Religion and Parish News

Prayer

Lord, the resurrection of Your Son

has given us new life and renewed hope.

Help us to live as new people

in pursuit of the Christian ideal.

Grant us wisdom to know what we must do,

the will to want to do it,

the perseverance to continue to do it,

and the strength to complete it.

Amen

Holy Week 2022

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday and marks the start of Holy Week; the week that leads us to Easter Sunday. This week, classes have been sharing Holy Week reflections with the rest of the school that are based on their grades’ RE curriculum. Please click on the following link to read more about Holy Week. Please see the Parish Bulletin link (found in Parish News below) for more information regarding Easter Mass dates in our parish.

2022 Sacramental Dates:

First Eucharist - 8:30am, Sunday 29th May, 2022 (Catholic students in Year 3)

The First Eucharist Parent Information Night is Thursday 28th April (Week 1, Term 2) at 6pm. Please ensure at least one parent of children making their First Eucharist is in attendance. More information will be distributed closer to the date.

First Reconciliation - 6pm, Tuesday 20th September, 2022 (Catholic students in Year 2)

Sacrament of Confirmation

On Sunday 27th March, our parish celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation with Most Reverend Michael Kennedy, Bishop of Armidale and Fr Abmar Dumayag. It was a wonderful celebration, with the church welcoming our 33 candidates and their families, managing to avoid having many candidates withdraw due to COVID-19 despite having to change our Retreat Day layout just days earlier due to a COVID-19 outbreak. We did have some families, however, who did have to miss this Mass and will look to attend an extraordinary Confirmation Mass in our parish at a later date.

We would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who helped prepare the candidates for this Sacrament and who made this very holy occasion possible; Fr Abmar and Fr Samson, the Year 6 teachers at St Xavier’s Primary school, catechists, parishioners, families and sponsors.

Almsgiving During Lent + Project Compassion

Over the last couple of weeks, St Xavier’s classes have been hosting fundraising events in the name of almsgiving for Lent. In Week 9, Stage 2 classes hosted a lunchtime disco and managed to raise $260. The following week, Stage 3 classes organised a wet sponge-throwing event and enlisted the support of the student leaders and Mrs Kennedy, Miss Clift and Mr Frend to be the willing targets! This event successfully raised $430. This week, Infants classes are running Crazy Sock Day this Friday. For a gold coin donation, St Xavier’s students can wear their craziest, wackiest socks! All monies raised during Lent will be donated to Project Compassion.

Any Project Compassion Mission Boxes that you have been using to raise funds at home can be returned to school anytime throughout Week 11, Term 1 or Week 1, Term 2. Caritas greatly appreciate any donations you’ve been able to contribute this Lent.

Recent Solemnities

On Friday, the 25th of March (and also nine months from Christmas Day), it was the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Solemnity honours the day that Mary was visited by the angel, Gabriel, who informed her that she was going to be the mother of a boy, whom she should name ‘Jesus’. The angel went on to tell Mary how Jesus would be great, and that he would be known as the ‘Son of the Most High’.

Parish News

Fr Abmar is going to start requesting the names of any children interested in being an Altar Server. To be eligible for this role, students must have made their Sacrament of First Eucharist and be willing to go on roster for either Saturday evening Mass (6pm) or Sunday morning Mass (8:30am). If you are interested in your child becoming an Altar Server, please email Mal Frend at mfrend@arm.catholic.edu.au or by calling the St Xavier’s office to register your child’s interest.

To read about what’s happening in our parish, please visit this link to read the Parish Bulletin for the week starting Sunday 3rd April.