Catholic Identity
Social Justice at St. Therese's
Each year St. Therese's students participate in a range of social justice incitives.
Our participation in social justice action is informed by the Church's Catholic Social Teaching.
Catholic Social Teaching is comprised of six key principles as shown in the image to the right.
At St. Therese's our social justice activities are organised to enable our student to:
- Raise awareness
- Act charitably
- Act in solidarity and
- Act for social justice
This term our Catholic Identity Student Leadership group are leading our school in a range of social justice activities including:
- Nude Food Mondays - Addressing ecological justice
- Sorry day and Reconciliation Week
- Winter Woollies Casual Clothes Day and Clothes Drive- St. Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal
- Meal preparation for the Bendigo Winter Nights Shelter
Vinnies Winter Appeal
The Catholic Identity Student Leadership group will be running a casual clothes day and winter clothes drive for the St. Vincent de Paul Society Winter appeal on June 24th.
All students are invited to wear casual clothes and bring a gold coin donation. The students will also be collecting donations of any unneeded winter outerwear to donate to Vinnies.
You are invited to bring any jackets, jumpers, coats that are excess to your needs and are in a deccent condition along to school on the 24th of June for the clothes drive.
Upcoming Masses
Grade 3 Unit Mass - Friday 6th of June 12:40 pm
Feast of the Sacred Heart Mass - Friday 27th June 12:40 pm
Feast of the Sacred Heart Mass
All are invited to join our whole school Mass to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart. At this mass we pray for the vulnerable in our community and reflect on the work of St. Vincent de Paul Society following our Vinnies Winter Appeal Fundraiser.
Mass will be held in the Church at 12:40 pm on Friday the 27th of June.
Sacramental Preparation - Confirmation and Eucharist
We pray for the students in grade three and above who have commenced their preparation to receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist. This is a very special time in their spiritual development. We pray that this is a time of growth in understanding of the love our God has for each of them.
The Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist will be celebrated on the 7th and 8th of June, and the 14th and 15th of June.
Sunday Gospel - Luke 24:46-53
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.
Reflection
In this week's Gospel we hear Jesus promising to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples, saying they will be "clothed with power from on high." The scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit came to the disciple soon after in the events we celebrate at Pentecost.
The coming of the Holy Spirit to 'cloth the disciples with power' was not something that Jesus only promised to the select few, our Christian faith teaches us that Jesus promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell within all of us. This is what we celebrate at Baptism and at Confirmation, the Holy Spirit living within us to help us carry on Jesus' work.
Just as the disciples returned to their lives in Jerusalem with 'great joy,' let us to give God thanks and praise for the gift of the Holy Spirit within us, strengthening us to do the will of God, to live a life of love and justice in Jesus' name.