R.E. News

Religious Education Dates for 2024

RE DATES:

Confirmation

• Bishop visit - Friday 23rd August at 10am
• Saturday 24th August - Sacrament of Confirmation – 1pm and 3pm 

Eucharist

• Wednesday 23rd October - Eucharist Reflection Day
• Thursday 24th October -  Reconciliation at 11:40am and practise
• Saturday 26th October - Sacrament of First Eucharist mass at 6pm
• Sunday 27th October - Sacrament of First Eucharist mass at 9:30am

Whole School Mass/Events

• Friday 25th October - St Francis Blessing of the animals service from 9am to 9:15am
• Monday 11th November - Remembrance Day service at 10:55am
• Thursday 12th December - Year 6 Graduation at 6pm 
• Friday 13th December - End of School Mass at 9am 

Children’s Liturgy

The reintroduction of Children's Liturgy at St Mark's Church is up and running and looking for more volunteers! 

The Children's Liturgy provides a great opportunity for primary aged children to engage with the gospel in a way that is accessible and meaningful to them. It runs every Sunday at the St Mark's 9:30am mass during school terms. At the start of mass the Children’s Liturgy adult leaders take the primary school age children into the hall for a small lesson and activity about the gospel of the day. Parents are welcome to join the session if they would like. If any parents are interested in volunteering to help with the Sunday sessions, please email Andrew Davies - andrew@smdingley.catholic.edu.au

Gospel Reflection by Dianne Bergant CSA

The decisions called for in today's readings are life decisions. The people at the time of Joshua had to decide which god they would worship. The disciples of Jesus had to decide if he was the one who would fulfill their messianic expectations. We have life decisions to make as well. How will we choose?

The choices we make determine the character of our union with God. God called us out of the slavery of sin and protected us throughout the journey of our lives. Jesus walked with us through the challenges of life and performed wonders for us. Why should we look elsewhere? Because we face new challenges. The new demands placed on us may be so great, or the commitment required of us may be so demanding that we feel that we can no longer walk with him. The church may be changing in ways we do not appreciate, or it may not be changing in the ways we believe it should, and so we may feel that we can walk with him no longer.

If we decide to commit ourselves, we will enter into a union with God that is deeper than anything we have previously known. However, this union will be based on faith. We may understand no more than we did in the past, things may be no more to our liking. But, ‘to whom shall we go?’ Jesus is God's holy one; he has the words of eternal life.

Sacrament of Confirmation

On Saturday 24th August at 1pm and 3pm forty children for school will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Tony Ireland. These children have been preparing for the last 10 weeks. We wish them all the best and please keep them in your prayers and thought. Thank you to the Year 5/6 teachers, Stella Costantino, Br Louis and Andrew Davies for preparing the children and organising the mass.