Strength and Kindliness
Nativity by Kyah, Foundation
The Meaning and Importance of Christmas
You may wish to read Pope Francis’ message about the symbolism of the Nativity Scene and what it means for us and our families this Christmas.
It is certainly worth 5 – 10 minutes of your time this Advent.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vyxs28KNINcKb8N3WC6QDu-RGIfrJKSt/view
ACYF - Australian Catholic Youth Festival
“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift”
2 Corinthians 9:15
How well do you know the Christmas story?
Thanks to Christmas cards, carols and plays, Christmas is probably the most familiar part of the entire story of Jesus. But how much do you really know about the story of Jesus' birth? Interestingly, two of the four gospel writers do not even mention Jesus’ birth at all. We often think that we know all of the details; what we tend to know is a bit of a ‘mashup’ of the stories from the gospels. What we do know is a combination of the stories told by Matthew and Luke.
The main parts of the story of Jesus' birth are, The Annunciation, Joseph’s Dream, Jesus Birth in a Stable, The Shepherds, The Star and the visit from the Wise Men and the Flight into Egypt. Each part to the story shows how Jesus’ birth was unusual or special in a particular way.
So what are the big ideas that we should take from this special story of the birth of the Messiah. Well Big Idea 1 is that God Becomes Human. By entering the world God becomes human just like us. Big Idea 2 is that Jesus Saves the World, Jesus presence on Earth brings us salvation. A smaller idea is that the story is about understanding the will of God, serving the poor and recognising that we need to be people who are welcoming of all, regardless if they are rich or poor, educated or not; all are welcome at the feet of Jesus.
To get to know more about Jesus’ birth you may wish to explore the answers to these questions. Which Gospel tells the story of: a) the shepherds, b) the star and c) the flight to Egypt?
A reading from the Gospel of John (3:16)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I would like to wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas. Thank you for allowing me to participate in your school and Parish community during the 2019 school year. It has brought me great joy to get to know so many people from this community.
God Bless
Kirrilee Westblade
Deputy Principal
Catholic Identity
Have you read this Season's edition of Australian Catholics?
https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/current/aust-catholic-magazine
Have your read the current edition of our Diocesan newspaper Sandpiper?