Mission News

Prayers

We hold in prayer members of our community who have died recently or whose anniversaries occur at this time. We also pray for those who are receiving treatment for illness or who are struggling with adversity. We pray the strength of God’s healing spirit will be with them and with all who are journeying through grief and loss. Amen.

Community Masses

All are welcome to this Wednesday’s Community Mass at 8am – this week we will celebrate mass for Gilroy House. All Gilroy students, staff and families are invited to attend. 

Mass will also be celebrated Friday during break 1B. 

Gospel & Reflection

Matthew 14: 13 – 21 Feeding of the Five Thousand

The famous story of Jesus Feeding the 5000 begins with a sadness - Jesus has just heard of his cousin’s murder and has gone to the wilderness to grieve. The people of Judea follow– touched by their commitment Jesus has compassion on them. As evening approaches the disciples urge Jesus to dismiss the crowd – instead he calls the disciples to feed these needy people. Jesus takes the five loaves and two fish, looks up to heaven, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to the disciples. Everyone eats to satisfaction with 12 baskets left over. 

The Catholic tradition interprets scripture in four ways: the literal, the symbolic, the moral, and the heavenly. On a literal level God performs a miracle. Yet Matthew also invites us to see deeper meanings. Jesus is presented as the new Moses, feeding God's people, with the twelve baskets symbolising the twelve tribes of Israel and, by extension, the whole People of God. Unlike the manna in the wilderness, Jesus himself becomes the one who nourishes the hungry, revealing the Father's abundant and generous love. His compassion flows even amid his own grief, calling us to lives of generous self-giving.

Matthew also echoes the words of the Last Supper: Jesus takes, blesses, breaks, and gives the bread. his abundance Jesus wants to sustain us not just physically but spiritually. The physical miracle points towards the Bread of Life we remember in the prayer of the Mass. On the heavenly reading - Jesus is inviting all of us to eternal life.

Finally, the Gospel challenges us morally and to be people of Welcome. God's Kingdom is open to all, and we are called to reflect Christ's compassion, generosity, and hospitality. One of the great strengths of our Ashgrove community is its welcoming spirit. May we continue the tradition of knowing one another by name and ensuring that every person feels seen, valued, and included.

Luminous Lantern Parade

The Luminous Lantern Parade is an annual community event organised by Multicultural Australia to celebrate cultural diversity in Brisbane. What began in 2007 as a small lantern walk to welcome refugee and migrant families into Brisbane has grown in popularity and size. 

On Friday night, community groups came together to share their culture through costume, song and dance, and spread joy, light and colour. Our boys were lucky enough to carry Frankie and Red, two enormous and beloved lanterns styled on characters from Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are". 

Our students also carried little bee lanterns which our primary students had painted. (Since the bee and the hive are important symbols of community, solidarity and work ethic for Marist College Ashgrove, it was special to proudly display these symbols in public.) Our Marist men loved being part of the event and conducted themselves beautifully as they smiled and waved at the children and families lining the route. 

A special mention goes to Archie and Murphy who stepped into the giant lanterns to carry them the whole way; no small feat with only a mesh window to look through! A big cheer went up when Frankie (being carried by Archie) successfully manoeuvred limbo-style under the low roof of the South Bank spine.

Thanks goes to supervising staff, as well as our enthusiastic students and their supportive families. Our thanks also to Multicultural Australia for continuing to organise an event that allows different people to come together and celebrate the happy reality of Brisbane's rich cultural diversity.

Year 9 Retreat 

This Monday the 3rd of August, the Year 9 cohort joined for a day of formation and teambuilding. Led by Michael Fitzpatrick, the boys demonstrated leadership and stepped out of their comfort zone time after time. The retreat day is focused on building a cohort of unity, centred around the question, ‘Do we want our cohort in Year 12 in 2029 to be the same as it is right now?’

Throughout the day, the boys talked with their peers who they had little to nothing to do with, and many volunteered to speak on behalf of the group, bravely answering deep and thoughtful questions, and putting themselves in a vulnerable position in doing so. 

As the day went on, you could see the students opening up. Firstly, opening up to the reality that there are things that should change, and then realising that it is up to each and every student to make their cohort a more unified, and welcoming grade. For many, the highlight of the day was seeing and hearing their mates being vulnerable, whether speaking from the heart, or volunteering to sing in front of everyone, just because it was a fun thing to do for the group and would raise the atmosphere. 

As with all of Michael’s retreats that he has done at Marist over 40 years, the cohort was challenged, and left stronger, knowing what must be done to make their own schooling and year group as positive as possible.

Year 5 & 6 + 7 & 8 Dance

A reminder tickets for the Mission dances close tomorrow Wednesday 5 August at 4:00pm. We would love to see all Marist boys in these grades attend. We have had a fantastic response from our local girl schools. Thank you to Mr Le Mura who has been working with our DJ students – we can’t wait to hear their set lists on the night! 

Please refer to the letter sent from primary and student administration regarding ticket links! If you need further information, please email Jenna Harding – hardingj@marash.qld.edu.au.

Environment Group Free Dress Day 

Thank you to everyone for your support of last week’s Environment Group Free Dress Day! The school turned fluoro with an extra touch of class from our Year 12s who added a formal jacket and bow tie for their last free dress day. Donations are still being calculated and will be advised in next week’s newsletter.