Catholic Identity
MOTHERS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS LITURGY
We welcome our St. Mary's Community to join us for our 2025 Mothers and Special Friends Liturgy next Friday the 9th of May at 9am - St. Mary's Church.
A big thank you to our PnF, particulary Marisa Wood and Roxy Ogier for organising our Mother's Day Brekky from 7:30am - 9am. Thank you also to Woolworths Mentone, Bakers Delight Hampton, Hampton Fruit Centre and some amazing local businesses who are giving away some wonderful prizes!
Thank you also to Wendy Smith who will be sharing a special reflection on motherhood as part of our Liturgy. Wendy is mother to Charles (Prep), Thomas (Year 6) and past students Bella and Jack.
We look forward to a wonderful morning celebrating all our loving mothers and mother figures. We invite you to join us in the singing of Welcome Hymn, "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever".
TERM 2 SACRAMENTS:
At the end of last term, a letter to families regarding our upcoming Sacraments have been shared via Nforma. Please kindly refer to the forms for further information and kindly notify your attendance using the Nforma platform. Please note, Sacramental Stoles will be sent home next week.
CONFIRMATION
The Sacrament of Confirmation Mass will take place on Thursday, 29th May at 5:00pm and be held at Holy Spirit and Saint Francis Parish, Sandringham (Sacred Heart Church).
A Parent Information Session will be held on Tuesday 20th May, 3:00pm - 3:30pm (School Hall). A requirement of the Sacramental Program is for a parent to attend the Parent Session.
In preparation for the Sacrament, students will be completing a Confirmation workbook as part of their RE learning and will take part in a Student Reflection Day on Tuesday 20th May (in class).
A gentle reminder that for your child to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, your child must have been baptised in the Roman Catholic Church. It is arequirement that all Baptismal Certificates are to be sightedprior to the Sacramental Mass. We kindly request families to please share a copy of their child’s Baptismal certificates by Monday 5th, May. Thank you to those who already have.
Please email Baptism Certificates to vdelcastillo@smhampton.catholic.edu.au
RECONCILIATION
The Sacrament of Reconciliation will take place on Friday, 20th June at 2:00pm and be held at St. Mary's Church.
A Parent Information Session will be held on Thursday, 12th June 3:00pm - 3:30pm (School Hall). A requirement of the Sacramental Program is for a parent to attend the Parent Session.
In preparation for the Sacrament, students will be completing a Reconciliation workbook as part of their RE learning and will take part in a Student Reflection Day on Thursday, June 12th (in class).
Year 4 and 5 families
If there are any families whose child was not able to attend last year's Sacrament and wish for them to participate this year, please contact me via email at vdelcastillo@smhampton.catholic.edu.au. For children to receive their First Eucharist in Term Three, they will need to have received the Sacrament of Reconciliation (and Baptism) first.
Prayer for Pope Francis Who Has Returned to the Father
We continue to pray for the soul beloved Pope Francis who passed away on Easter Monday. In classrooms, we lit candles as part of daily morning prayer and prayed together:
Loving and merciful God,
today we lift our hearts in sorrow and gratitude,
as You have called Your servant, Pope Francis,
home to Your eternal embrace.
We thank You for the gift of his life and his faithful service —
for his humility, courage, and deep love for the poor and the forgotten.
He showed us the living face of the Gospel
and led Your Church with compassion and hope.
Receive him now into the joy of Your Kingdom.
May Your Holy Spirit continue to guide Your Church,
and may we, still on this earthly journey,
remain faithful to Christ as he was—
in truth, in love, and in service.
Through Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, we pray.
Amen.
As a school community, I invite us all to pray for the Church as they prepare for the upcoming Conclave schedulue to begin on Wednesday, May 7.
May the election of a new Pope continue to bring the light of Christ to the world.
Together we pray,
Creator of all that was, is, and is to come—
You alone know the heart of the one
You have chosen as the next successor to Saint Peter.
Reveal Your will to the College of Cardinals.
Open their hearts to Your inspirations.
Open our hearts to receive, with faith and obedience,
the one whom You will raise up to sit on the Chair of Saint Peter.
May he be a man of deepest compassion,
a man of profound faith and hope,a man whose charity shines forth,
permeating the darkness of this world with the light of Christ.
Amen
GOSPEL REFLECTION
John 21:1-19 (short form:John 21:1-14)
Jesus appears to the disciples for a third time after his Resurrection and shares a meal with them.
Today's Gospel describes what we can easily imagine as a picnic on the beach. Just as Jesus' miracle at the wedding feast at Cana blesses the love between man and woman celebrated in the sacrament of marriage, Jesus' attentiveness to food and mealtimes raises the possibility that our meal gatherings can be sacred times. In families, the domestic church, our meals together are everyday opportunities to gather and recall Jesus' presence with us.
As in the Eucharist, we bring the gifts that God has given us, which have been prepared especially for our Mass, and at our family meals we share gifts that God has given to us and that we have worked together to prepare. This includes the food on the table and also the people who gather around the table. We ask God to bless these gifts and to be present among us in all of our interactions.
Consider a recent family meal: What food was served? Where did the food come from? Who prepared the food? Who served the food? Was mealtime a happy time? Why or why not? Observe that today's Gospel tells about a meal that Jesus shared with his disciples after his Resurrection.
Read aloud today's Gospel, John 21:1-14. Reflect on the Gospel reading using the questions above. Talk about ways in which this meal that Jesus shared with his disciples might remind us of the meal we share at the Eucharist. You might choose to plan a special meal together as a family, encouraging each person to participate in the meal preparation. Pray together that Jesus will make his loving presence known in your family life.
Pray together the Lord's Prayer (Our Father).
Light and blessings to all,
Veronica Del Castillo
(Religious Education Leader)