Education in Faith

Sacramental Dates for 2025

Parents please check the following dates:

• Grade 2 will receive First Reconciliation in Term 4 on Thursday, 20th November 2025.
• Reconciliation: baptised Catholics in Year 2

If you have any further questions regarding your child receiving these Sacraments, please feel free to contact me at the school.

God Bless  

Rozeta Ambrose

Religious Education Leader

rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls' Day)

This day invites us as a family to remember those who have gone before us in faith, our relatives, friends, and all the faithful departed. 

The readings bring three key comforts and challenges for us:

• Comfort of God’s care beyond deathThe Wisdom reading assures us that “the souls of the just are in the hand of God… they rest in peace.” While we humans may see death as final and tragic, the faith tells us it is not the end. God holds those we love. Our Psalm echoes this: even when we walk through the “valley of darkness”, God is with us, we fear no evil. (Ps 23) This gives us comfort in loss.

   

• Hope rooted in Christ’s love and resurrectionIn Romans we are reminded that even when we were weak, God’s love was poured into our hearts; Christ died for us when we were still sinners. Therefore, our hope is sure. Death does not have the last word. The Gospel adds that God’s will is that everyone who comes to the Son may have eternal life, and the Son will raise them on the last day. We believe that those who have died in Christ are in that hope.

   

• A living faith that affects how we live and rememberThis is not just about remembering the dead, but also reflecting on how we live now in light of eternity. If God cares for us beyond death, we are invited to live in a way that honours that hope: to love now, to forgive, to live with kindness and mercy. In remembering our dead, we also remember the promise of resurrection and the call to live in God’s love. Visiting their resting places, praying for them, offering Masses and prayers are ways our family participates in that communion of saints and believers, bridging life here and life to come.
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Discussion with the family

Take a moment together to name those you have lost, parents, grandparents, friends, relatives and pray for them.

Share stories of them: what they loved, how they lived faith, what you remember about them.

Recognise that death invites us to treasure life and relationships now: how can we live in gratitude, forgiveness, kindness?

For children: you might light a candle together and say a simple prayer for the deceased, reminding them that while they’re not here physically, God holds them and we remember them with love.

Discussion Starters for Families

Here are some questions you can ask around the dinner table, or during a family time, adapted for different age‐groups.

• What person who has died do you remember today? What is one good thing you remember about them?

   

• How does knowing that “the souls of the just are in the hand of God” (Wisdom 3:1) change the way we view death or loss?

   

• The Gospel says Jesus “will raise them on the last day” (John 6:40). What hope does that give you for someone you love who has died?

   

• In what ways does remembering the dead prompt us to live differently now?

• Do you remember someone we have loved who has died? What happy memory do you have of them?

   

• We say a prayer for people who have died. Why do you think we do that?

   

• If God is like a shepherd (Psalm 23), how does that make you feel when you think of someone you loved being with God?

   

Reflection in action:

As a family, pick one way you could honour a loved one who has died (e.g., lighting a candle, visiting a cemetery, writing a note of thanks to them, offering a prayer).

Ask: 

“What can we say or do this week for all the faithful departed? 

How can we live in hope and love because of the promise of resurrection?”

Think together: “How does our life become a gift to others, so that we live in such a way that when our time comes, others will remember us with love?”

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father,

You gather into Your loving arms the souls of the faithful departed.Grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them.Let their example of faith and hope inspire us to live in Your love every day.Comfort us in our loss, strengthen our hope, and help our family to live in gratitude for the life You give.

We ask this through Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT HOUSE POINTS

The total House points for each House so far:

Bosco is still in the lead!!   Well done Bosco!!   Will they still be winning next week?? 

MINI VINNIES TWILIGHT MARKET STALL

AND NOW FROM THE MINI VINNIES:

This year we are asking for a gold coin donation. Sr. Rochelle, from the Salesian congregation, came to visit and spoke with our senior students about - ‘Women Empowering Women’ and Faith in Action. She shared her powerful work supporting the development of young girls and women through missions in the Solomon Islands and Samoa. Mini Vinnies have decided that the money we raise at our stall will be donated to Sr Rochelle.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Mini Vinnies will be selling Remembrance Day items at both our Twilight Market Stall and also at school during eating time 1st and 2nd lunch. There will be a number of items for sale. Please ensure your child brings the correct change if they would like to buy a Remembrance Day item.

Giuliana

Mini Vinnies Facilitator

gfaiola@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au