Prayer and Worship

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Welcome Fr Anthony Riosa

We warmly welcome Fr Anthony Riosa, who has been appointed administrator of St Joseph’s after Fr Paul’s departure in February. This year which has presented our community with some uncertainty, I have prayed for a priest who wants our children to see a place for themselves in our church and God has heard these prayers. Fr Riosa has only been with us a few weeks and already has a clear vision of working with our school. We look forward to Fr Riosa visiting our school to meet the children over the coming weeks.

St Mary Mackillop

Saint Mary Mackillop and her Sisters of St Joseph have a long legacy in our school. In the lead up to the Feast of St Mary Mackillop on August 8 we learn about her life and focus on her in our prayer life. Our social action as a school is also focused on her saying of ‘Never see a need without doing something about it.” On August 8 we will celebrate Mass as a whole school at 12.00pm.

Saint Mary Mackillop was born in 1842. She was a fine teacher, the founder of schools and a religious order. Saint Mary Mackillop chose St Joseph because he was humble and got the job done. She devoted her whole life to following Jesus and helping others, especially poor children. Many people who knew her could tell she was extraordinary. Mother Mary radiated God’s love and energy to everyone she met. Mary and her companion Fr Julian Tenison Woods dreamed of a new kind of school, open to anyone whether their family was rich or poor. Children from poorer families would be provided with clothing and school supplies for very little cost or for free. They could learn enough reading, writing and maths so they could get out of poverty and have a better life.

When Mary wrote the lessons and timetable for her schools, she made sure there was time for prayers and hymns, which in those days were not written in English, but Latin. But she made sure these weren’t too long so that the children wouldn’t find prayer time too difficult or too boring. Her pupils must have been grateful for that! Her life wasn’t always easy and she had lots of problems sometimes, but she was happy because she firmly believed in God and that her true home was not here on earth but with God in heaven. She was very cheerful and didn’t want her sisters going around with frowns on their faces.

St Mary Mackillop is currently our only Australian saint. When I was in Rome a few years ago I was privileged to be taken on a tour by our own Archbishop Christopher Prowse of where Mary lived in 1873 when she travelled to Rome to meet with Pope Pius IX. Saint Mary Mackillop travelled to Rome to gain official approval of her religious order, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart. As I walked through the streets that she would have walked I could not help but be in awe of how challenging it must have been for her and how determined she must have been to make that journey at that time.

Class Masses 

Week 2, 24 July

Tuesday 9.15am 2 Magenta and 6 Silver

Thursday 9.15am 4 Green and Foundation Red

Week 3, 31 July

Tuesday 9.15am 2 Yellow and 6 Lime

Thursday 9.15am 4 Gold and Foundation White

Week 4, 7 August 

Tuesday Time 12.00pm St Mary Mackillop Feast Day 

Week 5, 14 August

Tuesday Time 9.15am Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

Week 6, 21 August

Tuesday 9.15am 1 Purple and 5 Blue

Thursday 9.15am 3 Navy and ELC Geckos

Week 7, 28 August

Tuesday 9.15am 1 Teal and 5 Orange

Thursday 9.15am 3 Black and ELC Frogs

Social Action & Justice

Our Term 3 Social Action focus is always linked to our Josephite Charism, and to ‘See a need and do something about it.” This year the need is people who require emergency care. At St Joseph’s we will work to do something about this need in our local community by supporting St Vincent de Paul by donating Dignity packs. We are asking families in each class to donate different items, which will be compiled to create these dignity packs. Our goal is to create 50 packs to donate to St Vincent de Paul by the 8th of August. Please send in the following items with your children.

Yours in Christ,

Melanie Stratford

Religious Education Coordinator

melanie.stratford@cg.catholic.edu.au

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