Faith and Mission

For Wisdom

God, give us grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen. 

Mazenod Mission Day

On Tuesday 15 August Mr Harvey, our Principal, officially launched Mazenod Mission Day (MMD). The boys were in great spirits and excitement as they went off to engage in the 29 different activities and stalls scattered around the College. Some of these included Pulled Pork, Sumo Suits, Super Smash Bros, Lolly Bags and Bacon and Egg Burgers. 

Thank you to all the staff, students and parents who contributed to the success of the day. MMD is a whole school event that involves everyone in our College community. It was wonderful to see our Oblate spirit in full swing across the day. Hopefully we will be able to print a final fundraising total in the next Newsletter. Thank you to all the College families who have donated so generously to this year’s appeal to support the Oblate Missions in India.

Flower Roster Volunteers

Father’s Day Mass and Morning Tea

The annual Father’s Day Mass is being held on Wednesday 6 September in the Chapel at 8:10am. This will be followed by a cuppa in the undercover area. All fathers and grandfathers are warmly invited to attend this wonderful celebration of fatherhood with their son(s). Please RSVP by Friday 1 September to Damian Wallis via email: wallis.damian@mazenod.wa.edu.au.

Morning Mass 

Week day Masses begin at 8:00am in the College Chapel. However, Wednesday morning Mass begins at 8:10am. These Masses are assigned to a group of students who are involved in their preparation and focus on a particular theme or feast day. Below is a table outlining this term’s Wednesday Masses to which everyone from the Mazenod community is extended a warm invitation to attend.

Term 3: Wednesday Masses

A Peg in a Sure Spot

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’ 

Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’ (Matthew 16: 13 - 20)

One day soon, Peter will deny he ever knew Jesus. But at this moment, he’s chosen to be the foundation upon which the future church will rest. Peter, in a sure spot? He was a nail driven into spackle! Is Jesus being ironic when he calls him a rock? In just a few more verses (see vs, 23), Jesus will call Peter the devil.

Jesus is Lord - but also a realist. Human nature is soft, like the flesh that contains it, and there truly is no better choice among the Twelve than Peter. From this impulsive, unschooled, self-preserving fisherman, God will raise up the rafters of a church that will see twenty centuries more. Not because Peter is great, but because God is. Not much can be built on flesh, as frail and uncertain as human beings are. But through the Spirit which gives the church its breath, the reign of God keeps on coming, on earth as it is in heaven.

What part of your Christian commitment is like rock? What part is flesh?

Damian Wallis

Director of Faith and Mission