Catholic schools exist to make Disciples of Jesus

(Jesus told his followers to "...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." Matthew 29:18)

But...Jesus added something..!

Jesus said he wanted us to "...have life, and have it abundantly. “ John 10:10

Jesus did not mean ‘abundant’ as being rich or famous...Jesus meant a life full of God's blessings and that vision is at the heart of why our Catholic school exists.

Our school exists so we can endeavour to provide your children, our students with opportunities to reach their potential - spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, socially, physically...

Question: ...how do we (Catholic school and families) best help our children have an 'abundant' life?

Answer: Together! 

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”   Ecclesiastes 4:12

Wishing you and your family an enjoyable time over the next two weeks!

What's been happening in the Religious and Spiritual life of the school?

The Sacrament of Confirmation

The Sacrament of Confirmation is always a momentous occasion and this year was no different!

In a very meaningful ceremony led by Parish Administrator, Fr Bing, our families gathered in the Cathedral to celebrate this important Sacrament of initiation of the Catholic Church.

Thank you to Fr Bing, our families and school staff who, together, helped form these children in their faith and were fortunate enough to witness them taking this next step.

The Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion (Eucharist)

Catholic students who are in Year 4 are preparing for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Important dates and times are below:

We would like to support families during this important time by holding an information session in the School Hall on the 18th of July from 5:30-6:30pm. (This is the Tuesday afternoon of the first week of Term 3.)

This session will be an opportunity:

1) For families to meet with Fr Bing and discuss the importance of these Sacraments

2) To speak with your child about the Sacraments and how it affects your family and

3) To ask questions you may have about how these Sacraments will be celebrated and what you need to know eg. what to wear etc.

All families of children making his/her first Reconciliation and first Holy Communion should send at least one parent/carer to attend this important meeting.

Which Sacrament is my child involved in?

Catholic Year 4 students will make their first Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.

If your Catholic child is in Year 5 or 6 and has yet to make these Sacraments I invite you to download, complete and return an  Enrolment Form to the School Office.

If your child will be away on the 22nd October and unable to attend the First Holy Communion Mass we will endeavour to organise for this to occur at another Mass.

What can you do at home to help prepare my child for these Sacraments?

Take some time to talk with your child about how your family says 'sorry' when needed. It is a very normal and necessary part of family life! The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the way Catholics 'repair' the bond between themselves and God.

It is very common for children to be nervous or scared before First Reconciliation, but they typically feel extremely peaceful and relieved afterward. Share your own experiences of Reconciliation: How did you feel the first time you went? How do you feel when you go now?

Students should be familiar with the Rite of Penance in order to feel more comfortable during their first confession.(Each child will be given a small card to take with them with these words on that they can follow and will be able to have a 'practice' Reconciliation with a teacher beforehand.

You can practice this at home so that they are familiar with the responses.

The first step is to make an 'Examination of Conscience' - (A very simple recount of things they would like to tell the Priest eg. "I don't do my jobs at home', "I get angry at my sister and call her names". (The children are not expected to have a list of these  - 2 or 3 are sufficient.)

When meeting with the Priest, greet him and together make a Sign of the Cross

Then say...“Bless me Father for I have sinned. This is my First Confession”. 

Confess sins...(Remind the children that they are speaking with God - through the Priest).

"For these and all my sins, I am very sorry."

The priest will provide a few words of advice and a penance (prayer) to say when they return to their seat. He will then ask them to say their act of contrition. 

The child then says the "Act of Contrition"

O my God, I am very sorry that I have sinned against you, because you are so good and with your help, I will try not to sin again. 

Amen.

The priest will absolve you of your sins.

Then make the sign of the cross.

The priest will say “Go in peace,” and the student will respond with “Thanks be to God” then return to their family, kneel and say the penance given to them by the Priest.

When this is completed congratulate them on their first Reconciliation and leave the Cathedral quietly. This is a good opportunity to have a family celebration!

First Holy Communion (Eucharist)

Taking younger children to Mass

As we start teaching our Year 4 students about the Mass I started thinking about when we used to take our young family to Mass. Basing your family life upon Catholic values is a blessing but trying to get your young children to Mass – and enjoy the experience - can be daunting and at times impossible.

We believed faith must equal fun for little ones and, looking back at our efforts to do this with our children we know we were far from being successful. However, the best idea is not to expect ‘total success’ but see your efforts as helping your young children start out on a much bigger faith journey. For what it's worth here are a few ways which seemed to work for us to different degrees. 

Prepare them ahead of time

Tell them where and when you are going. Take them to see the Church beforehand – go inside if possible – point out things so that they are familiar with the surroundings. Similar to when we took our children to visit relatives or friends we told them what they will see, whom they will meet and what is expected of them – good behaviour.

This means that when we were inevitably running around on Sunday morning trying to get to Mass on time there is no surprise as to where we are going and why. This creates clear expectations and I think the more we talked about it and prepared them for Mass, the better they were once we arrived.

Get up close and personal

At first we used to sit towards the back of the Church – for fear of disturbing the whole Mass for everyone! However, eventually we took them to sit towards the front and while this sounds crazy, we have found that the closer we sat, the more our kids paid attention and the more they asked questions.

Of course this didn’t always work and we weren’t blind to the need to quickly vacate the seat when needed e.g. when someone was inconsolable over some minor issue but needed some fresh air. For a few years we were happy to sit to the back as one of our children enjoyed getting close to the action a little too much! 

Point to Jesus

We used to tell them that we are going to visit Jesus so whenever we had the chance we would point out ‘Jesus’ – whether it be on the Crucifix or at the time of Communion – we would just say, “Jesus is with us now”. Sometimes we would get very quizzical looks but overall they showed a lot of interest in the 'spiritual'.

Take some colouring pencils and drawing books.

These are important especially if you have children of different ages – the pencils and books are so important for the younger ones and gives them something to do in between the movements and words. If you are fortunate enough to have one who is an ‘organiser’ they will ensure suitable pencils and books are packed ready to take to Mass.

After Mass

As we firmly believed faith must equate with fun then possibly our best strategy occurred after Mass – they would love to play with other children they met at Mass or we would organise to meet at a park or playground. Visiting friends or, as they got a little older, a quick breakfast somewhere was a sure winner/bribe to attend Mass.

God of the Mess

We were happy that we had tried our best to instil within our children an understanding that we need to be open to the peace, joy and power behind worship. However, if all went belly-up I would console myself with the knowledge that God is very present in the ‘mess’ of life and at the least would be happy with our efforts!

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Important dates:

18th July - Parent/Carer Information session - Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist (combined session) 5:30pm - School Hall

22nd July - Feast Day - St Mary Magdalen, Apostle of The Apostles

On the 22nd of July we celebrate the great Mary Magdalen, apostle of the apostles. The first witness to the resurrection, the one who stood firm at the foot of the cross. 

It is early in the morning when Mary Magdalen arrives at the tomb and notices Jesus has been taken away and runs to Simon Peter and the disciple Jesus loved. Later, she stands weeping by the tomb. First angels and then Jesus ask her ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ Kept from seeing, she believes Jesus to be the gardener. But Jesus calls her by her name: ‘Mary!’ This changes everything. What an incredible moment of transformation! From sorrow to joy, despair to delight. She brings news of his resurrection to the disciples. Her exultant announcement ‘I have seen the Lord’ is sacred to the memory of the church.

6 August - The Transfiguration of The Lord

Peter, James and John were covered by a cloud in the Transfiguration story, there are ‘clouds of heaven’ in Daniel’s vision, and cloud surrounds God in the psalm. The disciples were afraid when the cloud came upon them. They had been with Jesus, and now he had disappeared. I remember being in cloud at one time when climbing in the alps, and that put fear into me.

However clouds are not always physical. We can be in a ‘cloud’ when we are faced with a hard decision. How will we choose? Sometimes we can experience times of shadow, when a cloud hangs heavily over us. That too may be a difficult time.

22 August - Sacrament of Reconciliation

22 October - Sacrament of Eucharist