This year at Sts Peter and Paul, we are all called to ‘Let Your Light Shine”

Ash Wednesday 2022

Today is Ash Wednesday, and we gathered to mark this special day with a Mass for Year 3/4 and an Ash Wednesday Liturgy for the remainder of the students. The Lenten Season is a time where we engage in Prayer, Almsgiving and Fasting to prepare ourselves for Easter, and the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Today, all students and teachers received a cross of ashes on our foreheads. God’s people have used this powerful sign for hundreds of years. The cross of ashes reminds us and others that we know we are not perfect, and that we have made the decision to repent, and turn to God to ask for his help and guidance to make us more like his son, Jesus. 

Launch of Project Compassion 2022

Today, we will also be launching our Project Compassion fundraiser for 2022. The Theme this year is “For all Future Generations”. Our support of Caritas Australia this Lenten season will help support vulnerable people around the world, now and For All Future Generations. Each class will be given a Project Compassion box that will allow students to donate money to Caritas over the Season of Lent.

First Eucharist (from 2021)

Last weekend, we celebrated the First Eucharist for many of our Year 5 students. It is wonderful that we are finally able to celebrate this special step in the faith journey of these young people. A big thank you to Mr Johns, Mrs Williams, Miss Garrett and Miss Kennelly who came along and supported the students on Sunday at Mass.

Reconciliation 2022

The preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is well underway. A very big thank you to the parents who have very generously offered to host a home group. There are still a small number of groups that are without a nominated host. Groups can only proceed if they have a host, so if you are in a group without a host, please consider offering to host the group (this does not have to be in your home, it can even be online!)

For those parents who would like to see the home groups sheet, please click here.

You can also place your child’s name on the online booking sheet to receive the Sacrament here.

1st Sunday in Lent. Luke 4:1-13

The wilderness, or desert, is used repeatedly throughout the Bible as a place of special encounter with God and preparation for a new direction or a new ministry. The 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness immediately followed his baptism in the Jordan where his status as the beloved of God was confirmed. He is led by the Spirit to go out into the wilderness for a period of fasting, prayer and preparation before entering into his public ministry. In fact, the event that immediately follows this passage is the episode in Nazareth where Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah and declares the intent of his ministry. It is presented as if, having spent his time in preparation and overcoming the temptations before him, Jesus strode out of the wilderness and laid out what he had decided.

The episode of the temptations is a clear indicator of the humanity of Jesus – he experienced doubt, uncertainty and fear just as we do. If the Gospel intended to emphasise the divinity of Jesus, none of these temptations would have been an issue. We are told that Jesus was indeed tempted, not just pestered by the devil. The opportunities laid before Jesus were actually tempting to Him. They challenged His resolve. They made Jesus question the sort of Messiah that He was to be: the all-conquering, powerful Messiah that the people expected; or the servant to the poor who will be tortured and put to death. Jesus is tempted to use His power to make His task easier or to display His authority to others. Had He chosen to do this, surely it would have been easier to get people’s attention – and that was the temptation: to take the easier path or stick to the more subtle, more personal, more difficult path.

 (Reflection by Greg Sunter)

Blessings for the week ahead,

Stephanie Burns

Religious Education Coordinator