Religious Education and Social Justice
Season of Lent
Next week the season of Lent will commence on Ash Wednesday, a day on which Catholics traditionally resist eating between meals (fasting) and avoid eating meat (abstaining).
Catholics also attend Mass and receive the ashes on their forehead as a reminder of the dust from which God made us. Ashes also symbolize grief, in this case, grief that we have sinned and caused division from God.
Priests administer ashes during the Ash Wednesday Mass and all are invited to accept the ashes as a visible symbol of penance. The ashes are made from blessed palm branches, taken from the previous year's Palm Sunday Mass.
Lent is a forty day period of preparation for Easter, excluding Sundays. It reminds us of the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness before he took up his ministry.
During this time, he fasted and prayed. Lent is a time of self-denial and prayer for us as well. During this period, we are called to focus on becoming closer to Jesus by praying a little more, doing good deeds for others, going without something we like and giving generously to others in need.
Ash Wednesday is a good time for us to think about what we can do to grow closer to Jesus over the Lenten period. Unfortunately this year we are unable to attend Mass and receive the ashes due to the current restrictions in place. However, Fr John will deliver some blessed ashes to the school and small ceremonies will be conducted by each classroom teacher and ashes will be distributed to the children.
Project Compassion
We will be working together as a community during Lent to raise awareness of the work of Caritas Australia through supporting Project Compassion. Caritas Australia’s work is shaped by the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching.
The Catholic Social Teaching principles cover all spheres of life – the economic, political, personal and spiritual. The principles are inspired by the writings of the Pope and other Catholic leaders about social issues.
Project Compassion brings thousands of Australians together in solidarity with the world's poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. We are encouraged to focus on the following Catholic Social Teaching principles:
Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and therefore has inherent dignity. No human being should have their dignity or freedom compromised. The dignity of every person, independent of ethnicity, creed, gender, sexuality, age or ability, is the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching.
Caring for the poor is everyone’s responsibility. Preferential care should be shown to poor and vulnerable people, whose needs and rights are given special attention in God’s eyes.
During the season of Lent each prayer space in the Learning Communities will have a Project Compassion donation box. Children are invited to place some money in the boxes so that by the end of Lent we can make a donation to Caritas Australia to support the wonderful work they do in caring for people in Australia and other countries.
Sacrament Dates 2022
The proposed dates for our Sacraments in 2022 are as follows:
Sacrament of Confirmation (Year 6):
Sunday 3rd April 11:00 am
Sacrament of the Eucharist (Year 3):
Sunday 19th June 11:00 am
Sacrament of Reconciliation (Year 2):
Tuesday 18th October 6:30 pm
Jane Wilkinson
Religious Education Leader