Prayer and Reflection
Prayer of St Dominic
May God the Father, who made us, bless us.
May God the Son, who redeemed us, send healing into our midst.
May God the Holy Spirit, who gives us life, move within us.
May God give us eyes to see to God, ears to hear God, and hands to bring God's work into the world.
May we walk with God and preach the word of God to all.
May the angel of peace watch over us and lead us by God's grace to the eternal Kingdom.
Amen
St Dominic
One of our current challenges at McCarthy is the preservation and continuation of a vibrant and meanful link with our Dominican and Edmund Rice traditions. As part of meeting this challenge we devoted the first whole school assembly this term to honour St Dominic and the Dominican Order he established to assist with combating the Albigensian heresy in Southern France in 1209-1229. In order to make this meaningful for students in a Catholic school, originally established by the Dominican sisters in Tamworth in 1877, students and staff were treated to an assembly item, which included a decade of the Rosary led by a number of the staff. A PowerPoint presentation traced the story and life lessons of St Dominic which became the four cornerstones of the religious order of Preachers he established; study and teaching in the service of others, prayer (in particular devotion to the Rosary), community and compassionate service to others. The school community was reminded of the various links with St Dominic and the Dominican Sisters that exist around the school environment, such as the statues of Our Lady of the Rosary and St Dominic, the Dominican Priory Gates, the framed Dominican Cross and, of course, the Cultural Centre named after Our Lady of the Rosary College, an important link in the history of Catholic education in Tamworth.
Vinnies
St Agnes Conference held the annual Tacky Trackie Day on the last day of Term 2 to raise awareness and funds for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. Participation in the appeal raised $700.00 which will be forwarded to the St Vincent de Paul Society.
Marriage and Family Week
Students in Year 11 will this week be involved in the ‘Explore’ program on the sacredness and divinely revealed purpose of Christian marriage in SOR and Catholic Studies classes, as part of the Armidale Diocese’s celebration of Marriage and Family Week. I would like to thank Father Joe for including Christian marriage in his homilies for both Year 11 and Year 10 students during the first two weeks of term.
Mrs Cate Allen
Mission and Spiritual Formation Coordinator