Principal's Message
Trinity College
Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season
Our Ash Wednesday Mass last week was a wonderful celebration of the Eucharist and signalled the commencement of our Lenten Season. Our celebration also afforded us an opportunity to formally launch our Project Compassion Appeal and to challenge the boys to consider the importance and true purpose of Christian Service – to genuinely consider ‘the other’ in striving to be Men for Others.
Lent is characterised as a time for prayer, penance and almsgiving. As we move into this most sacred liturgical time, I would respectfully ask parents to find an opportunity to speak to your sons about sacrifice; about going without in order to be in solidarity with the marginalised; about the importance of prayer and reflection; about Project Compassion and what it represents; and about the many lessons that can emerge through serving others. As I have alluded to previously, when the Family/College partnership is such that the messages from home are complemented by the messages from school, we have the greatest chance of establishing those life values considered important in the formation of caring young men. A wonderful aspiration that I am sure we share.
During this time of Lent, when our boys have been challenged to consider their own personal commitment to Christian Service and their personal contributions to our Project Compassion appeal, it is very timely to reflect on the thoughts and words of the leader of our Church, Pope Leo XIV. In his first Lenten address titled “Listening and Fasting: Lent as a Time of Conversion” (released on 13 February, 2026) he makes strong reference to the importance of service to others and the need for all of us, as Christians, to use such service as a catalyst to deepening our faith and relationship with the other, and with God. Pope Leo states, ‘Lent is a time in which the Church, guided by a sense of maternal care, invites us to place the mystery of God back in the centre of our lives, in order to find renewal in our faith and keep our hearts from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life”. A great message for us at Trinity College, a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice tradition.
His Holiness has been consistent in his efforts to instil a new sense of faith renewal into our Church. He has outlined the season of Lent as a personal time of conversion, emphasising listening to the Word of God, and closely and compassionately to each other, can assist in this regard. Pope Leo suggests this as part of his address, “There is a relationship between the Word, our acceptance of it and the transformation it brings about. For this reason, the Lenten journey is a welcome opportunity to heed the voice of the Lord and renew our commitment to following Christ, accompanying him on the road to Jerusalem, where the mystery of his passion, death and resurrection will be fulfilled”. A wonderful message and a very timely reminder in this Lenten season. The full Lenten Message from Pope Leo XIV can be viewed below.
It is in giving that we truly receive; and it is in reaching out that others may have the chance to reach up. Our Project Compassion Appeal provides an opportunity for students, and indeed families, to reach out; and our commitment to Christian Service helps our boys understand why! We trust that our boys will respond generously.
Live Jesus in our hearts.
Mr Darren O’Neill
Principal