Religious Education
Marylene Douglas
All students attending St Louis de Montfort's Aspendale have the right to feel safe. The care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a fundamental responsibility of all within our school.
I'm Back!
I'm sure you all missed my RE Newsletter contibution for the past 10 weeks but, never fear, I'm back after spending the last 10 weeks in Spain, six of them walking the Camino de Santiago. This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Walking over 800kms, much of it in solitude, surrounded by God's incredible creation.
I spent much time meditating, contemplating, praying and of course listening to music, podcasts and audio books.
Many people have asked me "What was the highlight of your trip Marylene?" and in all honesty, the highlight for me was not a place or a buiding or a landmark, but rather the feeling of complete inner peace and joy that I experienced whilst walking with God as my sole companion for much of the journey.
It made me realize how immense God actually is, both in time and space, and how so much of what we have and want is superficial.
For me, the meaning of life is 'Relationships'. Connecting with God and with others- sharing our time, love, peace, gratitude and abundance!
Meeting people along the way was also a spiritual experience as we shared our stories and spent time connecting with each other.
Each day of the Camino I would walk 20km-30kms and would start off with a prayer of gratitude for the new day ahead then pray my intentions for family members, friends, colleagues, our St Louis' school and parish families and more global concerns. I reflected on the importance of simplyfing my life, detaching from unneccesary possesions and truly living in the present moment because we do not know what tomorrw brings. But we do know that God is with us every step of the way, in good times and in bad, he will never leave our side.
I also reflected on the fact that every morning is the start of a new day, so no matter what our problems, concerns or misdemeanours may be, we are constantly given the opportunity to renew our spirit and start again.
I am eternally grateful for the experience I had and for returning safely to continue my mission to bring the love of God to all of our St Louis' families.
Once again we are assisting St Vinnie's to provide Christmas Hampers for those families in need this Christmas. Please see the items requested for your child's grade level but know that any donations are more than welcome. These are only suggestions!
Thank you in advance for your generous contributions.
Important Dates.
(** All Dates subject to change!)
Sun 1st Dec- Advent Begins
Thurs 11th Dec- Yr 6 Graduation- 5pm
Tues 16th Dec- End of Year Mass-Whole School Mass-9.15am in the hall