CATHOLIC FAITH AND MISSION

MRS LIZ MADDEN, DEAN OF CATHOLIC FAITH AND MISSION

ORDINARY PEOPLE

For much of this term, the Church season was referred to as ‘ordinary time’. The liturgical colour was green and no festive symbols adorned the chapel. “Ordinary” comes from a Latin word meaning: ordered, numbered, counted – NOT boring. This time is punctuated by feasts, solemnities and memorials in which we recalled the stories of how God worked through the lives of ordinary people to bring about extraordinary growth. Each of these celebrations reminded us that God calls ordinary people to be witnesses of His great love for everyone. Throughout the term, we continued to celebrate House Family Masses. These celebrations of community recalled the life and actions of our House patrons who were all ordinary men and women trying to be faithful to their calling to continue Jesus’ Mission. This term we recalled the life and work of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Anthony Kowalczyk, Vital Grandin, Charles Albini and St Eugene de Mazenod who, in their humility, recognised God’s presence in the ordinary, in the actual, in the daily and in the now. They encountered Christ in the young poor children they taught and helped, the sick they comforted, the prisoners they gave hope to and the congregations they served. These House patrons continue to provide inspiration to our community.

This term, we also commemorated the 200th anniversary of St Eugene de Mazenod’s experience of deeper conversion, affirmation, and moment of grace, which occurred on 15 August 1822, during a ceremony honouring a statue of the Oblate Madonna. This moment of grace was received at a time of great anxiety about the future of his small ‘ordinary’ missionary band. It assured St Eugene of the future of the congregation and the good fruit that it would produce. Yet again, God’s love and grace was revealed in ordinary human affairs. In our annual Marian Mass, we affirmed the role of Mary and our belief that she found her final resting place in God’s Divine Love. From an ordinary teenage girl was born an ordinary man - Jesus (as I tell my RE class, a ‘chippy from the country’). In her simple acceptance of God’s invitation, Mary responded with full and humble heart and ultimately played her role in changing the face of human history. If God worked through one woman to express such great and unconditional love, God can continue to work through other ordinary women and men in the same way - to heal the brokenness in the world today. What an empowering message for our young Ionians! This term, the College focused our Social Justice and fundraising attention on the Oblate missions. Before embarking on a fun-filled OMAD, the community was reminded of the ordinary men who are great examples of missionary zeal and daring, going to foreign places to spread the good news of God’s love. In our OMAD liturgy, we were reminded of Jesus’ words to his disciples, ‘You will be my witnesses’ - the theme chosen by Pope Francis for mission celebrations this year. In this statement, Jesus uses the plural pronoun ‘YOU’, highlighting the importance of all of us working together to bring about God’s kingdom of justice and peace. Each year OMAD highlights our collective responsibility to be agents of change. Throughout the term, the tradition of daily Mass in the chapel continued. The ordinary staples of everyday life, bread and wine, became the body and blood of Jesus in each of our Eucharistic celebration. Each day, we listened to sacred stories and shared a sacred meal. What a poignant, daily reminder that in the ordinariness of our lives, God is always present.