RE News
Religious Life of St Joseph’s

Today we celebrate Ash Wednesday which marks the change in our Liturgical Season from Ordinary Time to Lent. In this season, we prepare ourselves to celebrate the high point of our Christian life, Easter. Each year, the readings for Ash Wednesday are the same. They call us to a change of heart and teach us about the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. This year Pope Francis has extended a special invitation to pray for peace in the Ukraine.
Project Compassion

This week through the Lenten act of Almsgiving we have commenced raising money for Caritas Australia. Jesus teaches that giving alms means making the needs of others our own, especially the needy of our world. They are all around us: children and the old, the sick and the suffering, families and individuals, next-door neighbours and people in lands faraway. One way that we can participate in almsgiving is through Project Compassion.
Project Compassion is Caritas Australia's annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal. Millions of Australians come together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. Donation boxes have been placed in all classrooms and at the front offices of the main school and ELC. We would encourage parents to support their children in the act of Almsgiving by providing them with donations every week for the next 5 weeks. Project Compassion boxes can be collected from the Front Office if there are any families who would like to participate in their own homes.
A Lent for Our Common Home

Week 1- Food
During this first week of Lent the focus is on food. You could:
- Enjoy one meat free day a week
- Buy locally sourced food
- Grow your own herbs and vegetables
We pray for those who do not have enough to eat and those farmers who are experiencing poor harvests.
Melanie Stratford
Religious Education Coordinator
melanie.stratford@cg.catholic.edu.au