Mission
At St Gregory’s our Year 12 students take responsibility for leading liturgies in each of our classrooms from Kindergarten to Year 11. Part of this liturgy is a reflection on the Scripture reading of the day from the Gospel of Matthew:
Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see what you do. If you do these things publicly, you will not have any reward from your Father in heaven.
So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do it so that people will praise them. When you help a needy person, do it in secret so that even your closest friend will not know about it. Then it will be a private matter and your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.
When you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.
When you fast, do not put on a sad face as the hypocrites do. When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair, so that others cannot know that you are fasting – only your Father, who is unseen, will know. And your Father who sees what you do in private, will reward you
Before receiving the ashes, the reflection requires us to reflect on certain questions and
answer them
honestly to ourselves. We are then ready to receive the ashes as a reminder that we need to be shaken out of our easy ways; that we need to repent and take positive steps
to become better people and to become closer to God.
Reflection & Prayer
Jesus teaches us to love our God and to
love our neighbour.
How good are we at doing those things?
Do I try to pray every day?
Do I make time to celebrate Mass and receive the Eucharist?
Do I take the time to reflect and think about my inner self, my faith and my relationship with God?
Am I obedient, respectful and compassionate to my parents, teachers, and other authorities?
Am I honest?
Am I grateful for the many blessings in my life?
Have I forgiven all who have wronged me?
Do I treat my companions and fellow students with respect?
Have I taken responsibility for my own inner life? Do I take time out to Breathe, to listen to God, to allow the Holy Spirit to work in me and through me?
Am I committed to being a person of action and love for others?
It’s cool to be kind. Have I been patient, kind, gentle, and self-controlled?
When my conscience tells me to do something good, do I do it or do I ignore it?
Am I Christ-like in my actions?; Do I help others to be their best selves?
If I was to give you a map to a secret treasure, a treasure that was so valuable that it would completely change the way you live at present, you would be willing to learn some things about the place where it was hidden and other things that might be needed to actually get the treasure into your hands. Well, there is a secret treasure, more valuable than any money or jewels or possessions that you can get by just breathing. You can breathe the Spirit of life - the Holy Spirit. Jesus too breathed the Spirit of Life. First, Jesus is conceived by the Spirit in Mary's womb Then, He is anointed by the Spirit at the Jordan River. Finally, He receives the Spirit at His exaltation in order to pour out the Spirit upon His church. This helps us to see how much our lives are supposed to involve the Holy Spirit. If Jesus needed the Spirit, how much more do we! And when the Holy Spirit is at work in your life, He will be drawing your attention to Christ and helping you to live as a person of action and love for others.
During the Season of Lent, the Church also requires us to be people of penance - by prayer, works of piety and charity, and fast and abstinence on the days commanded. The days of penance are each Friday of the whole year, and the season of Lent. We should select the form of penance which helps us to personally grow as a Christian. This may be prayer (Mass attendance; family prayer; a visit to a church or chapel; reading the Bible; making the Stations of the Cross; praying the Rosary), self-denial (not eating meat; not eating sweets or dessert; giving up entertainment to spend time with the family; limiting food and drink so as to give to the poor of one’s own country), and/or helping others (special attention to someone who is poor, sick, elderly, lonely or overburdened). The days of fasting and abstinence from meat are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
At St Greg’s we encourage the students to add Friday Mass to their prayer commitments, to keep the Lenten promise which they made on Ash Wednesday and to commit to fundraising and acts of community service and social justice. Our Lenten Appeal activities are good examples of these.
Let us pray that with all Christians we may be guided and strengthened through this Lenten season. May we live our lives in gratitude and generosity, open to wherever the Spirit will lead us on our wild and precious journey.
Mrs Cathie Clarke
Director of Mission
Project Compassion
On Tuesday 16 February, Benjamin Ryan, Bayley Suters, Liam Mozayani and myself were part of the Caritas Australia’s Virtual Project Compassion Launch for 2021. This launch was held via Zoom with over 100 Catholic schools across the Eastern NSW Region.
The 2021 campaign for Project Compassion’s Lenten Appeal is ‘be more’. This encourages us to demonstrate “faith, love and generosity” by being more for our world. After the introduction, we were guided through a Liturgy which enabled us to become immersed in the experience. We encourage all of our St Gregory’s families to ‘be more’ this season of Lent. By Elliot Power (Year 10)
Lenten Appeal
Each year St Gregory’s College supports the work of Marist Solidarity Australia through the Lenten Appeal. This year, funds raised will support the Marist Foundation in Timor-Leste as they begin the development of a new school for the community of Lautem. As most of the learning materials were destroyed in Timor-Leste, with the retreatment of Indonesians, their adult literacy rate is just 58% and schools are only able to operate for half days with the limited resources. By providing high-quality education the aim is to invest in developing future leaders of the nation by improving adult literacy.
Throughout Term 1, each Senior School Homeroom will coordinate a fundraising initiative that directly supports Marist Solidarity.
Many thanks to Mr Todd’s Year 12 Homeroom who sold pancakes on Shrove Tuesday marking the change in the Church’s Liturgical calendar towards the season of Lent. Each Tuesday and Thursday, Year 12 students will collect donations in Homeroom across the Senior School. In Junior School, each class has their own collection box located in their prayer space. All students are encouraged to bring in loose change to donate. Thank you in advance for your generosity this Lenten Season.
Miss Emma Kent
Marist Solidarity Coordinator / Leader of Learning - Assistant Religious Education 7-12