Mission

Our Lenten Journey begins…

Lent is a time of prayerful preparation for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. Lent began with Ash Wednesday last week, where our Students participated in a Homegroup Liturgy, receiving a blessing with the ashes. During this time of prayer and reflection, a cross was placed on each person’s forehead and students were invited to ‘turn away from Sin, and be faithful to the Gospel’

Ash Wednesday takes its name from the traditional blessing of the ashes taken after the burning of Palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations. The symbol of the ash cross marks the beginning of our Lenten fast.

Traditionally Lent has been a time of fasting or going without something we enjoy and donating the money to the poor. Just as we carefully prepare for events in our personal lives, like a wedding, or a birthday; the commencement of Lent invites us to make our minds and hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

At Mater Dei, we run a number of Lenten projects in which students and their families can bring to life their Lenten promise. Each year we run an Easter Raffle to support St Vincent de Paul’s Initiatives in Wagga Wagga.

This year, all the proceeds of our Raffle will go to the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal. Such support is vital to assist regional families in the areas of Tumbarumba, Batlow and Talbingo, whose homes or businesses have directly impacted by the fires. We also focus our charitable giving Internationally, by supporting Caritas Australia’s, Project Compassion Program.

Caritas Australia - Project Compassion Launch

Each Lent, Caritas launches its Project Compassion appeal which is a practical way of bringing to life our mission of Christian service. This year our work is centred on the theme ‘Go Further together’. As we prepare for Easter, this theme sharpens our awareness of prayer and the importance of doing good work and acting selflessly, with compassion.

Through your generous support of Caritas Australia you are demonstrating the power of hope and charity. For the past 56 years, Caritas Australia has worked together with our neighbours in Australia and around the world, helping those most in need. In Homegroup each week, students have the opportunity to donate money to this cause, contributing to a weekly tally, in which Homegroups challenge each other with their fundraising efforts.

Year 7 Reflection Day

Last Friday our Year 7 students enjoyed their Reflection Day experience with ‘Just Motivation’, lead by Guest Presenter Az Hamilton. Az has an incredible ability to connect with young people through stories and personal experiences spent both overseas and within Australian communities.

His message inspired our students to live a life worth getting excited about through his program entitled ‘Connections’. Year 7 journeyed through the program; discovering more about themselves, their relationships with members of their year group, and their relationship with God.

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Az showcased his personal experiences throughout the day; sharing insights on life and truth with our students. He touched on being evacuated from the volatile nation of Haiti in 2008, spending time in Kenya's Mathare Slum in 2011 and living in some of Australia's roughest areas.

These personal experiences have given Az Hamilton a unique view on the world and a strong authority to speak on Catholic Social Justice issues being faced in our own country and beyond our Australian borders. With a decade of experience in media, communication and humanitarian work, Az Hamilton engaged our students to realise their call to mission; challenging their minds, hearts, and hands to connect with small ideas that can bring about BIG change in the world.

Mrs Amelia Bright | Acting Leader of Mission