights Camp Site in Coolum.

School Captains and other elected leaders gathered to represent their college and share their experiences and hopes for the year. Ms Louise Olley welcomed the students and staff to the conference. The Oblate Fathers and our newly appointed Provincial Fr Andrew Chen OMI were our keynote speakers.

Fr Michael Twigg OMI focussed on the identity of St Eugene de Mazenod and how his experiences influenced his work. He also explained how the Oblates were formed and how a charism is established. Fr Harry Dyer OMI provided staff and students with an insight into the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the Australian Province / China Delegation. Fr Andrew titled his talk “Pilgrims of Hope” and used the Jubilee Year to inspire everyone about the true essence of leadership in the context of Christ and the Gospels. He started his presentation quoting Pope Francis and the Holy Father’s hopes for the world in 2025.

“The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the

hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May it help us to

recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and

in society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international

relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all

persons and respect for God’s gift of creation.”

(Pope Francis, Spes Non Confundit 25)

Fr Joe Antony OMI and the respective College leaders provided their insights and experiences during workshops, activities, panels and casual discussions.

The student leaders addressed the conference on the first day, sharing information about projects and actions that build and nourish the De Mazenod Family Charism at their school. Throughout the conference students discovered strategies on how to host discussions effectively, utilizing various models and techniques, to engage young people and allow them to be genuinely involved.

Topics included: Social Justice, Respect, Building Integrity, Prayer and Devotion and Sustainability. In fact, the number of topics expanded throughout the conference, highlighting the need to be strategic to ensure outcomes can be reached. Schools are very busy places and sharing workloads by building teams to share responsibilities was discussed. Words such as authentic, vulnerable, courageous were used to appreciate the styles of leadership required as well.

Mr Ben Devlin and Mr Trevor Goodwin from Iona College amused and challenged the students with their interactive and comprehensive presentations recognizing the qualities of good leadership such as having effective habits and utilizing teamwork.

The students embraced the opportunity and the challenges of the conferences. On the last day they were asked to identify priorities and recognizable outcomes for their year. The students did a brilliant job and were clearly grateful to the staff for not only sharing their expertise and their experience, but for their generosity and passion to provide student voice in our Colleges.

It was very clear to all who attended we are very blessed to have the Oblate Fathers, dedicated staff and inspiring young people in our colleges. Bring on 2025.

Lady of Lourdes Parish Religious Education Program

Damian Wallis

Director of Faith and Mission

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