Education in Faith

Discussion Starters

• Which character in the parable is most like God / least like God?
• In the parable of the unforgiving servant, which character do you identify with? Why?
• When have you been forgiven for something you did wrong? What did it feel like to be forgiven?
• Have you ever truly forgiven someone and tried to forget about what happened? Is it difficult?
• What gets in the way of forgiving someone when they have hurt you?
• In the parable of the unforgiving servant, which character do you identify with? Why?
• What aspect of the gospel passage do you find most challenging / interesting?
• Have you ever truly forgiven someone and tried to forget about what happened? Is it difficult?
• How might it be possible to forgive someone who has committed a crime against you?
• In the light of the gospel passage, what is the role of ‘punishment’?

Have you thought?

This parable sees the unforgiving servant putting his fellow servant in prison ‘until he paid back the debt’. This is almost exclusively what prisons were used for until only a few hundred years ago. When a person could not repay a debt, they were held in prison until the debt was paid. Of course, being in prison, they had little opportunity to repay the debt themselves and relied on friends and relatives to repay the debt on their behalf. To pay someone’s debt was to ‘redeem’ them. 

Living the Gospel – Just like Peter

Throughout the gospels, Peter is a fantastic example of the common person. He has insights of faith at times but usually messes it up with his next breath. His question in this week’s gospel is one that any one of us might ask. 

I try to do what’s right, but how long do I have to hang in there? 

There has to be a limit to patience with someone who keeps upsetting me, surely? 

Jesus shows us that if we operate from a motivation of compassion and a desire to constantly build relationships that are life-giving for both parties, then there is no end to the number of times that we try to re-build that relationship.

Gospel Focus – How many times?

Peter asks, ‘How many times should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Peter probably thought that he was being pretty generous. The religious law of his time required people to forgive three times, so by suggesting seven times, Peter would have thought that he was really going the extra mile. To forgive someone seven times is a pretty big call. But the number seven has great significance in scripture; it is regarded as a number of perfection. Peter is suggesting that there is an ideal number of times that one should forgive. Jesus blows this out of the water by saying, take that perfect number of times and multiply it by seventy. There is no perfect number of times to forgive.

Sacramental News

SACRAMENTS 2024

To assist us with the administration and preparation of Sacraments for 2024, we ask you to fill in the Operoo form below, to indicate if your child will be receiving a Sacrament next year in 2024.

Junior and Senior parents ACCEPT or DECLINE this invitation by Friday 15th September.  Dates for Sacraments will be published in our school newsletter.

Reconciliation: baptized Catholics in Year 1, 2 and 3 or above.

Next year in 2024, children in:

• Grade 2 and Grade 3 will receive Reconciliation.
• Grade 3 and Grade 4 will receive Eucharist.
• Grade 6 will receive Confirmation.

Reconciliation: baptized Catholics in Year 2 and 3.

Eucharist: baptized Catholics in Year 3 and 4 or above who have celebrated their Reconciliation.

Confirmation: Year 6 Catholics who have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation and Eucharist.

If you have any further questions regarding your child receiving these Sacraments, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school.

Yours Sincerely,

God Bless

Rozeta Ambrose

rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 5/6 SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM – MINI VINNIES

COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD POINTS

Points this week include points given to students by staff, donations to the 2nd Chance Appeal and points given to the Grade 6 students for volunteering to help the Juniors on Footy Fun Day.

The results so far are:

Well done Patrick but the other Houses are catching up! Remember we have all of next term so one of the other houses may take the lead.

2ND CHANCE VINNIES APPEAL

What a marvellous job our school community has done. There have been many donations given. 

I have now delivered all our donations to Vinnies. It has taken 3 carloads to take in everything that has been donated. A huge thanks from Mini Vinnies for your generous contributions.

We managed to fill the Vinnies containers 3 times during our 2nd Chance Appeal! Well done SFS!!

VINNIES SOUP AND CHAT EVENING

All donations were due on Wednesday. We have managed to raise a total of $418. Mini Vinnies decided the money will be donated to the Vinnies Soupvans. We will present the money to a Vinnies Soupvan representative at an assembly next term. 

Giuliana & SFS Mini Vinnies