CELEBRATING OUR FAITH

Mrs Mary-Jane Guest
mguest@arm.catholic.edu.au

Fifth Week of Lent

Partnership in action

The work of Caritas Australia is only possible with the dedication, passion and tenacity of our local partners who implement the programs. They are the heroes on the ground, working tirelessly behind-the-scenes every day to create a better future for their communities.

Caritas Australia partners with the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ) to support communities living in urban slums in the Philippines. FCJ runs a number of programs that include house renovating, food processing, basic literacy skills, urban gardening, upcycling and income generating activities. They also have a clinic visited weekly by a doctor and community nurse.

Caritas Australia partners with Caritas Samoa to assist communities to have increased access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene to ensure human health and well-being by providing water tanks and sanitation facilities.

Caritas Australia partners with the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi through the A+ program. Since 2016, the A+ program has helped 7,397 families across Malawi improve their food security, access to basic water and sanitation, boost women’s income generation and strengthen child protection.

Please donate generously to Caritas Australia this Lenten season. You can donate via the QR Code which links to the Holy Trinity Project Compassion donations. Each class also has a Project Compassion box which students are donating money to.

Christian Living Day

This week our Year 7 and Year 10 students have been involved in the Christian Living Days which were run by The Young Lasallian team.

Year 7 were involved in a day focusing on "Building Community." This day invited students to think about the importance and value of community, those they belong to, as well as introducing them to the Lasallian community. They explored how each community member can influence and is influenced by the community and that within a community there is unity with diversity. The afternoon session explored the Lasallian core value of faith. Faith in ourselves, faith in the broader community and faith in God. When we have faith we can both ask and provide assistance, to be great community members.

Year 10 had their CLD today were called to answer the SOS call of their fellow neighbours, friends and fellow humans - Service, Opportunity, Sacrifice. The retreat was an opportunity for students to define service, recognise opportunities around them and realise that all forms of sacrifice count.

Service: Service is seeing a need and doing something about it. You have a heart for service and in-service you receive and grow. You go beyond yourself to serve and are better for it. Christ served in so many ways and we want to show the multitude of service examples. Service is looking at the heart of the other person and recognising ways you can help them.

Opportunity: We live in a land of opportunities to go out and serve in our own backyard. To help us understand what opportunities there are to serve, we take a step back to unpack the concept of ‘equality’ and how that can impact the way we serve.

Sacrifice: To serve is to love. Jesus radically defines ultimate love as laying your life down for a friend/stranger/fellow traveller on the journey. We don’t have to make the same level of sacrifice Jesus made - but to truly serve requires some kind of sacrifice.

At the end of the day, students moved to a personal reflection and asked themselves: what does sacrifice mean today? how can I commit to this?

Year 10 Mass

This Friday, 22nd March, Stage 5 will be attending Mass at Sacred Heart Church for the Year 10 led Mass. The Mass will begin at 9:30am and family members and parishioners are welcome.

Crazy Hair Day

Students are invited to get crazy with their hair this Friday 22 March and bring in a donation to support Project Compassion. Looking forward to seeing all the crazy hair creations!