Catholic Identity
Religious Education, Sacramental and Faith Celebration News
In this newsletter...
Season of Christmas
Jubilee 2025
End of Term Wrap Up
Sacramental Program 2025
Community Masses 2025
Season of Christmas
For people surrounded by department store decorations, commercials, Christmas carols, special foods, and the like, believing that today’s Christmas celebration actually evolved from the humble story of a young woman giving birth in the straw is a stretch. It might help to focus on the characters involved.
What do you think went through Joseph’s mind as he witnessed Mary giving birth to a baby? What do you think went through Mary’s mind as she struggled with the birth experience?
The Christmas story is full of symbols. Jesus, who becomes our bread and wine – our nourishment – is laid in a manger, the feeding trough for the animals. Jesus, who is the champion of poor people, is born into a homeless family. Poor shepherds were the first to welcome the Messiah that the Jewish people had been awaiting for generations. The symbol of angels singing, praising God, and flying madly all over the sky was a good clue that something out of the ordinary was happening.
Modern Christmas stories use different symbols to make the same points: Rudolph, the ‘poorest’ reindeer, becomes the champion; and Frosty, a snowman, transforms children’s lives.
What story from your own personal Christmas experiences has special meaning or symbolism?
by Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart
Jubilee 2025
On Christmas Eve this year, at the start of Midnight Mass, Pope Francis with mark the beginning of the 2025 Jubilee by opening the 'Holy Door' at St. Peter's Basilica. This door is only open during Jubilee years - at other times, it is bricked up, making it unaccessible.
“Jubilee” is the name given to a particular year; the name comes from the instrument used to mark its launch. In this case, the instrument in question is the yobel, the ram's horn, used to proclaim the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This (Jewish) holiday occurs every year, but it takes on special significance when it marks the beginning of a Jubilee year. We can find an early indication of it in the Bible: a Jubilee year was to be marked every 50 years, since this would be an “extra” year, one which would happen every seven weeks of seven years, i.e., every 49 years (cf. Leviticus 25:8-13). Even though it wasn’t easy to organise, it was intended to be marked as a time to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation, and involved the forgiveness of debts, the return of misappropriated land, and a fallow period for the fields.
Quoting the prophet Isaiah, the Gospel of Luke describes Jesus’ mission in this way: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord,” (Luke 4:18-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2). Jesus lives out these words in his daily life, in his encounters with others and in his relationships, all of which bring about liberation and conversion.
In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII called the first Jubilee, also known as a“Holy Year,” since it is a time in which God's holiness transforms us. Throughout next year, there will be opportunities for all of us, as a school and faith community to celebrate the Jubilee Year and be transformed by God's love and mercy.
End of Term Wrap Up
Vinnies
Thank you to everyone for your generous donations to this year's Vinnies Christmas appeal. It was a greatly appreciated by the Werribee Chapter of the St Vincent de Paul Society, and no doubt will be much more appreciated by those who will receive it.
Christmas Nativity
Last Thursday, we had our Christmas nativity and carols. It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ. 3/4 Yellow (Hayley) practise for this special nativity play and prayer and did an amazing job on the day! They really brought to life the story of the first Christmas for all of us to enjoy.
Graduation
Last Friday, we gathered as a school community to celebrate Mass with Graduation of our Year 6 students. It was a lovely way to thank God for the the many experiences and learning our students have had throughout their time at OLSC. It was also an opportunity to farewell those staff members and families who are leaving us at the end of this school year. At the end of the celebration, the 2024 school captains and vice-captains handed over the school candle, and the responsibility of leadership, to the 2025 school captains and vice-captains.
Thank you to the school choir, led by Imogen and Bianca, our altar servers (all current students), Gillian for creating the 'Memories' video, and all those who helped make the Mass and Graduation so successful.
Sacramental Program 2025
As we prepare for 2025 and the School-based Sacramental Program, a letter was sent home last week for families to indicate their intention for their child to celebrate a sacrament next year. Thank you to those families who have already returned this note.
If you wish for your child/ren to prepare for and celebrate a sacrament in 2025, please use this note to indicate your intentions. This was sent home to all students in Years 2-5.
If you have a child in any year level and you are interested in having the Baptised Catholic, please make contact with me via my email below.
Community Masses in 2025
SAVE THE DATE - 2025 Community Mass Dates
Follow and like the Wyndham Vale Catholic Community Facebook page to get updates and further information about Community Masses and other events.
Merry Christmas
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the OLSC community a very happy and blessed Christmas and New Year season. I pray that you experience the love of the Christ-Child deeply this Christmas, and that his love may fill your hearts throughout the coming year.
John Dini
Catholic Identity Leader