R.E. News
Religious Education Dates for 2024
RE DATES:
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 Fr Michael Tate
Ephphata
As we began to welcome the Gospel, we made the sign of the Cross on our foreheads, on our lips and over our hearts. It is meant to be accompanied by the thought: ‘May the Gospel be in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart.’ It wouldn’t be enough to mentally recite that little prayer. We have to do something physical.
Jesus could not have been more physical than in the story of today’s Gospel. He stuck his fingers in the man’s ears and touched the man’s tongue with spittle, saying the Aramaic word ‘Ephphatha’, ‘Be opened’.
Our Lord could have healed this man with a simple prayer. But he acknowledged the sheer physicality of the person to be cured. We are not angels, but ensouled bodies and that is how our Lord particularly related to this man in need of healing.
It is in the sacrament of Baptism that we imitate the Ephphatha incident in today’s Gospel. At one stage, the priest lightly touches the ears and then lightly touches the mouth of the person being baptised. This brings the baptised person into a community formed by hearing and speaking the Word in faith.
We could take a moment to recall the Ephphatha dimension of our baptism. Take your thumb and lightly touch your ears (a parent could do this for an infant) making a prayer along the lines of our baptism: ‘The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the mute speak. May He again touch my ears to receive His Word and my mouth to proclaim His faith to the glory and praise of God the Father. Amen.’
Sacrament of Confirmation
Last weekend 40 St Mark’s Year 6 students received the sacrament of Confirmation. Both masses were beautiful and Bishop Tony Ireland gave 2 fantastic homilies. Thank you to the Year 5/6 teachers, Stella Costantino, Br Louis and Andrew Davies for preparing the children and organising the mass. Lastly thank you to all the families that came along on the day and have been part of their child’s faith journey up to this sacrament and into the future.