RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

Religious Education 

The Sacramental Team will meet at St Mary’s tomorrow afternoon to discuss and plan dates for the Sacrament of Reconciliation Program along with Parent/Carer Information and Enrolment Night. Letters will be sent home next week with children that are enrolled as Catholics at Sacred Heart School. At times children may miss the opportunity to participate and receive their sacrament due to absence or change of schools etc.  lf you do not receive a letter and would like  your child to participate please contact the school and a letter will be sent home.

The Liturgical Calendar, next week marks the start of the Easter Season beginning with Ash Wednesday. The day before we celebrate Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday, a day in which we prepare for the next 40 days (excluding Sundays) leading up to Easter Sunday. Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes are the perfect way of using up these ingredients. In Catholic tradition we mark the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert as time of Prayer, Fasting and Alms giving.

Today 14th February we celebrate St. Valentine’s Day. A day where we traditionally give gifts to the ones we love. But have you ever wondered what the history is behind the day? Valentine’s Day began in the time of the Roman Empire. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest in Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed, Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to death. Whilst Saint Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, many young people came to visit him. They threw flowers and notes up to his window. They wanted Saint Valentine to know that they, too, believed in love. One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit Saint Valentine in the cell. Sometimes they would sit and talk for hours. On the day Saint Valentine was to die 14th February, 269 A.D,), he left his friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. He signed it, "Love from your Valentine." That note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Julie Leonard - Wellbeing Leader  / Religious Education Leader