Education in Faith

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A

"The Lord is near to all who call upon him"

As we celebrate the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Scriptures invite us to reflect on the generosity, mercy and goodness of God. They challenge us to look beyond our human understanding of what is fair and to trust in the ways of a God whose love is abundant and whose mercy has no limits.

This Sunday’s readings are particularly meaningful as we come to the end of Term 3. They invite us to pause, give thanks for the journey we have shared, celebrate growth and achievements, and recognise the many ways God has been present in our lives.

“My thoughts are not your thoughts”

Isaiah 55:6–9

The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God's ways are greater than our ways:

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways.”

How often do we try to understand why things happen the way they do? We may wonder why someone else receives an opportunity we wanted, why a difficult situation has occurred, or why someone who has made a mistake is given another chance.

Isaiah reminds us that God sees what we cannot see. His wisdom is greater than ours, and His mercy is far beyond our understanding. We are called to seek the Lord, trust in Him and be willing to forgive.

As families, this can be a powerful reminder that forgiveness is not about deciding whether someone deserves another chance. It is about reflecting the generous mercy that God continually offers to us.

The Psalm reminds us that God is gracious, merciful, compassionate and good to all. Most importantly, “The Lord is near to all who call upon him.”

God is present in our celebrations and our struggles, in moments of success and moments when we feel disappointed. He walks beside us through every season of life.

“For to me life is Christ” ~ Philippians 1:20–24, 27

In the second reading, St Paul reminds us that his life is centred on Christ. He encourages the community to “live in a way that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”

For us, this means that our faith is not simply something we practise at Mass or during Religious Education. We live the Gospel through the ordinary moments of family life: the way we speak to one another, the way we respond when we are frustrated, the way we forgive, help, encourage, include and care for others.

The Workers in the Vineyard ~ Matthew 20:1–16

The Gospel presents us with the beautiful and challenging parable of the workers in the vineyard.

Jesus tells us about workers who are hired at different times throughout the day. At the end of the day, the landowner generously gives each worker the same wage. Those who worked from early morning become upset. They compare what they have received with what others have received and feel that they deserve more.

Their response is understandable from a human perspective.

We can all recognise the feeling:

• “That's not fair.”
• “Why did they get that?”
• “I worked harder.”
• “Why should they receive the same?”

Yet Jesus challenges us to think differently.

The landowner's generosity reminds us that God's love is not a limited resource. 

Someone else's blessing does not take away from ours. 

Someone else's success does not diminish our worth. 

Someone receiving forgiveness does not mean there is less forgiveness available for us.

God does not ask us to keep score.

Instead, He invites us to move from comparison to gratitude, from jealousy to generosity, and from competition to compassion.

This is a particularly valuable message for families and children. Our world can encourage us to compare achievements, possessions, abilities, opportunities and successes. Jesus reminds us that our value does not come from being better than someone else. Our value comes from being loved by God.

The Gospel therefore asks us to celebrate the goodness we see in others rather than allowing comparison to steal our joy.

Discussion starters:

• When have we found it difficult to understand why something happened?
• Why can forgiveness sometimes be difficult?
• How can we show God's mercy and forgiveness within our family?
• What might it mean to trust God when we do not have all the answers?
• What is one thing we are especially thankful for from Term 3?
• Where have we noticed God's goodness in our family?
• Who has supported, encouraged or helped us this term?
• What is one blessing we sometimes take for granted?
• In what ways have we grown during Term 3?
• What is one moment this term when we saw kindness or generosity in action?
• How can our family continue to live the Gospel during the school holidays?
• What is one quality we would like to grow in during Term 4?
• Why were the workers who arrived first unhappy?
• Have we ever compared what we received with what someone else received?
• How can comparing ourselves with others affect our happiness?
• How can we celebrate another person's success without feeling that we have received less?
• What does this Gospel teach us about God's generosity?
• How can we be more generous with our time, words, attention and kindness?

As we reflect on Term 3, we come to celebrate more than academic achievements. We celebrate the growth that cannot always be measured on a report: kindness shown to a friend, courage in facing a challenge, patience with a sibling, responsibility taken, forgiveness offered, or someone who quietly helped another person.

These are also signs of growth.

As we end this term, we are encouraged to look back with grateful hearts. Perhaps there have been moments of learning, friendship, achievement, challenge, perseverance or growth. Perhaps there were days when things did not go according to plan.

Whatever our experience, we can recognise that God has been walking with us.

Perhaps the greatest invitation from this Sunday's Gospel is simply to stop comparing and start giving thanks.

Every family has experienced its own journey this term. Some achievements may have been big and visible; others may have been quiet and personal. Some challenges may have been overcome easily, while others required patience and perseverance.

Rather than asking, “Who did better?” or “Who achieved more?”, let us ask:

“How have we grown?”“What have we learnt?”“Who has helped us?”“How have we helped someone else?”“Where have we seen God at work?”

During the holidays, families might take a few quiet moments together to share three things:

Give Thanks

What is one blessing from Term 3 that I am grateful for?

Celebrate

What is one thing I am proud of myself or another family member for achieving?

Look Forward

What is one quality I would like to develop in Term 4?

Be Generous

Who could I encourage, help or include during the holidays?

Family Blessing

Loving and Generous God, as we come to the end of Term 3, we pause to give you thanks.

Thank you for the gift of our families, our children, our teachers and our school community.

Thank you for the moments of joy and celebration, for the challenges that helped us grow, for the friendships we have formed, and for the people who have supported us along the way.

Help us to remember that your ways are greater than our ways.When we do not understand, teach us to trust you.When we are tempted to compare, teach us to be grateful.When we see another person's success, teach us to celebrate with them.When someone needs our help, give us generous hearts.

Bless our children during the holidays.Give them time to rest, play, laugh and reconnect with those they love.

Bless our families with peace, patience and joy.May our homes be places where kindness is spoken, forgiveness is offered,generosity is practised and love is freely shared.

As we prepare for Term 4, help us return refreshed in body, mind and spirit,ready to learn, ready to serve and ready to continue growing as people of faith, hope and love.

May we remember the words of the Psalm:

“The Lord is near to all who call upon him.” May God's loving presence remain with us throughout these holidays and always.

Sacramental Dates for 2026

Parents please be aware of the following dates and note them in your calendar:

• Grade 2 will receive First Reconciliation in Term 4 on Thursday, 19th November 2026.

Reconciliation: baptised Catholics in Year 2.

If you have any further questions regarding your child receiving these Sacraments, please feel free to contact me at the school.

God Bless  

Rozeta Ambrose ~ Religious Education Leader

rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 5/6 SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM – MINI VINNIES

MINI VINNIES ACTION – THE 2ND CHANCE APPEAL

Wow! Four car loads of items from our 2nd Chance Appeal have now been delivered to the Vinnies Op Shop in Dandenong. Some items were also delivered to the Lynbrook Community Centre for their book cupboard and for the playgroup they run.

Once again, a great effort by our SFS School Community and by our Mini Vinnies! They worked so hard counting and collecting the items from the Learning Spaces and then helping to load my car ready for delivery. 

Our SFS Mini Vinnies are truly inspirational. When I occasionally take up all their 2nd lunch playtime there is not a complaint in site. And when I apologise the response I get is “That’s okay Giuliana. Our time is going to a good cause.” Such a mature and truly caring attitude to have.

Today we once again collected items and our total for the 2nd Chance Appeal for each House is:

These points have also been added to our Community Spirit totals. Thank you to everyone for donating to our 2nd Chance Appeal.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT HOUSE POINTS

I would like to thank parents who have assisted with school activities such as Soup & Chat Night, selling icy poles, working in the uniform shop, Father’s Day breakfast and stall just to mention a few. The pages near the iPad in the office were full for the month of September with parent helpers working hard to gain points for their child’s house. Well done parents for joining in our House Competition!

As we are approaching the end of September, the total points for the month of September for parent assistance with school events which contribute to the Community Spirit House points is:

Parent contribution to House points will be reported each month and then added to the House totals. Thank you, parents!!!

Total House points for the end of Term 3 which includes the points from 2nd Chance appeal and parent assistance:

But remember next term we have our Christmas Appeal. Another opportunity to earn house points for your houses!

MINI VINNIES CONFERENCE TERM 3 – Wednesday September 16th 

I was so proud of the Mini Vinnies who attended the Conference. They did a great job with their SFS Mini Vinnies News Report on their chosen action: The Soup and Chat Night. They spoke with maturity and conviction in their action. I am sure they inspired many Mini Vinnies who were present from other schools to organise their own Soup & Chat Night and make a difference to people within our community who are homeless.

A few thoughts now from some of the Mini Vinnies who attended….

REFLECTIONS:

Hi, my name is Marushka, and this Wednesday, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Mini Vinnies Conference at Genazzano FCJ College. From the moment I stepped into the school, I knew today was going to be a fun, memorable day.

We started off the day by doing some enjoyable energisers. One of the activities we did was get into groups with students from other schools and use chatterboxes with questions related to our conference.

Then, we began listening to other schools' presentations on what actions they took this year to help and support other people. I was extremely inspired by some of the ideas the other Mini Vinnies came up with.

After a few presentations, we went out for lunch. Not only was the food delicious, but it was also very healthy! During our break, we got to interact with students and teachers from the other schools, giving us the chance to meet new people and make friends.

To wrap up the day, we participated in a fun activity where we pretended to be YouTubers advertising an action made by the Mini Vinnies. This task offered us the opportunity to be creative and socialise with the people in our group.

But of course, this whole day couldn't have been organised without help. I want to extend a massive thank you to Genazzano FCJ College for hosting us for this event, and to Tayla and Sarah for hosting the conference and bringing the energy. And especially a big thank you goes to Giuliana for organising our transport, running our meeting sessions so we could practice, and providing us with the opportunity to attend this exciting occasion.

Marushka, Year 6 Mini Vinnie 

Hi, I’m Aaliyah and I’m in year 6 and I have been a Mini Vinnie for the past two years. This Wednesday 10 of our Mini Vinnies got the opportunity to go to a Conference at Genazzano FCJ College. 

We started the day off by meeting Giuliana at school where she gave us a special notebook and pen to write notes about ideas we might have gotten at the Conference when we were listening to the 4 other schools. Once we arrived we went down stairs to put our bags away and when we went back upstairs we got show bags from THE St Vincent de Paul Youth Engagement Team and headed into the auditorium. 

To start us off we had Tayla and Sarah welcome everyone then we had a guest speaker, Margaret Gearon who did a prayer from Saint Francis of Assisi. Our first activity was a smile challenge where we had to stare at our partner while smiling and they had to try and keep a straight face and then they did the same to us. Then we had a chatterbox challenge that had a variety of questions like “If your friends were to describe you in 3 words what would they be?” After this we started the presentations where we got to see what other schools do as fundraisers to help Vinnies or even see how our schools do similar things to other schools. After morning tea, we had another guest speaker named Rebecca who talked to us about Soup Vans. Then we had more presentations and after lunch we did our presentation (which in my opinion we cooked in). 

To finish off our day we did an activity where everyone had a different colour and everyone from different schools worked together on making a VinniesTube to advertise something about Soup Vans, Christmas Appeal or anything related to Vinnies to perform to the other groups. 

As a conclusion I would like to thank Giuliana for organising this so that some Mini Vinnies including myself got the opportunity to participate in this amazing event. For any Mini Vinnies or anyone thinking about joining Mini Vinnies next year I would definitely recommend it. Not only do you get the chance to possibly go to the Conference but you also get to help people who are less fortunate. My favourite part of the day was……… EVERYTHING! Thank you again Giuliana.

Aaliyah, Year 6 Mini Vinnie

I wish all the Mini Vinnies a restful and safe holiday ready to come back to school in Term 4 for one of our biggest actions of the year, our SFS Christmas Appeal.

Giuliana

Mini Vinnies Facilitator 

gfaiola@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au