Acting Leader of Mission
Dear God,
We pray for all Elders in our communities: that we may honour their lives and legacy and embrace the love and peace that they show us every day by how they live their faith.
Lord
Amen
Dearest Marian Community,
We have reached the conclusion of another College term, 2021 is certainly passing us by swiftly. This end brings to a close to another busy term that was full with various service opportunities for both students and staff to immerse themselves with their faith and spirituality.
The I-Care Kits was our main focus this term as one of our College service projects. By the end of collections, we have been able to put together over 50 kits that we go to those in most need within our community. I cannot be any prouder of our College community and the generosity shown to all those in need. This is a true representation of living a life inspired by the Holy Spirit and bringing to life within our community the Lord's commandment for us to "live a life of love" (Ephesians 5:2). An immense thank you to all who contributed to making our service project for Term 2 an enormous success.
Through the means of service and showing compassion within our College, we were fortunate to participate in other events such as The Biggest Morning Tea and Carevan, which has further allowed those within our College to have a deeper connection to the way we embrace and live our faith. This brings into action our College motto, “The Way, The Truth and The Life''. In Week 8, all College staff experienced their annual Spirituality Day and immersed themselves with the Marist theme for 2021 which was Breathe. This allowed us to grow in awareness of our responsibilities towards creation and its members, especially humanity and in particular, the poor.
Throughout the course of Week 10, our Junior Religious Education classes joined in praying The Rosary to give a Spiritual Bouquet of prayer to Sacred Heart Parish who are celebrating their 100 Years of Faith and Service in Griffith. In just one week, over 350 students who had scheduled Religion lessons joined in meditating on the Luminous Mysteries as they prayed The Rosary, with students demonstrating leadership in opting to take on the role of leader as they progressed through each decade. Each class was guided through a lesson on Sacred Heart Parish and were read the following message from our Parish Priest, Fr. Grace:
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Sacred Heart Parish, Griffith.
Griffith is a vibrant multicultural town and our Parish Community is greatly enriched by people from many backgrounds. Gathered together at Mass, we become one body. We have one faith, one Lord, one Baptism. We are one community of believers and each one of us is important in this community. Your presence is precious and valuable. Here at Sacred Heart, I hope you will enjoy the wonderful sense of friendship and belonging typical of our parish. Know that you are most welcome. This year, we are celebrating the 100 year foundation anniversary of our beloved Sacred Heart Parish Griffith. Our Blessed Mother Mary continues to pray for many blessings for our parish, which is dedicated in her honour, under her title: OUR LADY OF FATIMA.
Together with her, let us pray the Holy Rosary, which is the most beautiful devotion she taught us. I join you in spirit today, as you pray the Rosary with your teachers and class- mates. May God, through His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit, fill your hearts with love, joy and peace.
And I bless you all: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sincerely yours in Christ Jesus, Father Grace
NAIDOC WEEK
Friday brought a close to our NAIDOC Week celebrations. As mentioned in a previous article, the theme for NAIDOC week this year is Heal Country. Heal Country calls for all of us to seek greater protection for the lands, the waters, the sacred sites, and the cultural heritage from exploitation, desecration, and destruction. To our Indigenous community, the term Country is more than a place it is inherent to their identity. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people speak about Country like a person, it sustains their life in every aspect - spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially and culturally. Students were given opportunities throughout the week to participate in activities during classes and at lunch times to embrace the Indigenous culture.
My thanks especially to all who were involved in making our NAIDOC assembly possible. Many hands really do make light work and truly make a difference, which was evident to me this week especially. The common theme that was spoken by all our guest speakers was that change toward healing Country is something that needs to be actioned by all as a collective. I believe Mr Buckland said it perfectly when he said “It starts with RESPECT”. When we put this into perspective, I believe that everything should start with respect, acknowledging and being grateful for what we have, and the opportunities we are presented with to embrace everything life has to offer.
Marian, I thank you for everything that you have done for the first semester of our College year. I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday and return to school refreshed, re-energised, ready to take on the adventures of Term 3.
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you”
John 15:12
Mr Abdala
Acting Leader of Mission