From the Religious Education Coordinator's Desk
OUR LADY HELP of CHRISTIANS
The feast day of Mary Help of Christians has been celebrated in Australia since 1844.
The infant church in Australia had a special reason for turning to Mary. No priests were sent to the colony in the early days and Mass was not allowed except for one brief year until 1820. It was largely the Rosary in those early days that kept the faith alive.
Catholic Australia remained faithful to Mary and was the first nation to choose her under the title Help of Christians, as principal Patroness.
When Australia became the first country to have Mary Help of Christians as Patroness, it became the first country to have a mother-cathedral under the same title, which is St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.
In our Prayer for Our Lady Help of Christians, the Church prays that through Our Lady’s intercession, God will “grant wisdom to our leaders and integrity to our citizens”, so that “under her protection Australia may be granted harmony, justice and peace”.
AND SO WE PRAY...
Almighty God, deepen in our hearts
our love of Mary Help of Christians.
Through her prayers and under her protection,
may the light of Christ shine over our land.
May Australia be granted harmony, justice and peace.
Grant wisdom to our leaders and integrity to our citizens.
Bless especially the men and women
of the Australian Defence Force and their families.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
Mary Help of Christians, pray for us.
200 YEARS of CATHOLIC EDUCATION
How you can help in the celebrations!
Calling on ex-students - parents, grandparents and great grandparents.
We will be putting together a display for the Library, showing education over the last 200 years. You can help by providing us with any artefacts that you may still have from your school days - uniforms, hats, exercise books, assessments (tests), photos, anything!
Please send in items to the school office with your name on any memorabilia. We will scan items where we can and send the originals home.
MORE THAN A WORD - RECONCILIATION TAKES ACTION
National Sorry Day 2021 falls this year on Wednesday 26 May and is a day when we pause to remember the Stolen Generations of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It leads us into the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation and National Reconciliation Week which is held each year between 27 May and 3 June.
The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2021 is More Than a Word. Reconciliation Takes Action.
Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
For the Catholic Church in Australia, this week offers us a time to be fully the Church that God dreams for us - a Church in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make their own unique contribution and that contribution is joyfully received by others.
And so we pray ...
Loving God, you call us to work together to be one people.
May we work together to bring hope and healing to all who live here in Australia.
Help us to show compassion and justice to all, especially our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters, whom we have treated so badly in the past.
May we walk forward in a spirit of healing and reconciliation so that all may live with dignity and respect.
We make our prayer in Jesus’ name.
Amen
Come Holy Spirit
Fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created – and you will renew the face of the earth.
Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same, Holy Spirit, help us to desire what is right and always to rejoice in your consolation.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
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Sunday 16 May The Ascension of the Lord  |
Today we stand awestruck, watching Jesus ascend into the clouds of heaven, there to be enthroned at God’s right hand. Today we are overwhelmed by the divinity of the one whom we have known in his humanity. Amidst shouts of joy and exaltation, Christ is enthroned in heaven in both his divinity and his glorified humanity. Now he is present with us in a new way, in a new body, in the church. He teaches through its apostles and evangelists; he ministers through its prophets and pastors. Through us he continues to heal and to comfort; to forgive and to include. We have his power, the same power with which he performed marvels when he walked the earth. We have each other; together we make up the new body of Christ. © Dianne Bergant CSA |
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Sunday 23 May Petecost Sunday  |
Pentecost brings the Easter season to a close, celebrating the fullness of the Spirit and the great gathering of nations. The plan of salvation has been brought to its conclusion. The Risen Lord is exalted in his rightful place next to God and has sent his own Spirit to fill the earth with God’s power. The world is charged with divine energy; it needs but a spark to ignite it with life and excitement. © Dianne Bergant CSA |