Mission Update – Term 1 Week 3
Our Family Mass this week was a wonderful celebration of our Newman College community. It was a joyful opportunity to gather as students, families and staff, to pray together, to introduce our 2026 Marist theme, and most importantly, to share in the Eucharist. In coming together around the table of the Lord, we were reminded that our College is not simply a place of learning, but a faith community grounded in Christ and shaped by the Marist spirit.
A special word of thanks must go to our many Year 12 students who have generously committed themselves to serving as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist this year. Their willingness to prepare, to step forward, and to serve at the altar is a quiet but powerful witness of leadership in action. In the Marist tradition, leadership is always expressed through service, and these young people model that beautifully for our community.
We were very grateful to have Fr Michael Twigg OMI as our celebrant. In his homily, he offered six simple but profound words: ‘Give without remembering; receive without forgetting.’ These words capture something essential about the Christian life. To give without remembering is to offer our time, compassion and generosity without keeping score. To receive without forgetting is to live with gratitude – recognising the love, forgiveness and grace we have been given, and allowing that gratitude to shape how we treat others.
These six words resonate deeply as we begin the season of Lent and reflect on our Ash Wednesday liturgies this week. Lent invites us to look honestly at our lives and to ask how we might live more like Jesus – in humility, in generosity and in love. It is a time to let go of grudges, selfishness and indifference, and instead to grow in compassion and gratitude.
As a Marist community, may we take Fr Michael’s words to heart. May we give freely, without seeking recognition. May we receive God’s blessings – and the kindness of others – with thankful hearts. And throughout this Lenten season, may we continue to grow into people who reflect Christ more clearly in the way we live, serve and love.
Mr Stuart McClorey
DIRECTOR OF MISSION & CATHOLIC IDENTITY