Family & Faith 

SCS Parent Conference

You’re invited!   Theme: A future full of HOPE

A parent conference designed to support, equip and inspire confident parenting in 2025.

If you are interested in attending this SCS Parent Conference, please use this QR Code or email me at E: tracey.bowler@syd.catholic.edu.au and I can give you further information.

It's not too late to register for the Parent Conference on Friday 29th August at Revesby Workers Club. Morning tea and a light lunch will be provided on the day.  I have personally signed up for two interesting sessions: Creative Prayer Experiences and Parenting and Educating in the Age of AI. These free sessions facilitated by professional leaders in their field offer relevant and insightful information for all parents and educators. Other sessions include:

• Vibrant Faith in a Secular Age
• Beyond the Buzzwords: Teaching Consent Through the Lens of Faith
• Anxiety, Stress and Mental Health - How to raise a healthy teen in 2025
• Raising Resilience: Tackling Bullying and Cyberbullying Together

Pilgrims of Hope

While visiting villages and towns in West Africa I was amazed that the logo for  the 2025 Jubilee Year in the Catholic Church "Pilgrims of Hope" was in every Church and Basilica I visited. The theme encourages us to journey towards hope amidst global challenges like war and the climate crisis. This special year of grace focuses on spiritual renewal, reconciliation, and experiencing God's mercy. Here are a few photos taken in Churches in Namibia, Angola, Senegal, Sao Tome and Principe, La Palma Canary Islands to name a few places.

Prayer Cards for Year 12 students 

 St Aloysius College, OLMC Burraneer and De La Salle Caringbah

Thank you to the families who have already opened their hearts to write a prayer for a Year 12 student. Thank you so much for your support! The Family Educators in the Sutherland Shire will soon be assembling the packs which will include:

• Prayer card written by a family

• Before and after exam prayer cards

• A blessed miraculous medal and info sheet

• A chocolate - life is sweet!

An invitation from the Parish

Lots happening at our Parish and you’re invited!

• The Feast of the Assumption Celebration Dinner on Wednesday, 20th August at 6pm. Bring a plate to share!

   

• Parish Christmas Celebration on Sunday, 7th December starting with Mass at 9.30am followed by the Blessing of the Nativity, petting zoo, pony rides and singing of Christmas Carols. Feliz Navidad! 

All welcome! See you there!

Fatima Friends Invitation - Come and join in the fun!           

Fatima Friends will continue this Term 3 from 9.10am in the following weeks:

Week 4 - 15/8:It’s All About Mary activity-  think singing, percussion and dancing or if the sun is shining we will have sporty fun too!

Week 5 - 22/8: Book Week Parade! The theme is “Book An Adventure” Dress as your favourite book character and join in the parade with me!

Week 6 - 29/8: No Fatima Friends today 

- I’m at a Parent Conference

Week 7 - 5/8: Last session for the term so let’s have FUN! - Sporty fun, visiting the chickens and maybe watering the OLF garden beds with Yr 5 helpers.

Please note there are no Fatima Friends sessions in Week 6, 8,9,10 but Fatima Friends will return in Term 4!

Fatima Friends with keen Year 5 students - future Yr 6 buddies!

Holy Clutter Burial Ceremony

By Kiara Pirola

Help! I can’t find my Prayer Space anymore!

What are you supposed to do with all the broken, damaged, or worn-out rosary beads, Ash Wednesday palms, holy cards, prayer cards, medals, scapulars, and other religious objects that accumulate and mysteriously multiply? Do you feel guilty about unceremoniously binning them?

If you are feeling totally overwhelmed by all this Holy Clutter, take heart! You are not obliged to hang on to them and there is a way to dispose of them.

Called ‘sacramentals’ your religious objects can include a number of different physical expressions of faith that have been blessed by a priest. For more information see this summary.

They can be very helpful reminders of the presence of God in our daily lives. But not all of them are particularly beautiful or inspiring. Some are cheesy, painfully kitsch, cheap (I’m looking at you, my seventeen pairs of glow-in-the-dark plastic rosary beads) or just not helpful to you or your family in this season of your faith journey.

If you are certain that the object has NOT been blessed by a priest, then it can be thrown in the bin or recycled guilt free! However, if they have been blessed or you’re not sure if they have, then you should return them to the elements by burying them.

But, before burying them, the form of the sacramentals needs to be broken by burning or physically breaking them into unrecognisable parts. Since the blessing is attached to the form of that object, once it is no longer recognisable as a sacred object, it is ‘de-sacralised’ and can then be disposed of without the risk of misuse.

Flammable objects like holy cards, cloth scapulars or palms need to be burned and the ashes buried. Blessed non-flammable objects like rosary beads, medals or statues should be broken into small, indistinct pieces and then buried.

Some parishes have an annual service (traditionally it’s the 23rd of June or the eve of the Feast of John the Baptist) to burn and bury broken, unwanted or unusable sacramentals as a community, but you can also do a simple ceremony at home any time you need to as a family.

Burial Ceremony

1. At your chosen spot for burial and dig a hole large enough for your needs.

2. Make the Sign of the Cross and say a simple prayer or use the following:Father in Heaven,we return these sacramentals to the elements from which you create life on earth.Thank you for the way we have been able to use them to receive and cooperate with your grace. Amen.

3. Place the ashes and other broken down sacramentals in the hole and cover them.

4. Finish with a Glory Be and the Sign of the Cross.

Five Tips for more Joy

By Francine Pirola

1. Gratitude

Gratitude is the superfood of the soul. It has been noted as an important tool in resisting depressive thinking and can have an immediate positive impact on our mood.Gratitude fosters the habit of counting our blessings, of noticing the many, often over-looked, goods in our life, thus helping us to be more optimistic and resilient in the face of challenges.

2. Presence

Memories and dreams are both important: they keep us in touch with our history and connected to our future. However, authentic joy can only be experience in the present moment.It’s amazing how little time and attention we often give to the miraculous present.Also called ‘mindfulness’, presence is the practice of attuning our attention to the moment. It helps us to appreciate unnoticed details, listen deeply, gaze intently and connect profoundly with the one in front of us. It is a powerful strategy for awakening our sense of the divine in every day moments.

3. Forgiveness

Nothing kills our joy faster than resentment. It’s like a poison that pollutes our soul and cripples our spirit.Resentments accumulate and become toxic to spiritual and bodily health when we fail to forgive. The one harmed most in this dynamic is ourselves and those close to us, especially our spouse and children.Forgiveness is not to deny that we have been injured, sometimes severely and unjustly, rather it is to redeem it. Remember that forgiveness is not an emotion; it’s a decision of the will to let go of your resentment.Ultimately, it is one of the greatest acts of self-love.

4. Humility

Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. We berate ourselves for being stupid, lazy, undisciplined, selfish, or any number of inadequacies or mistakes we may have made.Such negative self-accusation can hold us captive in the past and prevent us of accessing one of the most powerful ‘feel-good’ traditions of our faith: the mercy of God.Surprisingly, our pride and lack of humility is often the biggest barrier to seeking God’s mercy. Humility should not be confused with negative self-esteem. In the words of C.S. Lewis“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less”.

5. Compassion

Literally meaning ‘with feeling’, compassion helps us connect with the interior experience of others and develop an awareness of the needs of others.Compassion motivates us for service of others and helps to develop selflessness.It may seem counter-intuitive because we assume that pursuing our own needs and goals would be more likely to make us happy, in fact, it is when we think about and serve others that we are more likely to experience joy.                                        

Mens Event - Camino Men's Walk Pilgrimage

The Camino begins with an 8:00pm Mass, celebrated by Bishop Danny Meagher, on Friday, 5 September, at St Joseph’s Como, and confession is available from 7:00pm.

The Camino will conclude with a 7:00am Mass at St. Aloysius on Saturday, 6 September, followed by a hot breakfast featuring BBQ bacon and eggs.

The entire walk from start to finish will include:

-St Joseph’s Como – Opening Mass

-St Patrick’s Sutherland

-St Catherine’s Gymea

-Our Lady Star of the Sea Miranda

-Our Lady of Fatima Caringbah

-St Aloysius Cronulla – Closing Mass and breakfast

Wishing you a happy week full of gratitude, joy and family time.

Tracey Bowler | Family Educator        

tracey.bowler@syd.catholic.edu.au