RE News
Prayer and Worship
Saint Mary Mackillop Feast Day 8 August
Monday 8 August is the Feast Day of Saint Mary Mackillop. Mary was born in 1842. She was a fine teacher, the founder of schools and a religious order. Saint Mary Mackillop chose St Joseph because he was humble and got the job done. She devoted her whole life to following Jesus and helping others, especially poor children. Many people who knew her could tell she was extraordinary. Mother Mary radiated God’s love and energy to everyone she met. Mary and her companion Fr Julian Tenison Woods dreamed of a new kind of school, open to anyone whether their family was rich or poor. Children from poorer families would be provided with clothing and school supplies for very little cost or for free. They could learn enough reading, writing and maths so they could get out of poverty and have a better life.
When Mary wrote the lessons and timetable for her schools, she made sure there was time for prayers and hymns, which in those days were not written in English, but Latin. But she made sure these weren’t too long so that the children wouldn’t find prayer time too difficult or too boring. Her pupils must have been grateful for that! Her life wasn’t always easy and she had lots of problems sometimes, but she was happy because she firmly believed in God and that her true home was not here on earth but with God in heaven. She was very cheerful and didn’t want her sisters going around with frowns on their faces.
St Mary Mackillop is currently our only Australian saint. When I was in Rome a few years ago I was privileged to be taken on a tour by our own Archbishop Christopher Prowse to where Mary lived in 1873 when she travelled to Rome to meet with Pope Pius IX. Saint Mary Mackillop travelled to Rome to gain official approval of her religious order, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart. As I walked through the streets that she would have walked I could not help but be in awe of how challenging it must have been for her and how determined she must have been to make that journey at that time.
Student Prayer Focus
As we strive to deepen our St Joseph's identity, our Staff Prayer Focus in Week 2 and 3 prepares us for our St Mary Mackillop Feast Day on Monday Week 4, through a Saint Mary Mackillop Novena. A Novena is a type of prayer that consists of 9 days of prayer and is often prayed in preparation for a feast day or for a specific intention. Through praying each day of this Novena we are invited to reflect on various qualities of St Mary MacKillop. The Novena can be prayed individually or in a group each day. The aim is to prepare ourselves and our students for our St Mary Mackillop Feast Day through prayer and reflection while deepening our understanding of our Josephite Charism. You can access the novena at the following links:
Sacraments
Sacrament of Confirmation
Students in Year 6 can now be enrolled in the Sacrament of Confirmation at the link below. Please add the Sacrament of Confirmation and preparation session dates and times to your calendars.
Please enrol at http://bit.ly/sjosacraments2022
Please contact Father Paul if you have any questions about the Sacrament of Confirmation at: paul_nulley@hotmail.com
| Confirmation Parent and Child Formation (Year 6) |
5:30pm-6:30pm in the Parish Centre Thursday 25 August Thursday 8 September |
| Sacrament of Confirmation Retreat Day | Wednesday 14 September school hours |
| Sacrament of Confirmation | Wednesday 14 September @ 6:30pm |
Social Action & Justice
Next Monday on our Feast Day of Saint Mary Mackillop, we will hold a free clothes day for a gold coin donation to contribute to the purchase of plants to surround the magnificent new statue of St Joseph which has been installed at the church. Our usual market day to raise money for our Global School Partner, Riambana has been placed on hold and we will raise funds to support this partnership later in the year.
Yours in Christ,
Melanie Stratford
Religious Education Coordinator