RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
The Liturgical Season of Lent
This week, we held our Ash Wednesday Mass as we entered into the liturgical season
of Lent. Thank you to Fr. Paul for celebrating a beautiful Mass with our school and parish community. The ashes that we received on our foreheads are a reminder for us: “To turn away from sin and be faithful to God’s word”. Lent also provides us with a window to look at ourselves to see how we can become better followers of Christ. The temptations of Jesus represent the major temptations of each of us. Resisting temptation is not easy, but in Jesus we have a companion who knows the challenges that confront us. The three traditional practices of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. A commitment to these practices during Lent leads to an awareness of God and conversion of the heart. Many Catholics spend time pondering what they could give up during Lent. Here are some other ideas to consider:
10 Things to Do During Lent Besides Giving Something up:
- Each day, tell your child something that makes them unique
- Volunteer
- Go to a weekday Mass
- Say three nice things to your husband or wife, siblings, parents, colleagues and kids daily.
- Be kind
- Donate things you don’t need to charity
- Replace 30 minutes of TV/computer/phone time with 30 minutes of prayer/quiet time
- Don’t complain
- Don’t buy anything that you don’t need
- Donate to Project Compassion
Our Year 6 students received their ashes at a special prayer service with Mrs Jennett and Mrs Colussi at camp.
Beginning of School Year Mass
Next Thursday, 22 February at 9:15am, you are invited to gather together as a school and parish community to mark the beginning of the 2024 school year with the celebration of Mass.
Directly following the Mass we will commission our 2024 School and Vice captains.There will also be a special blessing from our new Kinder students. We hope you will be able to join us for the special celebration.
Project Compassion
On Tuesday Mrs Colussi, myself and our school captains, attended the Diocesan Launch of Caritas’ Project Compassion at Rosemeadow. It was a wonderful experience to share Mass with representatives from all of the Wollongong Diocese Schools. It highlighted for us the very important work of Caritas. For further information on Project Compassion, please visit (www.caritas.org.au). The students will be learning about the great initiatives of Caritas in class and we will encourage them to share these stories with you at home. Each class has a Project Compassion box on their prayer space and the students are encouraged to donate, maybe even by giving up a treat for themselves and instead choosing to donate the money to this worthy cause. Bishop Brian spoke at the Caritas launch about not just “putting money in a box,” but rather to learn about the impact and way that the money is used to help people around the world.
In Peace,
Mrs Debbie Turton
Religious Education Coordinator
An Invitation to Sunday Mass
Holy Cross Parish would like to extend a warm invitation to all our beloved school families to join us for Mass on Sunday mornings at 8:30am.
Attending Mass as a family is not only a wonderful opportunity to strengthen and nurture our faith but also a chance to deepen the bonds that unite us as a parish, school and a wider community.
Some things you may not know:
- Sunday Mass goes for one hour, 8:30 - 9:30am.
- We regularly gather for morning tea and a catch up afterwards.
- Every second week we have a children's liturgy which enables our kids to build some great friendships and learn about their faith.
We look forward to welcoming you and your family at our next Mass as we come together to celebrate the gift of faith and the joy of community.