From the Director of Identity and Mission

The past couple of weeks have seen several key liturgical events celebrated in the College.

The Feast of the Annunciation | Wednesday 25 March

The Feast of the Annunciation focuses on Mary’s "yes" to God’s invitation to be the Mother of Jesus, the Son of God.  This act of faith and courage set in motion a series of events that led to the resurrection of Jesus and the salvation of humanity.  As a College that takes its name from Mary, we have always placed special emphasis on this Feast Day, which is commemorated on 25 March. 

Our community gathered last Wednesday for a Junior School Liturgy and a Senior School Mass, which was celebrated by Father Bernard Perera. Father Bernard’s homily emphasised the importance of the small and ordinary things in life. Mary could not have understood the significance of her own small "yes" more than 2000 years ago, and we are encouraged to follow her example to take small steps of faith, some of which may one day make a big difference to others.

We were excited that four of our Presentation Sisters were able to join us to celebrate this special day: Sister Gabrielle, Sister Marilyn, Sister Elizabeth and Sister Barbara – whose birthday coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation. We were delighted to be able to sing Sister Barbara happy birthday in honour of her 95th birthday.

Holy Week and Easter

As Lent draws to a close and we enter into Holy Week, the College joins the Church in walking with Jesus through his last days on Earth. Holy Week began for us on Monday with a Junior School Palm Sunday Liturgy in the Cathedral hosted by the Year 2 classes. The students reenacted Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, dressing in Biblical-themed clothes and waving a variety of branches. 

The Junior School then shared this important event with the Senior School by parading, with their branches, through the Senior School. They were met with waves and claps from appreciative and encouraging classes of students.

Tomorrow (Thursday 2 April), the whole school will gather for our annual Stations of the Cross Liturgy.  This year, the Junior School will lead us through these last events in Jesus’ life. Throughout the liturgy, students are encouraged to reflect on Jesus’ love for us as he died to save us from our sins. 

Despite this being a sad and solemn occasion, each year we value being able to share these important events in the life of the Church with our entire College community. Thanks to the Junior School’s Religious Education Coordinator, Annie Jordan, for preparing this beautiful liturgy for us. 

At the conclusion of the Stations of the Cross, students are encouraged to purchase a Hot Cross Bun as a way of continuing the symbolism of the cross and as one last chance to donate to Caritas’ Project Compassion Appeal.  Many thanks go to Secondary Teacher, Mrs Selma Murphy and our Prefect for Social Justice, Hal Cormack, as well as to the team of eager Senior School students who belong to the Justice Action Network.

If you would like to donate to Caritas’ Project Compassion Appeal, click here: Project Compassion | Caritas Lent Appeal | Unite Against Poverty

As we break for our Easter holidays, families are encouraged to attend one of the many Easter services held in our local Catholic churches. Services include the Mass of the Last Supper on Thursday evening, the Good Friday Service at 3.00pm and an Easter Mass on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. 

To find the times for your local Masses, go to the Archdiocese website: Find A Mass - Archdiocese of Hobart