Welcome to our Jubilee Year – Pilgrims of Hope for 2025.

A Jubilee is a special year of grace and conversion, involving prayer, pilgrimage and sacramental repentance, held every 25 years, or during other years as called for by the Pope. The Jubilee celebration has biblical roots, and therefore it presents us with a wonderful opportunity to deepen our appreciation of those roots. The goal of a Jubilee year is to inspire and encourage holiness of life among the faithful and therefore to strengthen the Church’s witness to God’s loving mercy in and for the world. This Jubilee Year Pope Francis has invited us all to be Pilgrims of hope on the path of peace.

Discuss with your child/children ways that they can bring hope or peace to others at home or at school.

Suggestions for this week are:

• Showing Kindness – being gentle with words and actions
• Praying – pray as a family, pray for others
• Showing gratitude – appreciating all the little things they have

Throughout the first week all students have learned about what Paul was saying to the Romans in chapter 5- 1:5.

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Students looked deeper into how suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope using the meanings below.

Religious House Activities

This year as part of the Jubilee Year all students will be given the opportunity to celebrate their Houses Feast Day and learn more about the story behind their houses name. On Tuesday the 11^th of February we began with celebration with Our Lady of Lourdes Feast Day. Read below to see what each house learnt.

Loreto House – learned that the virgin Mary’s house was moved from Nazareth to Loreto by angels to protect it from being destroyed. It is still protected in Loreto today inside a church.

Fatima House – learned that 3 shepherd children in a small village called Fatima, in Portugal were visited by Mary where they were asked to pray the rosary to bring peace to the world during World War 1.

Madonna House – learned that the word Madonna means ‘My Lady’ in Italian and it is a special name Catholics use for Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

Lourdes House – went to Mass together to celebrate the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes. Father Thonn explained how Mary needed to be brave throughout her life as was a real warrior. He asked the students to go out into the community and be brave warriors by spreading hope to all. To celebrate the Feast Day the House of Lourdes got to eat some pizza together just before 2^nd break.

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The next Feast Day is Our Lady of Fatima on the 13^th of May.

St Joseph Sacramental Program Enrolment

Dates have been set for the 2025 Sacramental Program for St Joseph’s Parish. Enrolments will soon be being taken for all Sacraments. More details will be sent out via Compass in the coming days. Parish children are also encouraged to enrol as well. The first sacrament to be celebrated is Reconciliation. Please see the dates below to add to your calendar.

First Reconciliation Program Dates – for Year 3 and older who are Baptised

• 1st Parent/Child Session: Tuesday 4 March 2025 5:30-6.30pm in the St Joseph's Parish Centre.
• 2nd Parent/Child Session: Wednesday 12 March 2025 5:30-6.30pm in the St Joseph's Parish Centre.
• Student Retreat Wednesday 25 March 2025 School Hours (9 to 3pm).
• First Reconciliation Sacrament Wednesday 26^th March 2025 at 6pm in St Joseph's Parish Church.

If you require additional information or have questions about the sacramental program, please email.

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Upcoming Key Dates

25^th February – 6 Lime and 2 Yellow Class Mass 9:15am

5^th March – Whole school – Ash Wednesday Mass 9:15am

11^th March - 6 Silver and 2 Magenta Class Mass 9:15am

13^th March – Year 3 Class Mass 9:15am

19^th March – St Joseph Feast Day Mass 9:15am & Opening of St Joseph’s own Holy Door

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