Chaplain’s Notes
Confirmation
Parents, please note that the date for Confirmation has been received.
Thursday 12 September
St Anthony’s Parish, Cnr Grange and Neerim Roads, Glen Huntly
Ash Wednesday
Staff and Students gathered to mark the beginning of our Lenten season with prayer and the signing of ashes on each other’s forehead.
Lent is a season in which we are challenged to make sacrifices of our time, our talent and our wealth in preparation for the great feast of Easter.
Why give things up for Lent?
Life, we come to understand, is not only about joy. It is about the power to endure what is not joyful as well.
A group of our Year 6 students leading prayer in the Chapel on Ash Wednesday. The primary students were remembering that God’s love is unconditional, but like all love, it demands a response.
In a society that invites self-gratification at every level, it can be a challenge for young people to grasp the concept of denial. They can ask what difference does it really make; why is it important? Sacrifice makes each of us aware that there are other people for whom we have a responsibility.
When our young people wish to achieve some physical success at sport, they work hard training, eating and sleeping well. It is easy to forget that if we are going to develop our spiritual selves we also need to train our willpower and strengthen our spirits through prayer and denial. Lent is our time as Christians to pay special attention to this side of our development.
Our students have been challenged to gain sponsors during Lent for Mission Action Day. MAD is the major fundraising event of the College, with funds raised used to assist the poor and disadvantaged both in Australia and abroad. Alongside the challenge of seeking the support of others is an even more important one — The question of ‘what can I personally go without? Can I offer the proceeds of my own sacrifice to MAD?’
It may be a good topic of discussion over the dinner table
College Chaplain