John XXIII College Newsletter

Liturgy

Community Liturgy

Thank you to the students from Year 12 who prepared the Mass this morning. 

 

Special Community Celebration

Next Friday, Friday 4 September, our liturgy will relocate to the St Louis Sports Centre and will begin at the earlier time of 7:30am.  This is to allow our dads to join us as we pray for them and with them in the lead up to Fathers’ Day on Sunday. 

 

Community Mass Summary

  • Every Friday
  • 8:00am – 8:30am
  • College Chapel
  • Exception: Friday 4 September 2020

SACRAMENT PROGRAM

Congratulations to students and their families!

One of the joys of being in a large ‘regional’ school is having students celebrating sacraments in a number of parishes.  Over the next couple of weeks, children in Year 4 will be making their Firs Holy Communion in the parishes of St Thomas, Claremont and Holy Spirit, City Beach. Let us keep them in our hearts and in our prayer. 

 

This week, some students in Year 3 made their first Reconciliation in the parish of Holy Spirit, City Beach:

Emily Archibald

Felicity Bosnich

Elliot Hurley

Congratulations to these students and their families. 

 

The following students in Year 4 recently made their first Holy Communion in the parish of St Mary Star of the Sea in Cottesloe. Congratulations to:

William Beach

Kye Bishop

Tallula Chamberlain

Matteo Desiati

Elsa Engelbrecht

 

 

In the Archdiocese of Perth, the model for Sacrament preparation is ‘family-focused, parish-based, Catholic-school supported. The Policy was formalized in 2014, and outlines how family, parish and school work together.  The following extract shows how schools support the family and parish is preparing children for the sacraments. 

 

 

If you would like further information about the Sacrament Program:

Updates from local parishes

Updates from local parishes

 

SAINT THOMAS APOSTLE, CLAREMONT

First Communion  Friday 4 September, 5:30pm

Reconciliation  4 and 5 November, 3:30-4:30pm

Contact: silvia.kinder@cewa.edu.au

 

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY, DOUBLEVIEW

First Communion   Saturday 17 & 24 October, 6:00pm, Sunday 18 & 25 October, 10.00am. 

Reconciliation   Tuesday - Friday, 27 - 30  October, 9:00am.

Contact: Kaye Shervington, doubleview@perthcatholic.org.au

 

OUR LADY OF GRACE, NORTH BEACH

Reconciliation  27 October

Contact: Sheralee Allen, north.beach@perthcatholic.org.au

 

HOLY SPIRIT, CITY BEACH

First Communion 29 & 30 August

Contact: delattrecn@yahoo.fr or phone Parish Priest, Fr Emmanual-tv Dimobi, 08 93413131.

 

ST JOSEPH, SUBIACO

The Parish of St Joseph regrets to advise that (due to their unique situation) in order to comply with both State Government and Archdiocesan Guidelines, they are unable to have the Sacramet program and Masses in 2020. They look forward to being able to publish, in due course, their enlarged program for 2021. 

Contact: sacraments@stjosephssubiaco.org.au

 

SAINT CECILIA, FLOREAT

Contact: Rita Morgan, floreat@perthcatholic.org.au

 

STAR OF THE SEA, COTTESLOE

Contact: cottesloe@perthcatholic.org.au

 

GOOD NEWS for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Matthew 16:21-27  “Whoever wishes to come after me…”

 

The reflection for this Sunday’s Gospel is a 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.

 

At the morning parade in Dachau on 22nd July 1943, six prisoners were found to have escaped. Retribution was swift and brutal. Randomly selected, 12 people were hanged. As the other prisoners watched their 12 fellow inmates gasp for breath, someone in the crowd cried out, ‘Where is God?’ Silence descended on the yard. The 12 bodies were now in spasm, jerking and struggling for breath. As everyone watched, the voice came again, this time more urgently, ‘Where is God now?’ ‘My God’, another voice yelled back, ‘My God is hanging there’.

 

This sort of faith is what today’s Gospel is all about. Christianity is the only world religion that holds that God took our flesh, suffered, died and was raised to life.

 

It is certainly true that we have domesticated the scandal of the cross, even to the point that, these days, it dangles from various parts of people’s anatomies. But while we have tried to tame the reality of Jesus’ tortured hours in Jerusalem, the reality of the cross in each of our lives cannot be so commercially soothed.

 

Christians are not meant to be smiling masochists. We are not meant to be lovers of pain – just bearers of it.

 

We are invited, by Jesus, to see the burden of suffering in our lives as an opportunity to be faithful to his example. It also gives us an opportunity to be in solidarity with all those who suffer in our world. This is easier said than done. When we suffer in our daily lives, thoughts of others rarely come to mind easily, but it can be consoling to keep our suffering in context and know that we are not facing it alone.

 

We are encouraged to see that suffering can be an opportunity to grow in love. If we understand our crosses as our particular schools of love, then we learn more about ourselves and God and are able to help others carry their crosses as well.

 

Carrying our cross, however, is not just about bearing physical, personal, sexual, spiritual or emotional pain; it can also be in the sharing of our gifts and talents, our love and compassion. In every gift there is a burden. Following Christ’s example, we are called to share our gifts heroically with anyone in need, even to the end.

 

Some people complain these days that God is often presented as a big marshmallow, all sweet and soft. Today’s Gospel shows the ‘edge’ involved in being a follower of Christ. I don’t know of a more demanding vocation in our world than that of taking up the cross of being faithful, loving and selfless.

 

And while we are invited to take up our cross and follow Jesus, we never do it alone. If we have the eyes to see it and the humility to accept it, Christ, literally, hangs in there with us every step of the way.

 

So let’s recall the first cross from which we take comfort as we bear our own crosses. ‘In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.’  

©Richard Leonard SJ