Religious Education

Sacrament of Confirmation

Tonight (Thursday 25th July), our Year 6 students will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, with Bishop Tony Ireland presiding. We appreciate the guidance of our school priests, Father Ian and Father Clem. Special thanks to Mrs. Jo Howell and Mr. Peter Tyndall for preparing the students, and to our Year 6 LSO, Ann, for her behind-the-scenes efforts. We also thank our office staff, Libby and Amanda, for their support. This evening marks a key moment in our students' faith journey and we look forward to sharing some photos of the evening in next weeks newsletter.

Grandparents Day Mass

A reminder that we will be celebrating Mass this Friday (tomorrow) at 12pm for Grandparents Day. Father Ian will lead this Mass. 

Prep Prayer in PJs & Family Mass

The fun continues next week with a faithful week for our Prep cohort. We will be holding a Prayer in PJs evening on Tuesday at 5:30 pm. This event will begin in the school library before families take part in four activities across the junior classrooms. 

Following the Prayer in PJs, next Saturday night (August 3rd) will be the Prep Family Mass at 5:30 pm in the Church. The P&F reps will also be running a cake stall at this Mass.

Gospel Reflection - Sunday 28th July

Gospel Reading

John 6:1-15

Jesus feeds the crowd of more than five thousand people with five barley loaves and two fish.

Family Connection

Parents may sympathize with the disciples’ protests when Jesus asks Philip where food might be found for the crowd. In the responses of both Philip and Andrew, we hear feelings of inadequacy as they survey their limited resources in the face of such great need. We may sometimes share these feelings about our own material possessions or our emotional and spiritual resources in the face of our family’s needs. This is a Gospel of hope for these times, which are all too frequent in parenting and family life. As Jesus made the five barley loaves and two fish sufficient to more than meet the needs of over five thousand people, Jesus will also work with what we have to provide for our family’s needs. When we offer our efforts to God, we ask him to transform them so that they will be more than adequate to the tasks and needs before us. 

As you gather as a family, talk together about the things that your family needs, starting with the basics—food, shelter, safety, and so on. Continue by naming other things that a family needs to be happy and healthy—time together, cooperation, patience, and so on. Observe that sometimes we can feel like we don’t have enough of the things that we need or want. Read together today’s Gospel, John 6:1-15. Talk about how Jesus provided plenty of food for the crowd with just five barley loaves and two fish. We have faith that Jesus will also take what we have and make it enough to satisfy and fill all our needs. We ask for this blessing when we offer to God the work of each day in prayer in the Morning Offering. 

Pray together the Morning Offering, asking God to bless and make fruitful the work of each of our days.

Steele Anderson

Deputy Principal / RE Leader