Catholic Identity 

In this newsletter...

• First Eucharist

• Confirmation

• Feast of Corpus Christi

• Pilgrim Image of Mary

• School Masses

• Community Masses 2025

First Eucharist

Two weekends ago, the first group of students celebrated the Sacrament of First Eucharist during Community Mass. It was a wonderfully prayerful and special experience for those students and their families. We congratulate them all on this very important step in their faith journey, and pray that they continue to deepen their relationship with Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament. 

At our next Community Mass, on 15th May, the second group of students will celebrate their First Eucharist. We ask students and their families to arrive 15 minutes before the start of Mass to prepare and find their seats. We also request any students in the school choir to arrive 15-20 minutes early to put on a choir top and practise. 

We invite everyone from our community to join us for this celebration and pray for our First Communicants, that this will be a truly blessed moment for them. 

Confirmation

The children below have indicated that they would like to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. If your child’s name is not on the list below and you believe it should be, please contact me as soon as possible. To receive the Sacrament of Eucharist, children must be baptised Catholic or have been welcomed into the Catholic Church, and celebrated First Reconciliation and First Eucharist.

Dates to remember for those celebrating Confirmation:

Below is a copy of the letter that went home with students earlier this week with further information about Confirmation. 

Feast of Corpus Christi

On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), all are invited to this special Corpus Christi Procession as our Archdiocese of Melbourne publicly and joyfully bears witness to Christ—the hope who does not disappoint—in this Year of Jubilee.

Following the 11am Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, a Eucharistic procession will commence from the Cathedral, making a pilgrimage through Melbourne CBD in prayer and song before concluding with Benediction at Federation Square.

‘My dear friends in Christ, I ask you to join me for this extraordinary Eucharistic Procession, bringing along your parishes, schools, and communities to bear witness to Christ in our midst. In this grace-filled Jubilee Year, may we share the living hope of Christ with every step we take.’ – Archbishop Peter A Comensoli

We encourage parishes, schools, communities and movements to begin preparing for this pilgrimage. Communities are invited to bring their banners!

‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he walked with us ...’ (Luke 24:32).

If there is enough interest from our school community, we will have our school banner at Mass so that we can take part in the procession as a school group. If you would like to attend this year's Corpus Christi Mass and Procession, and walk behind the OLSC banner, please use the Google Form to let us know: 

Corpus Christi Google Form

Pilgrim Image

During this Jubilee Year, we will once again be offering the opportunity to take home our 'Pilgrim Image' of Mary for a weekend during Semester 1. 

During your chosen weekend you can place the image in a special place of honour in your home and use it as a focus for your family prayer.  There will also be a booklet inside that has some prayers you may like to pray together as a family. There will also be blank pages on which you are invited to create a special family prayer to Mary. Other families may choose to pray your prayer also when they host the image in their homes. Below are some beautiful examples of prayers some of our families have written.

Using the School Interviews link below, choose a Friday/Weekend that best suits you. John, or your child's teacher, will give the carry bag, with the image and prayer booklet, to your child in the afternoon on the Friday of your booking. You will then take it home for the weekend. Please return the carry bag, image and booklet to John or your child's teacher the following Monday morning.

BOOK AT:

https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/code/zzvgw

School Masses

Please find below all of the scheduled school Masses for 2025. These will begin at 9am this year, so we are hoping many more families can join us at this earlier time. All are welcome!

Community Masses in 2025

SAVE THE DATE - 2025 Community Mass Dates

Community Masses have begun and we have had wonderful attendance so far. Last month we celebrated the baptism of some of our students. Over the next few months, we will also be celebrating First Eucharist and Confirmation as part of our Community Masses. 

We encourage you to spread the word of our Community Masses and invite as many family, friends, neighbours and others to these celebrations. 

Follow and like the Wyndham Vale Catholic Community Facebook page to get updates and further information about Community Masses and other events. 

John Dini

jdini@olscwyn.catholic.edu.au 

Catholic Identity Leader