From the Principal

• Reflection
• Feast Day of Blessed Edmund Rice
• Mother's Day Mass
• Founder's Day Mass
• Bishop Peter Ingham Funeral
• Key Dates
• Cocurricular

Reflection

The Easter period concludes with the celebration of The Ascension of our Lord (Sunday 12 May) and Pentecost Sunday (Sunday 19).  We spend significant time commemorating before Easter but as soon as Easter Sunday is over, we revert to our normal lives without truly reflecting on the whole Easter period.  Saint Augustine shares his perspective about this time when he states: 

 "The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. 

"What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess." 

 This period after the resurrection should be filled with the Holy Spirit and the hope that the Spirit brings.  It is a hope that transcends our current situation, filling the vacuum that exists within our lives, looking for the hope of something better. St Maximus of Turin in the 5th Century wrote, "His Holy Spirit has unlocked the doors of heaven.” The Holy Spirit is our advocate. We need to allow the Spirit room in our lives so that we can renew our HOPE, as we seek happiness and peace in a world that can be challenging.

Blessed Edmund Rice - Pray for Us

St Pius X - Pray for Us

Live Jesus in our Hearts - Forever!

Feast Day of Blessed Edmund Rice

Last Sunday was the feast day of Blessed Edmund Rice – founder of a band of men who dedicated their lives to the education of poor and marginalised young people. Blessed Edmund’s story is somewhat amazing. Edmund himself was somewhat privileged for a young person in Ireland of his time. Edmund received an education – albeit at times ‘illegally’ from an Augustinian Monk. Edmund was an intelligent man and in his young adult days learnt the business world quite effectively from his uncle. Edmund soon learnt how to make money catering for the merchant ships that visited the ports of Waterford, and he ended up a very wealthy man. Edmund married and he and his wife had a daughter. Unfortunately, Edmund’s wife Mary died and left Edmund with a sickly child. Through the support of Edmund’s relatives, his daughter was cared for as Edmund continued to work and contemplate life. Always a spiritual man, Edmund contemplated joining an enclosed/monastic order where, cut off from the world, he could pray and dedicate his life to God. Through the counsel of significant women, one being Nano Nagle, Edmund was convinced to stay in the seaside town of Waterford and provide an education for the many poor young boys living in the streets of the city.

Edmund used his wealth, intelligence and foresight to not only teach the young lads who were unruly and very difficult to educate, but to clothe them (he set up a tailor shop) and to feed them (he established a bakery). Edmund’s life as a Christian Brother was not without its trials and tribulations. He was ‘rejected’ at times by his own community and congregation of brothers and had to work his way through these hard times of rejection and misunderstanding. 

Below is a photo of the original bakery and tailor shop built by Blessed Edmund to feed and clothe the students who came to his school at Mt Sion

In so many ways, Edmund is an ideal role model for the young, particularly young males: a career person, a husband, a father, successful business man, a single parent, a struggler at times with difficult decisions, a visionary, somewhat stubborn in his determination, but other-centred and committed to making a difference in his world whilst always conscious of the God who supported him. In praying to Blessed Edmund, we also remember the Christian Brothers on this their Founder’s Feast Day. Since 1937, the Christian Brothers have been a source of inspiration and dedication (and probably at times, frustration!) for St Pius X College. The many fine Christian Brothers, followers and Brothers of Edmund Rice, who laboured long and hard hours for our College since 1937 deserve our prayers, recognition and praise. True, not all were loyal to the vows and spirit of Edmund, but that should never diminish from the majority who lived faithfully to the motto of the Brothers “To Do and To Teach”. We, the inheritors of this wonderful legacy and gift given to us by the Christian Brothers, need to endeavour to enable the “Through hard work and faith” and be worthy contributors to our world in our time as Edmund was to his world in his time.

Mother’s Day Mass

My second Mother’s Day Mass was a very special occasion.  Having missed last year's as I was attending the Edmund Rice Conference in Ireland, the relocation of the event ot our Oxford Falls campus allowed St Pius X to truly celebrate all the mothers, grandmothers and significant female in the lives of our sons.  The celebration was exceptionally well attended with over 800 students, mothers and significant others in attendance.  At the end of the Mass, I shared my appreciation to all those who assisted in making the Mass and morning tea such a memorable occasion.  Thanks to:

• Celebrate, Father Joey, for his unwavering support of St Pius X. 

• Mrs Westhoff, Mrs Talati, Mr Cummins, Mr Jones, Miss Gan, Mr Balboa, Mr Saar, and all our talented musicians. 

• All those involved in organizing our morning tea: Mrs Brady, Mrs Arena, Mrs Mendel, Mrs Floridia, and Mrs Boyle. 

• Special thanks to our Support Staff and Maintenance team for their assistance in setting up, printing, communication, and designing the invitation.

It truly takes an entire community to come together and create such a wonderful occasion. A heartfelt thank you to everyone.

I expressed my sincere appreciation to Mr Petrie and the Mission Team for their tireless efforts in bringing us a meaningful liturgy and a beautiful morning.

Furthermore, I acknowledge the great support and encouragement of the entire St Pius X staff, without whom such occasions would not be possible.

Please see the link to the photos taken on the day:

I also share with you my reflection of Mother’s Day:

Mother’s Day is a time when we as sons and daughters remember and appreciate our mothers/grandmothers or significant female in our lives.

It is a time to thank them for:

Supporting us …  in that we do

Encouraging us … to reach for the stars and to dream 

Helping us … 

Protecting us … sometimes from ourselves

Being the wise counsel

Most importantly we thank you for your love.

A Love that is endless …. No matter what we do.

So, on Mother’s Day, all students are encouraged to take a pledge to make your mother/grandmother/special person, 

• smile more and suffer less, 
• laugh more and worry less.

Gentlemen of St Pius X, love your mother and tell her what she means to you, frequently.

On Mother’s Day let us also honour Mary, the mother of our Lord, who, like our mothers, cared and loved her son.  Her maternal care for Jesus still embraces all of us as we live our lives today. 

I would like to leave you with a poem by Deborah Culver as we celebrate Mothers’ Day:

Your Mother Is Always With You... Your mother is always with you... She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street. She's the smell of bleach in your freshly washed socks. She's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well. Your mother lives inside your laughter. She's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home...She's the map you follow with every step that you take. She's your first love and your first heart break...and nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, Not space...Not even death...will ever separate youfrom your mother... You carry her inside of you...always

Have a blessed Mother’s Day

Founder’s Day Mass

On Friday, 10 May, the College will commemorate the Feast Day of Blessed Edmund Rice, the founder of the Christian Brothers, who holds a special place in the hearts and lives of the staff, students, and parents at St Pius X College. The celebration of the Eucharist offers the College an opportunity to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and envision future contributions to the growth of this esteemed school, while continuing to work with the youth of our community and beyond. As a College, we take immense pride in our Blessed Edmund Rice heritage and draw inspiration from him as we uphold and nurture the charism entrusted to us.  Following the mass, the College will be entertained by both the staff and Year 12 students.  I am looking forward to this entertainment and the display of talent that exists in the College.

College Ex student Bishop Peter Ingham funeral 

A Solemn Pontifical Mass of Christian burial for Bishop Peter Ingham will be offered at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Wollongong, on Friday 10 May 2024 commencing at 10:30 am.  The funeral will be livestreamed at https://dow.sh/livestream.  The College will be represented by Mr Jim Olson (former College Deputy) and six Year 10 students - Joshua Paul, George Wesson, Noah Marshall, Dominic McLachlan, Marcus Kruger and James Thomson . Please keep Bishop Peter and his family in your prayers.

Key Dates

Cocurricular

Unfortunately, rain may have disrupted several matches across different codes last weekend; however, it didn't dampen the enthusiasm of those who did participate. Whether travelling from Chatswood to Bathurst, Penrith, or other parts of the metropolitan area, the spirit of St Pius X was evident in the way all our students competed. Congratulations to all teams, especially the First XV Rugby team, who displayed gallantry in their victory over Cranbrook, a feat not achieved in many years.

During our cocurricular assembly today, we acknowledged the captains of the following teams:

• Cross Country Co-Captain: Ethan Li
• Tennis Captain: Nicholas Tozer
• First XI Football: Michael Whitehead
• Debating Captain: James Leo

The College is fortunate to have a wealth of suitable candidates for these roles, but these young men have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities throughout their time at the College. Congratulations to these outstanding young leaders, and we wish them every success in 2024.

At the assembly we also acknowledged: 

• three students (Angus Gibson, Jason Jarrett and Joshua Paul) in achieving their Duke of Edinburgh Broze medallion.  Congratulations to all three students for reaching this significant level in the Duke of Edinburgh program.
• the First XI football team who represented the College at both the EREA Football Tournament and the Sydney FC Cup.
• the U15 and U16 rugby players who toured Fiji during the holidays
• Nicholas Gladen on his CIS representation
• four Year 7 students on their CIS representation - (James Sykes, Patrick Butler, Cristiano Calcarao, James Mikan)

Go the Blue and Gold this week.

Fide et Labore

By Faith and hard work

Live Jesus in Our Hearts - Forever

Mr Michael Ronchetti - Principal