The College by the Harbour - St Aloysius

Lent
Lent at St Aloysius’ College has traditionally been a
time that we see Project Compassion boxes,
praying, liturgies, sacrifice and many symbols such
as the ashes and the Cross surface.
This year there has been an attempt to heighten the
awareness of our students. Ash Wednesday was the
beginning of Lent. The Year 3-8 Mass and the Year 9-12
liturgy were both celebrated by Rev Fr Smith SJ. Each had
a unique presentation. The younger Years presented a
liturgical drama scene that was directed by Mr Jed Hogan.
The focus of the scene was understanding the importance
of Ash Wednesday. The Senior boys liturgy opened up
with Benjamin Muldoon (Year 12) speaking about what
Lent meant to him.
Both ceremonies had eight boys carrying seven crosses.
The last cross was particularly heavy and conveniently
represented Jesus and Simon carrying the cross. It will be
these crosses and seven more that will be erected in the
Senior School gardens as a reminder of the ultimate
sacrifice that Jesus made. The crosses are made mostly
from native timber that had fallen down as a result of the
Christmas holiday bushfires. Once again the symbol of
ash was recognised.
Rev Fr Radvan SJ challenged the staff and students to
find out why they thought God was not talking to them.
This question is often asked by students and so Rev Fr
Radvan used this idea to invite a number of students to
prayer sessions every Friday of Lent. Each person is asked
to do a number of reflective activities and will be hopefully
drawn closer to God. I thank him for his thoughtfulness
and thank the boys for their courage in undertaking such
a wonderful journey during Lent.
Mr Antony Sindone, Head of Religious Education,
has also taken a number of wonderful initiatives through
the Religious Education classes to help prepare the
students for Easter. The following is an extract written by
Antony to show what material is used.
"Lent is about giving, not just giving up"
Traditionally, the Catholic Church has assisted believers in
their preparation for Lent by recommending Prayer,
fasting and almsgiving.
Prayer:
Prayer can take many diverse forms - limited only by our
imagination.
Some of the following have been suggested by students in
the past: Mass, reading the Bible/other spiritual material,
meditation, contemplation, formal or informal prayer, the
Ignatian awareness examen (page 3 of College Diary). His
Eminence, Cardinal Edward Clancy, when asked by a
group of young people about prayer suggested 5 minutes a
day was a good starting point. Surely, We can all find five
minutes a day for prayer.
Fasting (Self denial):
Students have often taken these very literally. We are all
familiar with the "giving up of lollies" stage. The more
self-disciplined and theologically sophisticated among us
extended this to desert in general. Of course, fasting is not
really about denying our selves sweets. The need to
eliminate that, which stands between us and God, is as old
as religion itself. The denial of even good things is
beneficial. It helps to develop self-control in the larger
arena, empathy with the poor, and tear down the idols that
replace the unseen God (idols such as popularity, success,
excessive desire for material goods). Limiting TV or
PlayStation and using this time more productively (in
giving of self ) is the essence of self-denial, which although
meritorious on its own, is incomplete without the next
stage of preparation, Giving.
Almsgiving (Giving):
The giving of money is the easiest giving of all. The real
sacrifice comes in giving of our selves. Time spent with
those in need or with family members is sometimes the
hardest form of giving. Giving to those who cannot repay
is the more difficult still.
Students were asked to reflect and discuss these issues
within the class. The boys were then asked to make a
Lenten pledge. They were to choose one example from
each of the three categories and commit themselves to it
during Lent. You may wish to ask your son how he went
with his Lenten pledge and if it made Easter a more
significant experience for him."
Mr Antony Sindone
Head of Religious Education
Lent will culminate this year with Stations of the Cross
being held at all the College Camps, Activity and
Reflection Days and Retreats. We hope that the
importance of Lent will be recognised by our students and
will be repeated next year.
Mr Chris Gould
Director of Pastoral Services
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