Liturgy

Community Liturgy

Thank you to the students in Campion House who prepared our Mass this morning.

Community Mass next Friday, 5 April, will be the last for Term 1. The liturgy is being prepared by students in Year 8. Families of Year 8 – as well as all families are welcome in these last weeks of Lent, leading to the great feast of Easter. 

New families are welcome to Community Liturgy! If you have not previously attended Mass or are not Catholic, just come to the Chapel at 8:00.  There are no reserved seats or special places and all the responses are on a PowerPoint.   

Community Liturgy summary

• Where:                 College Chapel
• Time:                     8:00 – 8:30 am
• When:                   every Friday in term time

Sacrament Program

FAQS

What happens in the Sacrament Program?

Children in Years 3, 4 and 6 prepare to celebrate, respectively, the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation in their own ‘home’ parish. 

How are the children prepared?

The Religion curriculum in Catholic schools includes a unit of work on the sacrament in the relevant year level. Once the students have completed the unit of work they are awarded a certificate, which is required by the Parish.

Some parishes provide additional classes for students attending Catholic schools.

Last, but not least, parents are the children’s first teachers in Faith. The program in the Perth Archdiocese is ‘family-focused, parish-based and Catholic school supported.’

When will the sacraments be celebrated?

Each parish is different; refer to your local parish for dates and times. Some information from local parishes is provided below – and you can find more detail on the College website.  

Why are there differences from parish to parish?

Each parish is a unique Faith community and the Parish Priest responds to the needs of the parish, within the context of the wider Church. No two parishes are the same – so there will be some variation in how the parish Sacrament Program is administered. As a regional College we are enriched by families from a diversity of parishes.

If I have a child in Year 3, 4 or 6, when should I enroll in my parish program?

Parents are reminded to enroll their children in parish Sacrament programs as soon as possible

Parish updates from Local Parishes

A brief summary of dates are provided below. For more detail, please check the College website or approach the Parish Priest or parish sacrament coordinator directly.

CITY BEACH: Holy Spirit

For families already enrolled in the program, the schedule is on the College website.

Further information: http://www.holyspiritcitybeach.com/

CLAREMONT: St Thomas Apostle

Celebration of the Sacrament

First Communion:            Sunday 5 May 9:30am

Confirmation:                    Friday 9 August 6:00pm

Reconciliation:                  Wednesday 23 OR Thursday 24 October after school

Further information:       Silvia.kinder@cewa.edu.au

COTTESLOE: St Mary Star of the Sea

Registration for all Sacraments

Further information:       cottesloe@perthcatholic.org.au

Registration Form:     

DOUBLEVIEW: Our Lady of the Rosary

Celebration of the Sacrament

Confirmation:                   Saturday 8 June at 6:00pm Mass

First Communion:           Saturday 21 September at 6:00pm

                                                Sunday 22 September at 10:00am

Reconciliation:                 Saturday 26 October at 5:00pm

Further information:       doubleview@perthcatholic.org.au

FLOREAT/WEMBLEY: St Cecilia’s/Our Lady of Victories

Upcoming dates:        Thank you to those families who have completed the enrolment process. For those who have yet to do so, please provide us with your nominated dates with regards to workshops, reconciliation, rehearsals, etc. Email the Parish Office.  Further info: http://www.floreatwembleyparish.org.au/resources/Floreat-Wembley-Parish-Sacramental-INFORMATION-PACK-2019.pdf.

NEDLANDS: Holy Rosary

Celebration of the Sacrament

Reconciliation:                  Term 2 – date to be finalised 

First Communion:            Sunday 16 June 2019,  8:45am Mass 

Confirmation:                    Saturday 3 August 2019, 6:00pm Mass 

Further information:       Nedlands@perthcatholic.org.au

SHENTON PARK: St Aloysius

Registration form

Available from parish website:

Celebration of the Sacrament

Reconciliation:                  Saturday 30 March, 2:00pm 

First Communion:            Sunday 30 June 2019,  9:30am Mass 

Confirmation:                    Sunday 22 September 2019, 9:30am Mass 

Further information:       http://shentonparkcatholics.org.au/parish-life/sacramental-program/

Contact: John Edwards 0438 527 050

SUBIACO: St Joseph’s

Expression of interest for all Sacraments

Contact: Bart Welten

sacraments@stjosephssubiaco.org.au

If you have any other questions about the Sacrament Program:

• Contact your Parish Priest or Sacrament Coordinator.
• Contact Mary-Anne Lumley, Parish Liaison  Mary-Anne.Lumley@cewa.edu.au or 9383 0513.
• College website
• Information for all parishes may be found on the archdiocesan website http://www.perthcatholic.org.au/Parishes_and_Mass_Times.htm?cms%2Erm=List

GOOD NEWS for the 4th Sunday in Lent

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

The reflection for this Sunday’s Gospel is part of a homily by Jesuit priest, Fr Richard Leonard. Fr Richard Leonard SJ is the Director of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting, is a member of the Australian Catholic Media Council and is author of Preaching to the Converted, Paulist Press, New York, 2006.

What is so shocking about Jesus' parable of the prodigal son is that, as the story goes, everything about the culture of first century Palestine set the boy up for a fall: he was greedy for his father's inheritance; we can assume he left the chosen land for the far country where he squandered his inheritance recklessly; he ended up eating with the unclean pigs; and then he had the temerity to return and ask for forgiveness. 

This was the least likeable kid in town. He did not deserve to be treated better than a slave. That's what makes the boy's father so magnificent in love. He was derided by his faithful older son for this folly of the heart and he would have been considered a fool by his neighbours. And this is the model of compassion Jesus gives us to emulate.

The context for this story, however, matters. The author of Luke 15 has Jesus responding to charges about the company he was keeping and especially those with whom he dined. In Jesus’ day, one only ate with intimates and Jesus shared his table with losers. Three parables are given as an explanation for this practice: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. In each case the shepherd, the woman and the father go to ridiculous lengths to save that which is lost.

Who was admitted to the table of Luke's community was a huge issue. It seems some things never change. The action and words of Jesus, however, lead us to conclude the table is here for those of us who know the frailty of our lives enough to recognise our hunger and thirst for the Bread of Life and the Cup of Salvation. Today's Gospel is not just about each of us being welcomed into the arms of our compassionate God, it is also a challenge for us to defend the right of the outcasts, the public sinners and the losers who seek to turn their life around to be welcomed here as well.

This is not just about the table of the Eucharist, either. To the degree that we help our country be more hospitable to the most defenceless, the poor and the displaced then we live out the power of this parable.

May [our Lenten Eucharists] help us live beyond our history, which so often colours those toward whom we can give the benefit of the doubt and show compassion and may it give us the courage and faith to be ridiculously generous, and magnificently loving. 

© Richard Leonard SJ