Religious Education
All students attending St Louis de Montfort's Aspendale have the right to feel safe. The care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a fundamental responsibility of all within our school. Marylene Douglas
Father's Day is a special day, honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. The day is held on various dates across the world, and different regions maintain their own traditions of honoring fatherhood. In Catholic countries of Europe, it is celebrated on 19th March as Saint Joseph's Day (Jesus' father on earth). In the United States, Father's Day was founded by Sonora Smart Dodd, and celebrated on the third Sunday of June. There is no definitive explanation why Father's Day is celebrated in Australia on the first Sunday in September, though it is clear that the custom of the September date began in the mid 1930s. An article in the Western Herald in 1964 said the day was officially designated as the first Sunday in September across the Commonwealth in 1964 and that the date was chosen for commercial reasons to distance it from other celebrations.
Father's Day is a celebration that honours the role of fathers and forefathers. Eventhough
Father's Day is celebrated on different dates around the world, the day is celebrated in a similar manner, usually involving giving gifts to fathers, family activities and honouring the special men in our lives.
This Sunday, 4th September (the first Sunday in September), we thank God for fathers and those who are like fathers to us. They have a very special role to play in our lives, and they can teach us a lot about what God is like by the way they live. We often take parents for granted. Let’s take a moment as we begin to silently think of our fathers, grandfathers, or those who are like fathers to us, to appreciate who they are for us, and to be grateful for their place in our lives.
In a special way, let us be grateful for:
• Our fathers, by birth or adoption or association, who love us and support us through life.
• Our Church leaders, who take on the paternal role of guiding us through life.
• And God our Father, who will always teach justly and grant us boundless mercy.
Blessing for Our Fathers
God of all, we thank you for those who are fathers to us.
May your blessing be upon them as they walk through life.
May they know your guiding hand upon them showing them the way.
May they know your courage and strength when they face difficulties.
May they know your love and compassion so that they may share it with others.
May God bless all fathers and father figures in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.