Religious Education News

ASH WEDNESDAY starts our most important journey of LENT 

This week we commence our First week of Lent. The marking of the Ashes last week on Ash Wednesday was an expression of our faith and a sign that we are asking God for forgiveness. Each child in our school received the ashes on their forehead as we celebrated this special day with a eucharistic celebration for Years 4-6 along with our parish community. Our Levels Prep-Years 3 celebrated the beginning of Lent with a Prayer Service in their classrooms. Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and giving to others. Through prayer we come closer to God so that we are better able to realise our baptismal promise to live justly as Jesus teaches us. Fasting joins us in solidarity with the poor who often have no choice but to go without basic needs such as food, water and shelter. Giving to the poor or ‘almsgiving’ is a sign of our commitment to justice and our thanks for all that God has given us. 

Lent prepares us for the season of Easter, the most important time in the Church’s calendar. By praying, fasting and giving alms, we are reminded of Jesus’ death and Resurrection. Jesus brought the promise of hope to all people so that we may “Have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) so that with our neighbours, we can go further, together. 

Ash Wednesday also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas 

Project Compassion Appeal. This year’s theme for Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion is “For All Future Generations”.

Your generous support can help change lives today and For All Future Generations.  

It invites us to make the world a better place by working 

together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues. 

We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent 

through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting 

Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project 

Compassion box for your donations.

All families may return their Project Compassion Boxes to school with their donations at any time during or at the end of our journey of LENT.

Each classroom also has a donation box and the children have the opportunity to give a donation to their class box. The aim of the project is to work together as one human family so that our sisters and brothers around the world don’t have to live in poverty. You might, as parents, speak to your child about how they could sacrifice something and donate to Project Compassion. They might sacrifice buying an ice-cream and put the money into the Project Compassion Box at school instead. They might do some extra chores at home and donate their pocket money that they have earned to Project Compassion. As a family, you might also designate a special prayer time each week to reflect on the ways that we can become more like Jesus. Prayer is a very powerful and vital part of faith development.