St Pius X College Newsletter

Mission and Identity

  • Grandparent's Day Liturgy

  • Journeying with Purpose

  • Feast of the Assumption Masses - Friday

  • Year 12 Retreats

  • Canonisation Youth Orchestra

Grandparent's Day Liturgy

Our new Pope, Leo XIV, recently celebrated the Fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on 28 July. In his message for this celebration, Pope Leo asked, 'Let us look to grandparents and the elderly as witnesses of hope, capable of lighting the path for new generations. Let us not leave them alone, but join them in a covenant of love and prayer.'

Grandparents and elders are among our greatest blessings - a living link between generations, rich in faith, wisdom, and enduring love. They are the storytellers of family history, the keepers of cherished traditions, and the quiet, steady foundations upon which lives are built. In both joy and hardship, their love remains a guiding force, holding families close and offering a deep well of comfort and strength.

They offer their grandchildren the treasures of experience, spiritual depth, and perspective, while in return, they are renewed by the joy, energy, and innocence of the young. Together, they form a beautiful chain of love - connecting the past, grounding the present, and inspiring the future. Though time may stretch this chain, its bond remains unbreakable.

It is in this light that we celebrated the Grandparent's Day Liturgy at Oxford Falls. Students from Year 5 and Year 6 shared reflections on the impact their Grandparents have had on their life and why they are dearly loved.

The following blessing was prayed over their grandparents in gratitude for the gentle cultivation they provide of head, heart and hands:

Gentle with our growing

 

Blessed are the grandparents,

whose arms are like rich soil, always ready to 

receive us, whose smiles are like sunlight, 

warming the tender shoots of our hearts, and 

whose eyes shine with the deep wisdom of 

well-rooted trees.

 

They water our curiosity with patience, prune 

our mistakes with kindness, and tend our 

growth with gentle, faithful care.

 

Their love does not boast, but nourishes 

quietly; it is not proud, but steady as the 

seasons, bearing fruit in its time.

 

Grandparents are gardeners of the soul - planters 

of family stories, keepers of seeds from 

generations past, bringers of the rain and 

laughter that help us grow.

In them, we see the beauty of love that shelters,

trusts the harvest, hopes for tomorrow, and 

endures through every storm.

 

O God, you have gifted us with these faithful 

cultivators of life, whose roots run deep in you, 

whose branches stretch wide in welcome.

Through their steady care and enduring grace,

they show us the shape of your steadfast love.

 

May we walk beside them in the garden of life, 

never leaving them untended, but honouring 

their voice, their journey, and the place they 

hold in the landscape of our hearts.

 

Let their legacy be planted in us - 

not only remembered, but lived - 

in the way we sow kindness,

the way we uproot bitterness,

and the way we carry your light like seeds 

scattered for the world.

Journeying with Purpose

Last Friday Year 10 engaged in their Formation Day that explored ‘Journeying with Purpose’. As students in Year 10 bring their senior student journey into full view, accompanied by subject selection interviews and courses of study charted for the remaining two years, this day was an opportunity to expand their view to consider the larger questions of life and to consider God’s dream for them. 

The Biblical stimulus at the core of the day was 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' Jeremiah 29:11. This scripture was coupled with an excerpt from the late Pope Francis that spoke to his reflection on his purpose as Pope, but more deeply the mission of every Christian:

'My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off; it is not an “extra” or just another moment in life. Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world. We have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing. All around us we begin to see nurses with soul, teachers with soul, politicians with soul, people who have chosen deep down to be with others and for others. But once we separate our work from our private lives, everything turns grey and we will always be seeking recognition or asserting our needs. We stop being a people.' Joy of the Gospel 273.

The above stimuli was then brought to life by Sam Clear from Walk4One. Sam famously walked around the world for unity, and holds the record for the 11th longest journey on foot in human history. Through his captivating talks, regaling the students with many near death experiences, he unveiled the deeper truths and insights he discovered as a result of a God who never left his side, one who made Himself present through compassionate strangers and sliding door moments that often saved his life.

Sam challenged the students to dig deeper into their faith and explore the gifts that God gave them in order to achieve His dream for them.

Students then completed the day through a Biblical Micrography meditation on the quote above from Jeremiah. We keep Year 10 in our prayers as they begin the senior voyage.

Feast of the Assumption Masses Friday

The College will celebrate and observe the Holy Day of Obligation for the Feast of the Assumption. The following Masses will be celebrated at Our Lady of Dolours Chastwood. Please note that parents are welcome at any of the following celebrations.

 

9:00 am Mass: Year 10 will join Mercy College, Our Lady of Dolours Primary at the Parish Mass. 

10:30 am Mass: Year 5, Year 6 and Year 7 will celebrate a St Pius X College Mass. 

12:30 pm Mass: Year 8 will join Mercy College at the Parish Mass. 

2:00 pm Liturgy: Year 9 and Year 11 will celebrate a St Pius X College Liturgy.

Year 12 Retreats

Please keep Year 12 in your prayers as they depart next week for their respective retreats. The College offers five retreats that are 3-day residential experiences. The retreats are ‘mountaintop experiences’ where they will take time to reflect on where they have been, where they are going and the thread of God that has stitched together the last 13 years of human experience in Catholic education.

We are most grateful to our wonderful staff who sacrifice time away from families to make this possible.

Canonisation Youth Orchestra

A reminder of important dates and rehearsals for the Canonisation Youth Orchestra:

  • Sunday 7 September: 5:30 pm Mass, Canonisation of Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati (rehearsal at 3:30 pm, Harrington Hall).

The rehearsal schedule for the orchestra will be as follows:

  • 15 August normal times

  • 22 August normal times

  • 29 August normal times

  • 5 September normal times

  • 7 September (Sunday 3:30 pm)

Mr Daniel Petrie - Assistant Principal, Mission and Identity