Education in Faith

Sacramental News and Dates

Sacramental Levy

There is a $25 Sacrament Levy to cover the cost for:

•  a guest speaker to conduct a Parent and Child Workshop for each Sacrament.
• professionally made stoles for ALL 3 Sacraments. 
• a candle for children receiving reconciliation.
• children receiving First Eucharist and Confirmation to travel to St. Kevin’s Church for Reconciliation, Eucharist practice by bus.

This levy needs to be paid in full to the school in an envelope clearly indicating your child’s name, Home Group and name of Sacrament being received at the start of the year, before or on the day of your Family Workshop Session.

Gospel Reflection 

In all three versions of this week’s Gospel the Transfiguration event that appear in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the context in which the event occurs is identical. The three gospel writers put their own spin on events and often play with the chronology or settings of events. However, in this case, all three writers report the Transfiguration event as taking place immediately after a particular sequence of events. Jesus asked his disciples who they think he is and Peter has made his confession of faith by declaring that Jesus is the Messiah. 

This declaration is followed by Jesus teaching about the demands of discipleship and then the account of the Transfiguration. Furthermore, all three versions are directly followed by an account of a man who brings his possessed son to Jesus for healing after the disciples have tried and failed to cast out the demon.

When all three of the synoptic (The word, synoptic, means ‘seen together’ and these three gospels can be seen together because they have so much material in common) gospels use the same story with little variation, all three retain the same context around the event then there are some pretty clear signals that this was a commonly accepted sequence of events and their sequence holds significance. The core message of this sequence of stories is about the faith of the disciples. 

While Peter declares Jesus to be the Messiah, he and the others don’t really yet know what this means. In the Transfiguration, they are given the clearest possible indication of Jesus’ identity and yet they’re confused and scared by what they witness. The following failure by the disciples to cast out a demon shows that they still haven’t understood fully who and what Jesus is.

During this Lenten season, like the disciples, we are called to consider who Jesus is and what role he plays in our lives.

Living the Gospel – ‘Listen to him!’

God’s voice from the cloud claims Jesus as his Son, the Chosen One, and then goes on to instruct those present – and we, the readers – to ‘Listen to him!’ For the disciples, this was a message not to get carried away with their own ideas about the Messiah but to listen to what Jesus was saying about the suffering he must endure and to what he was saying about true discipleship. Jesus tells us that to be a follower of his involves sacrifice, hardship and often unpopularity. It is this message we must listen to as much as the promise of salvation.

Gospel focus – A new vision

St. Peter sees the appearance of Elijah and Moses as a confirmation that Jesus has come to continue the work of the great prophets of the past. Rather than placing Jesus in the old tradition of the prophets, the appearance of Elijah and Moses, together with the voice of God, is to endorse the new direction that Jesus’ ministry is taking. Jesus’ new vision for the world is informed by the relationships forged between God and the prophets of the past, but it is a vision of a completely different way of relating to God: a much more personal relationship that calls us to respond from the heart to those around us.

Discussion Starters

• What are your favourite quiet places?
• What sort of things do you like to do in your quiet place?
• Quiet places can be very good for praying. Take a moment to think of when you can go to your quiet place this week.
• What or who can you pray for?

God Bless

Rozeta Ambrose

rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 5/6 SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM – MINI VINNIES

COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD

We begin our annual Lenten Project Compassion journey by learning about Laxmi, a 16-year-old girl living in Jajarkot, a remote district in Nepal where almost half of the population live below the poverty line.  Tragedy struck when Laxmi was 10 years old and her father passed away. Her father worked hard to pay for his children's education and, after losing him, Laxmi was at risk of falling further into extreme poverty.

With the support of our partner Caritas Nepal, Laxmi joined a child's club at her school where she was encouraged to resume her education. Through the child’s club, Laxmi developed the skills and confidence to become a leader, advocating for clean water taps at her school. 

Laxmi is now excelling in her studies and working towards her dream of becoming a civil engineer. She continues to be involved in the child's club, serving as an advisor and mentoring the next generation of young leaders at her old school. The link below will tell you Laxmi’s story and how Project Compassion assisted. 

Laxmi’s story | Project Compassion

Each Learning Space and the Office has Project Compassion boxes decorated in the House colours. We are encouraging students and parents to donate to Caritas through their House box. Families that would like to take a project compassion box home can collect one from the office. They will need to be returned in the last week of school with your child’s house name on it if you would like the money you collect to go towards your child’s house points. 

This week Mini Vinnies counted the money in the Project Compassion Boxes. The total amount donated by each House was:

                                                1st                           Patrick                  $9.80

                                                2nd                          Teresa                  $5.10

                                                3rd                           Bosco                    $4.30

                                                4th                           MacKillop            $1.80

The total collected for the last week is $21. Thank you to everyone. Another update will be provided next week and the mondy amounts will be added to the Community Spirit awar points.

Our Community Spirit Award Competition updates for last week which includes house points and Caritas money donated:

1st                    MacKillop       328

2nd                  Teresa              327

3rd                   Patrick             290

4th                   Bosco              269

Giuliana