Faith and Mission

Prayer for Peace

(St Francis of Assisi)

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Sacramental Catechesis Classes

Students who are wanting to undertake preparation for the various Sacraments, can do this through Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Lesmurdie.

Classes start this coming Monday, 12 February at 4:00pm in the Parish Hall  - Our Lady of Lourdes. Parents can enrol their sons in person on that day with BAMBI GRIASCH.

Year 12 Signing of the Cross

On Wednesday, 31 January Year 12 students participated in the signing of the Cross and received their Year 12 Senior badges from Mrs Bulich and Mrs Angove. 

In signing the cross, that hangs everyday in the Year 12 area, the boys have pledged to strive for personal excellence and to commit themselves to the year ahead. This includes, dedicating themselves to their study and involving themselves in the community life of the College. The boys were reminded of how St Eugene was inspired by the cross when he began his ministry. It was at the foot of the cross that St Eugene decided to offer his life to Jesus the Saviour.

Morning Mass 

Weekday Masses begin at 8:10am in the College Chapel. Daily Masses are open to all members of the College community and local parishioners. Wednesday morning Masses are assigned to a different group of students each week and focus on a particular theme or feast day. Below is a table outlining this term’s Wednesday Masses. Everyone from the Mazenod community is extended a warm invitation to attend these Masses. 

Term 1: Wednesday Masses

The Oblate Cross

In 1807, during the adoration of the cross on Good Friday, St Eugene de Mazenod received a special grace which brought him face-to-face with the true love and mercy of Christ's sacrifice for the redemption of all humanity. Tears filled his eyes as he suddenly became profoundly aware of the Divine Mercy of the Lord. This may have been the most important event of his conversion because it was at that moment that he decided to offer his life to Jesus the Saviour.

Inspired by the cross, St Eugene began his ministry. He gathered other priests who were also willing to offer their lives to serving God and evangelizing the poor. His new order of missionary priests and brothers would eventually be called the Missionary Oblates from the term Oblation, meaning offering. St Eugene's passion for the cross was something he instilled in all of his Oblate brothers as he adopted the cross as a crucial sign of the charism and mission of the Missionary Oblates. 

The cross was considered their principal tool of evangelization. The founder wished each of his missionary sons to wear the cross as a distinctive sign of our apostolic mission. It became an essential part of our religious habit, given on the day of profession as a distinctive sign of our ministry. Oblates have since always carried their Oblate crosses to their mission around the world as a sign of God's mercy, and as a constant reminder of the virtues of humility, charity and modesty.

By 1830, the passing on of the missionary crosses from deceased Oblates to new Oblates was part of the Oblate tradition. Each new Oblate receives the cross of one of his deceased brothers so that he can be inspired by and further the legacy of that brother. These shared crosses are a sign of our Oblate brotherhood in Christ. St Eugene's cross is worn today by our Superior General.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

“Oblates have since always carried their Oblate crosses to their mission around the world as a sign of God's mercy, and as a constant reminder of the virtues of humility, charity and modesty.” 

How is the cross a crucial sign of our College’s mission today? 

How are we living out these virtues at Mazenod College, especially when we experience difficult times?

Damian Wallis

Director of Faith and Mission