Mission and Religious Education

MRE Newsletter Term 3 Week 4

Mission and Religious Education

First Reconciliation

Congratulations to Mila, Cydi, Rosie, Coa and Cora-Jane, who received the Sacrament of  Reconciliation for the first time on Wednesday 12 August. It was a special celebration of God’s love and forgiveness. The girls participated with great reverence and were supported by family and their friends in Year 2/3C and 2/3M.

 Thank you to Father Damien for your guidance and the prayerful celebration, to the girl’s parents and family members for your support and presenting the girls so beautifully and to Mrs Underwood, Miss Martin, Mrs Crafford, Mrs Paull, Mrs Mitchell and Mrs Williams for preparing the girls to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

St Carlo Acutis Pilgrimage Around the Diocese of Armidale

On Tuesday 11 August students from St Michael’s attended the Saint Carlo Acutis Travelling Exhibition. The exhibition presented 115 Eucharistic Miracles from all over the world as well as many accounts of extraordinary occurrences involving the Blessed Sacrament. Saint Carlo created his own online exhibition of all the miracles of the Eucharist recognised by the Church and launched these on his website in 2004. A travelling exhibition was first shown in Rome on 4 October 2006, four days later Carlo was diagnosed with leukaemia and died on 12 October aged 15.

The students enjoyed learning more about the story of Saint Carlos and his example of kindness to others, especially the poor and his faith and love in God. They were fascinated  to learn about the Eucharistic miracles and engaged respectfully in prayer with the Relic. It was lovely that a number of our parishioners were able to attend the traveling exhibition with us.

Thank you to the Saint Carlo Acutis Team for sharing your knowledge of St Carlo and of the Eucharistic Miracles with us.

Congratulations Father Damien

We extend our congratulations and best wishes to Father Damien who celebrated the fifth anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood this week on Tuesday 11 August, we are very blessed to have you as our Parish Priest and appreciate your support and guidance. Everyone is invited to celebrate Father Damien’s fifth anniversary at a special Mass at 5pm on Friday 14 August.

Year 6 RE Test

Each year students in Year 6 sit the Year 6 RE Test. This test is used for diagnostic purposes to assess areas of strength in the RE Curriculum and areas that we need to focus on for improvement. This year Monday 10 August - Friday 21 August is the 2 week window set by Armidale Catholic Schools for students in Year 6 to sit the Year 6 RE Test. At St Michael’s students in Year 6 will sit the test in Week 5.

School Mass

Our next school mass will be celebrated next Friday, 21st August at 9:30am.  Everyone welcome!

Upcoming Feast Days

The Assumption - 15 August

On the Feast of the Assumption we celebrate Mary, the mother of Jesus, being assumed into Heaven - body and soul. The importance of Mary in our faith story is celebrated on this day which is a Holy Day of Obligation. A Holy Day of Obligation is one when Catholics are obliged to go to Mass. In Australia the Holy Days of Obligation are The Assumption, Christmas Day and each Sunday. Mass for The Assumption will be at 9am, Saturday 15 August.

The Queenship of Mary - 22 August

On the Feast of the Queenship of Mary we celebrate Mary being crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Thank you for Supporting our St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

Connecting With Our Parish

Parish Priest: Reverend Father Damien Locke, Parish Priest

Phone: 02 6785 1094 

Email: manillaparish@armidale.catholic.org.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StMichaelsParishManilla

Weekend Mass Times

We encourage all of our families to celebrate Sunday Mass with our parish.

Manilla Parish Mass Times 

1st Sunday of the month - Sunday 8.30am followed by morning tea

2nd, 3rd & 4th Sunday of the month - Saturday 5.00pm (5.30pm DST)

Attunga Mass Times 

2nd & 4th Sunday of the month - Sunday 12 noon

Manilla Parish Confession/Reconciliation/Penance Times 

30 minutes prior to weekend Masses or by appointment at any time with Fr Damien. 

If You Would Like To Be Involved In The Life Of The Parish

We encourage all of our families to be involved in the life of the Parish. There are many ways to be involved including:

• Altar Serving for those who have made their first Holy Communion
• Reading at Mass
• Taking up the Offertory Procession
• Visitations
• Odd Jobs

If you would like to be more involved in the life of our parish please contact Father Damien (02) 67851094 for further details.

Living Well, Learning Well 

Living Well Learning Well is a student support framework for Catholic Schools in the Armidale Diocese. The framework is based on a universal and unconditional positive regard for children and young people and supports faith, learning, wellbeing and positive behaviour domains.

St Michael’s School Rules For Living

St Michael’s School Rules For Living encompass those in the Living Well Learning Well Framework.

Parents As Partners

Armidale Catholic Schools work with Realtalk to offer families free premium access to resources to help navigate difficult areas children face, particularly in the digital world, from a catholic perspective in an increasingly complex world. SIGN UP FOR FREE ACCESS HERE

“Let Your Light Shine” support others to let their light shine and remember “We Shine Brighter Together”

Jacquelene Cronin

Assistant Principal - Mission