Religious Dimension

Year 3 Reconciliation

Last Thursday evening students from Year 3 participated in Reconciliation at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church.  

Together they reflected on the ways in which they can live their best lives by examining their hearts. Through God’s forgiveness, they can change their hearts to make a brand new start and a whole new plan for their lives. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, they asked for God’s grace and forgiveness as they open their hearts to God. 

St Joseph's Day and Harmony Day

Next Monday, 20th March we will be celebrating our Feast Day of St Joseph and Harmony Day. We will begin our day with a whole school mass which we invite all our families to attend. After mass the students will be learning about St Joseph and will conclude the day with a sausage sizzle and Colour Fun Run at Sorrento park (please check your Operoo). 

Who is St Joseph

St Joseph was often portrayed as a simple carpenter within the Scriptures, but as our students could tell us through their learnings he was anything but this. The little we know about Joseph from the Scriptures shows us a man of faith, honour and courage. He believes Mary even when he might have chosen to reject her story about the angel. He stands by her. Joseph is a man of integrity and truth. He is a man characterised by compassion, strength, trust, respect, honesty, integrity, self-sacrifice and courage.

Caritas

As we continue on our Journey through Lent, our teachers and students learn about the Social Justice work that Caritas Australia does in Australia and around the world. Money raised through the Project Compassion Project helps these projects.  Your children may wish to continue to donate some of their pocket money to place in the money boxes in the classroom.

Third Week Of Lent

Exodus 17:3-7 I Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 I John 4:5-42

Written by Michael McGirr 

Every summer seems to get a little longer and a little hotter. We have all become conscious of issues surrounding water. Either there seems to be too much, as during last year’s summer floods or when the sea levels rise in the Pacific. Other times, there seems to be too little water as when the rivers in our country run low or members of God’s family around the world experience drought. Caritas Australia, through Project Compassion, has been responding to the dire needs of places such as Ethiopia and Somalia where a cruel drought, compounded by a shortage of grain from Ukraine, has led to dire consequences. Today’s readings may well cause us to reflect on the current state of God’s creation. In the book of Exodus, we hear that people are complaining to Moses because they are dying of thirst. In the Gospel, Jesus meets a woman in a Samaritan town. She has come to draw water from the well in the hottest part of the day. In both cases, access to water is precarious. Yet God responds not only to a thirst for water but to a deeper thirst as well. Moses’ people are thirsty for direction, leadership and hope. The woman in John’s Gospel has a thirst for love and acceptance which, Jesus tells her, will come from within if she is able to accept him and his message of life. As the story unfolds, we learn of her loneliness and see her reconnecting with her community. This week, Caritas Australia shares with us an account of its response to a water shortage in Zimbabwe. Thanks to our support for Project Compassion, Caritas is involved in providing access to water in many places. It seems such a basic thing. One we mostly take for granted. But once a community has access to water, it grows in every possible way. People have more time for healthcare and education. People find energy to build their future. This week’s scripture readings have a strong sense of a hope-filled future. May we too, in our time, be sources of hope for all future generations.

Jacqui

jhayes@sjsorrento.catholic.edu.au