“Let us remember that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving. Without sacrifice, there is no love.”
These wise words, spoken by our patron Saint Maximilian Kolbe, remind us that as followers of Christ, we must give love through sacrifice. This February marks an important celebration of our Catholic faith, as the entire staff and student body gathered for our Opening Mass and the reflective Ash Wednesday liturgy, dedicated to the approaching Lenten season.
Within this Lenten season, we are called to remember the sacrifices made by Jesus as he spent forty days in the desert and overcame numerous adversities because of his own love for God. As a Catholic community, we are also called to moments of self-reflection. Lent is a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and we have the capacity to commit ourselves to something as simple as praying or to challenge ourselves through fasting.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the liturgy led by the Year 9 leaders, with the help of the Year 12 leaders who took on the task of distributing ashes while stating, “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” College vice-captain Shae Donaldson reflected that, “Getting to celebrate Ash Wednesday with my fellow Year 12 Leaders was a reverent experience for us all.”
On the 21st of February, it was our College Opening Mass and our first full school gathering for the year. Father Pier spoke about the lessons from Jesus’ Parable of the Rich Man. This gospel passage prompted us to consider our own priorities, whether it is striving for academic excellence or cultivating a more holistic approach to life, rather than focusing on materialistic things.
As a Catholic community, we strive to follow in the footsteps of Jesus through his compassion, forgiveness, and selflessness. This allows us to transform the world; it may only start with one person, but every person can make a difference.
