Catholic Identity 

Feast of the Navtity of Our Lord - Christmas

Throughout Advent the Church longed ardently for the coming of our Saviour. At Christmas she celebrates His birth with unrestrained joy. The Christmas feast is a festival full of joy. The Eternal Word has become Man and dwells among us. The longings of the patriarchs and prophets are fulfilled. 

With the shepherds we hurry to the manger and adore the Incarnate Son of God, who for us and for our salvation descended upon earth. The purpose of the Christmas feast is beautifully expressed in the Preface of the Nativity: "For by the mystery of the Word made flesh the light of Thy glory hath shone anew upon the eyes of our mind; so that while we acknowledge Him a God seen by men, we may be drawn by Him to the love of things unseen."

Ideas how to celebrate in the home Church

Make and light a 'Christ candle' - a white candle you might decorate with symbols that represent Jesus, who is the Light of the World. 

Pray before the Baby Jesus - like the shepherds and Wise Men, kneel and pray before the Baby Jesus in your family Nativity crib. 

Organise a Christmas Carols party - invite friends and family around to sing carols.

Go to Mass - go to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

Celebrate the Feast of Mary, Mother of God - go to Mass on January 1st and ask God to bless the coming year. 

Send the Wise Men on a journey - have the Wise Men figures from your crib move through the house until the arrive at the crib on the Feast of the Epiphany. 

Bless you home - it is traditional to bless your house on the Feast of the Epiphany, using prayers such as those provided at https://www.usccb.org/prayers/blessing-home-and-household-epiphany 

Christmas Blessing

Loving God, during this holy season of Christmas we ask for your blessing on our all families.

Let Mary’s openness to your wondrous ways be an inspiration to place all trust in you.

Let Joseph’s courage provide hope during times of anxiety and uncertainty.

Let Jesus’ life ignite all families with a spirit of light and love. 

May the grace that encircled the Holy Family widen to embrace all families. 

Amen.

Christmas Food Drive and Giving Tree

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our St Vincent de Paul food drive and giving tree this year. Once again it was a wonderful success and heartwarming to see so many thoughtful and generous donations. These food items and gifts have been collected and will be used to create hampers for those families and people in need in our community this Christmas. 

The donations and gifts that we have given will contribute to proving some light and joy to others this Christmas. 

Graduation Mass

Last night, we celebrated our Graduation Mass for 2023. We thanked God for all of the blessings our Year 6 students have received this year, and throughout their time at OLSC. At the end of Mass, we also asked God to bless our Year 6 students in their future learning. Students received their graduation certificates and a momento. Finally, we farewelled those families that are leaving us at the end of this year, thanking them for all they have contributed to our school during their time with us - whether that be long or short! Congratulations again to our graduating Year 6 students. 

Christmas Liturgy

Today we celebrated our final liturgy for the year. It was a time to contemplate the story of the first Christmas, the birth of Our Lord, Jesus. Gradually, the figures of our crib were introduced and added until, by the end, we had in front of us a complete crib. 800 years after St Francis created the first Nativity Creche, or crib, ours helped us to think about the very special event that our relationship with God for ever. 

Following this, we all enjoyed the singing of some carols to herald in the festive season!

Community Mass in 2024

Community Masses will resume at the start of the 2024 school year and take place every third Sunday of the month. Mass will take place in the OLSC Sports Centre at 10am. We encourage as many of our families and friends to attend these Masses, as we reinvigorate the Wyndham Vale Catholic Community. These Masses, while taking place on school grounds and involving students from our school, are open to all members of our local community. So please spread the word!

2024 Masses will be as follows:

John Dini

Catholic Identity Leader