Dear students, staff, families and friends,

As we come together this Friday to celebrate OMAD – Oblate Mission Action Day – beginning with the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, we are reminded of the deep call to compassion, justice, and solidarity that lies at the heart of our faith.

This day is not only a celebration; it is a mission. A mission to stand with our brothers and sisters around the world especially those who are suffering, forgotten, and marginalised.

Through MAMI (Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate), every dollar we raise goes directly to support Oblate missions that serve the poor and the abandoned in places where hope is scarce.

Let me share with you a real story from my own experience as an Oblate in India:

In the first year of my priestly life, I once came across a woman who was laying under a tree in a distance away from her village.

I asked her why she was laying there. She narrated her life story with bitter tears.

She was Poli Biswas, and her parents were farm labourers. She could not go to school because her parents could not afford her education.

The parents took Poli to work to meet their daily needs. This was a family whose tiny shelter was located quite a distance from the village, because the family were from a lower class.

Poli was given in marriage when she was 19 and at 21, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. This caused the husband, who did not want children, to throw her out of the house. She then went back to her father’s house. Soon afterwards, he married her off to a 70-year-old man.

The marriage was arranged because the father was in debt to the rich man. Poli was literally sold off to repay the debt.

A few months later, Poli’s daughter fell sick and died. Soon afterwards, her elderly husband died as well. This time, her father refused to accept her back as he was too poor to care for her.

Poli had no place to live. After being on the streets for a few months, she found a job in a landlord’s farm where she looked after the farm animals and cleaned the cow shed. But she had to sleep in the cow shed because she was a lower class.

She only ate the leftovers, and her life was degrading. To add to her misery, she developed leprosy.

The landlord immediately threw her out, and neither the villagers nor the family wanted anything to do with her at all. She said to me: “That is why I am here under the tree, cared for by none”.

It reminded me of what St Teresa of Calcutta said: “There is so much suffering in the world – very much. Of many sufferings, the greatest suffering is being lonely, feeling unloved, just having no one. It is being unwanted that is the worst disease that any human being can ever experience”.

As we reflect on the Assumption of Mary - a woman of deep faith, chosen by God, lifted up in Grace – we are called to lift others up, just as Mary was.

We are called to notice those who, like Poli, are under the tree unseen and uncared for. And we are called to act.

Your generosity on OMAD will help reach people like Poli around the world through food, education, medical care, and, most of all, the love of Christ shared by the Oblates in their missions.

During Term 3, and most especially on OMAD, as you donate, as you pray, and as you come together as a community, remember: Your kindness goes beyond our school walls. It travels across borders. It brings light where there is darkness.

It tells someone “You are not alone”.

Thank you for being part of this mission.

Thank you for helping us love those who feel forgotten.

And thank you for walking together as a family of faith.

Fr Joe Antony OMI
Rector