Family Educator’s Corner

Dear St Martha’s Families

I can’t believe that Thursday next week is already Christmas. As we all know, Advent is a time of waiting. Sometimes, instead of embracing the times of waiting, we worry or get anxious. Sometimes we end up rushing things, or picking up phones and start scrolling endlessly, to disengage, and we become paralysed as we see waiting as a discomfort. If we do this and try to ‘escape’ from the time of waiting, we often miss the beautiful and the good that God does in us during the waiting.

The good Lord baby Jesus will come in a more perfect way if we truly wait for Him and prepare our hearts for Him. As a priest reminded us, if our ordinary time and our Advent look the same, something is wrong. What can we do in this last week of Advent to prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesus? Maybe we can pray more, maybe we can pray a decade (or the full Rosary) every night with our families, maybe we can visit someone we know who might be lonely or in need of our help.

What does waiting do to us?

1. Waiting purifies our Faith

How we wait shapes us: it teaches us to trust God rather than control the outcomes. It purifies our faith from self-reliance and it anchors it in God’s providence. St Augustine stated that God uses the periods of waiting to work upon the soul.

“God, by deferring our hope, stretches our desire; by the desiring, stretches the mind; by stretching, makes it more capacious.”

St Cyprian of Carthage notes that life is full of challenges and difficulties, and patience is the key to ramining peaceful and happy as we work through them.

2. Patience conforms us to Christ

Jesus waited 30 years before He began His public ministry. During His passion, He reacted with patience and trust in the face of His persecutors.

3. We have to wait for God’s timing

As the Scripture reminds us, God’s times are not our times and His ways are not our ways. Psalm 27 (verse 14) reminds us: “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage.” Catholic hope is confidence in God’s promises, even when the fulfillment is delayed. God often works most powerfully when we can do nothing, and He creates more space for grace. God’s ways are slow, steady and perfect. Salvation history didn’t happen in a day.

4. Waiting can put our desires in the proper order

Sometimes we think that a certain thing is what’s best for us, while God has something even better in store for us. In this last week of Advent, may the Holy Spirit guide us to prioritise what’s most important and may we Trust in God’s ways and in His timing.

Here below are the details of our upcoming Family and Faith Initiatives:

Wednesday 17 December: Public Memorial for BONDI VICTIMS hosted by Archbishop Anthony Fisher in the presence of civic and faith leaders, St Mary’s Cathedral forecourt at 7:15pm

17-25 December: CHRISTMAS at the CATHEDRAL https://christmasatthecathedral.org.au/

Thursday 18 December from 6pm tp 7pm FREE online webinar https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/nsw-parentcarer-webinar-supporting-young-people-impacted-by-terror-events-registration-1977850017645

14-17 January 2026: Girls (aged 10 to 13 y.o.) Camp at Mulgoa

18-23 January 2026 Theology of the Body course with Christopher West at Benedict XVI Retreat Centre. Could you please email elena.razzoli@syd.catholic.edu.au if you’re interested in attending the Theology of the Body course.

23-25 January 2026: CCCCamps Toukley. This is being offered at the same time and location as the teenage camp, so something for all the family. This is the first time a family camp is offered.
- All food, accommodation and onsite activities included
- Families stay together in the own family room, allocated based on family size (teens will be separate at the teenage youth group camp)
- Mix of fun activities and faith based activities provided
- Mass, confession, adoration offered
- 2 hours free time a day for families to relax or explore the beautiful local area
- Please advertise in your communities or come along with your family
- Book here: https://www.trybooking.com/DGVGX

Saturday 28 February 2026: Archdiocese of Sydney’s Women Lenten Retreat (option 1), Here you can watch a short video about this year’s Women Lenten Retreat, one of the St Martha’s mums has been attenbding it yearly since 2021, and some former St Martha’s students have also been attending it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRNDZ7WNprw

Saturday 14 March 2026: Archdiocese of Sydney’s Women Lenten Retreat (option 2)

Resources for Parents and Carers to Support Families After Traumatic Events

CCSP has collated resources and information for parents and carers that aim to support and assist families when caring for children and young people after a traumatic community event such as the recent Bondi Beach attack. Please find these links here on our website: https://www.ccsp.catholic.edu.au/supporting-children-after-traumatic-community-events . These include a link to a free webinar for parents and carers run by headspace National, which you can register for here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/nsw-parentcarer-webinar-supporting-young-people-impacted-by-terror-events-registration-1977850017645

EMMAUS: Spiritual Accompaniment for Women

Applications are open for the 2026 cohort of Emmaus: Spiritual Accompaniment for Women. You can click here for more info: https://catholicwomensnetwork.org/emmaus/

I pray everyone has a most blessed Christmas, and a great holiday break filled with joy, rest and a lot of wonderful quality time with your loved ones.

With gratitude and prayers,

Mrs Elena Razzoli

Family Educator

St Martha’s Catholic Primary School, Strathfield

Parish News

Christmas Mass Times