Faith News
School & Parish Connections
St. Augustine's School Prayer
Our Father in Heaven,
Look over and bless St. Augustine’s while we are working and playing.
Help us to respect and care for each other as you taught us to.
Give us the opportunity to do our best for you each day.
We look forward to being able to share our lives with our friends and families.
Keep us safe and give us the courage to be
people who want to know you more.
Amen.
Prayers for the Week
Prayer for All Saints Day
Dear God,
Thank you for the example of the Saints.
I desire to join in their company, worshiping you forever in Heaven.
Please help me follow their footsteps, and yours, Jesus Christ.
Please help me to conform myself to Your image, seeking Your will in all things,
as the Saints did.
Please help me to devote myself, and all that I do, to Your glory,
and to the service of my neighbors.
Amen.
Reclaiming Halloween
Francine Pirola (Cathfamily)
Like it or loath it, there’s no escaping the marketing presence of Halloween. Parents are wise to approach this festival with caution. The practice of trick-or-treating can lead children into a mind-set of greed and an expectation of free handouts. Further, the association of Halloween with pagan ritual can feed an unhealthy fascination with the occult.
In an attempt to reclaim Halloween, some Christian families have embraced the event with the view of redeeming it from these unsavoury associations. Re-branded ‘The Night of Light’, these families focus on the Christian roots of the festival and are developing alternative practices to celebrate the event that are both fun and life-affirming.
Many of the Halloween practices we see today are derived from ancient Christian traditions. ‘Halloween’ (literally ‘All Hallows’ Eve’) is the evening before All Saints Day which the Church celebrates on November 1st. This feast was established by Pope Gregory III in the 8th Century as a day to honour all the saints who died with or without Church recognition. All Souls Day follows on November 2nd and is a time in which Catholics pray for all the dead, including our own friends and family.
Light, long a symbol of life in Jesus, was used on the evening of All Hallows (Halloween) to welcome good spirits and ward off evil ones. Candles were lit and placed inside hollowed-out squash, turnips or pumpkins. Children, wearing masks, would go ‘souling’ from door to door, begging for ‘soul cakes’ for those in purgatory.
Ways to celebrate the ‘Night of Light’
- Christ-o-lantern. Carve a cross or other religious symbol into the skin of a soft American pumpkin and place a candle inside. For an alternative to the pumpkin, hollow out a watermelon!
- Transformation. Dressing up is fun but it needn’t be all witches and vampires. Pirates, princesses, angels, warriors, and various animals can all be found in stories of the saints and scriptures. For more ideas on costumes, click here.
- Commune with the Saints. Get in touch with those men and women of faith who led lives of holiness, courage and generosity and are now saints in heaven. Make a bonfire, sing hymns of praise and pray the ‘Litany of the Saints’, calling on all your favourite saints to “pray for us”.
- Remember deceased loved ones. Retell fond memories, go through old photo albums, visit their grave, light a candle and pray for those who have died.
- Festival of Light. Celebrate with a twilight Mass or liturgy followed by a procession of lights and a Halloween party. Some communities like to take their procession through the streets singing joyfully of the light of Christ.
- All Saints Party. Come dressed as your favourite saint and adapt traditional party games to the theme.
School and Class Mass Roster
Please see below the Class and School Mass Roster for 2024. All families are welcomed and encouraged to join us at both school and class masses.
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults : RCIA Program
At St Augustine’s, Corpus Christi and Annunciation Parish we welcome people who are searching for spiritual meaning in their lives or for adeeper relationship with Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. The RCIA is a process of reflection and learning for those who are not baptised and wanting to find out more about Catholic faith and forthose already baptised in another Christian tradition who now desire to further their faith journey with the Catholic Church. A new group is beginning their journey in May 2024 and you are welcome to join us.
Please contact Fr Werner if you are interested for further details. Werner.utri@cam.org.au OR 9314 7710
All Parishioners can help! Perhaps you know someone who is asking questions about faith or about becoming Catholic, you might like to invite them to contact Fr Werner and accompany them in finding out a bit more about what Catholics believe, how we celebrate our faith and live our lives.
St. Augustine's Parish Mass Times
Saturday 5.00 pm
Sunday 8.00 am at Annunciation, Brooklyn
9.30 am
10.30 am (Italian)
11.00 am at Corpus Christi, Kingsville
11.30 am (Polish)
Tuesdays 6.00pm
Thursdays 9.00 am
https://www.staugustinesparish.org.au/
Use the above link to access the parish website.
