Faith Matters

Dear St Francis Xavier Families,

CAMINO DE SANTIAGO. GOOD WISHES TO MR STEVE.

I'm sure most of you are aware that Mr Steve is about to embark on a very special journey, completing a section of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage.  Historically pilgrims walked the Camino Trail to atone for their sins. Nowadays, people walk the Camino for several purposes. A survey conducted by Camino Ways showed 28.2% of walkers were simply looking for a new challenge, 28% were walking for a religious or spiritual purpose, 17.8% wanted to walk it in order to get away from the business of their everyday lives and connect with nature, 4.6% wanted to learn more about the local cultures and 8.8% had other reasons for walking the Camino.  Mr Steve will be joined by several other principals to undertake a guided spiritual journey with multiple daily opportunities for prayer, reflection and liturgy. We all wish Mr Steve a safe, and blessed time away and look forward to hearing about his experience when he returns next term.

CONFIRMATION EVENING

On Tuesday evening our Confirmation candidates, and their families, began the initial stage of preparation with an evening facilitated by Mr Ange. The session included prayer, exploring the life of a 20th century saint, considering our special gifts and how they relate to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It was wonderful to see all the candidates and their families in attendance making a commitment and being involved in getting ready for this special sacrament.

WHOLE SCHOOL PRAYER

My sincere apologies for being unable to facilitate Whole School Prayer for the last couple and the next couple of weeks.  We have experienced a number of events that have meant various classes are out on a Wednesday morning. Our classes pray several times throughout the day but whole school prayer has become something special we can all share together.  We look forward to recommencing in the not too distant future and we hope families will continue to join us when we resume.

BAPTISMS

Please get in touch with me if you would like your child baptised at St Francis Xavier Church. Baptism preparation for our children occurs straight after school and requires either one or two forty minute sessions.  Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the baptism of the son of a friend at St Francis Xavier Church with Fr Chinua officiating.  What a beautiful experience.  Both our priests have such a warm way of welcoming families and friends irrespective of their religious backgrounds and beliefs. The child's grandparent commented on how he found the baptism a wonderful celebration of our catholic tradition explained and shared within the reality and context of our daily lives.

God's blessings,

Marion O'Brien

Education in Faith Leader