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Want to put your faith into action?
Volunteer to be a Caritas Australia Ambassador! Caritas Australia is the Catholic agency for international aid and development, working to alleviate poverty and bring hope and justice to marginalised communities throughout the world. We’re inviting a parishioner to volunteer to help coordinate Project Compassion in your parish community. The volunteer Caritas Ambassador can do as much as they are comfortable with, for example distributing Project Compassion boxes or envelopes to parishioners, showing the Project Compassion films and/or giving a short talk (examples available). Many other opportunities also arise during the year should you be keen to continue helping your parish community to put their faith into action, in solidarity with some of our world’s most vulnerable communities. To find out more or register your interest, please email education@caritas.org.au. The season of Lent begins this week as we mark ourselves with a cross of ashes.
On this 40-day journey, we join those who are joining the Catholic Church around the world and embark together on this time of going more deeply into our way of following Jesus in our relationship with God, our family, friends and neighbours. It is a time of letting go of what cannot love us back to make space for what can! Traditionally, the church community practices three ways of letting go and taking up: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Some ideas for this week: Prayer 1) Consider with curiosity what is keeping you from listening to God’s quiet voice and keeping you at a distance from yourself? 2) Is there anything in your life that you are very attached to, that can’t love you back and is taking you away from those who do? What do you want to make more space for in your life? Fasting 1) Consider Pope Francis’ words: Do you want to fast this Lent? (See below) 2) Consider what you can practice letting go of to open space for sharing generously? Almsgiving & Service 1) How will your fasting lead you to be a person sharing God’s abundant generosity with others? 2) What commitment can you make this Lent to practice generosity. Perhaps:
Adapted from The Plural Guild "Lent Readiness Guide" In the past, for many churchy types of various kinds, the season of Lent, the 40-odd days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, has been thought of as a dedicated time for self-reflection, for “spiritual renewal.” However, to be honest, what that turned into more often than not, was more like the spiritual equivalent of a fad diet, a concerted effort to give up “bad habits” and a time for trying to figure out how to be more holy - or at least look more “holy-ish.”
But what if Lent could be a time that really helped you see more clearly who you are and who you want to be? What if it could help you see how to respond to your own pain and anger and fear, and to the deep hurt of the world? What if it could help you feel more seen...and less alone? And find your way forward with some hope? Of course, for some, Lent may be just a word you’ve heard people using and you’ve never been totally clear on what it’s all about except that it’s supposed to make you feel more spiritual and seems to involve not eating meat on Fridays and giving up Facebook for a while?? Or sugar??? Or wine???? Or swear words? But what if practicing Lent could actually help you find a sense of grounded-ness when everything feels like it’s swirling? What if it could help you live with more honesty and fearlessness and self-care in the midst of the hard personal stuff we humans each have to deal with on a daily basis? What if it could give you space to not only express your own longings and laments, but also to take in God’s unrelenting love and grace? This Lent let’s do Lent Another Way. Dear Parents, Over the last few years, your child has celebrated the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist. These sacraments, together with Baptism, complete their initiation in our Catholic faith community where they have grown in understanding and living a Christian way of life as a member of your family and the family of the Church. The next step in your child’s sacramental journey is the Sacrament of Penance (First Rite of Reconciliation). The preparation for and celebration of the Sacrament of Penance will deepen your child’s understanding of the gift of God’s mercy and forgiveness, and the Christian practice of forgiveness in family, faith and community life. A simple celebration of the Sacrament of Penance was included as part of the sacramental preparation for First Communion. As per the Sacramental Policy of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, children in Year 5 are prepared to celebrate more fully the Sacrament of Penance with individual confession (Reconciliation) and absolution. This celebration of the Sacrament of Penance will be celebrated here at the Parish on Thursday 23rd March at 6pm. The Parent and Child Preparation Session will be held on Monday 27th February at 6pm in the Church. Similar to preparation for Confirmation and Eucharist, the children will work through a Preparation Booklet at home during the weeks leading up to the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance – the booklet will be handed out at the Parent and Child preparation session. The first step in the preparation process is to complete the online enrolment form (click here) and submit with the completed Parental Authority Form (below) and receipt of donation to mtcarmel@bne.catholic.net.au or the parish office by Wednesday 22nd February. For any further enquiries, please contact the Parish Office on 3397 1587 or mtcarmel@bne.catholic.net.au. Sincerely, Rev Martinho Da Costa, O.Carm Parish Priest
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