Religious Education

‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.’ 

Psalm 51:10

                The Psalm gives us food for thought as we embark upon the Lenten Season.

Although we were unable to receive the Ashes at our traditional Ash Wednesday Mass, the students at St Therese still had the opportunity to be blessed with them last week, once we returned to school. We were fortunate to receive the Ashes from the St Agatha’s Parish and distribute them to our school community.

The tradition of marking the forehead with ash on Ash Wednesday can be traced back to the ancient Jewish tradition of dusting oneself with ash as a sign of repentance and mourning wrongful actions. It was a public declaration of the acknowledgement of the wrong and the commitment to turn one’s life around and try not to make the same mistake again.

This commitment links with what was mentioned last week regarding Caritas’ Project Compassion. The theme for this year’s project is: ‘Aspire not to have more, but to be more’, a quote derived from Saint Oscar Romero. This year’s Project Compassion message is to be proactive in joining millions of Australians who strive towards ending poverty and injustice in our world.

Each class will receive a Project Compassion Money Box to donate any possible proceeds towards this great cause. The students will also be exploring the many resources provided by Caritas to learn more about prayer, almsgiving and fasting during their Religious Education Inquiry Unit of Work. Together, we can make a difference.

Fasting, prayer and almsgiving are the three key behaviours we can action during this most holy time of our liturgical calendar.

Let us embrace this time of year to grow in gratitude and empathy for what we have and what we can share and give to others by our words and actions.

Altar Servers Training

There will be opportunity for students to become altar servers to assist in the celebration of Mass. If your child is interested in becoming an altar server, training is scheduled for Tuesday 16th March 2021 from 4:00pm - 5:00 pm at the St Agatha’s Church. Registration forms will be distributed to any interested students in the coming weeks.

Grow in gratitude and empathy.

Michelle Hinds