Religious Education

Welcome to 2024 and the start of a wonderful year filled with many joyful moments for our students, families, and staff.

PRAYER FOR THE START OF THE YEAR

Lord Jesus, we ask for Your help as we begin this new school year. 

Allow us to experience Your presence in the many blessings You put before us. Open our eyes to the new challenges and exciting opportunities that this new school year brings. 

Open our heart and mind to new friends and new teachers. 

Give us a generous spirit to be enthusiastic with our studies and courage to accept new opportunities. 

Help us to be attentive to one another and let us experience Your presence in our new friends. 

Jesus, inspire us to do our best this year! Amen

THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR

For Catholics, the liturgical calendar marks the Church year, a sequence of seasons and feasts celebrated in all liturgies and celebrations. In each liturgical year, we celebrate the entire life and paschal mystery of Jesus Christ.

The beginning of Advent marked the start of a new liturgical year, which marks the transition of the Lectionary cycle for the readings from Year A to Year B to Year C. These cycles are a result of the Second Vatican Council, which ordered a change in the Sunday readings at Mass so that Catholics would become more familiar with the text of the Bible. As a result, we have a 3-year cycle built around the 3 synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke. We are currently in Year B with the readings of Mark.

LENT

ASH WEDNESDAY

Holy God, you are good and loving.

As we celebrate Ash Wednesday,

we pray that during this time of Lent.

we will try to turn our hearts in love and kindness to you,

by doing good to those around us,

so, that we may become more like Jesus, your Son.

We make our prayer in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

On Wednesday 14 February, the Del Monte students participated in a liturgy to mark Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday begins our forty-day season of Lent that leads to Easter. On Ash Wednesday, we come together like the people of the Old Testament to remind ourselves that we don’t always follow God’s ways and need to ask God for His mercy and forgiveness. Like God’s people in the time of the prophets, we wear ashes to show that we want to turn away from whatever keeps us from God and to have a change of heart so that we can live in the right relationship with God and each other. 

Ash Wednesday also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allows Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. 

ASH MONDAY

Our Maronite students began their Lent on  Ash Monday. The Maronite Lenten season begins with the “Entrance into Great Lent” on Cana Sunday. The common term for this day, “Clean Monday”, refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods. It is also called ‘Ash Monday’.

The theme of Project Compassion 2024 is ‘For All Future Generations’ and reminds us that the good that we do today will extend and impact the lives of generations to come. It invites us to make the world a better place by working together now and finding long-term solutions to global issues.  We are encouraged to put our compassion into action this Lent through our prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each family will receive a Project Compassion box for their donations, or you can donate online via the Caritas Australia website at: lent.caritas.org.au

ROSARY DURING LENT

The Del Monte students are invited to pray the Rosary every Monday and Tuesday at Recess/ 1st Break in the Del Monte Chapel. The students will line up in the office area and then forward into the chapel. They will eat their food before they come into the chapel to pray.The Rosary will be led by Mrs Nicotina each day.

Please encourage your children to come and join us

TERM 1 MASSES, LITURGIES AND ASSEMBLIES

Our liturgical celebrations throughout the year take many different forms. As a catholic community, we gather regularly to pray and to celebrate liturgies and special feast days. Some of these celebrations include classroom, grade and whole school liturgies.

Classroom Prayer is an important part of children’s development of their relationship with God and is particularly encouraged through their participation in daily class prayers

Assemblies– Each fortnight the whole school community comes together for a time of celebration and collective worship. We celebrate the achievements of the school with our Pillar Awards. Prayer is an integral part of this assembly.

Mass– Throughout the year we have the joy of celebrating the Sacrament of the Eucharist in our Opening School Mass, Mother’s Day Mass, Father’s Day Mass and Our final mass of the year.

Special Liturgies– Important events in the Church’s liturgical year are celebrated as a class grade or school community. We hold these liturgies both in the Santa Sabina and Del Monte chapels.

Term 1 Masses, Liturgies and Assembly Dates

Thursday 29 February – Commissioning Leaders Liturgy 2:00 pm

Thursday 14 March –Assembly 2:30 pm

Monday 25 – Wednesday 27 March – Holy Week Liturgies

Thursday 4 April – Easter Liturgy

Thursday 11 April – Year 1 Assembly

Tina Nicotina
Religious Education Coordinator P-6