Mission News

Why Marist College Ashgrove Collects Funds in Lent

Starting this Ash Wednesday and for the weeks of Lent, boys, families and staff will be encouraged to contribute funds to the Lenten collection. Our collection supports three agencies:

• Australian Marist Solidarity (AMS)
• Caritas Australia
• Catholic Mission

As a Marist school, the bulk of our funds will go to support a range of Marist Solidarity programs in the Asia-Pacific region. Detailed information on AMS can be found at this link: https://www.australianmaristsolidarity.net.au/ 

The AMS offices for Australia are housed at the Marist Schools Office at the Moola Road gates. 

Who is AMS?

In the tradition of St Marcellin Champagnat…

AMS vision…

is of a world that reflects Marists’ desire that vulnerable young people are brought towards the centre from the margins through access to education.

AMS mission…

is to empower young people by enhancing their human dignity and developing their capacity to transform their lives and communities.

AMS core values…

are aligned with the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and the traditions of the Marist Brother’s founder, St Marcellin Champagnat and his concern for the poor, especially the young.

• Promoting the dignity of the human person
• Ensuring just relationships and structures
• Standing in solidarity to ensure freedom and equity
• Being people of hope
• Offering genuine and engaged presence
• Promoting a family spirit
• Modelling love of work
• Engaging in the way of Mary and
• Practising simplicity.

AMS works to support young people in these areas:

• Access to education - AMS assists access to quality education for vulnerable children and young people through projects in primary, secondary and tertiary education programs across Asia and the Pacific.
• Facilities for the future - AMS invests in infrastructure to ensure safe places for learning.
• Resilience and readiness - AMS supports programs to build resilience, provide care, and empower vulnerable and marginalised communities to strengthen access to education and workplace-specific skills and knowledge.

Current AMS projects can be found in Bangladesh, Bougainville, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, The Philippines, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Vietnam. 

Like so many aid agencies AMS has been very negatively impacted by COVID19 in its capacity to raise funds to support the education and well-being of young people through these programs. Early in our Lenten collection of 2020, we went into lockdown in Queensland which resulted in the College raising less than half the funds for AMS we would normally have done. 

MCA hopes we can redress this short-fall in support in 2021 through the generous and compassionate concern of all those associated with our College community. 

This can be done via the House based collections or through our MCA monitor link - http://bit.ly/MCAlenten

Community Prayers

May the God of our past, the God who has given so many opportunities, the God of loving kindness who has worked wonders, now half forgotten, Be with us.

May the God of our present, the God who gives light to our darkness, strength in our weakness, confidence in our doubt and hope in our despair, Be with us.

May the God of our future, the God who can transform us into pathfinders of our generation, messengers of the work, enlighten our days ahead and be with us always.

We pray for all in our community who are unwell and are suffering at this time. We remember in our prayers.

• Mr Michael Druce (staff member)
• The father of staff member Ms Christine Larsen

We pray for the repose of the soul of the following from our Marist family. 

• Heath Lympaney, Father of Zach Lympaney Year 5 Violet
• Fr Bob Barber sm (former Provincial of the Marist Fathers)
• Grandmother of Joshua Lewis Year 9 Slattery

May our loving God, with Mary and Champagnat, walk with all members of the Marist family. Amen

Ash Wednesday 

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day journey to the most important time in the Church’s calendar – Easter. The College will celebrate community Mass on Wednesday morning in the Chapel of Our Lady and St Marcellin and the whole school community will gather for a liturgy in the Champagant Centre to begin our journey to Easter. 

At the end of this liturgy, we will launch our Lenten appeal. 

Inaugural Mass Report

On Tuesday 10 February students and families gathered in the Champagnat Centre for the Inaugural Mass to dedicate the year’s work as a faith community. We were honoured to have the Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, Archbishop Mark Coleridge as the Chief Celebrant. At this Mass, our Year 12 students and leaders were commissioned for the year and presented with their leadership badges.