Faith Matters

Dear St Francis Xavier Families,

FIRST COMMUNION

What a lovely way to end Term 2 - last Sunday was our St Francis Xavier First Communion Mass and it was a wonderful culmination of the preparation that has been occurring throughout the year. Congratulations to all our candidates who presented so beautifully and undertook their mass responsibilities with such care and dedication. It was great to see so many of our families, their relatives and friends in attendance to support the children. Thank you to Fr Chinua for leading a beautiful celebration and to Mr Brendan and Miss Vanessa for their excellent work in preparing the children for this sacrament

YEAR 1/2 LITURGY

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending a liturgy prepared by our 1/2 classes. What a truly special experience. The focus was Forgiveness and Acceptance and the children reflected on this through prayer, the Bible story of Zacchaeus, visual media, art and song. One of my favourite moments was when the children shared some of the prayers they had co-written with family members at home. If you contributed to the prayers thank you so much for sharing that experience with your child. Fr Chinua commented on how beautiful the service was and I personally felt a genuine sense of peace and calm while participating. Thank you to Miss Terri and Miss Kim for supporting the children to develop their understanding of liturgy and encouraging their classes to create and enjoy this event.

Here are some of the co -created prayers.

Loving God,

Please look after the poor people in our community. Please help us to use our words and actions to help others.  Lord hear us.  (Sophie's Family)

Dear God,

Please help us as a community to always try our best to make kind choices like Jesus showed us. Please help us to be compassionate.  Amen (Sam's Family)

Dear God,

I pray for families to be safe and warm. I am grateful for the food I have every day. I pray tomorrow is a good day. Amen (Lillie's Family)

Dear God,

Please make sure all the animals in the world are safe because pets are man's best friend. Thank you for my dog Bow who cares for me, brings me joy and loves me unconditionally. Amen (Joshua's Family)

WEDNESDAY MORNING WHOLE SCHOOL PRAYER

It was great to see those of you who attended our final Term 2 Wednesday Morning Whole School Prayer this week. We will recommence in Week 1 of Term 3 and encourage families to join us in the classrooms from 8:50am.

My thanks to the Year 6 Faith in Action Leaders who lead the prayer each week and to the other students who helped lead the prayer this term.

Wishing you a safe and restful break,

God's blessings,

Marion O'Brien

Education in Faith Leader