Catholic Identity & Mission News
The Widow's Offering
In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus told the story of ‘The Widow’s Offering’. At the time of Jesus, a widow was socially and economically disadvantaged because she no longer had a male partner to protect or provide for her. Often we hear Jesus talking about the need to give special care to ‘widows and orphans’ because they were so marginalised in his time. In Jesus’ story about the widow, he reflected on the fact that rich people can be very thrifty with their money and even though they make donations to their religious community, they don’t give very much compared to what they actually have. Whereas Jesus describes a widow who gives ‘two small copper coins’. Jesus says, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’
In our community, there are still those who are marginalised by poverty, language and cultural differences and their personal circumstances. As a Catholic community, we are called to solidarity with all those who experience difficulties or discrimination. In reflecting on last Sunday’s Gospel, students have been invited to consider how they can use their time and talents to be more generous. Generosity doesn’t have to be about money, it’s also about being generous in spirit. We can pray for those in need, have empathy for their situation and speak out about injustice. In fact, in a fortnight’s time, the College is unveiling a plaque on the ‘Global Wall of Friendships’ at the Balla Balla Community centre, which is an outer symbol of our commitment to celebrating diversity and harmony among all in our community.
Also in these next four weeks, we are going to celebrate Advent, the time of preparation for Christmas a little early, and we’re getting into the Christmas spirit with our annual Christmas appeal. Students from our Ministry classes and VCAL are taking on fundraising and awareness raising activities and there is a school wide appeal for students to donate food items, unwrapped presents for all ages, or money (so that we can do the shopping for you). Ably led by our newly elected Social Justice captains, Jorja Roscoe (CRA) and Melissa Lingaya (CLN), we want to end a very challenging year on a hopeful and generous note, and you’re invited to participate too.
In each House area, there are collection boxes for the donation of goods. We have been in contact with the Cranbourne conference of St. Vincent de Paul and they have provided a list of food and drink items they like to put in their Christmas hampers. They are:
Tin of Ham 450g
2ltr Bottles of soft drink
Packet Allens 500g (party mix) of lollies
Carton Foster Clark longlife Custard 1ltr
Tin Beetroot 450g
Bottle of cordial 2ltrs
Tin Peaches 850g
Packet cream biscuits 250g
800g Fruit cake
Plum pudding 700g
Packet pasta 500g
Bottle Pasta sauce 570g
Jar Vegemite 500g
Jar Peanut Butter 500g
Packet of Gravy Mix
Tin Spaghetti 440g
Tin Baked Beans 440g
Packet Seasoned Stuffing mix 200g
Tin Fruit Salad 850g
Packet Shapes biscuits 200g
Longlife Milk 1ltr
If you are able, please donate what you can. We are called to generosity but we also understand that everyone’s circumstances are different so if you are unable to donate items, we hope you will be generous in spirit! We are going to conclude our collections on Thursday, December 2 so that we can pack up all the collected items – food, unwrapped gifts and any (leftover) monetary donations – and get them to Vinnies in plenty of time for Christmas. Here’s hoping that out of our abundance, we can contribute something to making it a bright Christmas for all.
Fiona McKenna
Deputy Principal - Catholic Identity & Mission