Education in Faith

Sacramental News 2024

To assist us with the administration and preparation of Sacraments for 2024, we ask you to fill in the Operoo form, to indicate if your child will be receiving a Sacrament next year in 2024.

Junior and Senior parents ACCEPT or DECLINE this invitation.

Dates for Sacraments will be published in our school newsletter.

Reconciliation: baptized Catholics in Year 1, 2 and 3 or above.

Next year in 2024, children in:

• Grade 2 and Grade 3 will receive Reconciliation.
• Grade 3 and Grade 4 will receive Eucharist.
• Grade 6 will receive Confirmation.

Reconciliation: baptized Catholics in Year 2 and 3.

Eucharist: baptized Catholics in Year 3 and 4 or above who have celebrated their Reconciliation.

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 do not hesitate to contact me at the school.

Yours Sincerely,

God Bless

Rozeta Ambrose

REL Co-ordinator

rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

Second week of Advent - Year B

Gospel Reflection

This week’s gospel captures beautifully the spirit of preparation and waiting that characterises the liturgical season of Advent. John the Baptist is portrayed as fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah and others as the one who comes before the Lord preparing the way. He is a messenger, sent by God to ‘do the groundwork’ preparing the people for the coming of the Christ. Although this passage is used during Advent as preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we know that John was the cousin of Jesus and the time of preparation was immediately prior to Jesus’ public ministry.

John appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism for forgiveness of sins. It may seem odd to think of going to the wilderness to try to influence people. Today we might think that the city centre or street corner might be the better venue to preach something. What is it about the wilderness? Reference is made to the wilderness several times in scripture. It is used as a place of preparation and encounter with God. The wilderness referred to was a vast expanse of emptiness on the eastern side of the Jordan River. 

Historical Context – A Baptism of Forgiveness

The understanding that we generally have of baptism today has not always been the case. At the time of John and Jesus, the Jewish tradition used baptism as a ritual bath to cleanse a person who had become ritually unclean and make them able to participate in religious rituals. What John was preaching was a baptism for the forgiveness of sins – a new interpretation at the time. He emphasised that repentance was essential for forgiveness and that there needed to be a conscious returning to God. John’s baptism was a symbolic act to signify the willingness of the person to renounce their sins and make a more conscious return to God.

Gospel Focus – Preparing the Way

The gospel passage quotes the prophet Isaiah and casts John the Baptist in the role of fulfilling the prophecy of the voice that cries in the wilderness, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord’. The description of John in camel-skin and eating locusts and wild honey is designed to align him with Elijah, the great prophet of Jewish history. In a very short and sharp passage the gospel ties the coming of Jesus to the expectation of a messiah that has run through Jewish history and been foretold by the great prophets.

Discussion Starters

• Who is the prophet in today’s Gospel who spent time in the desert?
• What did he do?
• John the Baptist told people they must be sorry for the things they had done wrong so they could be ready to meet Jesus.
• What things do we need to be sorry for?
• How can we change our ways so that we can be ready to meet Jesus?
• Why would John have gone out into the wilderness to conduct his ministry?
• What do you think people found attractive about John’s baptism of forgiveness?
• Why is the first sentence of the passage significant, given it is the very first sentence of the gospel of Mark?
• What would followers of John have thought about his prediction of someone coming after him?
• How can we continue to prepare the way for the Lord?
• Can you recall a time when you have had to consciously prepare yourself for what you were about to do?
• Why is the wilderness an appropriate image for preparation?
• Why does the gospel writer go to such lengths to associate John with the prophecies of history?
• How does this gospel passage relate to the Advent season?
• How can we continue to prepare the way for the Lord?

News from St Kevin's Parish Church

ATTENTION - SFS needs Altar Servers 

If your child has received their First Holy Communion, you are requested to kindly enrol them at St. Kevin’s Parish to support our school community when celebrating mass during school hours.

ENROLMENT FORMS - please note that there are new enrolment forms available in the foyer. As part of our Safeguarding Review and Risk Assessment and to comply with the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne Safeguarding Guidelines, all current Altar servers will need to complete the new enrolment forms and return them to the Parish Office. Completed forms may also be sent by email to HamptonPark@cam.org.au

GRADE 5/6 SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM – MINI VINNIES

COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD POINTS

House points for this term so far are:

Well done to Bosco who got the most points last week, 241! Remember we have the rest of this term to go so one of the other houses may take the lead. Students can get points for demonstrating our PBL Values especially Kindness: include others in the Learning Space, which is our focus at the moment. 

Students can also get points for the Christmas gifts and hamper items they bring in.

MINI VINNIES CHRISTMAS APPEAL

A big thank you to all the families who have donated Christmas hamper items and bought presents for our giving trees. Collecting the items definitely kept the Mini Vinnies busy today!! LS3 especially have brought in a large amount of hamper items. Well done LS3!

Just a reminder to please ensure any food items brought in a within the best before date or used by date. Unfortunately today we had a number of items that were out of date and we had to throw out.

This year all of the items we collect will go to the St Vincent de Paul Society Hampton Park, which is based at St Kevin’s, who will then distribute the items to people in need within our community. All items are due at school by Tuesday December 12th as the St Vincent de Paul Conference will be at school to collect the items on Wednesday December 13th. Mini Vinnies will do one last collection on Tuesday next week.

On behalf of the Mini Vinnies I would like to thank you for your support. SFS always donates kindly to any of the appeals the Mini Vinnies organise. And remember House points will be given which will go towards the House Community Spirit Award, which will be presented to the House that has demonstrated their willingness to assist others less fortunate.

Giuliana & SFS Mini Vinnies