Education in Faith

Pentecost Sunday - Year C

Jesus appears to his disciples and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The season of Easter concludes with the celebration of the feast of Pentecost. On Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem; this event marks the beginning of the Church. 

The story of Pentecost found in the first reading in the Acts of the Apostles, explains and recounts how Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples. It is enough to know that, after his death, Jesus fulfilled his promise to send to his disciples a helper, an advocate, who would enable them to be his witnesses throughout the world.

During the second Sunday of Easter, we heard the passage, which describes Jesus' appearance to Thomas. In that context, we were led to reflect on belief and unbelief.

In the context of the feast of Pentecost, the reading reminds us about the integral connection between the gifts of peace and forgiveness and the action of the Holy Spirit. Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace. Jesus then commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” As he breathes the Holy Spirit upon them, Jesus sends his disciples to continue his work of reconciliation through the forgiveness of sins.

The Gospel reminds us that the Church is called to be a reconciling presence in the world. This reconciling presence of Christ is celebrated in the Church's sacramental life. In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are washed clean from sin and become a new creation in Christ. In the Sacrament of Penance, the Church celebrates the mercy of God in forgiving sins. This reconciling presence is also to be a way of life for Christians. In situations of conflict, we are to be agents of peace and harmony among people.

Since this Gospel passage reminds us that the Church received the power to forgive our sins, this might be a good time to talk about reconciliation as a family and how receiving forgiveness from one another or through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, helps us heal and grow. 

Discussion Starters

1. I'm a lot like disciples because ...

2. I was afraid, but felt the peace of Jesus when ...

3. The best part about forgiving (or being forgiven) is ...

Sacramental News and Dates

Please note the following dates could change due to Covid -19 restrictions.

Sacrament Levy

There is a $15 Sacrament Levy to cover the cost for:

•  a guest speaker to conduct a Parent and Child Workshop for each Sacrament.
• professionally made stoles. 
• a candle for children receiving reconciliation.
• children receiving First Eucharist and Confirmation to travel to St. Kevin’s Church for Reconciliation, Eucharist practice, and reflection day by bus.

This levy needs to be paid in full to the school in an envelope clearly indicating your child’s name, HomeGroup and name of Sacrament being received before or on the day of your Family Workshop Session.

Save the Date

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of St. Kevin’s

There will be a Feast Day Mass celebrated on 5th June at 11am at St. Kevin's Church followed by a luncheon by the parishioners of St. Kevin's.

Being a part of St. Kevin's Parish Community, it will be great if we could all attend mass and join in with the festivities of celebrating this feast day. 

God Bless 

Rozeta Ambrose

rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au

GRADE 5/6 SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM

MINI VINNIES

THE COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD

Teachers have been busily giving House points to students who demonstrate community spirit which includes demonstrating our school values. The points given last week are:

MACKILLOP – 208             BOSCO – 177      TERESA – 163     PATRICK - 156                                                  

Congratulations to MacKillop!

Our total points for the Community Spirit Award so far:

1st                    BOSCO                                711

2nd                   MACKILLOP                      661

3rd                   PATRICK                              538

4th                   TERESA                               537

Well done Bosco!!! But let’s see who will be winning next week!!!

Next Tuesday Mini Vinnies will once again collect the points sheet and add the points so that we can give students and staff an update through Morning Gathering on Wednesday and parents will be given an update via the newsletter.

Can’t wait to see who is winning next week after our more House points have been distributed!!

WINTER APPEAL

On Friday June 24th is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. 

At SFS we will be celebrating this feast day on Wednesday June 22nd. To be more like Jesus and share our love with others in need, we will be asking for food/toiletry donations.

Mini Vinnies will be collecting non-perishable food and toiletry items for the St Vincent de Paul Conference, Hampton Park which is based at St Kevin’s. These items will then be given to people in need within our community. 

We are asking for your help! Could each student bring in a food or toiletry item? The food item must be:

• Non-perishable
• Before the used by date or best before date. Please don’t bring items that are expired as these cannot be handed out to people.

Tuesday lunchtime Mini Vinnies decorated baskets ready for each House and delivered them to each Learning Space. So please put the items you bring in your House basket in your Learning Space. Once again a big thank you to the Mini Vinnies. They never mind giving up their time!! 

This year we will continue our competition between the Houses.  There will be a basket for Mackillop, Bosco, Teresa and Patrick in each Learning Space.  The Mini Vinnies will collect the food items each Tuesday and let you know which House is winning.  Which House will win this competition??

Giuliana and SFS Mini Vinnies