Religious Education News
ST MARY’S FAITH & FAMILY
Term 3 - Week 3
PRAYER:
Lord, we do not know whom you will place in our path on this day or what they will come seeking from us. Regardless of the cost, give us hearts that feed others by reflecting your light and wisdom.
AMEN
GOSPEL REFLECTION: John 6: 1 - 15
As parents, we can know a bit about stretching things in a pinch. Whether getting creative with the lunch sides that we send to school, throwing together a costume or two for a holiday, or making that project happen last-minute when our teenager “remembers” at the eleventh hour, we embrace the art of last-minute orchestration. It is not all that difficult to put ourselves in the scene of feeding a hungry crowd on short notice.
Throughout a typical day, how often are you asked to give? From “watch me” to “what’s for dinner” to “Mum/Dad, I need to talk,” we are constantly pulled through a never-ending cycle of tasks, challenges, and conversations that range from mindless to emotionally draining. Each one takes us in a new direction and invites us to sacrifice for the other in small and great ways.
If Jesus places the crowds in front of you, are you prepared to feed them? I don’t mean physically find the correct number of loaves and loaves, but spiritually, is your heart ready to give without cost? It does not matter whether there were 300; 5,000; or one million present. There was not a single number that would have been too great for Jesus to feed this crowd. How do we sustain ourselves in the feeding ministry of parenthood? We can choose to be the disciples, overwhelmed by what lies in front of us: “What good (am I) for so many?” Or, we can seek to imitate Christ, who commands to “have the people recline.”
When we encounter someone who asks to be fed, let us focus on the person more than the details, trusting that the Lord will sustain us with what we need to feed them.
By Megan Cottam (Catholic Mom Website)
RELIGIOUS CALENDAR OF EVENTS IN TERM 3:
| Wk | Date | Details | Time |
| 3 | Wed 31/7 | First Communion (Gr4) Information Meeting | 3.30 - 4.15pm |
| 4 | Sun 4/8 | First Communion Commitment Mass (Gr4) | 10.30am |
| 4 | Wed 7/8 | Whole School Mass | 9.15am |
| 5 | Sun 11/8 | School Parish Mass & St Mary’s Parish 170th Anniversary Year celebrations. Mass followed by a High Tea Lunch in the hall. | 10.30am |
| 6 | Wed 14/8 | Candidates First Communion Preparation (Gr4): Confession & Practice in Church | 11.40am |
| 6 | Thurs 15/8 | School Parish Mass - Feast of The Assumption | 9.15am |
| 7 | Sun 18/8 | Sacrament First Communion Mass - Luncheon celebration in the hall. | 10.30am |
| 8 | Fri 30/8 | Fathers Day Breakfast & Prayer | 7.30am |
| 9 | Sun 8/9 | School Parish Mass | 10.30am |
| 10 | Wed 11/9 | End of Term Whole School Feast Day Mass - Most Holy Name of Mary Day and school Feast Day celebrations. | 9.15am |
Please Note: All are welcome to our Masses. If you would like to join us in any of these celebrations you are most welcome.
LINKS:
*Children’s Liturgy:
*Parish Newsletter:
WONDERINGS: Where do you find sustenance in your feeding ministry of parenthood?
For all questions St Mary’s Faith & Family related please email nicole.sherlock-byrne2@smcastlemaine.catholic.edu.au