Education in Faith

Sacrament of Confirmation

On Saturday, 29th August, 23 Year 6 students received the Sacrament of Confirmation.

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.

Confirmation: Year 6 Catholics who have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation and Eucharist.

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

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Be a Watchman of Love: Listen, Speak and Reconcile”

The readings for this week the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time invites us to consider what it truly means to care for one another as members of God’s family. They challenge us not to remain silent when someone is heading in the wrong direction, but also remind us that speaking the truth must always be motivated by love, responsibility and a desire for reconciliation.

In the first reading, God appoints Ezekiel as a “watchman” for the people. 

A watchman has a responsibility to remain alert and to warn others when danger is approaching. Ezekiel is not asked to condemn people; he is asked to care enough to speak. His responsibility is to give others the opportunity to change direction.

This challenges us to ask: 

Do I care enough about others to speak when something is wrong?

It is often easier to remain silent, avoid an uncomfortable conversation or simply say, “It’s not my problem.” Yet Christian discipleship calls us to look beyond ourselves. Sometimes love requires courage.

The Responsorial Psalm gives us the key to approaching this responsibility:

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

Before we can help others to listen, we must first learn to listen to God ourselves. A hardened heart becomes unwilling to hear, understand or change. A listening heart remains open to God's wisdom and to the needs of others.

St Paul, in the second reading, brings everything together with a simple but profound message: 

“Your only debt should be the debt of mutual love.” 

Love is the fulfilment of God's law.

This means that when we correct someone, we should not do so to make ourselves feel superior or to prove that we are right. We speak because we love. We listen because we love. We forgive because we love. We seek reconciliation because we love.

The Gospel gives us very practical guidance. Jesus says that when someone hurts or sins against us, we should go to that person directly and speak privately. If the person listens, the relationship can be restored. If the problem cannot be resolved, others may be invited to help.

Jesus' approach is remarkably different from the way conflict can often unfold today. Instead of gossiping, posting, excluding, blaming or gathering others against someone, Jesus says: go directly to the person. The goal is not humiliation; it is restoration.

And then Jesus gives us one of the most 

beautiful promises in Scripture:

“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Jesus is present when people genuinely gather in his name. He is present when a family works through a disagreement. He is present when friends choose forgiveness over resentment. He is present when a community chooses kindness over gossip. He is present when a parish community seeks unity rather than division.

The three readings could be summed up in three words: LISTEN ~ SPEAK ~ LOVE.

Listen – Keep your heart open to God's voice.Speak – Have the courage to address difficulties honestly and respectfully.Love – Let everything you say and do be motivated by the desire to restore relationships and build community.

Being a Christ like person does not mean avoiding difficult conversations. It means learning to have those conversations with compassion, humility and courage.

Perhaps the greatest challenge of this Sunday is not “Who needs to change?” but rather:

“How is God asking me to change the way I listen, speak and respond to others?”

Discussion Starters

1. What does it mean to genuinely care about someone?
2. Have you ever had someone tell you something difficult because they cared about you? How did it make you feel?
3. Why can it sometimes be easier to remain silent than to speak up?
4. What is the difference between helpful correction and criticism?
5. When does “minding your own business” become a failure to care for someone?
6. What might a “hardened heart” look like in everyday life?
7. What things can stop us from listening—to God, to our parents, to teachers or to our friends?
8. Can we really listen to God if we are unwilling to listen to other people?
9. What might God be asking you to listen to more carefully at this time in your life?
10. Is listening an act of love? Why?
11. Why do you think God describes Ezekiel as a watchman?
12. What responsibilities come with being a member of a community?
13. Imagine you see a friend doing something that could hurt themselves or someone else. What should you do?
14. What could happen if everyone in a community chose to remain silent when something was wrong?
15. How can we speak up without making someone feel attacked or humiliated?
16. Is it possible to tell someone an uncomfortable truth and still be kind?
17. Paul says that our greatest “debt” is the debt of love. What do you think this means?
18. How does love change the way we respond when someone makes a mistake?
19. Which is harder: loving someone who agrees with you or loving someone who disagrees with you? Why?
20. Can you disagree with someone and still treat them with dignity?
21. What would a school community look like if everyone tried to repay their “debt of love” every day?
22. Why does Jesus tell us to speak to the person privately first?
23. Why can gossip make a problem worse?
24. What is the difference between seeking justice and seeking revenge?
25. Why might asking another trusted person to help resolve a conflict sometimes be wise?
26. What does it mean to “win over your brother or sister” rather than simply “win” an argument?
27. When should we seek help from a trusted adult when a conflict or harmful behaviour is occurring?
28. How can social media make conflict more difficult to resolve?
29. What would Jesus' teaching look like in a group chat, classroom or friendship group?
30. Is it always loving to tell someone the truth? What makes the difference?
31. Can silence ever be unloving?
32. Is forgiveness possible without first acknowledging that something was wrong?
33. Why do we sometimes want other people to change before we are willing to examine ourselves?
34. Which is more difficult: speaking the truth with love or hearing the truth with humility?
35. What happens to a community when people are afraid to have honest conversations?
36. How might the world be different if people followed Jesus' approach to conflict rather than responding with anger, gossip or revenge?
37. What do you think Jesus means when he says, “there am I in the midst of them”?
38. When have you experienced God's presence through another person?
39. How can prayer help people resolve disagreements?
40. What does it mean to make Jesus the centre of a relationship or community?

Prayer

Loving God, help us to have hearts that listen and words that heal. Give us the courage to speak the truth, but always with kindness and love. Help us to forgive, to seek reconciliation and to care for those around us. May we remember that whenever we gather in your name, you are there in our midst.

Guide us to be people of peace, courage and compassion.  Amen.

Taking Your Prayers with Me on Pilgrimage

Please feel free to write your prayer and place it in a sealed envelope at the Front Office.

Please submit your intentions by Thursday, 17 September 2026. It would be a privilege to carry the prayers of our students, families and staff with me and remember them in prayer as we visit sacred places connected with the early Church, the Apostles and the journeys of St Paul.

God Bless  

Rozeta Ambrose ~ Religious Education Leader

rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 5/6 SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM – MINI VINNIES

MINI VINNIES FURTHER ACTION – THE 2ND CHANCE APPEAL

Already I have delivered a car load of items from our 2nd Chance Appeal to the Vinnies Op Shop in Dandenong and another today to the Cranbourne Vinnies. 

We will continue our 2nd Chance appeal until the end of term. Make sure items are placed in your house coloured basket and Mini Vinnies will give points for the donated items. Please make sure that all donated items are in good condition.

Today we once again collected items and our total for each House:

These points have also been added to our Community Spirit totals.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT HOUSE POINTS

Total House points so far:

MINI VINNIES SOUP & CHAT NIGHT

Half of the money donated on Soup & Chat Night will be used to purchase items to make Rough Sleeper Packs. Mini Vinnies were busy today decorating and writing words of hope on the bags they will use to put the items in for the rough sleeper packs they will pack next week. 

Today we also donated the other half of the money raised to the Vinnies Program ‘Gift a Night off the Streets’. 

We are proud to inform you that with the money Mini Vinnies raised we were able to sponsor a night of accommodation for 6 people living on our streets. 

An awesome effort by the Mini Vinnies to have raised so much money at our Soup & Chat Night.

MINI VINNIES CONFERENCE TERM 3 – Wednesday September 16th 

The ten Conference Mini Vinnies worked hard today on their presentation of the Soup & Chat Night. They have decided to do an SFS Mini Vinnies News Report. Scripts were written, slides with photos to support their news report completed and now we just need to practice. We are very excited to present our news report to the other Mini Vinnies at the Conference.

Giuliana

Mini Vinnies Facilitator 

gfaiola@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au