Mission News

Prayers

We remember in our prayers all those who have died recently: 

• Sue Hartifel’s Father

The month of October each year is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. This is primarily due to the fact that the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7.

In this month dedicated to the Rosary, we turn to you with grateful hearts for the gift of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her powerful intercession. We seek to embrace the Marist Spirituality, which calls us to cultivate a deep devotion to Mary and to follow in her footsteps as humble servants.

In the words of Saint Marcellin Champagnat, the founder of the Marist Brothers, we are reminded that “to Jesus through Mary” is not slogan but a way of life. We pray that during this month of the Rosary, we may truly live out this motto, entrusting ourselves to the care and guidance of our Blessed Mother. 

As we meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary, we recall the words of Saint Marcellin Champagnat, who said, “The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the devil to flights, and to keep him away from us.” We ask that through the intercession of Mary, the Rosary may become a source of protection and strength against the temptations and struggles we face in our daily lives.

We also draw inspiration from the words of Saint Marcellin Champagnat, who encouraged us to “do ordinary things extraordinarily well.” Help us, Lord, to approach each day with a spirit of humility and dedication, seeking to serve you and others with love and excellence.

During this month, we pray for the grace to deepen our relationship with Mary, our mother and model of faith. As Saint Marcellin Champagnat once said, “To love Mary is to love Jesus.” May our devotion to Mary lead us closer to you, Lord, and help us to imitate her virtues of faith, obedience, and selflessness.

We ask for your blessings upon all those who practice the Marist Spirituality, especially the Marist Fathers, Brothers, Sisters and laypeople who tirelessly serve your Church. May they be filled with zeal and joy as they spread the message of your love through their words and actions.

Lord, as we embark on this month of the Rosary, we place ourselves under the loving care of Mary, Our Lady of the Rosary. Through her intercession, may we grow in faith, hope, and love, and may our lives be transformed by the grace of your Son, Jesus Christ.

Hail, Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women

and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death. 

Amen.

Mary our Good Mother                                      Pray For Us 

St Marcellin Champagnat                                 Pray For Us 

Mary of the Cross Mackillop                            Pray For Us 

Mass Times

Wednesday Morning 8:00am in the College Chapel and Friday Break 1 in the College Chapel.

Gospel Reflection

Sunday 8 October 2023 – Matthew 21:33-43 (NRSVCE)

Jesus told the chief priests and leaders to listen to this story:

A land owner once planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in. He also built a lookout tower. Then he rented out his vineyard and left the country.

When it was harvest time, the owner sent some servants to get his share of the grapes.  But the renters grabbed those servants. They beat up one, killed one, and stoned one of them to death.  He then sent more servants than he did the first time. But the renters treated them in the same way.

Finally, the owner sent his own son to the renters, because he thought they would respect him.  But when they saw the man's son, they said, “Someday he will own the vineyard. Let's kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves.”  So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

Jesus asked, “When the owner of that vineyard comes, what do you suppose he will do to those renters?”

The chief priests and leaders answered, “He will kill them in some horrible way. Then he will rent out his vineyard to people who will give him his share of grapes at harvest time.”

Jesus replied, “You surely know that the Scriptures say,

‘The stone the builders

tossed aside

is now the most important

stone of all.

This is something

the Lord has done,

and it is amazing to us.’

 I tell you God's kingdom will be taken from you and given to people who will do what he demands.

Sunday’s Gospel gives us insight to how the community of Matthew’s Gospel came to recognise through faith the gravity and tragedy of Jesus’ passion and death. Like the son of the wealthy land owner killed by the renters who he had trusted, the Son of God was to be captured, tortured and left to die on a cross like a criminal. Jesus, with his message of truth, love and justice, was sacrificed at the hands of those who were as greedy and cowardly as the ‘renters’ in the story. In a sense we are all ‘renters’ when we consider that we have limited time on earth, our common home. We know the terrible consequences of greed and violence on our planet. We are custodians of a fragile future, of God’s creation still unfolding. As people of faith, we believe that Jesus’ death on the cross wasn’t a final statement. He died to be always alive, always present. Where he had once been discarded like the stone the builders overlooked, now Christ is the cornerstone—the foundation of our Christian story and calling. Today’s Gospel does have a cautionary tone: we can’t afford to clutch selfishly at things which are not truly ours, nor deal dishonestly or cruelly with those who come into our midst. We are called to care, to give our share, to embrace life fully and bring about God’s peace.

Coming Up

Term 4 –Introductory course to Auslan

PURCHASE TICKETS VIA:

https://events.humanitix.com/marist-college-ashgrove-auslan-course

Learn a fast-growing language

Did you know that the 2021 census reported over 16,000 people in Australia use Auslan to communicate and that this number jumped from around 10,000 in the five years since 2016?

Auslan is short for Australian sign language, a language developed by, and for, Australians who are deaf or hearing impaired.

The introductory Auslan course with Michaela Reece starts this week, running over a further four consecutive weeks.

Tread Lightly

Tread Lightly wants your old, unwanted sneakers!

Do you have sport shoes which look ready for the bin? Don’t throw them out! Drop them off at the Mission Office instead. Collecting old shoes for Tread Lightly saves them from landfill where the science tells us they’d take around 1,000 years to break down. Lighten your footprint (and your conscience) by giving your old shoes a second, practical life. 

To find out more about Tread Lightly, visit: Tread Lightly – Together we can step into a better future​ (asga.com.au)

Stationery Aid 

Stationery Aid began with Alison and Jan Schutt (pictured) asking the question many parents ask themselves: “What will we do with all this leftover stationery in our house?!” The dedicated couple went on to set up what has become Stationery Aid, supporting the many thousands of young people who attend school without the basic resources needed to learn. Stationery Aid’s central organising hub is located in Bunya (pictured), a well-oiled machine ensuring the best quality “reused, renewed and recycled stationery” is organised to be delivered to where it is needed. 

Along with a growing list of schools, Marist College Ashgrove makes a significant contribution to Stationery Aid, and we are proud our students continue to volunteer their time to sort and clean the many pens, pencils, crayons and other resources donated. The Stationery Aid MATES ministry will continue on Friday mornings in the Mission office for the remainder of Term 4.

Give your quality secondhand stationery an incredibly valued second life—don’t bin it at home! Donations can be placed in the Stationery Aid bin located outside the Studies office.

For more information visit the Stationery Aid website: https://stationeryaid.org/ 

ROSIES

Our valuable support of Rosies continues this term. 

The work of Rosies is critical in the Brisbane community, especially as more and more people are impacted by the rising cost of living. Yet as Rosies CEO Jane Shallcross reflected in the organisation’s recent newsletter, the support Rosies offers goes beyond the material and practical: 

“It is the friendly face. It is the hope, compassion and genuine connection that happens every night of the year. It is the ability to provide a safe, dependable, consistent space that is respectful, judgement-free and welcoming. It is a place that allows worthiness, courage, and connection to grow and flourish. And, sometimes, it is just a good place to go to get a hot drink, a blanket and a smile.”

Thank you to the staff and students who have so generously and humbly donated their time to attend Rosies throughout the year. Upcoming dates are; Monday 16th October, Wednesday 18th October, Monday 6th November and Wednesday 18th November

Just email mates@marash.qld.edu.au to sign up or visit the Mission Office

St Vincent de Paul

Students from Years 7–12 are warmly invited to join our St Vincent de Paul conference.  We currently meet Thursdays SECOND break in Room 801. The group is a perfect example of the heartfelt way Marist students respond to the call to stand with others. We hope to see plenty of faces at our community BBQ which runs every Thursday morning from 7:15am in the main yard and would love to have new volunteers come along to help out.

Marist Youth Ministry Game Changers 

Game Changers is a comprehensive Catholic youth ministry program for students in Marist Schools from Years 7-12. journey. These tracks are grounded in the stories of Jesus, Mary, and Marcellin. Participating students are invited to undertake the following tracks across the six-year levels, with the focus on each track over two years. Just email mates@marash.qld.edu.au to sign up or drop into the Mission Office.