RE News
Religious Life of the School
Throughout the year the staff at St Joseph’s have a number of opportunities for their own faith formation. This week, staff participated in a retreat with a focus on one verse of our focus scripture for 2019:
“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
Matthew 28:19
Matthew’s Gospel concludes with Jesus commissioning his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). The term used by the Catholic Church to describe this activity is evangelisation. As a staff we spent time this week developing our own understanding of evangelisation and how it applies to our own lives and roles in our Christ Centred community. Over the coming weeks I will share with you aspects of our formation.
Phase 1 of the evangelisation process is Witness: to witness means to share God’s profound love for us with others.
‘Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses’…It is therefore primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelise the world…’
EVANGELII NUNTIANDI, no. 41
Who comes to know God’s profound love for us through your witness?
Prayer and Worship
Student Led Christian Prayer
Each Friday this term after first break, Year 6 lead classes in prayer with a focus on the Gospel for the coming Sunday.
Liturgical Season: Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Liturgical Season Colour: Green
This week the focus is on the Gospel of Luke 14: 1, 7-14
One day Jesus went to the house of a Pharisee to share a Sabbath meal. Many guests had been invited, and noticing how they rushed to take the best seats, Jesus said to them: “When you are invited to a meal, do not take the best place because a more important guest might be there. You will be embarrassed when the host asks you to move and give up your seat. Instead, always sit in the least important place, so that when you are moved to a better seat others will see how much you are respected.”
Then Jesus said, “Do not invite people to eat with you because you know they can invite you back. Be generous and invite those who cannot repay your kindness. You will be rewarded for your goodness at the end of time.”
At home we invite you to read the upcoming Gospel as a family and discuss our focus questions for the week.
What kind of reward do we receive for giving to others without expecting something in return?
What are some ways that we can put the words of Jesus into practice? How can we put the needs of others before ourselves?
Celebrating Liturgy and Sacraments
Father Day Prayer Celebration
Father's Day celebrates and honors fathers and celebrates fatherhood, paternal bonds and the influence of fathers in society. This Friday 30 August, Year 6 will lead the school in the Father’s Day Prayer Celebration at 9.15am in the school hall. All families and extended families are invited to our BBQ breakfast and afterwards to our Prayer Celebration as we honour and celebrate all fathers.
Did you know that Father’s Day originated with a celebration on the Feast of St Joseph, 19 March in Europe in the middle ages? How blessed we are to have St Joseph as our Patron Saint and a wonderful role model.
Sacraments
Sacrament of Confirmation
Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation commences this Saturday afternoon.. A reminder that the Sacrament of Confirmation will take place with Archbishop Christopher Prowse on the last Sunday of the holidays before Term 4 commences. Please pray for these children as they prepare to receive this special outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Enrol at http://bit.ly/sacraments2019
If you do not have a Google account you can use your child’s school account to register. Please contact Father Paul if you have any questions about the Sacrament of Confirmation at:
Confirmation Classes Year 6
5.15pm in the Learning Hub followed by Mass at 6.00pm in the Church
- Saturday 31 August
- Saturday 7 September
- Saturday 14 September
- Saturday 21 September
Sacrament of Confirmation
- Sunday 13 October 9am
Social Action & Justice
Action For Justice
After the outstanding success of our St Mary Mackillop Market Day, we only have $56 to raise to meet our goal of $2500 for our Global School Partner, Riamabana. Year 6 are working with Mrs McGee to make flavoured lip balms that contain only natural ingredients in sustainable packaging to sell in a pop-up stall to raise this final amount. More information coming soon!
Religious Identity and Culture
Ethos and Charism
This year one of our strategic priorities is to deepen our St Joseph’s identity. To deepen our St Joseph’s identify means to deepen our understanding of our Josephite Charism. The charism of the school expresses the assumptions, beliefs and values that our Christ-Centred community shares. As we work to deepen our St Joseph’s identity, I will share with you over the coming weeks some quotes from Saint Mary Mackillop, the founder of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.
Evangelisation and Faith Formation
As you read the beginning of this piece you may be asking yourself: Who is evangelisation for? Essentially evangelisation is for everyone, however people usually fall into one of these groups:
- Those who have not heard the message.
- Those living out the faith but needing deeper conversion.
- Those who once received the Gospel but have grown lukewarm or cold and may have abandoned the faith.
(Redemptoris Missio - On the permanent validity of the Church's missionary mandate- 33), 1990, John Paul II)
Last week I wrote about faith formation opportunities for parents. Has it been some time since you had the opportunity to participate in faith formation for yourself?
If you would like to access some formation opportunities please get in contact with me.
Melanie Stratford
Religious Education Coordinator