✝️Faith and Mission
Prayer for Mission
God our Father,
we thank you for having called Saint Eugene de Mazenod
to follow Christ the Saviour and Evangelizer.
Passionately in love with your Son Jesus
and sharing in his compassion for humanity,
Eugene put himself unconditionally at the service of your Church
for the evangelization of those most in need.
Through his intercession, help us to reach out
with the healing touch of Christ who calls us to Holiness and to Mission.
May we build communities which are signs of your presence,
and share the Good News of salvation with all peoples.
For this we dedicate ourselves, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Oblate Mission is Diverse
The Oblate mission in Australia began in Fremantle, in 1894 and faithfully continues today.
“Followers of Jesus Christ in the footsteps of Saint Eugene de Mazenod, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate are a community of missionaries under the patronage of Mary.
Guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit, we proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, who is alive and active in the world, by living and witnessing as apostolic men of prayer and holiness. Leaving nothing undared to establish the Kingdom of God, we work together with the people we serve, giving preference to the poor with their many faces.” ~ OMI Australia Vision Statement.
Over 4000 Oblate priests and brothers are to be found today in more than 60 countries of the world. Oblates from Australia are missionaries in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China. There are Oblates in the Australian Province who come from Ireland, Italy, Pakistan, India, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam. A truly diverse group.
Oblates exercise very diverse ministries but above all seek to dedicate themselves to the poor and abandoned. One can thus find Oblates from Australia working in parishes, schools, youth, in missionary outreach, preaching, social justice and pastoral ministries, or prisons.
“No ministry is alien to us as long as we never lose sight of the main purpose of the Congregation: the evangelization of the most abandoned.” ~ Oblate Constitutions and Rules.
St Eugene’s Feast Day Mass and Mazenod Mission Day – May 21st
May 21st is St Eugene’s Feast Day and a wonderful day of celebration at the College. The day started with a whole school Mass, which was celebrated by our Australian Provincial Fr Andrew Chen OMI. Mass was concelebrated by Fr Michael Twigg OMI, Fr Michael McMahon OMI and Fr Matthew Raj OMI. Fr Andrew reminded us that we follow in the footsteps of St Eugene, and like the Oblates, we are inspired and protected by the intercession of Mary Immaculate.
After Mass, Fr Michael and Mr Harvey launched Mazenod Mission Day. The Mazenod Mission Day is a chance to assist the Oblates of Bangladesh and India financially in a heart-felt act of practical solidarity. This year we will be supporting a few Oblate Schools in both Bangladesh and India. The Oblates choose to educate some of the poorest children in these countries, so that they can have real life chances through education. The education that the Oblates offer these children from poor families, is transformational for both them and their families. The Oblates have dedicated themselves to help the marginalised to raise themselves out of poverty in countries that offer little in the way of an education to those who do not have the financial means.
The boys enjoyed a large selection of food for lunch as well as fun activities. Food included pulled pork, tacos, BLTs, fairy floss and many more options. Some of the fun activities were the dunk tank, choc toss, basketball comp, soccer shoot out and Mario Brothers. The boys were thrilled to spend the middle of the day eating and engaging in the many fun activities. All money raised will go to support the Oblate Mission in India and Bangladesh. This is wonderful act of solidarity from our College to the Oblates of these two countries. May 21st is also a part of Oblate week, where we recognize and support the Mission of the Congregation in Australia and in over 60 countries around the world.
Damian Wallis
Director of Faith and Mission