Mission News

Prayers

We remember in our prayers all those who have died recently.

Day For Daniel

Australia’s largest child safety education and awareness day, DAY FOR DANIEL is being celebrated at the College this Friday.

It honours the memory of Daniel Morcombe who while on his way to buy Christmas presents for his family at a local shopping centre, went missing.

He was last seen wearing a red t-shirt, waiting for a bus on Sunday 7th December 2003. He was abducted and murdered; after years of searching and an incredible undercover police investigation Daniel was finally found in 2011.

The red t-shirt Daniel was wearing the day he went missing has become a symbol of child safety awareness. Parents, carers, and educators are encouraged to start a conversation with children and young people about personal safety. 

We keep in our prayers the Morcombe family whose lives were changed forever that fateful day. We also keep in our prayers the people of the Ukraine, Russia, those living in the Gaza strip area and the surrounding areas that are also now feeling the effects of this warring. May we learn to live as brothers and sisters irrespective of our religion or race.

Dear Lord,

We come to you with hearts full of love and concern for the safety of our precious children. You have blessed us with these gifts, and it is our duty to protect and nurture them. We humbly ask for your divine guidance and protection over all children, everywhere.

Shield them from harm, both seen and unseen. Guard them from danger and guide them away from any harmful influences. Help carers to be vigilant, discerning, and proactive in ensuring their well-being.

We also ask for your intervention in the world at large. Bring awareness to all individuals, organisations, and communities about the importance of child safety. Inspire action to create safe spaces, both physical and emotional, where children can grow, learn, and flourish without fear.

Mary our Good Mother                                      Pray For Us 

St Marcellin Champagnat                                 Pray For Us 

Mary of the Cross Mackillop                            Pray For Us 

Mass Times

Wednesday Morning 8:00am in the College Chapel and Friday Break 1 in the College Chapel.

Gospel

Sunday 15 October, 2023 – Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSVCE)

The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.  He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

Gospel Reflection

This parable of the wedding feast hosted by the king for his son is a somewhat more violent version of the parable that appears in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 14:15-24). The feast is likened to God’s kingdom. The Matthean community know that not all will accept Jesus’ message or follow him. Some will reject Jesus completely, even those who were first invited and had a ‘privileged place’ at the banquet.  

Early Christians had a strong sense of the immediacy of Jesus’ return—the “second coming”--and we can read in the Gospel the urgent message to be ready and alert. As theology has developed over the last two thousand years, the sense of God’s kingdom and Jesus’ “return” has become more elastic, yet the need for readiness, responsibility and accountability in our lives is no less important. Embracing life joyfully, engaging with others thoughtfully, acting ethically and compassionately… this is something we can do now, not defer for another day. Life is short! God’s reign of peace, the ‘wedding banquet’, is for all who will welcome it, celebrate it and live it. All are invited. It’s up to us how we choose to respond.

Introducing the Mission Team!

The Mission team from left to right: Bec Wong (Youth Minister/Teacher), Clare Locke (Campus Minister), Mikael Pitot (Youth Minister), Anna Nasr (Assistant Head of College – Mission), Fr Alatini Kolofo'ou (College Chaplain), Jenna Harding (PA to the Assistant Head of College – Mission).

The Mission offices are located just behind the Chapel and the Mission team is ALWAYS happy to have visitors. 

Auslan Course

You can still jump in (over the next four weeks) just go to https://events.humanitix.com/2023-marist-college-ashgrove-auslan-course

Last Wednesday we began our Auslan Course for beginners, Wow! Learning a new language is always challenging but Michaela makes this enjoyable, last night we learnt finger signing. 

Michaela Reece our presenter who owns and runs Awesome Auslan is a powerhouse of knowledge and with her at the helm learning seems so easy. Michaela’s style of teaching is encouraging and structured, I am going to use some of her strategies in my own classroom. 

I would like to say thank you to the staff, students and parent/carers who bravely signed up to learn a new language, 

I know that each of us are learning Auslan for our own reasons, however, we are all completing this course because we all feel the need to be better communicators. 

Auslan is used in many differing circumstances for communication; the deaf and hard-of-hearing community and friends, parents of deaf children, children of deaf parents, present and previous students of Auslan in Australia and New Zealand, occupational therapists, those living with hearing loss, those recovering from hearing loss who need to maintain the skills needed for daily living and working. 

We will see you again next week! Bec Wong

Christmas Appeal 2023

It is once again the time of year when the College runs its Christmas Appeal. The money raised from this appeal will be donated to The St Vincent De Paul Society and Downs and West Community Support. 

The St Vincent De Paul Christmas Appeal aims to address the cost-of-living crisis affecting many Australian families. Our donations through the appeal will provide relief to many experiencing homelessness and poverty so they may have comfort and dignity during this holiday season. 

Downs and West Community Support aims to provide financial assistance to countless individuals and families affected by drought and other hardships. 

This year, The Marist College Community will be able to contribute by bringing gift cards into Pastoral Groups or donating via Monitor.

In previous years, as a community, we managed to raise more than $12,000 in gift cards and donations, which allowed St Vincent De Paul and Downs and West Community Support to provide substantial relief to those who need support at Christmas time.

This appeal begins on Monday, 23rd October and will finish on Friday, 10th November. We are proud of our community’s commitment to this appeal each year and encourage families to support this important cause.

Inaugural Mothers’ Retreat

On Sunday 15 October we held our First/ Inaugural Mothers Retreat lead by Br Robert O’Connor at the Marist Centre in Ashgrove.

Br Bob invited us to “…take off your shoes…for the place on which you stand is holy ground…” Ex 3:1-6

He talked about ‘A Thousand Faces of the Virgin Mary’ or Miriam as he likes to call our Good Mother and invited us to be people who don’t just Bios (live) but rather that we are Zoe (living passionately) by explaining that we are told 365 times throughout the Bible “Do not be afraid”. He reminded us that Jesus showed us how to live through our encounters with others; a table fellowship; foot washing and boundary crossing and that ‘Feisty’ Mary’s spiritual journey may have begun with her ‘Yes’ to God but that it continued to grow and change through to her bearing witness at Pentecost.

We look forward to hosting the Mothers’ Retreat next year and beyond. We encourage any Marist mothers who feel they would benefit from taking the time for personal and spiritual reflection in a calm, trust-centred space to sign up next year.

FareShare

The Environment Group is thrilled to announce a new partnership with FareShare, a meal-making charity dedicated to reducing food waste. This year’s Environment group free dress day donations went to Fareshare and they were so grateful. As a result, our school will be sending five boys once a month to contribute to this great cause. Last Tuesday, Ms Badini and five Year 11 students (Jack Lowe, Hugo Tully, Kalen Neville, Jake Edye and Cyrus Kwok) went to help prepare meals at the Fareshare kitchen in Morningside. Along with a free dinner, this initiative allows students to engage in a meaningful community service and offers the chance for them to get to know other members of the community. In the end, we helped prepare 3914 meals for vulnerable families which will be sent off across Queensland. Thank you for your support, and let's look forward to the positive impact we can create by reducing food waste.

The next visit is on Tuesday 7 November. Please email Ms Badini if you are over the age of 16 and are wanting to volunteer.

Tread Lightly

Tread Lightly wants your old, unwanted sneakers!

Do you have sport shoes which look ready for the bin? Don’t throw them out! Drop them off at the Mission Office instead. Collecting old shoes for Tread Lightly saves them from landfill where the science tells us they’d take around 1,000 years to break down. Lighten your footprint (and your conscience) by giving your old shoes a second, practical life. 

To find out more about Tread Lightly, visit: Tread Lightly – Together we can step into a better future​ (asga.com.au)

Stationery Aid 

Marist College Ashgrove makes a significant contribution to Stationery Aid, and we are proud that our students so willingly volunteer their time to sort and clean the many pens, pencils, crayons and other resources donated. The Stationery Aid MATES ministry will continue on Friday mornings in the Mission office for the remainder of Term 4. 

Give your quality secondhand stationery an incredibly valued second life—don’t bin it at home! Donations can be placed in the Stationery Aid bin located outside the Studies Office. 

For more information visit the Stationery Aid website: https://stationeryaid.org/ 

ROSIES

Our valuable support of Rosies continues this term. 

Upcoming dates are; Monday 16 October, Wednesday 18 October, Monday 6 ovember and Wednesday 18 November

Just email mates@marash.qld.edu.au to sign up or visit the Mission Office.

St Vincent de Paul

Students from Year 7 – 12 are warmly invited to join our St Vincent de Paul conference.  We currently meet Thursdays SECOND break in Room 801. The group is a perfect example of the heartfelt way Marist students respond to the call to stand with others. We hope to see plenty of faces at our community BBQ which runs every Thursday morning from 7:15am in the main yard and would love to have new volunteers come along to help out.

Marist Youth Ministry Game Changers 

Game Changers is a comprehensive Catholic youth ministry program for students in Marist Schools from Years 7-12. journey. These tracks are grounded in the stories of Jesus, Mary, and Marcellin. Participating students are invited to undertake the following tracks across the six year levels, with the focus on each track over two years. Just email mates@marash.qld.edu.au if you are interested in this program or visit the Mission Office.