St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal

Thank you so much to all the families in our community for their continued generosity during our Vinnies Christmas Appeal. Our donations will be collected on Friday. If you would still like to donate before midday on Friday, please feel free to drop off donations at the Christmas tree. 

Graduation and End of Year Mass – Church of the Transfiguration, 12 noon

As a school community, we will gather in prayer to farewell the graduating class of 2024 and celebrate the end of the school year. Mass will be celebrated by Fr Woods in the Church of the Transfiguration, Curtin. Students will be travelling to and from the Church by bus. A Compass consent note has been sent to all families. We ask that the consent to travel is submitted by Thursday 5 December. All families are warmly invited to attend.

Gospel - Luke 3:1-6

Second Sunday of Advent (Year C)

John the Baptist proclaims a baptism of repentance.

The second and third weeks of Advent this year focus particularly on the role of John the Baptist as the one who prepared the way for Jesus and announced his coming. It continues the theme of preparation that was begun last week, but still, rather than preparing for the birth of Jesus, we are exploring the wider theme of preparation. The gospel writer includes a quote from Isaiah in which the prophet says, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord.’ (Often translated as ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’.) The application of this passage to John the Baptist is a logical one. This gospel emphasises that John was preaching ‘a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’. Throughout the gospel of Luke, the recognition of sinfulness and the desire to repent and seek forgiveness is the prelude to receiving God’s favour.

This gospel makes it clear that one way in which we can prepare a way for the Lord is to recognise our faults and failings and to seek forgiveness. It is only through such repentance that we can make ourselves receptive to the love of God. The only preparation of the way that is necessary for the Lord is a personal preparation to be receptive. We are absolutely assured of God’s love. The problem is that we often feel that we are undeserving of that love or are unable to receive it. When we are called to ‘Prepare a way for the Lord’ it is a call to prepare a way in our own hearts – to break down the barriers that we have put up; to clear the obstacles that we have placed in the path. God’s love will find a way! We simply make the way easier for ourselves to recognise God’s love if we ‘Prepare a way’.

Adapted from Greg Sunter

I would like to thank you all for your support and kindness during my time as Acting Religious Education Coordinator, particularly in terms of our social justice initiatives this term. I feel incredibly grateful to work in a community that values all its members and places the core message of Catholicism at the forefront of all interactions.

Blessings for the week ahead,

Sarah Walsh

Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)