Ninth Archbishop of Melbourne

The Holy Father Pope Francis has appointed Most Reverend Bishop Peter Andrew Comensoli of the Diocese of Broken Bay as the ninth Archbishop of Melbourne. Last Wednesday 1st August we witnessed the installation of Archbishop Comensoli. We look forward as a Catholic community in working with the Archbishop and wish him well as he accepts his calling to be a new missionary among God's people of the Archdiocese of Melbourne. We wish Archbishop Denis Hart a peaceful retirement and thank him for 17 wonderful years of service.

Feast of the Assumption

The feast day of the Assumption of Mary celebrates the Christian belief that God assumed the Virgin Mary into Heaven following her death.

The Assumption signals the end of Mary's earthly life and marks her return to heaven to be reunited with Jesus. While the bodies of both Jesus and Mary are now in heaven, there is a difference between the Assumption and the Resurrection. Where Jesus arose from the tomb and ascended into heaven by his own power, Mary's body was taken up to heaven by the power of her Son.

For this reason we use different words to describe each event. One is the Ascension of Christ and the other, the Assumption of Mary.

All families are welcome to join us in a Whole School Mass for the Feast of the Assumption of Mary- Wednesday 15th August at 9.30am.

Fr Simon will be blessing all expectant mothers

at the 7pm vigil mass on Tuesday 14 August and the

9:30am School Mass of the Assumption on Wednesday 15 August.

During mass Fr Simon will be blessing all expectant mothers.

There will be a Feast of the Assumption Vigil Mass on Tuesday 14th August at 7pm. Fr Simon will be blessing all expectant mothers during this vigil mass.

Feast of St Mary of the Cross -Mary MacKillop

Each year the 8th of August we celebrate the Feast Day of Australia's first Saint- St Mary of the Cross, known as Mary MacKillop.

Mary Helen MacKillop was born in Fitzroy, Victoria, on 15 January 1842. Mary MacKillop was educated at private schools and by her father. She started work at the age of 14 as a clerk in Melbourne and later as a teacher in Portland she did this to provide for her needy family.

During her working years she met a priest by the name of Father Woods. He had been very concerned about the lack of education and particularly Catholic education in South Australia. In 1866, he invited Mary MacKillop and her sisters Annie and Lexie to come to Penola and open a Catholic school. Fr Woods was appointed director of education and became the founder. Along with Mary they opened a school- a stable. In 1867, Mary MacKillop became the first sister and mother superior of the newly formed order of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and moved to the new convent in Adelaide. In the same year, at age 25, she adopted the religious name Sister Mary of the Cross.

Mary's belief was that every child deserved an education and she attempted to provide education to all the poor, particularly in country areas.

Mary MacKillop died on 8 August 1909. Her canonisation was announced on 19 February 2010 and subsequently took place on 17 October 2010. This made her the first Australian saint.

The students will reflect on Mary's wonderful life and achievements throughout the day (8th August) through prayer and formal learning.

First Eucharist

Thank you to all the parents that attended the Parent/Children information session on the 17th July. It was wonderful to see parents with their child engaging in conversation regarding the Sacrament of Eucharist. During the month of August students will be preparing and growing in a deeper understanding of how Jesus is present in the Eucharist. There are four places that Jesus is present;

in the people who gather , in the word -prayers/scripture, in bread and wine, with the celebrant Parish /Priest. We will help children understand the link between baptism and Eucharist.

We encourage all families to attend Mass either on Saturday's at 6pm or Sunday's at 10.30am.

Family Activity: Reminder to all Year 4 families to return their family prayers.

Food Bank Victoria

We the staff at St Raphael's would like to thank all families that contributed and donated during the Sacred Heart collection. We would like to particularly thank Marlene Walters for her coordination and dedication towards this wonderful cause. The organisation thanked us immensely for our generosity.

"We at Foodbank Victoria just wanted to share our thanks for the donations of food from the Food Drive held recently at St Raphael's School. The community donated a fantastic 210 kg of food which will provide 378 meals for those experiencing food insecurity in Victoria. We look forward to working with your community again soon."

Serving the Community

Well done Joshua Paravizzini in 3/4E in helping out those in need....

On the weekend mum and I volunteered at to a soup kitchen called 'Souper Kitchen' in St Kilda. I helped prepare the apples for the apple pie and the potatoes for roasting. There were at least 30 people helping in the kitchen. We had to wear a hairnet, gloves and an apron for hygiene. All the food we were preparing would be delivered that night to those in need in the community. I really enjoyed the experience and the best thing was it made me feel proud that I was helping people less fortunate. I am looking forward to doing it again soon.

Joshua Paravizzini

Other News

Father's Day Celebrations