Faith and Mission

At the end of Semester 2 several of our Year 11 students participated in a Pilgrimage to Cape York. This program took participants out of their daily routines, allowing them to connect with Indigenous cultures, deepen relationships and reflect on their role in seeking justice. Students highlighted moments of prayer, community, and learning about social justice as transformative experiences.

For a closer look at their journey, I invite you to watch the Year 11 Pilgrimage Program Video clip below.

Janeen Murphy

Deputy Principal Faith and Mission

Community Mass

Community Mass next Friday, 29 November, will be the last for 2024, and all are invited! As we are approaching the four-week season of Advent, we will bless the Advent wreath and light the first candle. See below for a short Advent reflection by Melbourne Jesuit, Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ.

Everyone is welcome at this liturgy, whether you are a regular or have never previously attended a Mass. The liturgy begins in the Chapel at 8:00am and concludes at 8:30am, followed by good coffee and conversation in the Circle of Friends Café.

If you have any questions about Community Mass, please contact Mary-Anne Lumley:

mary-anne.lumley@johnxxiii.edu.au

Sacraments

Do you have a child in Years 2, 3 or 5?

Parishes have begun enrolling for their 2025 sacrament programs. Children must be enrolled in a parish program, even though they will be prepared for the sacraments in their Religion classes.

Each Parish has their own unique Sacrament program. Information from from some local parishes, including Nedlands and Subiaco is provided below.

NEDLANDS – HOLY ROSARY

Enrolment evening for parents/carers

Friday 7 February, 6:00pm.

Parish Centre, 45-47 Tyrell Street, Nedlands.

nedlands@perthcatholic.org.au

SCARBOROUGH – IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

Enrolments close: second week in February.

See here for enrolment information and for details on each of the sacraments.

SUBIACO – ST JOSEPH’S

Expressions of interest for the 2025 sacrament program close at the beginning of February.

Further information here.

elaine.eng@stjosephssubiaco.org.au

Parents often have questions about the Sacrament program, so don’t be afraid to ask:

Your parish priest or Sacrament Coordinator
The Archdiocesan website: Parishes & Mass Times
Mary-Anne Lumley mary-anne.lumley@johnxxiii.edu.au 08 9383 0513

Advent & Christmas

Many families seek out ways to meaningfully celebrate the season of Advent and Christmas together.

Some parishes local to the College have shared their Christmas schedule, including ‘children-friendly’ Vigil Masses on Christmas Eve.

CITY BEACH – HOLY SPIRIT

Christmas Eve Vigil Mass at 6:00pm
preceded by carol singing at 5:30pm.

DOUBLEVIEW – OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY

Christmas Eve Vigil Mass at 6:00pm.

Season of Advent

In the Catholic Church, Advent is a time of waiting. In our lives there will be many times when we are waiting for someone or something to arrive. It can be a time of unmixed joy, as when we wait for the homecoming of someone we love or wait for the great holidays we have planned. It might also be a time of fear and dread, as it is for people in Gaza and South Sudan who wait for bombs to fall. Sometimes it may be a time of mixed joy and anxiety: students, for example, may rejoice at having finished their examinations and school life, but may also await anxiously the results that will affect their future lives.

Advent is a time of waiting for Christmas, the feast of Jesus’ birth. In our culture and especially for children Christmas is a happy time to which we look forward. It is a time for presents, for the end of school, for families to gather, for Santa to come, and for holidays from work. In Churches it is the time for singing Christmas carols and for the crib with its straw, its animals, with Mary, Joseph, a few shepherds, the three wise men, and at its centre the baby Jesus. Christmas revolves around children in its beginnings, in its Christian celebration and in its place in our culture.

The focus of Christmas on children and family, of course, makes it a painful time for people whose memories of family and childhood are ones of poverty, neglect or violence. Advent is a time for gratitude at the ways in which we have been blessed and for compassion for those who have been deprived.

The word Advent, however, referred to an event that sparked anxiety as well as joy. In the Roman Empire it described the arrival of the emperor and his troops in a city. It was a solemn event, long planned and waited for. The emperor would arrive on a chariot preceded by lines of foot soldiers and cavalry to the sound of drums. When he arrived, his local officials would be examined, some rewarded and some arrested, crimes and acts of rebellion would be punished, and he would ordinarily reward the city. People looked forward to his arrival for the boost to local business it provided and for the notice given to their town. But they would also be anxious about the judgments and punishments that might affect them.

For Christians, Advent looks forward both to the coming of God’s Son as a child at Christmas, a welcome guest. It also looks forward, however, to the coming of Christ at the end of time. In the Roman Empire purple was the colour of Emperors. Like Lent it is a time for us to prepare for Christ’s coming by examining the books of our lives and being ready for God’s judgment. But is also reminds us of what kind of a king Christ is and of what we can expect from his coming. It is not about terror and anxiety but about confidence and gratitude for God’s love for us, and for reaching out to people less fortunate than us, just as God has reached out to us.