With Joy and Gladness

The year has started apace for the religious life of the College. We have welcomed our new students and staff (including our College Principal), commissioned our Senior class and College captains, and celebrated our Commencement Mass.

2021 is a significant year. It marks 200 years of Catholic education in Australia and 65 years since the founding of Mount Alvernia College. Our theme for this year, With Joy and Gladness, not only reflects our year of celebration but also encompasses the four College values that we will engage each term: trust, respect, service. and joy. It is derived from the Admonitions of Saint Francis and a prayer given to Brother Leo. Admonition 21 reads:

“Blessed is that religious who takes no pleasure and joy except in the most holy words and deeds of the Lord and with these leads people to the love of God in joy and gladness.”

The prayer that Saint Francis gave to Brother Leo praises God and lists a number of God’s attributes:

“You are Good, all Good, supreme Good, Lord God, living and true .You are love. You are wisdom. You are humility. You are endurance. You are rest. You are peace. You are joy and gladness …”

Joy and gladness are not simple frivolities. They are gifts from God and gifts from knowing God. This is the joy that Saint Francis discovered. He famously described perfect joy as arriving late at night at a friary, freezing, soaked and starving, and - despite desperate pleas - being unrecognised and turned away into the night by the porter. He said, “If we accept all this with patience, and with charity ... this is perfect joy”.

In our suffering, our sorrow, and our grief, joy can still endure, even as a flicker, when we keep the faith that we are infinitely loved by God. Joy can be restored.

Ash Wednesday

Last Wednesday we marked the beginning of Lent with our Ash Wednesday liturgy. Receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday (although a little different this year) is a public expression of our faith and repentance and reminds us that Lent is a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Students were invited to think about what they might give up, take up, and change this Lent. Such actions remind us of our obligations to others and the extraordinary transformation that is possible and symbolised most vividly in the death and resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning. Our Ash Wednesday liturgy was made more special as we welcomed staff and students from the Islamic College of Brisbane. This is the first scheduled inter-cultural exchange of the Together for Humanity Project between Mount Alvernia College, Padua College, and the Islamic College of Brisbane. For Franciscans, developing mutual understanding with our Muslim brothers and sisters is an important tradition that began with Saint Francis’s visit to the Sultan of Egypt during the Fifth Crusade just over 800 years ago.

Launch of Project Compassion

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Project Compassion appeal. Project Compassion is the major fundraiser of Caritas, the Catholic Church’s agency for global development, and the theme this year is Be More. It challenges us to venture into a new experience of compassion, and is taken from the invitation of Saint Oscar Romero, to “Aspire not to have more, but to BE more”. For more than 50 years, Caritas Australia has been privileged to work together with our neighbours – our most vulnerable sisters and brothers around the world. In partnership with agencies in those communities, Caritas works to end poverty, promote justice, and uphold the dignity of every person. Throughout Project Compassion 2021, inspiring stories from Bangladesh, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, and Indonesia will be shared, highlighting the importance of working hand in hand with communities around the world. Our challenge to 'BE More’ takes us beyond ourselves . We are encouraged to make simple lifestyle changes and act for social and environmental justice, so that we may ‘Be More’ in our own lives and in the lives of others. As the College has gone cashless, we are encouraging each family to donate to Project Compassion via the Caritas website: https://lent.caritas.org.au/. The donation link will be emailed to all families and published in the College newsletter. Your donation will be a sign of our college community’s commitment to stand in solidarity with the poor. It is a small action that makes a world of difference.

Encounter Kedron

The Encounter program has recommenced for 2021. The Encounter team provided the music at our Commencement Mass and hosted their first afternoon kick-on at the College on Thursday 11 February. These afternoons will continue three to four times each term and will be held in Laverna 001 from 3.00 to 4.00pm. They provide opportunities for students from Mount Alvernia and Padua Colleges to connect with the Encounter team and each other in a safe and welcoming space. The next afternoon kick-ons will take place on Thursday 11 and 25 March. Students can register for this activity via the registration link that will be emailed to them the week of the event. Alternatively, students can register via the Encounter Kedron Instagram page. Encounter Kedron is a partnership between the Archdiocese of Brisbane, Kedron Parish, Mount Alvernia College, and Padua College.

Swimming Carnival

With the Interhouse Swimming Carnival on Friday 5 March, I remind families of the importance of your daughters' participation in and attendance at this compulsory college community event. It is an expectation that all students will be in attendance on the day to cheer on their House and each other. All students are expected to compete if they are fit and able to do so. Students unable to swim on the day can volunteer to assist with a number of tasks that will help the day run smoothly. All students are to wear their sports uniform to and from school; however, they are also invited to show some House spirit by wearing accessories in their House colour. Students may wear to school, on the day, shirts and ribbons in their House colour. Students are not permitted to wear accessories while competing in races or that are likely to run and stain (e.g crepe paper and streamers).

Pop-up Stall

On Monday 8 March, Grace Reise will be selling beautiful handmade candles in support of ovarian cancer research. The month of February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. For more information go to https://ovariancancer.net.au.

Richard Rogusz

Futures Hub