Family & Faith
Tracey Bowler| Family Educator
It's finally here! The invitation men have been waiting for...
It’s time to lace up your boots, comb that mo, and gather the mates – because our annual Men’s Event: Footy, Faith & Friends is back!
Date: Monday 24th November
Time: 7.00pm arrival for a 7.30pm kick-off
Venue: Gymea Hotel
Tickets: $10 (all proceeds proudly donated to Movember)
We’re thrilled to announce an all-star panel of speakers who will bring wisdom, wit, and inspiration to the night. Joining us are James Graham, ex-rugby league legend and well-known sports commentator; Blayke Brailey, Cronulla Sharks rugby league player; Nathan Pickworth, High Performance Manager at the Sharks since 2020; Dr Mike Martin, psychologist at Bloke Therapy Caringbah; David Eccles, cofounder of WNow, a men’s health group dedicated to building stronger connections and resilience; and Fr. Dan McCaughan, who will share his unique perspective on faith and mateship.
This isn’t just another night out – it’s a mo-mentous occasion where mateship meets meaning. Whether you’re a die-hard footy fan or just keen for a good yarn, you’ll fit right in.
So don’t drop the ball – grab your ticket, bring a friend, and let’s make this night one to remember.
November is the Month of Holy Souls
During this month we remember and pray for people who have died. It’s a wonderful time to share stories of family members who have passed.
Remembrance: The month encourages Catholics to remember and pray for deceased family members, friends, and all who have gone before them.
Pray for the dead: It is a time to offer prayers.
Community and hope: The month is a reminder that the faithful are part of a larger community united in belief and hope, looking forward to joining the saints in heaven.
End of the liturgical year: November also marks the end of the Catholic liturgical year, prompting reflection on the end of earthly life and the hope of eternal life with God.
Family Friends Invitation - come and join the fun!
Last week we had sporty fun with Year 5 students. Check out the photos below.
Week 7 - 28/11: Our last Fatima Friends session for the year! Think Christmas songs, craft and did someone say piñata?
Week 8 - 5/12: No formal Fatima Friends session but please come to our OLF Christmas Concert!
Please note there are no Fatima Friends sessions in Week 6, 9,10 but Fatima Friends will return in 2026!
OLF Parish Event
We are all invited to a Parish event after the 9:30am Mass on Sunday 7th December. It’s going to be epic!
Fathers Julian, Zeljko and Nonie will be Blessing the Nativity in the Church and after that there will be pony rides and a petting Zoo and lunch. A great day has been planned and everyone’s invited! I’m excited and I hope to see you there!
Faithful, Faulty Families
Written by Marilyn Rodrigues
It is in the family that we learn what it is to love. Christ calls us not to be perfectly happy, but to trust in him and be open to growth and grace.
Families can be wonderfully, and awfully, messy can’t they?
They may be the fundamental unit of society, but there’s no question that families can be terribly faulty at times, even the seemingly happiest and most cohesive family. And yet maybe that is the whole point of a Christian family. That a Christian family is not one which is faultless and whose members are perfectly happy all of the time, but one which counts upon God for help with practical needs and for grace.
My Faulty Family
The word family can conjure up different things for different people, depending on their own experience of family life. For me it brings up an idea of emotional and physical security, and unconditional love and acceptance – along with the conflicting emotions that family life has not always felt that way to me and I even struggle to create that kind of family life today.
Our families are imperfect, some more so than others, but it’s encouraging to know that there is no such thing in this life as a perfectly happy family. Every family has its share of struggles or hardship or worry or pain.
For example, our eight year old sometimes behaves like a moody teenager, the almost two year old is yet to put two words together, and my husband and I can get discouraged over money or parenting issues and the lack of time and energy to do all that we need and want to do.
The Catholic Church holds up for our encouragement the families who have faced challenges to which many of us can relate. The ‘official’ saintly families were simply ordinary families. None of them looked the same as any other. None of them were perfectly happy. But deep faith in the Gospel is found in all of them.
Saints Augustine & Monica
In his Confessions, St Augustine recalls his tumultuous relationship with his mother as a rebellious young man and the difficult marriage she endured.
He also recalls the feeling of being emotionally suffocated by his mother. He secretly took a ship away from her to Rome one night, “leaving her to her tears and her prayers.”
It was through that painful separation that her prayers for her son were eventually answered. While in Rome Augustine met St Ambrose and began his slow and winding journey towards Catholicism’s most famous conversion. He reconciled with his mother and she died at peace a year later.
Wishing you a happy week sharing family stories of loved ones who have passed away.
Tracey Bowler | Family Educator