Acting Leader of Mission

“Now Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”

Hebrews 11:1

Dearest Marian Community,

We again enter that familiar feeling of staying at home and being restricted to what we are allowed to do. Now more than ever, with the constant rising of cases, is a time for prayer, faith and gratitude towards all that we have and to that could be. In my last article, I spoke about the importance of mission and living the mission as taught to by the Catholic Church. During these times, there is no greater teaching to act upon than love. When the Church speaks of love, She speaks about the way we treat and honour each other. 

His Holiness Pope Francis states in his publication Fratello Tutti:

“No one can face life in isolation… We need a community that supports and helps us, in which we can help one another to keep looking ahead.

This term we were supposed to start our collection of tins of food for puppies through our Needy Paws mission project. In the meantime whilst this project is on hold, I set a new mission project for our Marian community. Seek out those closest to you and let them know that you are thinking of them. How you do it is entirely up to you. It may be through the use of your social media, a phone call or a text message, just letting them know you are there and thinking of them. This reminds me of a class activity I did with my Year 12 Studies in Catholic Thought Class last year, where they were asked to message their parents “I love you”. The responses that students received back from their parents were, at the time, humorous for all. Some responses included “Is everything ok?”, “Are you sick?”, “What did you do now?”. In the scheme of things, with the busy lives that we live, we sometimes forget the simplest of things and that is to express our love to one another. 

These are the foundations that our College community is built upon. We do not need to look far when seeking examples, for in our College prayer we pray “To act with love and compassion”. We need to learn to work together as a community so that tomorrow is brighter not only for us in the present, but for the future as well. Only through creating unity amongst one another can we overcome this disease that is trying to overrun our lives. His Holiness Pope Francis in his publication Let us dream, describes the current pandemic and states that it has transformed him dramatically … for the better.  He states that if we have the courage to change, we can emerge from this challenge better than before. In times of hardship, there have been moments to cherish and celebrate as a Marian community. Mrs Sartor along with staff and students of Marian Catholic College have demonstrated their way to showcase love and mission towards the common good of all. 

Made with Love by Mrs Sartor:

I hope that by my next article things have changed for the better and that we can all be active within our community once again. Until then, please look after each other, care for each other and pray for one another. Be grateful for having those that you do have in your lives and practice those random acts of kindness to brighten someone's day. As I mentioned in this article, I challenge everyone to contact someone they know and let them know you are there for them and thinking of them. I leave you with our College prayer, as it is fitting in helping us acknowledge the impact of our lives today and moving forward into tomorrow. 

“Jesus Good Shepherd,

Teach us through your spirit,

To walk your way of life and in all things to act with love and compassion,

Help us come to the father, by knowing you and serving you in each other,

May our school be a place of wonder, learning and peace,

Where the lessons of today prepare us for the challenges of tomorrow,

May your Mother Mary guide our footsteps as she guided yours,

This prayer we make in faith,

Amen”.

Stay safe!

Yours in faith,

Gabriel Abdala

Acting Leader of Mission