Sacramental News

SACRAMENTAL CELEBRATION: First Eucharist

The Sacrament of First Eucharist will be celebrated at Holy Trinity Church, Curtin, on Saturday 21st September, and Sunday 22nd September 2024.

As a community, we pray for the students and families as they begin their preparation to receive the Body and Blood of Christ at the table of the Lord; Hannah A, Shayden B, Emily G, Aaleyah H, Baron M, Freyja S, Ebony S, Mia SR, Kolbe T and Alexis V. Presentation masses for the students who are preparing for First Eucharist at on Saturday the 24th August at 6:00pm and Sunday 25th August at 9:30am at Holy Trinity Church in Curtin, All are welcome to celebrate the above students and their families.

If you have not yet received your child’s workbook or your leaders booklet, please let me know sarah.walsh1@cg.catholic.edu.au. Thank you.

KEY FIRST EUCHARIST DATES

August-September (various dates): Family Group meetings to be held before the First Eucharist Retreat Day

Saturday 24th August 6:00pm and Sunday 25th August 9:30am: Candidate Presentation Mass at Holy Trinity Church, Curtin

Friday 6th September 9:00am-2:15pm: First Eucharist Retreat Day at Holy Trinity for all children in Year 4

Saturday 21st September 6:00pm: Sacrament of First Eucharist at Holy Trinity Church

Sunday 22nd September 9:30am or 5:30pm: Sacrament of First Eucharist at Holy Trinity Church

If you have any questions, please contact Catherine Grinsell Jones at the Parish Office on 6281 3999.

Feast of the Assumption of Mary

On Thursday 15th August (tomorrow), Fr John Woods will lead our parish in prayer, celebrating the Assumption of Mary. The Assumption commemorates the belief that when Mary died, both her soul and body were taken to Heaven, to be with her Son, Jesus. All members of the community are warmly welcome to celebrate mass with us in our school hall, commencing at 12:00pm.

Gospel - John 6:51-58
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Whoever eats and drinks of the body and blood of Christ has eternal life.

Today's Gospel… focuses on the Christian Eucharist. The change is signalled by the words ‘flesh to eat’. Up until now, Jesus has spoken of eating bread in a metaphorical sense, but the word ‘eat’ that is now used is very physical, it is like ‘munch’ or ‘chew’. The imagery Jesus uses ‘to eat the flesh and drink the blood’ would be particularly horrific to a Jewish audience for whom blood is forbidden, and animals are killed in a special way so that all the blood is drained out, since the blood is the life-force and belongs to God.

This language also directs attention to the future death and resurrection of Jesus – his flesh given for the life of the world. In speaking also of blood, in Jewish terms Jesus is speaking of his essential life-force. To speak of eating flesh and drinking blood is therefore not to be speaking about something that is dead, but something that is still living, something that still has its life-force. Jesus has passed through death and returned as a living presence to his community. Because Jesus now lives with eternity life, he is able to offer the same eternity life to believers. Today’s passage needs to be understood as reflecting on the living presence of the risen Jesus now present with the community. Only in this resurrection perspective will the discourse have any sense and Eucharist have any meaning. ‘Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me and I live in them.’ In other words, those who believe in me, live in me and I live in them.

When the community gathers Jesus is present in their midst and the consuming of bread and wine sacramentalises that presence. Eating and drinking is something we can physically do, making our belief concrete. We are not simply giving intellectual assent to Jesus – we profess our faith bodily. How else can God come to us except through our bodies? How else do we communicate with others, except through our bodies? Our liturgical celebration of Eucharist engages our entire self, in all our senses of sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste. God has come to us incarnated in the flesh of Jesus, and through Eucharist this incarnate, bodily presence is still available to us, and we can make our bodily response in faith to him.

Adapted from Mary Coloe PBVM

Blessings for the week ahead,

Sarah Walsh

Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)