May we all pray for our First Eucharist communicants who took a very special step in their faith journey last Sunday when they received the Eucharist for the very first time.

Hopefully it will be just the beginning of many more opportunities to be nourisherd by Christ's body.

Let Us Pray...

God of love and understanding, we place our faith in you.

Each time we gather to celebrate the Eucharist in our parish family we grow in our understanding of God's special love for us.

When we share in God's special meal, the Eucharist, we are united with all God's family throughout the world.

After sharing in the Eucharist, we are sent out to bring God's message of peace and love to the world through our thoughts, prayers and actions.

May God's face shine upon us as we go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

AMEN

PENTECOST

This weekend, our Yr 6 students are celebrating their Confirmation Commitment Mass where they comit to being sealed by the Holy Spirit at their Confirmation in August. It's perfect timing for their Mass as it is also the Feast of Pentecost, the day we remember the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples.

On the night before Jesus died, he promised the disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit to enlighten them, guide them, strengthen them, and give them everything they would need to carry the Good News to people all over the world. They didn’t understand what this meant. But on Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit came like the wind and descended on the apostles gathered in the Upper Room. They were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, they understood everything, and they immediately went out into the streets to tell people the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Pentecost is called the birthday of the church because before Pentecost, there really was no church. Jesus had ascended back into the heavens, the Apostles were hanging around, scared and confused, and nobody knew what to do.

Going out to baptise people and preach about Jesus was the last thing they had in mind because their lives would be in danger. But Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit – the force that turned a bunch of frightened, mixed-up folks into church. There was a rush of wind, tongues of fire, and then suddenly there was courage, knowledge, direction and commitment!

Everyone started speaking and was understood, no matter what the language of the listener was! These were saints suddenly on fire with the Holy Spirit. And it all began with the wind and fire of the Spirit.

That same Spirit is given to us too, through our Baptism. When we listen to the Spirit and live out Jesus’ message, we show the fruits of the spirit.

As our Year 6 students prepare to be sealed by the Holy Spirit at their Confirmation, may they be open to the Spirit working in them, in their homes, their school community and in

our world so that the fruits of the Spirit are obvious to all we meet. This means living in ways that are loving, joyful, patient, kind, generous, faithful, gentle, disciplined and reverent towards ourselves and others. Living this way is our calling as Christians! We can make the world a better place.

Some of our Year 6 Students (who will be receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit at their Confirmation later in the year) made some Pentecost magnets, bookmarks and Jesus rocks for our parishioners to take home this Pentecost Sunday.

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