Mission

Our Christmas Liturgy this year was themed O’Holy Night. It began with sharing the history and significance of the Jesse Tree in our Christmas story, and concluded with a reflection through Mary’s eyes, as Jesus’ mother, recognising her spirituality and contribution to the revelation of Christ in our world. Our musicians, singers, dancers and readers led our liturgy so beautifully capturing the true spirit of Christmas.   

The Jesse Tree is the Christian family tree that introduces us to some of the people who prepared the way for Jesus.

It helps us connect the custom of decorating Christmas trees to the preparation time of Advent. On Wednesday evening we adorned a Jesse tree with handmade ornaments, prepared by Year 8 Religious Education, which illustrated the people, prophesies and events leading up to the birth of Jesus.

The ornaments of the Jesse tree tell the story of God in the Old Testament, connecting the Advent season with the faithfulness of God across four thousand years of history. 

In our world today, we also use the Jesse Tree as a means of better understanding the charitable aspects of our Catholic faith. Our call to service of the less fortunate upholds and dignifies our human ability to express love.

As a community we brought forward our gifts to share with the poor of our community.  In charity, we demonstrate our great love of God above all things and connect with the Charisms of Edmund Rice and Nano Nagle, to “be light for the world”. 

To conclude our liturgy, we gave our attention to the birth of Jesus Christ that holy night and considered Mary’s role, as a loving mother. Her dignity, grace and humility served to reconcile Christ with his people.

We invited our community to ponder, through Mary’s eyes, the questions, the sacrifice, the gift and the enormous challenge placed before her, as we brought this to life in prayer and reflection.

Let us pray….

Hail Mary, full of grace;

all generations call you blessed.

Hail Mother of God; when asked by the angel

to bear the Son of the Most High,

filled with faith, you responded:

"Let it be done unto me."

Holy Mother of Jesus, at the wedding feast at Cana,

you prompted your Son to perform his first sign.

Be with us as we discern our life's work

and guide us in the way we are called to follow

in the footsteps of your Son.

Holy Mother of the Savior, at the foot of the cross

you mourned the death of your only Son.

Bless and embrace the loving parents of all our students,

just as you embraced your role as Jesus Christ’s mother

Holy Mother of the Good Shepherd,

turn your motherly care to this nation.

Intercede for us to the Lord of the harvest

send plentiful rain, so we may work to harvest nourishment

in this land dedicated to your honour.

Queen of Peace, Mirror of Justice, Health of the Sick,

Inspire contemporary vocations in our time.

Let the word of your Son be made flesh anew

in the lives of people ready to proclaim

the good news of everlasting life.

Amen

There is no doubt that Mary had many unanswered questions, which she pondered in her heart. She allowed her faith to give way to doubt as she lived her life demonstrating love and abiding commitment to Jesus’ mission.      

Throughout this year, all of you, the Mater Dei Community have responded to our charitable calls with compassion and hope, sharing your physical and spiritual gifts and bringing comfort to the lonely and the poor. Our Food Technology and Hospitality classes have been working with Ms Lane and Ms Hazelwood to create some Christmas treats for us to share with Micah Hubb. It was such a joy to hand these over to Vinnies on Tuesday afternoon. Thank you to our students and teachers for your generosity of spirit!

Most recently, we have given the gift of hope by donating extensively to the Vinnies Christmas appeal. These donations were handed over on Friday to the St Vincent de Paul Kooringal Conference. We would like to thank you, our families, for your generosity and continued support of these valuable initiatives.

May we, and all our families and friends, find relaxation, refreshment and enjoyment in the coming Christmas holidays.

 Best wishes and God bless,

Mrs Amelia Bright | Acting Leader of Mission