Mission & Religious Education News
Advent
On behalf of the Mission team, I would like to wish the staff in our schools, their families and friends the most joyous Christmas. The second week of Advent is all about peace and I hope that is something we can all pray for on a personal level and on a world wide basis. Thank you for all that you do in our schools in our work toward a hope filled future for our children and young adults. Have a wonderful Christmas and a restful holiday.
Regards
Damian Roff (Catholic Life, Mission and Religious Education)
Advent Prayer
Heavenly Father, your son, Jesus, is your greatest gift to us, a great sign of your love. Guide us as we strive to walk in that love together this Advent. As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, bring us closer to each other and to your son. Give us the grace and strength we need every day. Amen
Opening of the Cathedral
105th anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral is on Thursday, December 12, 11:00am – 12:30pm.
This is a ‘Soft Opening’ Mass for Clergy of the Diocese and Faithful from across the Diocese at 11am to reopen the Cathedral followed by a light lunch in the Cathedral Precinct. It would be particularly good to have staff and student representation from around the Diocese present at this Mass.
Another important date is:
Opening Mass of the Jubilee Year 2025
Sunday, December 29⋅10:00 – 11:30 am
This mass not only opens the Jubilee Year but also is the official re-opening of the Cathedral.
Jubilee Year
A Jubilee is a special year of grace and conversion, involving prayer, pilgrimage and sacramental repentance, held every 25 years, or during other years as called for by the Pope. The most recent (ordinary) Jubilee celebrated was the Great Jubilee of 2000. The most recent Extraordinary Jubilee Year was 2015, the Holy Year of Mercy.
Jubilee celebration has biblical roots, and therefore it presents us with a wonderful opportunity to deepen our appreciation of those roots.Through a series of concrete rituals, acts and commitments, the goal of a Jubilee year is to inspire and encourage holiness of life among the faithful and therefore to strengthen the Church’s witness to God’s loving mercy in and for the world.
The 2025 Jubilee will officially open on December 24, 2024 at 7pm, with the rite of Opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter by the Holy Father, who will then preside over the celebration of the Night Mass of the Lord's Birth inside the Basilica.
Upcoming Important Church Calendar Days
December
Tue 10 Our Lady of Loreto
Wed 11 Saint Damasus I
Thu 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe
Fri 13 Saint Lucy
Sat 14 Saint John of the Cross
Sun 15 3rd Sunday of Advent
Sun 22 4th Sunday of Advent
Wed 25 Christmas Day
Thu 26 Saint Stephen
Fri 27 Saint John
Sat 28 The Holy Innocents
Sun 29 The Holy Family