Faith Connections
St. Augustine's School Prayer
Our Father in Heaven,
Look over and bless St. Augustine’s while we are working and playing.
Help us to respect and care for each other as you taught us to.
Give us the opportunity to do our best for you each day.
We look forward to being able to share our lives with our friends and families.
Keep us safe and give us the courage to be
people who want to know you more.
Amen.
I invite all families to pray this prayer at home, maybe before coming to school one morning each week.
Prayer of the Week
Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord!
We ring out our joy
for the Lord forgives!
Amen.
Scripture of the Week
John 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.’
NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY
by Mary Coloe PBVM
The Spirit of truth will lead you. Rom 5:1-5; John 16:12-15
Desire – The heart of God.
We do not find an explicit statement of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Gospels; it took centuries of discussion before the Council of Nicea came up with the language we profess in our creed about Father, Son, and Spirit. What we do find is a seminal faith and an experience of God present in the life of Jesus and the early Christians. As a Jew Jesus would have daily prayed the great Jewish proclamation of faith, ‘Hear O Israel the Lord our God, the Lord is one.’ Drawing on his Jewish traditions and Scriptures Jesus spoke to God as ‘Abba’, father. While the Greeks had the idea of God as a distant impersonal and immovable being, Jesus knew God as personal and loving.
Jesus’ experience of an intimate loving God continued in the experience of the early Christians who glimpsed that while the historical Jesus of Nazareth was no longer with them, Jesus as the Risen Christ was a powerful presence, still alive in their midst, and they experienced this as a powerful Spirit of love, courage, gratitude and peace, even in the midst of hostility and suffering. They knew with the certainty of experience God as Father, as Son and Spirit. How this could be so, remained mystery, as it still is, but the experience of love has its own certainty, as Paul writes with conviction: ‘the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.’ For this certainty, he will travel thousands of miles to share his experience, and ultimately will give his life.
The section from John’s Gospel continues Jesus’ Final Discourse as he tries to console and encourage his disciples on the night of his arrest. He promises them that even in his absence they will still have an advocate, a teacher and guide; they will not be left orphaned. The understanding of God as Trinity can also help us understand our own life.
The Trinity expresses the Christian faith that the essence of Divine life is a love that reaches out to another in desire to be in relationship. As this Gospel reveals, the Spirit is turned towards Jesus, the Son; all the Spirit expresses comes from the Risen Christ, just as all the Father has, is given over to the Son. Our own relationships and desires for love image the dynamic self-giving within the life of God. As Genesis states, ‘in the image of God they were created, male and female.’
In celebrating the Trinity, may we also celebrate and give thanks for our participation in this life of loving desire. May the patterns of our own loving mirror the generous self-giving of our God.
First Reconciliation
Congratulations to some our of students in Year 3 and 4 as they made their their First Reconciliation on Wednesday 12th June at 7pm. The students and their teachers had been preparing for this night all term. It was a beautiful night which I am am sure the students and their families will remember fondly for a long time. The looks on the faces of the boy and girls, after they had been to confession, was one of relief, joy and excitement. This was a beautiful and reverent time in their faith journey at St Augustine's.
Well done to all students on their efforts with their faith development and learning this term and also with the numerous rehearsals for their First Reconciliation. Special thanks goes to the teachers, Natalie Librizzi and Emily Wardeiner, for their dedication, hard work and excellent preparation of the students. Thanks to Fr John for leading the students through important this time in their lives.
Some important dates to remember:
First Eucharist Information night and Workshop: Wednesday 19th June at 6:30pm.
Both parent and child are strongly encouraged to attend this important meeting.
Sacrament of First Eucharist is Sunday 25th August at 2pm.
Confirmation Information night and Workshop: Tuesday 17th September at 6:30pm
Sacrament of Confirmation is Friday 8th November 7pm.