MISSION CENTRAL

Celebrating the Feast of the Assumption 

The Assumption of Mary is the most important feast for Marist Brothers and Marist schools, and this year was no exception. Mr Seivers has given a summary with his Principal’s Pen, but I felt Fr Laurie’s sermon was too good not to share. He used pyramids as his visual stimulus, so read on to find the connection. 

Fr Laurie’s Sermon 

It is rather hard to live in Cairns without recognising this prominent landmark which looms over Gordonvale. It is, of course, a mountain known as the Pyramid. At least that is the name given to it by Europeans. There is probably a traditional name for it which is unknown to me although someone named Walsh has his name attached to it.  Every year there is the Great Pyramid race, an event which attracts the super fit competitor who doesn’t mind a lot of pain. This event took place last Sunday, perhaps some staff or students competed in it.

The European name is understandable because its shape resembles the ancient pyramids of Egypt. These structures, just to the south of Cairo, are one of the main tourist attractions in Egypt, although most of the know pyramids are located in modern Sudan, a country not noted for safe tourism these days. Most were built as tombs for the Pharaohs of Egypt and their consorts. The oldest known pyramid was said to be built about 2630BC.

That they exist to this day and will outlive all of us by thousands of years is an incredible testament to their construction, and the even more incredible belief in the afterlife and the massive dignity given to the Pharaohs which inspired the construction of such massive tombs for them.  It is speculated that they were largely built by slaves, who probably weren’t working under workplace health and safety rules so they could be forgiven for not sharing the sense of honour and dignity given to the ancient Egyptian rulers. But that aside, the architects of their construction possessed a deep belief in the life hereafter and the honour to be given to the ruler, after their death, who will lie inside them.

Which brings us, of course, naturally and seamlessly, to the Assumption of Mary, whose feast we commemorate today. Like the Pharaohs of old, Mary was seen as a person of high dignity, as the mother of God.  It took a couple of centuries before people began to look into this dignity a bit closer, but look they did. The belief was that, because she was the mother of God, then she cannot possibly have know the decay that happens to the human body after death. And so the popular belief was that, after her death, she was somehow taken straight to heaven, bypassing the decay part. This was formulated into Catholic Doctrine by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

No pyramid was ever erected in her honour, but this doctrine of the Assumption is our way of honouring her dignity, affirming our own belief in the afterlife, and celebrating the existence and goodness of God. In giving praise to Mary and acknowledging her dignity, we also affirm her as our mother. Therefore, we as her children, share in that dignity. We therefore today acknowledge our own value, our own self-worth and our own respected place in the plans of God. We will never have a pyramid erected in our honour, but if we can build a monument inside ourselves to our own value, then we are worthily celebrating this feast day in honour of Mary, the mother of God and our mother.

Year 11 Retreat at Tinaroo

By Darcy Oates - Year 11

Year 11s took part in their annual retreat early this month at the Tinaroo Environmental Centre. There we enjoyed three days of bonding as a cohort, becoming more attuned to one another while preparing for the tremendous task of leading the College as the class of 2023.

In a program led admirably by Mrs Cross and Mr O'Farrell, the two groups learnt the true meaning of leadership, and how it can be enacted in our college and wider communities today. Amid smaller group team-building exercises, we acknowledged that each of us has a different journey towards manhood, and that we are all imbued with different strengths and unique characteristics. We learnt about our different personalities using the Myers-Briggs test, and with frightening accuracy most matched up with our own personal expectations. The retreat, above all else, allowed us to see our classmates through a new and respectful lens, and it was refreshing to see this from an outside-the-classroom perspective. This team building and mateship was strengthened during our free time when we enjoyed cricket, rugby league and football among other things. A particular mention must go to Mr Michael James for his impressive keep-ups with the soccer ball. Rather skilful indeed! 

Without a doubt, our retreat will be looked upon favourably in the future by many in the class of 2023. Many thanks must go to Mrs Cross and Mr O'Farrell for their dedication, planning and organisation of the retreat. Thanks also to the small-group leaders who allowed each of us to gain such an understanding about ourselves during the different sessions. 

Other comments from Year 11 students

The highpoint of the retreat for me was:

• "Getting to know myself and my mates a bit more and noticing some leaders starting to step up and stand out."
• "The highpoint of the retreat for me was learning about myself and learning about others. It gave me an insight about life and how to approach it."
• "Collaborating and working with people I usually may not work with. Learning about myself, my values and how others see me."
• "Discussing and visualising who I am and who I want to become."
• "To identify my personality to shape my future and career paths."
• "The highpoint of the retreat was doing the My Suitcase activity. This is because I was able to show my group more things about myself, which I struggle to do."
• "Working together as a team and using each other's skills."
• "Listening to Mr James’s personal story and swimming with the boys."
• "Being able to connect with other classmates and do activities that really challenged us."  

More photos of the Year 11 retreat are on the Parent Portal.

Relay for Life Update

The results are in and it was calculated that the students and staff at the Relay for Life walked over 800km when we added all the laps together. That's from here to Mackay. Wow!  

Congratulations to the winners of the student-led raffles. The prizes and winners were as follows: 

The 10 kg of chocolate: Mrs Nicola Roberts

Boxes filled with lots of goodies: Jonathan O’Farrell in Year 8, Zac  Barker in Year 11 and Brodie Prestipino in Year 12. 

There are a few more winners, and they'll be announced in next week's notices.

Cardiac Challenge is Taken Up by Some Amazing Year 7 Students 

My name is Tomas Rodney and I am 12 years old. In the coming school holidays I will be participating in the Cardiac Challenge ride which raises funds for the FNQ Hospital Foundation. I will be riding my bike 333 kilometres from Cairns to Cooktown over three days. Last year, when I rode, I was the youngest person to complete the challenge. A donation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you from Tomas Rodney in 7.3. Follow this LINK to donate. Jackson Starmer in 7.3 is also participating. Follow this LINKto donate.