Liturgy

Community Liturgy

Next week, our Community Liturgy will be prepared by students in Koolyangarra House. Families are always welcome!

Community Mass is open to everyone – it is a joyful and ‘user-friendly’ celebration. Mass commences at 8:00am, and finishes at 8:30am, in time for Homeroom.

Community Liturgy summary

Where: College Chapel
Time: 8:00am – 8:30 am
When: every Friday in term time

SACRAMENT PROGRAM 2020

Do you have a child currently in Year 3, 4 or 6? The children will be preparing, in their Religion classes, for the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. While the students will learn the appropriate content in their Religion classes, they celebrate the sacraments with their family in their parishes.

Parents are encouraged to enrol their child, as soon as possible, in their parish – usually, but not necessarily the parish closest to home. Please check the enrolment dates and procedures for some of our local parishes on our website.

If you have any further queries please contact Mary-Anne Lumley: mary-anne.lumley@cew.edu.au

Updates from local parishes

Holy Spirit, City Beach

Information about the Sacraments: an evening for parents

Reminder for enrolled children: Commitment Masses this weekend.

Information: delattrecn@yahoo.fr or phone Parish Priest, Fr Emmanual-tv Dimobi, 93413131.

Saint Thomas Apostle, Claremont

Sacrament enrolments close: Friday 14 March

Registration forms are available from silvia.kinder@cewa.edu.au

Star of the Sea, Cottesloe

Enrolments for program being finalised.

Further information: cottesloe@perthcatholic.org.au

Saint Cecilia, Floreat

Further information: Rita Morgan, floreat@perthcatholic.org.au

St Joseph, Subiaco

Applications open soon.

Further information: sacraments@stjosephssubiaco.org.au

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scarborough

Contact: Fr Grant Goddard

08 9341 1124 OR scarborough@perthcatholic.org.au

GOOD NEWS for 2nd Sunday in Lent

“His face shone like the sun”
Matthew 17:1-9

The reflection for this Sunday’s Gospel is part of a longer homily by Jesuit priest, Fr Richard Leonard. Fr Richard Leonard SJ is the Director of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting, is a member of the Australian Catholic Media Council and is author of Preaching to the Converted, Paulist Press, New York, 2006.

Three key people of the Old Testament are given to us in today’s readings: Abram, Moses and Elijah. Unfortunately most of what we know about these men is fairly sketchy.

The Jews of Matthew’s community, however, would have been able to remember by heart every detail about Abram, Moses and Elijah. These men remain the Jews’ greatest heroes. The first hearers of the Transfiguration story would have immediately made all the connections between Jesus’ story and Abram, Moses and Elijah’s experience of God on a mountaintop, where each has a life-changing encounter with the presence of God and is illuminated in every way. Each of them is called by God to fulfil a special task and so descend from the mountain with the strength to see it through.

Matthew is especially interested in the story of Moses. One of the refrains of the entire Gospel is that Jesus is the New Moses, the fulfilment of the law and the light that illuminates the darkest night. As interesting as the similarities are between Moses on Sinai and Jesus on Tabor, the differences are even more revealing for us on our Lenten journey.

Moses goes up the mountain alone, Jesus takes companions with him who share in the experience and witness to it. The face of God is hidden from Moses whereas on Tabor Jesus is given to us as the face of God for the world. On Sinai Moses receives a code of law and is told to make sure the people obey it. On Tabor Jesus receives a proclamation of God’s love and we’re told to listen to him. While Moses’ face shines, Jesus’ whole body is transfigured with light. Moses descends to enforce the law; Jesus comes down to die that we might live.

Just when some of us think Lent is a grim season of self-denial, the Church gives us the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration to put our sacrifices in context. The only reason we deny ourselves anything or commit ourselves to actions of service for these 40 days is to grow more deeply in love with the God who loves us into life. Penance is not meant to attack our self-esteem, it’s intended to help us sort out what really matters, to cast some light in the darkness of our lives and to focus on the relationship which gives meaning and purpose for this world and the next.

The God of Mount Tabor is not interested in each of us feeling isolated as we fulfil the letter of a legal code. God wants all of us to have hearts that listen to the Gospel of love so that we can gain the power to transform the world through the sacrifices of our daily lives.

On a much gentler scale, Sunday Mass is meant to be a weekly mountaintop experience for us where we hear God call us by name; where we feel re-energised for our commission to bear Christ’s light to the world. In this context anything we can do this Lent that helps remove the blocks in our full response to his love, must be worth effort.