Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community
Welcome to the Holy Week, Easter Thursday and the last day of Term 1.
As a College it is central to our belief that we celebrate Easter. This year this was done through Liturgies written, led and conducted by our Year 11 and 12 students in the Youth Ministry classes. Pictures from the Liturgies can be seen below. The services were based on the Stations of Cross , however the group had rewritten them, so each was seen from Mary’s perspective:
- Mary the Mother of God
- Mary who was present and supported Jesus throughout his ministry
- Mary who watched her son arrested
- Mary who saw her son scorned, ridiculed and tortured
- Mary who watched her son carry a cross
- Mary who saw her son crucified.
The Liturgy gave each of us a very personal perspective and helped us come to understand the humanity of Jesus. Whilst we understand Jesus to be both fully human and fully Divine, we need to remember and understand the pain that he would have felt and the pain suffered by those that loved him.
It is also appropriate that this, the last newsletter for term, comes to you on Holy Thursday also known as Maundy Thursday, which means "Washing of the feet Thursday". An act that will be symbolically repeated by our Pope and in Churches all over the world this very evening. This act, the night before Jesus was taken, gives us a clear understanding of what Jesus was asking of us. The act of washing someone else’s feet is not a pleasant one and it is a clear act of service to that person. It is a very personal thing to touch someone else’s feet and it is an act of a servant.
As we, this Holy Thursday, approach our Easter and the celebration of the resurrection, let us remember what the resurrection is asking of each and every one of us - to be of service to each other.
At this time we also remember those families that suffer loss with the passing of loved ones.
Let us pray for Tomas Majdancic (Year 7) whose grandfather passed away recently and for Ken Town, grandfather to Isabella (Year 12) and Joshua de Wit (Year 9). Let us pray for the repose of these souls and may they rest in peace.
I wish you each and every member of our community a Happy and Holy Easter.
God Bless
Philip A Morison
Principal
