Family and Faith

“We need to pray because we need God. Thinking that we need nothing other than ourselves is a dangerous illusion. If the pandemic has heightened the awareness of our own personal and social fragility, may this Lent allow us to experience the consolation provided by faith in God, without whom we cannot stand firm.”

Pope Francis

Kindergarten SPaRS (Stop, Prayer and Reflect)  

Kindergarten parents and carers have been invited to a SPaR!  Finally, parents and carers are allowed back in the classroom for scheduled events. This week Kinder Blue and Kinder White had their SPaR with Kinder Gold organised for next week. We learned how to set up a prayer space, the symbols of our faith and different types of praying including singing and dancing! Stay tuned for photos next week!       

Purple Day for Lent 

Congratulations to everyone for joining in the Purple Day celebration and donating a gold coin for Caritas Project Compassion. A big thank you to our Year 6 leaders of the Hospitality, Pastoral Care, Social Justice and Liturgy teams for making / donating nut-free cupcakes to sell. 

Father Julian needs our support too with funds for Church projects. An Easter Egg Raffle will be held on the last day of the school term. A big thank you to the Year 6 leaders of the Media team for assisting with the selling of tickets. Tickets are on sale now.

From SCS you are invited to view a video clip with John Burland and Cheryl Fernadez as they explain the Season of Lent in preparation for the joyous celebration of Easter.    

Faith, Fun and Celebration - Lent    

Spiritual Spring-Cleaning tips

Missed the start of Lent? 

No bother – start whenever you can – even an imperfect attempt is better than none.

• Make a plan. Make it achievable. And write it down. Poorly defined goals tend to get lost in the clutter of life.
• Keep forgetting to honour your Lenten promise? Diarise it. Set the alarm on your phone. Put sticky notes on the bathroom mirror. Pen it on the back of your hand. Get an accountability partner (kids make excellent ones!)
• Regressed to bad habits? Just start over. Don’t let the evil one discourage you – recommit regularly to your Lenten promise.
• Struggling to stay motivated? Bolster your Lenten promise by offering it for an additional cause. e.g. the comfort of a sick friend, the suffering of a particular family, the work of a missionary etc.

Top Ten Lenten Promises

Things to Surrender

1. Grumpiness – irritability is a choice. We can choose to be grumpy and hang on to our right to be foul-tempered, or we can choose to be pleasant and good-humoured.
2. Blame – when things go wrong, stop looking for a scapegoat. Practice acceptance and responsibility.
3. Superiority – A judgmental attitude is like a rotting corpse – it spreads its bile over everyone in criticism and put-downs.
4. Gossip – resist taking delight in someone else’s failure. Protect their reputation and let the bad news stop with you.
5. Vanity – give up self-obsession and the fantasy that the world revolves around you. Start revolving your life around God and you’ll find more joy than you ever dreamed.
6. Self-pity – everyone has to deal with setbacks and disappointments. Self-pity won’t change your circumstances; it just makes you feel powerless.
7. Resentment – unforgiveness and resentment hangs over a person’s life like dark thunder clouds. It makes your life gloomy and your presence unpleasant. It’s not worth the cost.
8. Tiredness – if you’re always tired, go to bed early. Be self-disciplined and resist the TV, internet or other recreation that steals your sleep. And if you choose not to, then at least stop whining about how tired you are! (Parents of young children exempted!)
9. Busyness – you have all the time you could ever need for the things that are important to you. Stop using a lack of time as an excuse for neglecting relationships or your health.
10. Cynicism – it’s easier to be cynical than it is to be optimistic and hope-filled. Take the path less travelled.

Things to Embrace

1. Tongue biting – practice restraint and humility. Let the criticism die in your month, let someone else speak first, give others space to voice their opinion.
2. Early rising – If your day is too busy for God, rise early to enjoy a few quiet moments together.
3. Half-serves – we really don’t need nearly as much food/clothing/music/TV/stuff as we think. Practice taking half serves and let hunger bite occasionally.
4. Secret giving – there are so many in need – be generous, then double it …and enjoy God’s blessings.
5. Apologise – seek unity in all circumstances. Apologise when you have wronged someone… even when they started it!
6. Forgive and let live – set yourself free. Forgive someone against whom you hold a grudge. Let them go. Let yourself go. And start living again.
7. Gratitude – give thanks every day, all day. Thank God, thank others. Gratitude is one of the most effective ways to lift your spirit and increase your awareness of God’s presence.
8. Blessing – bless those you love. Bless those you dislike. Bless those you envy. Bless God for the joys. Bless God for the sorrows. In all things, bless.
9. Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) – nothing will inspire more delicious delight than doing a RAK – compliment a stranger, assist an elderly person, top up the parking meter, bring sunshine into someone’s life.
10. Listen – stop talking and listen…to your spouse, to your children, to the lonely neighbour, to the homily, to the sounds of creation, to God’s word in your life.

Flood Relief Lenten Appeal 

Our OLF donations made it safely to Lismore and surrounding communities. Mrs Speer, who has made several trips to help her Lismore family members and locals with the distribution of goods, shares this photo of St Carthage’s Cathedral. Thanks are given to all who donated goods to ease the burden of the local residents. We pray that flood-affected residents continue to receive donations, prayers and assistance with rebuilding their lives. Please keep them in your prayers.

New Nutrition Ideas from the Cancer Council

The autumn season provides great food opportunities for savvy mums and dads to update your child’s lunch box contents. Check out these ideas to surprise and delight your children at morning tea and lunchtimes.  For recipes, information and health tips please visit https://healthylunchbox.com.au’  

 Parent/Carers Excursion - Tuesday 29th March

I look forward to greeting parents and carers at the Stations of the Cross excursion on Tuesday 29th March 2022 (10am - 11.30am) If you have not been to this beautiful place at Woronora Memorial Park Sutherland I encourage you to come along. It will be a calm, reflective time and an opportunity to explore this beautiful area of the park and also an opportunity to meet others and possibly continue on with optional coffee/ lunch. Fingers crossed for a sunny day!

The Sacrament of First Holy Communion

Prayers are requested for students who will be making their First Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil Mass in a few week's time. As a leader of the Thursday afternoon group, I am excited for them as this is a joyous Sacramental celebration that is extra special coinciding with the beginning of the Season of Easter the following day. Please keep them in your prayers.           

Friday Fatima Friends 

Starting Term 2 on FRIDAYS (the most popular day) parents/carers of babies, toddlers and preschool children are invited to a 30-minute teacher-directed session including prayer, singing, dancing, art, craft, talking and listening, free play etc in Keller Hall. All you have to do is turn up with your child(ren) and join in the fun! This is a great opportunity to make new friends.

TERM 2 WEEK 1 - Celebrating the Season of Easter with an Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Craft! 

Wishing you success in keeping your Lenten promises!   

Ms Tracey Bowler | Family Educator

tracey.bowler@syd.catholic.edu.au