Mission

College Opening Mass

On Tuesday, February 5, our College Community celebrated our Opening Mass. This gathering celebrated the beginning of the academic school year at Mater Dei. The theme of our Mass was New Beginnings, it was particularly significant as we acknowledged our new House, Boarding School and College Captains.

We came together to ask God’s blessing on our school and our schoolwork, our students and teachers, our parents and friends, our sports and social activities, and everything we so richly value as part of our School community. Each new year is a cause for celebration. What lies before us is a wealth of opportunities, experiences and challenges. We look forward to creating new memories, welcoming new friends, and leaving our mark upon history here.

We began our liturgy by hearing Jesus’ invitation to love and to respect each other. He has told us ‘I am the love to be loved, I am the life to be shared, I am the truth to be told, I am the light to be lit, I am the peace to be given’. May we share this love, life, joy and peace with each throughout the coming year.

During the entrance procession our new Year 7 students joined us, with the letters they had written to their Year 12, future self. These letters outline their hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future here at Mater Dei.  We know they will be a treasured keepsake in years to come.

Our celebration drew to a close with the awarding of our Captains badges, where parents/carers were called to the stage and asked to pin the Captain's badge on their son or daughter, signifying their commitment to leadership throughout 2019. Our Captains then presented Candles to each of the Homegroup representatives, who joined the closing procession. It was a beautiful celebration to mark the beginning of this School year and we were most grateful for the presence of Fr John, Fr Plunkett, representatives of the Presentation Sisters, along with the parents/carers of our new student leaders.   

~ Click on image to enlarge photos ~

Social Justice - Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking

The Feast Day of St Josephine Bakhita is held on Friday 8th, February 2019. St Bakhita is the Patron Saint of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking and also Patron Saint of Sudan. Pope Francis has requested Catholic communities worldwide to join him in commemorating St Bakhita’s Day on 8 Feb 2019, as the Catholic Anti-Slavery Day.  

The eradication of modern slavery and the pastoral care of victims is a priority for the Catholic Church. Pope Francis firmly believes that this battle will be won and slavery will be eradicated in this generation. The Holy Father continually draws the attention of the Church and the wider world to the moral and human crisis evident in this terrible and pervasive exploitation.

There are an estimated 40 million victims of modern slavery worldwide. Modern slavery now ranks as the second most profitable worldwide criminal enterprise. It is a serious crime which exploits people and can take many forms including: forced labour, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced criminality and organ harvesting.

For more information, please visit the Sydney Archdiocese website address: www.sydneycatholicantislavery.org.

In this spirit, we invite you to pray for those victims of modern slavery and human trafficking and their families and communities.

Sacred Heart Parish - Plenary Council Submission

The Sacred Heart Parish has met a number of times to identify and document their concerns, questions and hopes for the Catholic Church in Australia as part of the Plenary Council submission process. After two initial gatherings of parishioners to ‘listen to what the Spirit is saying’, four main areas of concern emerged. These were (1) a need to reform the liturgy, (2) clericalism, (3) gospel values vs rules and regulations and (4) adult faith formation. To read further about their submission, please read the attached document. Please send any comments, further reflections or new ideas you would like submitted to shkparishcouncil@gmail.com. These can also be left in the suggestion box at the back of Sacred Heart Church.

Mrs Amelia Bright | Acting Leader of Mission