Faith and Community

Lent

As we step into the season of Lent, we are invited into a time of reflection and renewal. Lent is often associated with fasting and sacrifice, but at its heart, it is also a call to radical hospitality, opening our hearts to God, to others and to the transformation that comes with deepening our faith.

Hospitality is more than welcoming people into our spaces; it is about creating a sense of belonging, meeting others where they are and sharing the gifts we have been given. In the Gospels, particularly this Lent, we will read about how Jesus models this hospitality by sharing meals with sinners, washing the feet of His disciples, or offering living water to the Samaritan woman at the well. 

Lent is a time for reflecting on our lives, for refocusing on God’s love for us and God’s call to love and serve others, beginning with Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time for renewal through prayer, fasting and giving, Lent provides us with an opportunity to consider how we might help those in need, rather than thinking about ourselves.

Porreca. K 2015, “Some Sundays in Lent” Good News for Catechists Term 1 p. 17

At St Joseph’s we marked the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday liturgy held in our House groups. This was an opportunity for us all to reflect on what this liturgical season means to us and to come together in prayer. Throughout Lent we will be engaging with the Caritas Project Compassion Resource. 

As we journey toward Easter, let us remember that true hospitality begins in the heart. In making space for others, we also make space for God’s grace to work within us.

Lee Pethybridge

College Leader - Faith and Community

Almsgiving

Lent is a time in our church to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. A key pillar we aim to do as Catholic’s during Lent is almsgiving. Almsgiving is the act of donating money or goods to the poor or performing other acts of charity. At St Joseph’s we spend time in Lent fundraising and raising awareness for Caritas. Caritas is an aid agency of the Australian Catholic Church. It is a charity working to eradicate poverty and injustice. Project Compassion runs throughout this time. Project Compassion boxes will be throughout the school. 

We started our fundraising this week with Shrove Tuesday where teachers and students made pancakes to raise money for Caritas. Thank you to the students who supported Mr Jackson, Mrs Morris, Mrs Pethybridge, Mrs McCluskey and Mrs Ogden for making this a success. 

Over Lent we as a school community will have opportunities to participate in lunch time activities where we raise awareness and fundraise for Caritas. We have Caritas K’s towards the end of term, as well as Foundation Day where we are fundraising for Wellsprings for Women. 

This Lent you have many opportunities to support people. That can be donating money to Caritas or other charities, donating old unused items to charity, helping parents or family parents or simply asking people if they are okay. 

Mr Butler  

Living Justice, Living Peace Leader 

Ash Wednesday

This week, we marked the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday Liturgy, where our St Joseph’s College House Groups gathered in prayer, reflecting on the key themes, traditions and symbols of the Lenten season. The significant part of our liturgy was the blessing and receiving of ashes, traced on each forehead in the sign of the cross. 

Unlike any other Sacrament, this blessing is open to all, inviting every student to participate and be welcomed into this moment of faith. This openness aligns beautifully with our 2025 school value of Hospitality, with the invitation and welcome to all. The marking of ashes is an outward sign of humility and faith. It reminds us of our journey with Jesus towards the cross, just as Lent itself mirrors the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert. 

As summer transitions to autumn, so too does this season call us into transformation, a time of prayer, renewal and reflection. Lent offers each of us the opportunity to turn back to God, to start anew, and to prepare our hearts for the joy of Easter. May this season be one of growth, grace and renewed faith for our school community. 

Holly Morris 

Liturgy Support Leader

International Women’s Day

Over the next week we will be celebrating International Women's Day at St Joseph’s College. International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world on Saturday 8 March. The purpose of International Women’s Day is to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness, mobilise action, fundraise and foster solidarity. 

We were extremely lucky to have past-student Lexi Gregor, who was drafted to Geelong in the AFLW last year, speak to students at Kildare Campus as apart of our IWD celebrations this week. We are also very excited to be hosting an International Women’s Day Breakfast next Friday, with Wellsprings for Women CEO Dalal Smiley as our guest speaker. We hope you can join us.