Sacrament of First Reconciliation Presentation Masses 

Please pray for the students and their families as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of First Reconciliation. 

Project Compassion

Project Compassion runs during the season of Lent. Students are invited to donate to Caritas through Project Compassion. All classrooms have Project Compassion boxes in their classrooms. Classes are raising money to buy virtual chickens. For every $5 raised a chicken will be added to their farm. All money raised will go to Caritas. Thank you for your support. 

How does Caritas help? Let's meet Tereesa:

A young Gamilaroi woman born and raised on Darug land, Tereesa felt disconnected from her culture. At just 16 years old, she had to leave school after falling pregnant with her first child. A single mother struggling with homelessness, Tereesa’s only concern was finding stability for her children.  

“I was homeless. I didn’t have a place to call home…my kids never had a connection to the community,” Tereesa said. 

Seeking a better future for her children, Tereesa joined Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation’s Young Mums and Bubs Group, supported by Caritas Australia. Baabayn helped Tereesa access housing for her family and psychological support.

Through Baabayn, Tereesa was also able to hear stories from Indigenous Elders and reconnect with her culture.  Already an aspiring artist, Tereesa was able to flourish at Baabayn as she learnt Indigenous artwork and symbols.

Sunday Gospel: John 4:5-42, Third Sunday of Lent  – Year A

The water that I shall give will turn into a spring of eternal life.

All people thirst for meaning, but of what does that meaning consist? The people in the desert thirsted for water, but they misunderstood their thirst. The woman of Samaria thirsted. Her conversation with Jesus showed that she thirsted for understanding and insight as well as water. For what do we thirst in this world of such great excess and unmeasured need? Life has not become simpler with all of our advances. We still thirst for more – for the newest, the fastest and the best. How much is enough, and when do we cross the line into ‘too much’?

The gospel readings for the scrutiny Sundays very clearly lay out the choices that are placed before the catechumens and the rest of the believing community as well. This Sunday it is between water that quenches thirst and water that does not. Jesus identifies himself as the source of water that guarantees eternal life. He places before the Samaritan woman a choice that requires a step of profound faith. She knows the thirst-quenching quality of the water from Jacob’s well, but she is not acquainted with the water promised by this stranger who is also an enemy of her people. The choice is not an obvious one. A similar choice is placed before us. We know the demands of our culture and the circumstances of our lives. Are we able to acknowledge the sins of which we are guilty, recognise the grace that is being offered to us, and make the right choice?