News from our Family & Faith Educator

The Coffee & Communion Club

 

 

WHERE: St Patrick’s Church Sutherland

WHEN: Every Tuesday @ 9.00am 

 

If you need a gentle start to your week please join me for Mass on Tuesday mornings followed by a short walk to one of the many coffee shops in Sutherland for coffee and a chat. This is a great opportunity to catch up with friends or make some new ones.

You're very welcome to bring your babies and pre-schoolers to the Mass and coffee.

Please meet me at the school gate at 8.50am or make your own way to the church and I’ll see you there.

 

Save The Date.... Stations of the Cross at Woronora

 

Have you made time this Lent to reflect on the upcoming events of Holy Week? Why not come join us for Stations of the Cross at Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland. 

 

When: Tuesday, 04 April 2023 

Where: The Stations of the Cross at Woronora Cemetery @10.15am

Lunch: 12:00pm at a location to be determined depending on numbers (own expense).

 

More information will follow on Compass soon.

 

 

If you can't wait until the 04 April you are warmly invited to join parishioners every Friday at 7.00pm to walk the Stations of the Cross at St Patrick's Parish church.

 

 

St Patrick's Day 2023

On March 17, Catholics celebrate St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who was born in Roman Britain around the end of the 4th century, and died in Ireland around the middle of the 5th century. 

St. Patrick is said to have been captured by Irish raiders when he was 16 and taken as a slave to Ireland where he lived for six years as a shepherd before escaping and returning to his home.

At home, he studied the Christian faith at monastic settlements in Italy and in what is now modern-day France where he was ordained a deacon. In 432 AD he was ordained a bishop.

It was around this time that he was assigned to minister to the small, Christian communities in Ireland who lacked a central authority and were isolated from one another.

As a missionary bishop he endured many hardships and faced opposition even from his friends and fellow Christians. However, he worked hard to evangelise to the very people who had enslaved him in his youth. By using his knowledge of their Celtic culture, traditions and symbolism he explained Christianity in a way that made sense to the Irish and was thus very successful in converting them to Christianity.

The shamrock, which St. Patrick allegedly used to explain the Holy Trinity, is a symbol that has become synonymous with Irish Catholic culture.

Although St. Patrick's Day is widely known and celebrated around the world; various folklore and legends that surround the saint can make it difficult to determine fact from fiction.

Legends falsely cite him as the man who drove away snakes during his ministry despite the climate and location of Ireland, which have never allowed snakes to inhabit the area.

St. Patrick is most revered not for what he drove away from Ireland, but for what he brought, and the foundation he built for the generations of Christians who followed him. He is remembered for his simplicity and pastoral care, his perseverance, for his humble trust in God and his fearless preaching.

To this day, he continues to be revered as one of the most beloved Saints of Ireland.

On Saint Patrick’s day you and your family might like to take a moment to say St Patrick’s prayer of protection, The Lorica, together:

 

The Lorica Prayer

Christ be beside me

Christ be before me

Christ be behind me

King of my heart.

 

Christ be within me

Christ be below me

Christ be above me

Never to part.

 

Christ on my right hand

Christ on my left hand

Christ all around me

Shield in the strife.

 

Christ in my sleeping

Christ in my sitting

Christ in my rising

Light of my life.

 

Christ be in all hearts

Thinking about me

Christ be in all tongues

Telling of me.

 

Christ be the vision

In eyes that see me

In ears that hear me

Christ ever be.

Amen

 

Harmony Day Mufti - Friday 24 March

 

We will be celebrating Harmony Week from the 20 - 26 March. Harmony Week is a celebration of Australia’s cultural diversity. It is a week where we celebrate inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone who calls Australia home, from the traditional custodians of the land to those who have come from many countries around the world. 

 

On Friday 24 March. Students will be invited to wear mufti that represents the colours of their family's cultural background. Alternatively students are welcome to wear orange, a colour that has come to represent social communication and meaningful conversations.

 

In return for leaving school uniforms at home and turning our school into a sea of colour we would appreciate students making a gold coin donation to our Project Compassion Appeal.

 

Thank you.