FAITH MATTERS

End of Year Mass

“Ask, and it will be given to you; 

search, and you will find; 

knock, and the door will be opened to you”

-Matthew 7:7

These words were proclaimed from the gospel at our End of Year Mass on Tuesday 17th October. They are words that echo the presence of God in the lives of His children, the generosity of the opportunities given to humanity and the possibilities in store for the future. 

It was great to gather together as a community of Year 7-12 students and staff at St Mary MacKillop College for the final time in 2023. We are thankful especially, for the friends and families of our students who attended: grandparents, uncles, aunties, parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins. What a gift it is for our students to be surrounded by generations of people who love them deeply! 

Gathering for Mass isn’t merely a nice sentiment or milestone, but a reminder of the foundation of faith that centres St Mary MacKillop College. Reflecting on our Opening Mass at the start of the year, our students and staff have grown in so many different capacities over the last eight months. Year 7 students have almost completed their first year of high school, new staff have contributed to the tapestry of our College and Year 12s have completed 13 years of schooling. God’s presence, has been with our community and has been faithful in love and generosity. We see this through the gifts and achievements in our school, both in the classroom, on the sporting field and in interactions with our community here in Swan Hill. 

Fr James blessed our Year 12s as they prepared to take the next step in their journeys beyond the College. He prayed:

“Strengthen their resolve to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, inspired by the example of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. May they be modern-day disciples in a world that needs radical change.”

How true is it, that our world needs radical change? More so, by young people of good character and strong faith. We pray that our Year 12s can answer the call of the gospel to be these world-changers and that they will “be a gift of love and compassion to one another” as St Mary MacKillop encouraged. 

To end our liturgical celebration, we also acknowledged our 2023 School Captains Charlotte, Farirai, Thanh and Ava and thanked them for their service. We welcome Otto, Lauren, Jack and Sofie into the roles of School Captains for 2024. 

Special thanks to all our student leaders and Mass volunteers, our staff who assisted with readings, offertory and preparing our students, and Ms McCallum, Ms Howison and Ms Haeusler for their support. 

Missionaries of God’s Love (MGL) Sisters Visit

Today we were privileged to have Sr Rosie Drum and Sr Melanie Edwards visit us from the Missionaries of God’s Love (MGL) Sisters in Melbourne. The MGL Sisters are a group of consecrated women who seek to bring the love of God to all people through their ministry with young people, prisoners, Indigenous people and the poor. They’ve been in Swan Hill working with Holy Family Parish Northeast Mallee, supporting the candidates who are preparing for Confirmation. We were super grateful to have Sr Rosie and Sr Mel lead our staff in prayer this morning. They also introduced themselves at the assembly, leading an upbeat song for prayer. During the day, they’ve visited RE classes, doing “Q & A” sessions. It’s been fantastic hearing the various questions students have for the sisters, as many of them have never met a person who lives out a religious vocation as a sister or nun. There were questions across all year levels about what life as a sister is like, how often they pray and how they live in community with others. We are incredibly grateful for the vibrant charism the MGL Sisters offer to our staff and students. 

Special thanks to the RE faculty for their support in this incursion, and to Fr James, and Mary Kennedy for helping us organise this opportunity. 

Catholic Mission Month

October is known as ‘World Mission Month,’ which is a celebration of the global work of Catholic missionaries, both religious and lay people as they do good work in places of dire need. 

World Mission Sunday occurred on 22nd October 2023, where parishes gathered to pray for the people and programs that support those on the margins. This year’s focus is on Timor Leste (East Timor), which is a small island located in Southeast Asia, about 730 kilometres northwest of Darwin. The country has experienced decades of conflict, since its independence from Indonesia in 1999. Catholic Mission supports people in Timor Leste by providing healthcare and education through funding missionaries as doctors, teachers, nurses and pastoral care workers. 

As the Catholic Mission is Pope Francis’ international mission agency, we are encouraged to support those who share their faith in action through service. 

We encourage the St Mary MacKillop College community to donate to Catholic Mission, through the link: 

https://www.catholicmission.org.au/see-our-work-in-action/carolina#donate