Catholic Identity
PRAYER
In the Catholic Church, each month of the year is dedicated to a particular devotion. In August it's the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In addition to the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on August 15th, other feast days devoted to Mary in August include Our Lady of the Angels on August 2nd, Our Lady of the Snows on August 5th and Our Lady of Knock on the 17th August. You may not be aware of some of these Marian Titles so perhaps as a family you could research the history of how each title came to pass. The story behind Our Lady of the Snows is very interesting. Our Year 6 students are currently in the process of choosing a their Confirmation Name and many have found this website very helpful when researching the life of their chosen saint: https://mycatholic.life/saints/
HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION
Feast of the Assumption
The Church celebrates the Feast Day of the Assumption of Our Lady every year on the 15th August, when according to our faith, Mary the mother of Jesus, was assumed body and soul into heaven. Although defined as an article of faith by Pope Pius XII just over half a century ago, the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven has been accepted from back to the earliest of Christian times. Along with Christmas Day, the Feast of the Assumption is a Holy Day of Obligation. This means Catholics are ‘obliged’ to attend Mass. St Andrew’s Parish will have Mass in the church at Werribee at 9:00am on this day for this Holy Day of Obligation.
SACRAMENT CONFIRMATION REMINDER
The celebration of our 2024 Sacrament of Confirmation will take place this term. Below are the details of the Sacrament for your family calendar:
Sacrament of Confirmation
Friday 23rd August
7:00pm @ St Andrew’s Church Werribee
A reminder to families that both the Confirmation Candidate and their Sponsor need to be seated in St Andrew’s Church on the night of the Sacrament by 6:45pm.
SACRAMENTAL JOURNAL REMINDER
As we know, attending Mass regularly is the best way to prepare your child to receive a sacrament. It is also a crucial part of helping your child to develop a personal relationship with God, that they can carry with them throughout their life.
Families with a child celebrating a sacrament this year, are reminded to ensure that their child is getting their Sacramental Journal signed each time they attend Mass on a Sunday. Should your child lose their journal, please contact the school office for a replacement.
AUGUST MASSES
Throughout the year we have numerous School and Community Masses scheduled for St John’s. Parents are warmly invited to join us for these celebrations. Upcoming Mass dates are listed in the dates sections of this newsletter, but I would like to draw your attention to Masses which will be held at St John’s and within our Parish Community over August.
Sacrament of Confirmation
Please keep our Confirmation Candidates in your prayers as they prepare to celebrate their Sacrament of Confirmation on Friday 23rd August @ 7pm in our St Andrew’s Parish Church in Werribee.
August School Mass
We will be celebrating a School Mass Wednesday 28th August. This Mass will be held in the School Hall, commencing at 9:30am. Parents are most welcome to join us for this celebration.
August Community Mass
Our Community Mass for this month will be held on Saturday 24rd August @ 5pm in the School Hall.
Please click on the link below for the dates of all Community Masses this year:
PARISH ALPHA PROGRAM
Alpha is a safe space where one can openly ask life's BIG questions and not feel judged. Alpha can help individuals explore topics such as life, death, faith and so much more. A new Alpha Program will be starting shortly in the parish. Please see the brochure below for more information.
Parish Take Home Sheet
Parish Pastoral Worker Update