MRE Newsletter Term 3 Week 8

Mission and Religious Education

Come Celebrate Mass on Friday 18 September Led by 2/3

Our next school Mass will be on Friday 18 September at 9.30am. Year 2/3M and 2/3C will be leading this Mass. Everyone is welcome and we especially encourage the families and friends of students in 2/3M and 2/3C to come and join us for this joyful celebration.

The Angelus Prayer

This term we have been praying The Angelus prayer in class using a slide presentation. Commencing Monday 14 September, 3 bells will play through the school sound system at 12pm. At the sound of the bells we will all stop and stand and pray The Angelus prayer together.

The Angelus is an ancient prayer that has been prayed for centuries, calling people to stop and remember God’s greatest gift of Jesus. It is founded in Scripture, specifically the events of The Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of God, Mary’s ‘Fiat’ acceptance of God’s Word and the incarnation.

Angelus, is the Latin word for "angel". This refers directly to the prayer's opening line: "The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary". This opening line from Luke 1:26-38, explains that the entire devotion celebrates God's messenger announcing that God's Word would take human nature.

The Invitation: The ringing of the Angelus bell (often at 6 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm) is an invitation to pause, stop what we are doing, and pray.

The Symbolism of Three:

The bell rings in three sets of three.

This reminds us of the three "Hail Marys" in the prayer. More importantly, the three sets reflect the three main moments that made the Incarnation possible:

1. Announcement - God’s Word Announced The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to conceive and bear a son, Jesus.

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

2. Fiat - God’s Word Accepted

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.

3. Incarnation - God’s Word Made Flesh

And the Word was made Flesh.

R. And dwelt among us.

At St Michael’s we will spend the first few weeks of Term 3 learning about The Angelus prayer, so that we will have a full and rich understanding of this important prayer from our faith tradition once we commence praying it in mid-Term 3. The Angelus will be prayed when students return to class after lunch (first break), at the start of Religious Education lessons. It is a call and response prayer. In the Angelus Prayer outlined below, the leader/s pray the words in plain font and others respond by praying the words in bold font.

The Angelus Prayer

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

*BOW/GENUFLECT*

And the Word was made Flesh.

R. And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord,

Thy grace into our hearts;

that, we to whom the Incarnation of Christ,

Thy Son, was made

known by the message of an Angel,

may by His Passion and Cross,

be brought to the glory of His Resurrection.

Through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Connecting With Our Parish

Parish Priest: Reverend Father Damien Locke, Parish Priest

Phone: 02 6785 1094

Email: manillaparish@armidale.catholic.org.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StMichaelsParishManilla

Weekend Mass Times

We encourage all of our families to celebrate Sunday Mass with our parish.

Manilla Parish Mass Times

1st Sunday of the month - Sunday 8.30am followed by morning tea

2nd, 3rd & 4th Sunday of the month - Saturday 5.00pm (5.30pm DST)

Attunga Mass Times

2nd & 4th Sunday of the month - Sunday 12 noon

Manilla Parish Confession/Reconciliation/Penance Times

30 minutes prior to weekend Masses or by appointment at any time with Fr Damien.

If You Would Like To Be Involved In The Life Of The Parish

We encourage all of our families to be involved in the life of the Parish. There are many ways to be involved including:

Altar Serving for those who have made their first Holy Communion
Reading at Mass
Taking up the Offertory Procession
Visitations
Odd Jobs

If you would like to be more involved in the life of our parish please contact Father Damien (02) 67851094 for further details.

Living Well, Learning Well

Living Well Learning Well is a student support framework for Catholic Schools in the Armidale Diocese. The framework is based on a universal and unconditional positive regard for children and young people and supports faith, learning, wellbeing and positive behaviour domains.

St Michael’s School Rules For Living

St Michael’s School Rules For Living encompass those in the Living Well Learning Well Framework.

Parents As Partners

Armidale Catholic Schools work with Realtalk to offer families free premium access to resources to help navigate difficult areas children face, particularly in the digital world, from a catholic perspective in an increasingly complex world. SIGN UP FOR FREE ACCESS HERE

Key Upcoming Dates

Friday 18 September: School Mass led by 2/3. Everyone is welcome.

“Let Your Light Shine” support others to let their light shine and remember “We Shine Brighter Together”

Jacquelene Cronin

Assistant Principal - Mission

St Michael's Primary School, Manilla

'Let Your Light Shine'

Issue 14 · 11 Sep 2026

In this issue