Religious Education Department – 7 March 2019

Ash Wednesday

The season of Lent has begun. Each Campus celebrated Ash Wednesday with the Ashes liturgy. Lent begins our journey to the celebration of Easter, which ends our term one holidays this year. Here ai some of the text of the Beaconsfield Campus celebration.

To begin our service we feature the painting on the screen by Indigenous artist Linda Naparula Walker. Linda was taught to share stories through painting by her father when she was a teenager. In this image, she expresses the journey of Christ from the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus is shown entering Jerusalem to excited crowds, only to be betrayed and nailed on a cross and left to die. The story is completed in the bottom right corner with a portrayal of Jesus rising victoriously from death.

The reading from Isaiah chosen as our Word beautifully depicts the aim of Lent:

A Reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah.

The Lord says this: I’ll tell you what it really means to worship the Lord. Remove the chains of prisoners who are chained unjustly. Free those who are abused!

Share your food with everyone who is hungry;

Share your home with the poor and homeless.

Give clothes to those in need; don’t turn away your relatives.

Then your light will shine like the dawning sun, and you will quickly be healed.

Your honesty will protect you as you advance,

And the glory of God will defend you from behind.

Then you will call for help, and the Lord will answer, “Here I am.”

The Word of the Lord.

ALL: Thanks be to God

Our College Captains, Matt Lawless and Kailee MaAuley, lead a beautiful reflection on this reading. This wellbeing inspired reflection was well received by the congregation, and we invite you to use this method of reflection at home during Lent.

– Make yourself comfortable where you are sitting and close your eyes

– Focus on your breathing, taking slow and quiet breaths in and out

– With your eyes closed, think about the scripture passage we have just heard from Isaiah. What words do you remember hearing?

– The passage is our mission as a community

– It calls for a fairer world

– What would a fairer world look like to you?

– The message of Jesus calls for a simple response

            – close the naked

            – feed the hungry

            – love the outcasts

            – share what you have with others

– As we enter into the Season of Lent today, spend some time thinking about how you can do these things and build a fairer world.

– As you open your eyes now, let’s pray about the goodness found in us all.

Project Compassion will now run for the remainder of the term. Caritas is a very worthwhile advocacy and charity group, who work to raise awareness of the needs of others, to stand in solidarity with people in need to empower their capacity to thrive, and to give funds in a context where their dignity is cherished. Thanks to parents for your support of this cause.

ECSI:

Enhancing Catholic Schools Identity: Parents will receive information about the ECSI project in the next week. In classes, over thirty percent of students will be surveyed. For parents the invitation will be sent to over four hundred families. The data collected informs our community about the understanding of the Catholic faith in our community. It will give us feedback about what we need to work on to be a more effective faith community in the next four years. ECSI gives wisdom about how to engage with our community in a life-giving way. Thank you to all parents who respond to the invitation to complete the survey. It will help our community connect more deeply with our mission.

Fundraising for the fires:

The St Vincent de Paul Society has allocated special funds to help the flood victims in Queensland, and the fire victims in Victoria and Tasmania. Members of the St Francis Xavier College community have been affected. We are currently formulating plans to fund raise for the CFA and for our local community. Requests for support will be sent through our website shortly.