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

Confirmation – Year 6

Thank you to all parents who attended the Parent Information Night last night. Please read below for more information on the Sacrament.

The Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated in our Parish this Term. Children who have already celebrated their First Reconciliation and First Eucharist and are in Year 6 or above may be enrolled.

To enrol your child, please

1. Download the Qkr! App
2. Search for ‘Woden North Transfiguration Parish’
3. Click on ‘Parish Payments and Sacraments’
4. At the top, Click on ‘Sacrament’
5. Then select ‘Confirmation’
6. Fill out the Enrolment form and pay the $40 (This helps to defray the cost of a workbook, commemorative certificate, medal and administrative costs. If you have difficulty meeting the offering, please contact the parish office for a confidential discussion.)

The Enrolment Form asks for your child’s confirmation name and sponsor.  If your child has not yet decided on a confirmation name or sponsor, you should still return the form ASAP and provide this information when it becomes available.  (A confirmation name is the name of a saint who inspires the candidate to follow Jesus.)  The sponsor assists the candidate to grow in their Catholic faith.  The sponsor must be a confirmed Catholic normally not less than 16 years of age, living a life of faith consistent with that role, having a good relationship with the candidate and being neither parent nor sibling of the candidate as they are sponsoring on behalf of the wider family of faith. 

Preparation for this Sacrament will be done through a Family-Based Program

The Parish Family-Based program affirms the direct participation of parents in their child’s faith journey with the prayerful support of the Parish community.  The program compliments but does not replace the religious instruction given at Catholic schools or through a School of Religion. Parents have found the program to be a graced time with their child and that in turn has made the celebration of the sacrament all the more meaningful.

Home Groups and Host Nominations:

All hosts must have, or have applied for, a Working With Vulnerable People (WWVP) card.  There is no cost involved in applying for a WWVP card for volunteers.

You can nominate yourself as a host at the following link, and you can also use this link to place your child into a Home Group.

Please note, homegroups will only go ahead if they have a  hosts, so ensure your group has a nominated host. Thank you.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1i8-3PGSXoMyacLuK5KGt9ITdj015z-g9WhX5eY4xV_g/edit?usp=sharing

The Sacrament of Confirmation:

The Sacrament will be celebrated in the Parish of the Transfiguration, North Woden, on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 6pm and Wednesday 22 June at 6pm. 

What does the program involve?

The program includes:

• Four Family Group Meetings for parents and children.
• Presentation Mass. Each family must attend either of the Saturday 4 June 6pm, Sunday 5 June 9.30am or 5:30pm Mass, at Holy Trinity Church, Curtin.
• Parent and Child Stole Night, June 9th in the Holy Trinity School Hall, 18-20 Theodore Street, Curtin.
• Pending COVID-19 restrictions, a children’s Retreat Day and practice, Friday 17 June, 9.15am-2.15pm, in the Holy Trinity School Hall.

If you would like your child to celebrate Confirmation this year, you must complete enrolment and payment to the Parish Office ASAP. Enquiries can be made to the Parish Office (9am – 3.30pm Mon, Wed and Fri, 6281 3999, or email to wodennorth@cg.org.au)

MacKillop House & CatholicCare Call for Assistance

CatholicCare are seeking financial assistance with their Canberra based ministry, MacKillop House. Mackillop House in Lyneham nightly accommodates some 20-22 women of all ages, as well as many mothers and their children in need. The ACT government has agreed to provide some funding towards the upgrading of the bedrooms and common lounge areas at MacKillop house, however more funding is needed to complete the project.

To read more about the lifechanging work that CatholicCare do through MacKillop House, click here

If you are in a position to make a small donation to CatholicCare and MacKillop House, please go to Qkr! - school payments section and follow the links to ‘MacKillop House & CatholicCare’

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C

Shepherds in the first century did not have a particularly good reputation. Whilst the task itself was a responsible one, it was usually undertaken by hired help – usually young men or even boys. Being hired help, they had little allegiance to the flock and were generally regarded as basically untrustworthy and often accused of illicitly selling off the sheep’s milk and even the occasional lamb. They lived for months at a time out in the hills with the sheep; often risking their lives in defence of their flock, yet still regarded with suspicion. Shepherds were held in such low regard that they could not appear in court as a witness. Yet, despite this grim picture of shepherds, Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd. With that one word, he acknowledged the reputation of shepherds but utterly dismissed it by describing himself as a shepherd – but a good shepherd. He chose to describe himself as the worst of all occupations but raised the status to unimpeachable heights.

In describing himself as the good shepherd, Jesus joined a distinguished list of biblical shepherds: Abraham, his son Isaac, and grandson Jacob were all shepherds; Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, when God appeared to him in the burning bush and revealed God’s name; and the great King, David, began life as a humble shepherd-boy. So, despite the poor reputation of shepherds in Jewish society, some of the greatest leaders of the Jews began life as shepherds.

Today’s gospel passage follows the famous ‘good shepherd’ passage in the gospel of John and continues on the image. The passage portrays Jesus as ‘claiming’ his flock; guaranteeing them not only safety but also eternal life. This oath of loyalty and commitment is all the stronger and more remarkable in light of Jesus’ rehabilitation of the status of shepherds.

(Reflection by Greg Sunter)

Blessings for the week ahead,

Stephanie Burns

Religious Education Coordinator