This week we conducted prayer services for Ash Wednesday to commence the important season of Lent. Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving which starts on Ash Wednesday and finishes at sundown on Holy Thursday. At these services students and staff were marked with an ash cross to symbolise our desire to turn away from sin. After the last few years of disruption, it was great to have students and staff return to their various houses for this year’s service. The Season of Lent also coincides with our annual support of Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion.
Throughout the remainder of this term all of us are encouraged to give generously to this very worthy cause with students challenged to give at least a dollar a week to support the cause. With six weeks of Lent and over 1300 students this will help ensure that we are able to raise a significant amount of money that can be given to Caritas. We will also be holding a number of fundraising events such as the pancake sale we had for Shrove Tuesday this week. While times are certainly tough with the increasing cost of living, I hope that every student and staff member of the College is able to at least try to give the dollar a week asked of us. During this time I also encourage students and staff to give up any activity that hinders their relationship with God and to consider opportunities to reconnect with Him through one or more of our many Catholic Life initiatives. An average week of Lent at Good Samaritan includes Christ Chat on Mondays, Encounter Youth gatherings, Reconciliation and Holy Rosary on Tuesdays, Adoration on Wednesdays, and Stations of the Cross and Mass on Fridays. With so many opportunities it should be impossible not to dedicate at least some time to God. I pray that our community will accept the challenges and opportunities that exist throughout this Lenten season.
God Bless!
コメント