5 August 2022
From the Deputy Principal – Faith and Mission
Faith in Action
Our Faith in Action program is a critical component of Faith and Mission at Marcellin College. Our Faith in Action programs enhance our Catholic identity by providing our young men with the chance to engage with people outside of their standard community reach who are less fortunate than themselves, and make a difference in those people’s lives. In this work for the community, the most important element of the program is the growth the boys experience in terms of their empathy and their love of work for others.
Each week, Marcellin College students volunteer their time after school such as working with such organisations as the Exodus Community helping out with Bread Runs, supporting the Buna Community Garden program and providing assistance to local primary school homework support programs.
Women of Faith in the Month of August
During the month of August, we celebrate the feast days of a number of women who hold a special place in the life of our Church. At this time, it is appropriate to honour and name some of these women of faith who inspire us all – particularly women – to remember how critical our roles are within the Church of today.
8 August – Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop
“Pray to be ever ready for God’s will even when it takes you by surprise.”
Mary Mackillop was a brave and determined woman who has had the honour of being named Australia’s first (and only) saint. Mary was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1842. When Mary was 18, she went to work as a teacher in Penola, a small town in South Australia, where she met Father Julian Tension Woods. Both Mary and Father Julian wanted to do something for children who parents could not afford to send them to school. Together, in 1866, they began the first St Joseph’s School in an old stable. Many young women joined Mary in her work for the poor, and so began the Sisters of St Joseph.
One of her mottos was ‘Never see a need without doing something about it.’ Her simple life was lived in a way that provides inspiration for us today.
August 11 – Feast Day of St Clare of Assisi
“We become what we love and we love shapes what we become.”
On August 10, we celebrate the feast day of St Clare of Assisi. Clare (1193 – 1253) was born into one of the wealthy families of Assisi in Italy. She loved fine things as a teenager but was also drawn inwardly to a life of service. At seventeen, she heard Francis of Assisi, the monk who repaired churches and ministered to the sick, speak and say: “When there is poverty with joy, there is inner peace.” A year later, she decided to follow in his footsteps by giving up her life of wealth. She went on to establish her own religious order, ‘the poor Clare’s. As a Marist school, we resonate with Clare’s admonition to seek out and support the poor, the marginalised, the least and the lost.
15 August – The Feast Day of the Assumption
“From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.”
On August 15, we will celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, a special feast for we Marists. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is most often seen as our mother. She is the person who most closely followed Jesus’ example and lived a life totally devoted to doing God’s will.
The Society of Mary was established by St Marcellin Champagnat to help renew the Church in a particular Marian way where Mary is always seen in relationship to Jesus, to the church and to the contemporary world.
Mary inspired in the first Marists a new vision of being Church which was modelled on that of the first Christians. This Marian Church has the heart of a mother where no one is abandoned. The witness of Mary, Mother of God, reminds us that God calls ordinary people like us to participate in extraordinary ways to help build God’s kingdom. Mary became Jesus’ first disciple and thus she is a model for all of us who choose to follow Him.
Geralyn McCarthy
Deputy Principal – Faith and Mission