Religious Education & Pastoral Care 

Prayer

Rise today

through God's strength to pilot me,

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guide me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me.

I thank God through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Feast of St Patrick and St Joseph

Recently we have celebrated the Feast Days of 2 significant saints - Patrick and Joseph.

On Friday 17th March it was the feast day of St Patrick who is the Patron Saint of Ireland.  Patrick turned to God and he wrote:

"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same. I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn."

St Patrick often used shamrocks to explain the Holy Trinity, he worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God. 

St Joseph was born of the royal family of David, but he lived in obscurity as a carpenter when God chose him to be foster father and guardian of Jesus and spouse of the Virgin Mary. Scripture says Joseph was a just man. He was innocent, pure, gentle and loved silence. He was a quiet, hardworking carpenter who kept God’s commandments.

On Monday the whole school attended a liturgy celebrated by Sr Kathryn. During the liturgy the children learnt about the man that St Joseph was and the role he played in the Catholic Church.

Both these saints guide us in our faith through their acts of determination and compassion. The awareness of these feast days invites us all to stop and reflect on our relationships with our God and with each other. 

Lent

The Season of Lent commenced on Ash Wednesday (22nd February). Lent is a Catholic liturgical season consisting of forty days of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (charity). The liturgical colour for Lent is purple. Lent is the time to prepare for Easter.

Caritas and Project Compassion

Every year, thousands of schools across Australia participate in Project Compassion during Lent.  This is a time when we are are particularly encouraged to help those less fortunate then ourselves. One way we are able to do this as a Catholic community is by supporting Project Compassion run by CARITAS Australia and over the next forty days of Lent we should be looking to make monetary contributions (big or small) to these boxes. Last Wednesday all families received a Project Compassion box to keep in their home during Lent.

For your information here is a link to the website that gives the background story of this organisation and the excellent work that they do. https://lent.caritas.org.au/students 

We are aware of many local families doing it tough given the current circumstances so prayers for those in need and random acts of kindness that don't cost money can be just as good as a monetary contribution!

2023 Sacrament Dates

First Reconciliation - Year 2 - 28th November @ 5:30pm

First Eucharist - Year 3 - 25th June @ 9.00am

Confirmation - Year 5/6 20th August @ 9.00am

****Please put these dates into your calendars****

Parish Mass Times

Please join our Parish to celebrate the Eucharist. Our Parish offers three Mass times every weekend.

Saturday - 5.30pm

Sunday - 9.00am and 5.30pm  

https://stpatrickswesttamworthparish.org/ 

Living Well, Learning Well

Armidale Catholic Schools Diocesan Prayer

At the Principal's Meeting last week a new Diocesan Prayer was launched. This prayer was composed by a group of students from St Mary’s College in Gunnedah.