Mission & Religious Education News
New Staff Induction
As part of the work teach lead policy an induction is required for new staff each year in regards to the Catholic life of the diocese. This applies to all school staff, not only teaching staff. Please register using this Form
VENUE: Catholic Schools Office, Armidale
TIME: 9am - 3pm
DATES:
15th November 2024 - Registration form for 15th November 2024 closes 1st November 2024
Cornerstones term 4
Cornerstones this term will be run on the 7th and 14th November
Please register HERE
FAQs: Can Catholics Celebrate Halloween?
Halloween is a Catholic festival with a history as the vigil for All Saints Day.
It has little to do with the horror, gore and macabre images that Halloween is associated with today. That does have a history too, going back to early Celtic culture celebrating the festival of Samhain, the Lord of the Dead. The fact that the Church moved all Saints Day to its current date, meant it coincided with the Celtic festival and has led us to where we are today, with it being associated with macabre and being fundamentally a secular celebration. When the Celts turned to Christianity, after weeding out some of the more superstitious practices associated with the pagan feast, they kept Halloween as a Christian celebration, including the concept of the last things, specifically death, which we will all face at some stage.
Here are a couple of short articles you may be interested in from the Catholic Weekly. There is a hyperlinked article in it that is also very good. It has some suggestions for celebrating Halloween in a Catholic way. This article is from the Vatican.
All Saints Day, All Souls Day and the Month of November
November brings a recent tradition when men attempt to grow a moustache. It is more importantly traditionally the month in the Catholic Church when the faithful departed are remembered and their souls prayed for. It is a time when we remember family and friends who have passed away. Two major feasts occur at the start of November. They are All Saints Day and All Souls Day. All Saints Day is a solemn holy day in the Catholic Church dedicated to the saints of the Church. The term "saints" is interesting. Although the day is primarily focussed on those known saints as recognised by the church such as St Damian and St Cosmas, it is acknowledged that there are potentially millions and millions of saints yet to be recognised whose lives act as an inspiration for our own to be in partnership with God and do good in the world. St Paul references the word saint as believers in the early church and Eastern Orthodox Churches acknowledge saints as any one in heaven whether they are recognised or not on earth.
All Saints is celebrated on November 1 and introduced by Pope Boniface IV in 609 AD. All Souls Day is a little different. We do remember our departed loved ones but more specifically we pray for the souls of those not yet in heaven. The scriptural basis for this is in 2 Maccabees, 12:26 and 12:32. "Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out... Thus made atonement for the dead that they might be free from sin." Catholics believe that through the prayers of the faithful on Earth, the dead are cleansed of their sins so they may enter into heaven. Those who have studied the reformation would know that is not without controversy and could tell you how the concept of purgatory was tied up with the selling of indulgences to raise money to build St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Nonetheless All Souls Day remains a lovely tradition in the Catholic Church and reminds us all of our own mortality and our quest for eternal life with God. All Souls Day is celebrated on November 2 and it was also introduced by Pope Boniface IV in 609 AD.
Gone from my Sight (Rev Luther Beecher)
“What is dying? The ship sailed away and I stand watching till it fades on the horizon, and someone at my side says: ‘The ship is gone. ’Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all; the ship is just as large as when I saw it. As I see the ship grow smaller and go out of sight, it is just at that moment that there are others in a different place who say: ‘Watch; here the ship comes’” and other voices take up a glad shout: ‘You have arrived!’ - and that is what dying is about.”
Upcoming Important Church Calendar Days
November
Fri 1 All Saints
Sat 2 All Souls
Mon 4 Saint Charles Borromeo
Sat 9 Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Mon 11 Saint Martin of Tours
Tue 12 Saint Josaphat
Fri 15 Saint Albert the Great
Sat 16 Saint Margaret of Scotland, Saint Gertrude
Mon 18 Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul
Thu 21 The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Fri 22 Saint Cecilia
Sat 23 Saint Clement I, Saint Columbanus
Sun 24 Christ the King
Mon 25 Catherine of Alexandria
Sat 30 Saint Andrew