Our Faith - Religion - Prayer 

 St Patrick's Church Walcha 

For Baptism or Marriage enquiries phone Monsignor Ted Wilkes 67784070.

Monsignor Ted Wilkes would like to invite parishioners to Sunday Mass 10am.

Term 1 Mass Dates

*Friday 22nd March: Mass and Reconciliation after at 11.30am

*Friday 5th April: Mass at 11.30am

Reflection

Even during Lent we have feasts to celebrate. Today's feast has an interesting name- the Chair of Peter. A chair can be very important. Whoever is in charge sits in this chair. It can be the bench of the judge, the throne of a queen, or the bishop's seat (called the cathedra).

The Chair of Peter stands for his leadership of the early church, and the leadership of bishops today, especially the bishop of Rome. The people of God are united around the chair of Saint Peter. The person who sits in the chair of Peter at present is Pope Francis.

Prayer

Gracious God,

through the gift of your Spirit

and the teaching of your apostles,

we can proclaim with your church

that Jesus is the Messiah you sent to us.

Strengthen and deepen this gift of faith.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Project Compassion

During this period of Lent, let us reflect upon the ways in which we can guarantee our efforts are directed towards benefiting the well-being of all future generations across the globe.

Together, we can make a difference now, and For All Future Generations.

We begin our annual Lenten Project Compassion journey by learning about 22-year-old Ronita lives in a barangay , in Quezon City, the Philippines.

She lives with her husband Lean and their two children, Egzy Grey who is 3 years old and Clark who is 5 years old. Ronita’s husband works seven days a week in waste disposal, from 3am to 9pm each day. It is exhausting, laborious work, made harder by the very hot climate. Despite this, Ronita and her husband are only able to rent a very small brick room (measuring around 10 square metres). 

With the support of people like you, Ronita was given a second chance at completing her studies when she heard about the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ), Caritas Australia’s local partners in the Philippines. Through the FCJ’s Alternative Learning System (ALS) program, Ronita was able to re-enrol in her studies, and continue learning in a safe and flexible environment – even with the arrival of her second child, Egzy Grey.

Ronita has now completed her final high school exams and secured a job at a call centre, which required a Grade 12 Senior High School Diploma to apply. She hopes to earn enough income to continue her studies and support her family. 

“One day I hope I will be school teacher, just like Ma'am Jen and Ma'am Grace (her former teachers at FCJ),” Ronita said. “I feel hopeful for the future… Now I can achieve my dream... Thank you for that."

Watch her story and see how her life has changed, thanks to people like you.

Sacrament Dates for 2024

2024 First Reconciliation: Date has been set for our Catholic students in Years 2 and 3 for Friday 1st November 2024.

2024 First Eucharist: Date has been set for our Catholic students in Year 3 for Sunday 2nd June 2024.

Catherine McAuley

Catherine’s spirituality was centred on the mercy of God…prayer in action…action in prayer.