From the Headmaster

Dear Members of the Marist College Ashgrove Family,

 

This editorial is being written on September 15 (two days ago).  The date for many of us ‘older Australians’ is a significant one … the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.  It was a time when Australians truly came together as a nation. Our current boys were born in 2003 or later; therefore, the Sydney Olympics to them is a history lesson.

There were so many highlights …

  • The opening ceremony – Cathy Freeman lighting the Olympic Cauldron
  • The many Australian gold, silver and bronze medal winners
  • The closing ceremony

For me, there were three …

  1. Ground announcer John Stanton as the Olympic torch arrived in the stadium. The last legs of the relay were the torch being carried by female athletes celebrating one hundred (100) years of women’s participation in the Olympic Games.  Two of his introductions were:

“Betty Cuthbert, Athletics. 1956, 1960, 1964 – Four Gold Medals” .. and the crowd went wild.“Dawn Fraser, Swimming. 1956, 1960 1964 – Four Gold Medals, Four Silver” … and the crowd went berserk!!

  1. Eric Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea who swam a heat of the 100m men’s freestyle in 1 minute 52.72 seconds … alone!  His two other competitors had been disqualified.  He was cheered like he was the Olympic champion.  He swam to represent his country.  He had learned to swim only 8 months before in a 12 metre hotel swimming pool in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.
     
  2. September 25, 2000 – Cathy Freeman’s 400m win.  I was fortunate enough to be there with my son Hamish.  The attendance that night was 112 524.  The atmosphere is something I’ll never forget, along with Cathy’s great humility.  It was a unique privilege to witness it.

Cathy was open to ‘What Is’.  Richard Carlson in his book “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff …  and its all small stuff” writes:

 

When we have preconceived ideas about the way life should be, they interfere with our opportunity to enjoy or learn from the present moment.  This prevents us from honouring what we are going through, which may be an opportunity for great awakening … try opening your heart and accepting the moment for what it is … If you can learn to open your heart in the midst of the difficulties of daily life, you will soon find that many of the things that have always bothered you will cease to be concerns. Pg 237 – 238.

 

Cathy overcame many challenges as well as the weight of expectation of the whole country and lifted our spirits on that one night in September.  I distinctly remember the words of two Americans in front of us, “You Aussies must be so proud.  We have been to several Olympic Games and have never witnessed anything like this.”

 

St Marcellin, too opened his heart in the midst of the many difficulties in establishing his Little Brothers of Mary.  His solution was simple; trust in God.  Water from the Rock, the book of Marist Spirituality states:

 

#17. Marcellin’s relationship with God, combined with the knowledge of his limitations, explains his unbounded confidence in God.  The depth of this trust amazed those who worked with him, and scandalized some who judged his actions as reckless.  In his humble way, Marcellin saw God at work and so acted with courage and commitment. Let us not offend God, asking him very little.  The bigger is our demand, the more we will be pleasing to God22. Marcellin’s oft-expressed invocations If the Lord does not build the house23 and You know my God24 were the spontaneous expressions of this confident trust.

 

Our Year 12 boys finish normal classes today.  I thank them for their resilience, good humour and positive disposition given the year that 2020 has been.  We pray that they are able to achieve their personal best in the weeks ahead.

 

Let’s all open our hearts to what’s possible.

 

Yours in Jesus, Mary and St Marcellin.

Peter McLoughlin

Headmaster