From the Director of Mission

During the school holidays the Church 

celebrated the most significant time in its calendar, the Easter Triduum, ending with the celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Our faith is strongly planted in this reality of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I trust that the message of hope and joy was felt in all our families.

We finished Term One with reverent and moving Easter liturgies. We explored the events of Holy week and the significance of the last days of Jesus’ life for us as Christians in the modern world. I congratulate the students of Years 6 and Year 12 who retold this story so reverently in their respective liturgies. 

On our return we began preparations to commemorate ANZAC. COVID restrictions meant that we were not able to march as a community, however, some students gave of their time and represented us at various services. In all cases, they are to be commended for giving of their time, and for the respect they showed while representing our College in the community. 

Two of our senior leaders were asked to deliver the ANZAC address at services at Camden Downs Retirement Village and Wivenhoe Village. Their speeches were inspiring and heartfelt and I attach them for your reflection.

We were also able to pray in community at the Year 7 camp on Tuesday evening. Once again, our student leaders from both Years 11 and 12 are to be congratulated for leading the liturgy so prayerfully and passing on the traditions of the College in their singing, particularly teaching the younger students the significance of the Sub Tuum.

We launched the May Rosary in homerooms this morning. During the month of May, the Rosary will be prayed in the Chapel each Monday at lunchtime. As a Marist College, our devotion to Mary is important and all students are invited to join us for this time of prayer.

Jesus your life came full circle. Before you came into this world you entered Bethlehem outside of Jerusalem riding on the back of a donkey in your mother’s womb. A week before your death you would humble yourself once more and come riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. A humble beast of burden, an animal that carries a heavy load and serves. You bore the weight of the cross and the weight of all of our sins and you served us faithfully even when we were not faithful to you. We are so much like the crowds that gathered on Palm Sunday; rejoicing, singing your praise and giving you glory one moment and the next moment we are also the ones who are calling for your death, mocking you and jeering. Still, you look upon us with endless love and mercy. You forgive us, you redeem us, and you call us quietly to return to you once again. You would suffer and die so that on the third day, we might finally see that no power on earth or hell or anything above can separate us from your love and showing us once and for all you are the King of Victory! AMEN!

Mrs Cathie Clarke

Director of Mission

ANZAC Day Address

Jonathan Bombardiere

April 22 2021

The final trumpet blows upon the battlefield.

The final poppy blossoms. 

The free feather that stands tall

Upon the ANZAC garment blows

The harsh Turkish breeze bellows beyond the battlefield, 

Back on board a boat or a plane 

That takes the soul back to the place which it came. 

Some men lay, for days on end on unknown soil around the bend. 

The brothers they made and the tears they cried, 

On this unknown land in which they died.

For the soul lives on through the years to come, 

Lest we forget until our days made one. 

Our ANZACS thrived not on hate but on unity, comradery and culture, UCC for short. The definition of ANZAC acts as the cornerstone for Australian society, how we should all act. The camaraderie and unity played an immense part in normalising the shared experiences of fear and terror during the endless conflict that has plagued our world. When using the term ANZAC, it is not exclusive to just the heroes of WW1, but stands as a term inclusive for all our nation's men and women who display this spirit on and off the battlefield. These servicemen and women ensure the safety of our nation’s peoples with the swift embodiment of the ANZAC spirit, which is unity, comradery and strong culture.

Now, the beauty behind the ANZAC spirit is that any individual is welcome to have their own interpretation of it. To me, some core features of the spirit as I mentioned earlier are unity, comradery and the culture which dwell at the heart of ANZAC spirit. During the bushfires of 2019/2020, Australians nationwide rallied together to display their emblem of unity in raising enormous amounts of money for the many families who had lost homes during these traumatic events. It is fair to say that the countless efforts put forward by both firefighters and the individuals who enlisted to aid the cause overall brought back this sense of unity, one of which in previous years has seemed so hard to find. 2019 and the beginning of 2020 proved to be a year where Australians renewed the salvation of national pride and honour. Such unity contributes greatly to the overall essence of ANZAC spirit and the modern world as the impact of this Australian unity reached countries such as the US and Britain, countries of which recognised the unification of peoples to fight a greater cause. Similarly, the courage and bravery displayed through this unity can be referenced back to the battle of Kokoda when the ANZACS unified with not only each other, but with the US in order to defeat an insurmountable force of the Japanese army. Being severely outnumbered, the ANZAC spirit fought against the fire, halting the southward advance by Japanese forces in Papua New Guinea, proceeding to push the enemy back across the mountains. Such unity against odds, the bravery, the courage proved instrumental in crafting the ANZAC spirit that we see today and witnessed with the recent events of the nationwide bushfires. 

Upon the battlefield of bodies and silence, 

A sound so sharp it could through sound itself 

Brothers lay arm in arm, 

Like a peaceful wind upon the farm

Sisters cry for their brothers lay, 

On an unknown land amidst the fray. 

The ANZAC spirit is embodied through the overcoming of adversity and the channelling of comradery, a perfect example of this was seen in the recent COVID-19 crisis. The frontline workers who have sacrificed their own wellbeing to fight this threat have shown the importance of comradery by sacrificing some of their own freedoms in order to benefit our nation. An image that relives itself in the mind of many Australians, including myself, is the picture of a grandfather touching the glass which blocks him from his granddaughter. Months down the line, the frontline workers made persistent efforts to safely reunite this grandfather with his granddaughter, and this was successfully achieved after the pandemic died down. The comradery crafted between this grandfather and the frontline workers embodies the essence of the ANZAC Spirit. The battle of Gallipoli was a lengthy campaign, one of which saw men and women both young and old fight on an unknown front. The ANZAC legend was sparked during this campaign, as the ANZACS displayed this comradery despite the harsh realities of war. The unknown front of COVID draws many similarities, as whilst the men and women on Gallipoli were fighting a war both physical and mental, Australians this day and age have been suffering from similar effects brought on by the war of the pandemic. Thus, the comradery shown in both scenarios in regards to combating the unknown front, acknowledges comradeship is the heart of the ANZAC body/spirit 

Along the valley of unknown names, 

The brothers depart from the land they came. 

Over the seas of the Dardanelles 

Nothing but charm from the ringing bells

Far too young but too old to know

The impact they’d have for us to show

For the story of heroes told time ago

Remains concurrent to help us grow

The ability of Australians to see a brighter path amidst adversity is a part of a culture that encapsulates ANZAC spirit. The floods that occurred recently this year saw many homes lost and heavy damage inflicted on places like Lismore. A young couple planning to get married had not only their wedding cancelled but their home swept away by the floods. News accounts show the couple are shocked by what has just occurred, but somehow manage to focus on a positive, stating that, “we are lucky to have our friends and family still kicking, because at the end of the day weddings and houses are temporary, we’ll just do something in our backyard if worse comes to worse”. The epitome of the ANZAC culture, the larrikin nature can be seen as a prevalent feature throughout the Australians’ role in war. Many pictures taken from the Gallipoli campaign depict soldiers playing a game of cricket metres behind an enemy trench. Thus, the ability to see a positive behind the cloud is what makes the spirit and culture so strong.

As we stood and stared, or smiled and waved

To welcome the souls who were shipped away

The looks they gave, fresh faced and shaved

For a new dawn woke to see sail away

Our ANZACS thrived not on hate but on unity, comradery and culture, or UCC for short. The ANZAC spirit acts as the cornerstone for Australian society, how we should all act in day-to-day life. For all our nation's men and women who display this spirit on and off the battlefield, particularly our ANZAC heroes both past and present, rest assured knowing that the future of the ANZAC spirit is looking bright. These recent events of the bushfires, COVID and the floods acted as a testament to the spirit, and Australians nationwide were there to accept the challenge. These servicemen and women ensure the safety of our nation’s peoples with the swift embodiment of the ANZAC spirit, which is unity, comradery and strong culture.

ANZAC Day Address

Declan Foran

April 22 2021

Lest. We. Forget. 

Three words that every Australian knows, that every Australian understands, that every Australian respects. On April 25th across our nation, those words will cause us all to pause, be silent and reflect. Reflect on how we remember those who gave everything to secure and protect our way of life, to ensure that a world was left behind for my generation to inherit. As a young person, I’ve grown up in a generation in which the concept of war was certainly something that was glorified, I don’t think a single person my age can say that growing up they never played a military video game or watched a movie about a war of some kind. The issue arises in its portrayal of war as this grandiose spectacle where everyone gets out unharmed and the bad guys get beaten in spectacular fashion. Unfortunately, we didn’t grow up with MASH, instead we got Transformers. In that sense, I think we have all grown up a little desensitised and disillusioned to the notion of ANZAC day as we truly couldn’t understand the realities and conditions faced by our predecessors. However, as I’ve grown older and matured, I’ve come to really understand the meaning of ANZAC and its importance to my generation. In preparing for this speech, I underwent a rigorous process of trying to decipher this importance, and after some hard thinking I’ve managed to divide this importance of ANZAC to young people into three categories: Spirit, Sacrifice and Stories. 

The ANZAC spirit is something that is of imperative importance to the upcoming generation. The ANZAC spirit, to me, is one defined as one of perseverance, resilience, discipline and respect, and, personally, I never really understood this spirit until I started studying the events that led to the inception of ANZAC during my modern history course. Seeing what was endured by these brave men and women, it was truly an inspiration. These conditions of torrential rain, horrific living environments and the psychological effects of war were truly harrowing, yet what was more astonishing was the attitudes of those who suffered in these environments; they kept going. I understood why this spirit was held in such an esteemed place of importance and what it means. Myself and my classmates engaged in this whole new level of respect and admiration that when it came to writing essays on the topics, I personally found it hard to even write about their experiences. I felt guilty, like it wasn’t mine to write about. But I believe that this is the respect for the ANZAC spirit that exists within my generation, the admiration and amazement at the sheer scale of our predecessors’ actions in both battle and the home front. And I think translating this spirit into our everyday lives will truly benefit us. This mindset of living through the ANZAC spirit, engaging in resilience, getting through the hard yards and becoming better, stronger people has the power to shape my entire generation. 

Another key component of ANZAC day remembrance that I truly believe is important to my generation is the concept of sacrifice. Putting oneself on the line for the betterment of others, being selfless. Our veterans gave up everything, their families, their security and their lives to serve their country, sacrificing themselves and their wellbeing, even lives, for our benefit. Our world is changing, if anything, last year has gone to prove that well and truly. We, as a society, are becoming very individualistic, not all, but a lot. Look back to all the crazy moments we had last year, people climbing over each other, knocking each other out down at your local Woolies over the last roll of toilet paper? A commodity that wasn’t even threatened by the pandemic. I worked at a Woolworths during the pandemic, and it was crazy to see how fast toilet paper can disappear, it was like watching piranhas swarm a piece of steak. How does this embody the sacrifices made by our veterans that we hold so close to our national identity? There needs to be a change, quickly. ANZAC day serves as a reminder for us, to check in on our progress in embodying the selflessness of our ancestors. Are we helping others? Are we constantly putting ourselves first at the expense of those who need our help? It’s these kinds of questions my generation has to consider. 

Finally, stories. Stories keep us alive even after we have passed away, they are our legacy, our roots in this world that keep the tree of our memory grounded and nourished. To me, stories are a key part of ANZAC day in the sense that they are personal ways in which we remember those that served in our own personal way. In doing so, we ensure that their spirit and sacrifice remains ever present in our minds. Something we will never forget. My great grandparents both served in World War II, my great grandfather, Jack Foran, was a warrant officer; an air gunner and an wireless operator and my great grandmother, Paddy, a member of the women’s auxiliary air force as a radio operator. I never met Jack, he passed well before I was born and Paddy I met as an infant. Thus, I don’t have any recollection of either of them being part of my life, yet I still feel as though I know them, that they shaped who I am today. Why? Because of the stories passed down by my father to me about them. For example, Paddy was scared to death of snakes. She hated them with a passion. Paddy and Jack lived on property just outside of Gilgandra, an hour or so past Dubbo, and thus there was never a shortage of snakes. One time, a snake made its way into the bathtub in the main house and stayed there until Paddy wanted to use the restroom. Upon seeing the snake, she did what any rational person would do. She went outside, picked up the 12 Gauge Shotgun, and blew the snake to pieces (and the bathtub in the process). It’s these kinds of personal stories that keep our veterans alive in our minds, its our responsibility to nurture their memory and ensure that we never forget them, nor the spirit or sacrifice they displayed, to protect our country. 

ANZAC day is one of the most important days in Australia’s national identity, it’s a day of reverence and remembrance in which we pause our busy modern lives to appreciate and honour those who laid down their lives for us, for our nation. The challenge is now over to my contemporaries and myself to ensure that we do keep their stories, their sacrifice, and their spirit alive. Lest we forget.