Prayer
Pope Leo’s September prayer intention is for our relationship with all of creation.
Lord, You love everything You have created,
and nothing exists outside the mystery of Your tenderness.
Every creature, no matter how small,
is the fruit of Your love and has a place in this world.
Even the simplest or shortest life is surrounded by Your care.
Like St. Francis of Assisi, today we too want to say:
“Praised be You, my Lord!”
Through the beauty of creation,
You reveal Yourself as a source of goodness. We ask You:
open our eyes to recognize You,
learning from the mystery of Your closeness to all creation
that the world is infinitely more than a problem to solve.
It is a mystery to be contemplated with gratitude and hope.
Help us to discover Your presence in all creation,
so that, in fully recognizing it,
we may feel and know ourselves to be responsible for this common home
where You invite us to care for, respect, and protect
life in all its forms and possibilities.
Praised be You, Lord!
Amen.
(Taken from: ncregister.com )
Our Catholic Identity
Welcome to a new section in our McCarthy Newsletter, an inclusion designed to support the shared experience of parents and families in the faith journey of the young people in our care. Over the next few Newsletters we will delve into the Nicene Creed, which has shaped our Christian community for over 17 centuries. It is a statement of our core beliefs, and as well as being recited at Mass, needs to be put into action in everyday life. We can give thanks to the late Pope Francis for the many ways he helped us put belief into practice.
1. I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth
Pope Francis constantly spoke of our interdependence with creation and urged us to show reverence for the natural world. In Laudato Si’ (2015), he writes: ‘Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves, as a mere setting in which we live’.
2. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ
Pope Francis wanted us to not just know about Jesus but actually to encounter Jesus. Jesus does not call us to theories or ideologies but to an authentic relationship. ‘Christ showed the depth of his love for us not by lengthy explanations but by concrete actions.’ Dilexit Nos (2024)
3. Through him all things were made
Pope Francis had a vision of the whole of creation, not just one small, safe part of it. ‘You have to go to the edges of existence if you want to see the world as it is.’ Let us dream (2020)
The Jubilee Year of Hope continues
Next term McCarthy students will be involved in two Jubilee of Hope activities which have been organised by the Cathedral administration in Armidale. On the 15th October, a representative group will travel to Quirindi to celebrate Mass at St Brigid’s Church and later in October a number of RE classes will make a pilgrimage to St Nicholas’ Church for a special presentation on our Saints Mary and Joseph Cathedral in Armidale.
Mission and Liturgy
In addition to the ongoing commitment of the St Agnes Conference, students First Friday Mass at St Nicholas’ Church, where they have taken a lead role in reading and the leading the Prayers of Intercession. A number of McCarthy students attended 7.00am Parish Mass for the Feast of the Assumption, again accepting the request from parishioners to read. Many parishioners commented on the hope seeing young people at Mass gave them.
Our fundraising for Catholic Missions, which will be a major focus in Term 4, is off to a healthy start with $638.50 donated last week for the Barbie Fundraiser.
Congratulations to the following students who will be guiding our Vinnies school chapter for the next 12 months:
President: Halley Buckman
Vice President: Sonia Chin
Spiritual Advisor: Isabella Hanlon
Secretary: Anita Nguyen
Social Coordinator: Angelina Soehlakaw
Publicity Officer: Mia Gentle
Cate Allen
Leader of Learning - Religion
callen@arm.catholic.edu.au