The Holy Name Convent girl possesses one foundational virtue: faith.
At HNC, there is nothing more important than mass. We begin a week prior, practising each song and reviewing the appropriate responses. Not everyone is familiar with the hymns, so it’s important to us that we make time to teach, share, and fully embrace our Roman Catholic faith together.
On Thursday, 15 January 2026, the school day began with Holy Mass. Celebrated by Father Gregory, we joined hands with our sisters as we welcomed and blessed our Incoming Form 6 leadership body.
Holy Mass is always a sanctifying and enriching event at Holy Name Convent. It is a time to reflect and speak to God about our goals and intentions for the new year.
In the first reading, 1 Samuel 4:11, we see that the Philistines and Israel are at war. As Israel goes out to battle against the Philistines, they bring out the Ark of the Covenant without any direction from God, expecting the Ark of the Covenant to bring God amongst them and save them from the power of their enemies. In the end, the Philistines won, Israel was defeated, and the Ark of the Covenant was captured.
This is monumental because, before the battle, when Moses had first received the message from God to create the Ark of the Covenant, it was clear and distinct instructions being given. Hence, the Israelites’ action of taking the Ark, the most important thing to them, into battle without God’s instruction, shows us what happens when you act without the Father’s guidance. The message is a simple yet profound truth: when you lean on your own understanding rather than God, you are more likely to end up losing what is most valuable to you.
Fr. Gregory then proclaimed the Gospel according to Mark 1:40-45. Here we see that Jesus heals the Leper, who, against Jesus’ words, goes and tells everyone. Earlier in Mark’s gospel, we see that Jesus goes around healing those who are sick and possessed by demons. However, as He casts them out he forbids them from speaking because they knew who He was. He then went out for a walk, where a leper approached Him. The leper said to Him, “If you chose to, you could heal me”, and Jesus said to him, “Of course I choose to,” and He reached out and touched him, and he was healed. This is an incredibly important message to us because it emphasizes that what no one else will do, Jesus wants to! And as Fr. Gregory continued with his homily, this message deeply resonated with all present.
As we received Holy Communion and concluded the Mass, every weary or troubled heart was reminded that God wants to be there for each one of us.
We are sincerely grateful for Fr. Gregory, our Altar servers, the Religion Department and the core choir for all the effort put into making this Mass possible.
Written By: Veronica Mc Donald
Photos provided by: Photography Club