Education in Faith
SACRAMENTS 2023
To assist us with the administration and preparation of the Sacraments for 2023 we ask you to please accept/decline on Operoo, to indicate the Sacrament your child will be celebrating in 2023.
Dates for Sacraments, Parent and Child Workshops will be published in our school app, calendar and newsletter closer to the date of the Sacrament.
Reconciliation Baptised Catholics in Year 3 or above.
Sacrament of First Eucharist Baptised Catholics in or above who have received their Reconciliation.
Sacrament of Confirmation Year 6 ONLY Catholics, who have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation and First Eucharist.
God Bless
Rozeta Ambrose
rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au
Parish News
TRIUMPH 2022 Youth and Children Retreat; Our Parish, St. Kevin’s was blessed last weekend to host a youth retreat led by the Alliance of the Two Hearts Brothers and Sisters. It was a faith-filled two days to witness the faith of the young people and their eagerness to grow in their faith journey. Here is a reflection from one of our students who attended the retreat along with his siblings who participated in this retreat and this is their reflection:
My brothers (Joel and John) and I felt excited to participate in the Triumph 2022 retreat which was held over 2 days. Saturday, 5th November. The day started from 9:00 am - 8:00 pm and Sunday 6th from 9:00 am - 6:30 pm.
We arrived at the retreat received our name tags and a bag with free prayers leaflets, a Rosary, T-Shirt and prayer books. After we registered ourselves, we prayed the Joyful mystery and ended with a short prayer.
After the rosary, Brother Giovanni, Brother Gabriel and Marc Louie introduced themselves as the hosts of the retreat. They were from America. Fr. Anil invited them to our parish to meet with our youth. They shared with us their experience of the power of God and prayer. They explained the history of the Rosary and mentioned the miraculous power of praying the rosary every day.
We had a short session where we had our first group discussion which was split by age groups. The leader of our group was Marc Louie. We introduced ourselves and had a discussion reflecting on the protection of the holy rosary.
After lunch, Br. Giovanni spoke to us about how a rosary is a Catholic/Christians weapon against the evil of the devil. Later in the afternoon, we were split into 2 different age groups. In these group we discussed about the 7 deadly sins (Capital sins) which are evil and prevents us walking in the path towards God. We also learned about the 7 Virtues that we need to follow in our lives here on earth.
Later on, we had a quick share and entered into another group discussion. At this session we discussed the biggest crisis in our world today being SIN. We were taught that we could be soldiers of God by defending ourselves through pray and get closer to God.
We concluded the session with dinner (which was a hot dog). We played outside for a bit and after our free time we prepared for mass and prayed.
After mass we prayed the rosary by walking in a procession around the parish.
At the end of the day, my brothers and I went home to rest up and be prepared for the next day.
On Sunday we went back to the retreat and we played a game called Thunder & Lightning. We had a similar start as Saturday’s Session.
After lunch we had a special mass and a rosary around the parish. A giant rosary made out of balloons was tied onto a string to our Lady’s statue.
Throughout the two days we were served delicious meals prepared by the parishioners. Brothers: Giovanni and Gabriel joined us and played basketball and it was fun.
The two whole days of the retreat was an amazing Spiritual experience and it helped us understand our faith a lot more than before.
By Joshua.G, John.G and Joel.G
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C
Patiently endure the trials you are sure to face for Jesus.
This week marks the final week of Ordinary Time in the Church’s liturgical calendar and draws us almost to the end of our journey through the gospel of Luke as we conclude with the crucifixion of Jesus next week.
It is in this context that we need to read this week’s gospel passage. Jesus and his disciples are gathered around the Temple in Jerusalem in the final days before he is to be put to death. The end is imminent and Jesus takes the opportunity to reassure the disciples that, although they are about to experience a period of distress, betrayal and persecution that will stretch well into the future, ultimately, God’s love and mercy will triumph – not only in their own lives but also in the world.
The Gospel reading is really frightening. It continues what we read in Malachi about the end of all things as we know them – the end of the world. Jesus describes a tough time of suffering before the end of the world – wars, famine, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Jesus also speaks of the personal persecution we will face in the name of our faith. Our family and friends will turn against us and we may even die – all because we are followers of Jesus. Yet, as we read in Malachi, those who follow the Lord will be protected. We are not alone in our times of trial. God guides and protects us.
Through the Gospel, Jesus promises his persecuted followers of every age, ‘Your endurance will win your lives’. As Malachi prophesied: ‘the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays’.
It is our faith that, out of the darkness of the tomb, the Son of righteousness did rise with healing in His rays, bathing the world with that light which makes the world habitable for human beings.
This gospel is written as a means of conveying a message about Jesus. To this end, the writer seeks to give comfort to his audience by having Jesus ‘predict’ all the things that have indeed come to pass in their community. The message to a struggling community is to ‘keep going.’
The language of passages in this gospel can be off-putting at times and can also be seized upon by those who would interpret scripture literally. The graphic descriptions certainly lend themselves to predictions of gloom and doom. However, we must also remember that the gospel was written some 50 or more years after the death of Jesus. At the time of writing, many of these things had already come to pass. The message for the community who were suffering through these very experiences is that they should not despair because all of this was anticipated by Jesus and that ultimately the reign of God will come about and the effort and distress that they have endured will be vindicated.
Unfortunately, the lectionary has the passage concluding at verse 19; the complete passage continues on for another 17 verses and so we don’t get the full effect of Jesus’ speech. In the latter portion, Jesus assures the disciples that the kingdom will surely come to pass. It is a promise that we affirm every time we say the Creed.
After listening to this passage, we could take a moment to pray for contemporary persecuted Christians that their faithful endurance will win their lives.
Discussion Starters
- The Gospel this week speaks about bad things that happen but Jesus says that we are not to be afraid. What shouldn’t we be afraid of?
- What did Jesus say he will give us so that we know what to say during difficult times? (Wisdom)
- Jesus says that we are safe because we belong to him and believe in him.
- Let us pray for wisdom when we find things hard to understand or when difficult things happen.
MINI VINNIES NEWS
Our points for the Community Spirit Shield will end this term and the House with the most points will be presented with the shield at our last assembly for the year.
TERM 4 - WEEK 5 POINTS
1ST MACKILLOP 155
2ND BOSCO 95
3RD TERESA 82
4TH PATRICK 77
What an amazing effort MacKillop!!!
TOTAL POINTS SO FAR THIS YEAR
1ST TERESA 3 908
2ND MACKILLOP 3 618
3RD BOSCO 3 373
4TH PATRICK 3 356
Teresa is still in the lead but not by much!!
Just a reminder that later this term we will have our Christmas Appeal. Students will be asked to bring in hamper items and will be able to buy a present for a child who may otherwise not receive a Christmas present this year. All items collected will go to our St Vincent de Paul Conference based at St Kevin’s and they will hand them out to those in our community who are less fortunate and may not otherwise be able to celebrate the birth of Christ. Students will also be given points for their houses for the items they bring in for demonstrating community spirit.
Giuliana & Mini Vinnies