Dear Families,

This past week we have been greeted with a relaxation of COVID rules and with that the opportunity to enjoy a few more of the simple things in life we potentially have taken for granted.  This past weekend we were lucky enough to have an overnight visit from our son and his family, giving us time with our beautiful granddaughter that we have been missing out on seeing due to restrictions.  The simple things do matter and they are those small moments in our life that we need to both notice and cherish.

The opportunity to gather as a parish again is giving our community the chance to celebrate together and next Friday we joyously will join with our Year 6 candidates for Confirmation.  The Sacrament of Confirmation is a highlight of the primary school calendar and we trust that the gift of the Holy Spirit reaches out abundantly to these children.  

The gift of generosity was explained to us in last weekend’s scripture when we listened to the narrative about the poor widow’s offering.  This story is one of my favourite teaching tools when we think about Catholic Social Teaching.  What is asked of us all is to give with others with a generous heart - this could be our time, our patience and in a financial sense it is to give what we can.  Often we hear of significant donations being made by the rich in the world, while in the gospel we hear of Jesus’ praise for a poor widow who made a simple donation of a few coins.  It is this spirit that we contribute as a school community to the various social justice projects across our school year: Project Compassion, RSL Appeals and the Bethlehem Bazaar that supports Churchill Vinnies.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week, Dave