Living with Strength and Kindliness

This week we celebrate:

November 1st is All Saints' Day

This is a solemn holy day of the Catholic Church celebrated annually on this date.  The day is dedicated to the saints of the Church.

To learn more visit:   http://www.catholic.org/saints/allsaints/

November 2nd is All Souls' Day

This is a time honoured tradition in our Catholic Church to remember our deceased family members.

To learn more visit: 

 http://www.catholic.org/saints/allsouls/

So how does this all fit in with the Halloween celebrations of the 31st of October?  Halloween has deep Christian roots. The early Celtic people celebrated the transition from summer to winter on Nov 1. They believed that at this time of year, the veil between our world and the next was thinnest during this time. The Church adopted this same date in order to celebrate All Hallows or All Holies (also known as All Saints' Day) this was to be a day to honour all the saints who died as followers of Jesus. Over time this became shortened to Halloween. Light, long a symbol of life in Jesus, was used on ‘Halloween’ Eve to welcome good spirits and ward off evil ones. Candles were lit and placed inside hollowed-out squash, turnips, or later, after the discovery of America, pumpkins. Children, wearing masks, would go ‘souling’ from door to door, begging for soul cakes for those in purgatory. This is the origins of Trick or Treat. All Souls' Day follows on November 2nd and is a time in which we pray for all the dead, including our own special friends and family.

A Prayer for All Saints' Day

Dear God, thank you for the example of the Saints.

I desire to join in their company, worshiping you forever in Heaven.

Please help me follow their footsteps, and yours, Jesus Christ.

Please help me to conform myself to Your image, seeking Your will in all things, as the Saints' did.

Please help me to devote myself, and all that I do, to Your glory, and to the service of my neighbors.

Amen.

November is a sacred month dedicated to remembering those who have gone before us.

Your action:  Think about all the people in your life who have modelled a life of love.  What can you do to show your gratitude for the influence that these people have had on you?

Kirrilee Westblade

Catholic Identity Leader

Apology to Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse 

On Tuesday, Oct 21st , the Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered a National Apology to the victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse at Parliament House in Canberra.

In an emotional speech in the Great Hall, the Prime Minister said an apology allowed Australia to confront “a trauma, an abomination, hiding in plain sight for far too long”. “Nothing we can do now will right the wrongs inflicted on our nation's children. Even after a comprehensive Royal Commission, which finally enabled the voices to be heard and the silence to be broken, we will all continue to struggle,” he said. “Mr Speaker, today, as a nation, we confront our failure to listen, to believe, and to provide justice. And, again, today, we say sorry, to the children we failed, sorry.” Mr Morrison announced a number of initiatives including the establishment of a National Centre of Excellence, and a National Museum, and said the Government was actively working on 104 of the 122 recommendations addressed to the Commonwealth, with the 18 remaining recommendations “being closely examined” in consultation with states and territories. While institutions were asked not to formally attend the ceremony, many welcomed the National Apology.

Australia’s Catholic bishops and religious leaders, said they renewed their “profound and heartfelt apology to all victims and survivors of abuse and to their families, friends and supporters, who have shared their suffering.” “The National Apology today and the apologies made by institutions during the life of the Royal Commission and since, have been an important validation of the courage of survivors of abuse in seeking truth, justice and healing. We think first of them at this time,” said CRA president Sr Monica Cavanagh RSJ.

Archbishop Mark Coleridge, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said abuse perpetrated by priests, brothers, sisters and lay people was “an utter betrayal of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it should never have happened.” 

You can watch the Apology via this link below: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/full-speech-scott-morrison-s-national-apology-to-child-sex-abuse-victims

Just a reminder that this coming Friday the 2nd of November is a casual day - dress up in your race gear - and there are prizes for the best hat on the day!

We are asking that you bring a gold coin donation on this day, all proceeds will be going to the communities in Cebu (In the Philippines) that are sponsored by our Alternative Schoolies Program.  

Taylor Cooper, in Year 12, is heading to the Philippines this December as part of the Alternative Schoolies Program.

Your support is greatly appreciated!

Mrs Kirrilee Westblade

Catholic Identity Leader