Religious Education Update

ST VINCENT DE PAUL NIGHT PATROL SANDWICH MAKING 

I am pleased to announce that St Aidan’s is rostered on to make sandwiches once a term for the remainder of the year. We will make 200 sandwiches that will be delivered to St Vincent de Paul and given out on the Night Patrol van. 

Our Dollar for a Dinner raised $235.70 which will be used to buy the ingredients for our sandwich making. 

On Tuesday 2 July at 1:00 pm, the Mini Vinnies students will make 200 sandwiches to be distributed that night. We warmly welcome any parents, older siblings and family members to help with this task. 

Fundraiser One - St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal

A huge thank you to our community for donating such a large amount of food and toiletries for the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal. Your donations ar truly making a difference in the lives of thoes less fortunate than our own. 

FIRST RECONCILIATION 

On Friday, Wyatt from Year 3 celebrated his First Reconcilation with his class. Congratulations Wyatt!

RCIA

Please find attached the booklet for School-Parish Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). It is a structured program that prepares candidates to be received into the Catholic Church and thereafter live as faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Sydney Catholic Schools has a diverse and growing mixture of students and parents from non-Catholic religious backgrounds. There is also a significant number of students from Catholic families entering our primary and secondary schools who have yet to receive Baptism or other sacraments of initiation. Hence, the need for an adapted parish-school RCIA program to address these needs. 

PRAYING AT HOME

In preparation for the 2025 Jubilee Year 'Pilgrims of Hope', 2024 has been designated a Year of Prayer by Pope Francis. There is a particular focus on the Our Father, and this presents us with a great opportunity to go back to the basics of prayer.

While attending a religious retreat last week I had the opportunity to learn different ways to pray. One pray that stuck with me is the "A.R.R.R Prayer" also known as the Pirate Prayer. The beauty of this prayer is that you can pray with this acronym at any time! This prayer is particularly helpful if you’re struggling to find the “right” words as you talk with God. However, what matters is that you turn your mind towards Him and be honest with what’s on your heart and mind. God is always present — you just have to call on him!

A – Acknowledge: Take a breath and acknowledge that God is with you and that you desire to grow closer to Him. Take notice of how you’re feeling, your thoughts, what is on your heart and mind.

R – Relate: Share with God everything that came to mind. Be completely real with Him and don’t hold anything back, even things that might be hard to share.

R – Receive: Now, quiet yourself and try to be open to what God says back to you. Maybe He speaks to you through a Scripture verse that comes to mind or a thought or feeling. Maybe you don’t hear anything, and that’s okay! God speaks even in silence and loves when you rest with Him there.

R – Respond: Lastly, commit to responding to what this time of prayer revealed to you. You could feel called to continue to pray about something that came up; you could decide to take some type of action. Lastly, ask God to help you see what concrete steps you can take with His help.

You can close your prayer with more time in silence, with an Our Father, or any prayer on your heart.

THANK YOU!

On behalf of St Aidan’s, I would like to thank our community for their endless support this term. Have a restful and rejuvenating winter break.

HOLY FAMILY PARISH CONTACT DETAILS

Please find below the contact details for Family Parish 

The parish contact details are: holyfamilymaroubra@outlook.com and 9349 1198

Jenna Smithson,

Religious Education Coordinator