Have you ever wondered why you are in a certain place at a certain time? I know I have. Sometimes I even think that God isn’t listening, however, I need to remember that God always has a plan; although God’s plan may not, at times, align with my plan. I am really fortunate to live and work in a community where God is one, there is no I, rather only ‘we’. Our community is entangled with each other and it stretches far beyond what we can see or appreciate. We have a wholeness about us; we belong to the whole. Where God is, there is community.

Have you ever considered taking up the invitation to attend Mass after dropping your children off at school? Mass starts at 9am on a Wednesday and Thursday morning. What a wonderful opportunity to feel and embrace the wholeness of God.

Diocesan Catholic Mission Launch

We were incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to host the Diocesan Mission Launch in our Parish Church and hall. Many of our students participated actively in the liturgy, contributing  through their proclamation of the word through their actions, spoken word or singing.

Here is a little snapshot of our students and their involvements.

The Sacraments of First Penance and Communion

Enrolments CLOSED on 10 September 2024

Enrolment Forms may be downloaded by clicking  HERE

Enrolment Forms are returned (by email or by hand) to the Parish Office.

Do not return forms to the School Office.

Reconciliation Book Instructions will be emailed to those who enrol.

For information about the celebration of First Penance, click HERE

Parent Information for First Reconciliation will be emailed to those who enrol.

Eucharist Book Instructions will be emailed to those who enrol.

Welcome to the children who will participate fully in the Eucharist for the first time, by receiving Holy Communion, the Body and Blood of Christ.

QUESTIONS ABOUT LAST SUNDAY’S SCRIPTURE READINGS

First Reading Isaiah 50:5-9a

Isaiah says, “The Lord God has opened my ear that I may hear … ” What kinds of things do you think God wants us to hear? That “a brother or sister is without clothing and lacks daily food” from the second reading? Alright, then what? Do you act on what you hear? “The Lord God helps me. … The present reading” has these words twice. How do they relate to Jesus’ utterance in the Gospel, “Whoever wants to become my follower. let him deny himself”? Will God be with us, holding our hand, every minute, no matter what?

Second Reading James 2:14-18

How important is it to express your faith in works? The letter of James tells us to serve our neighbour. Do you ever respond to such a call? If so, how? With a few words? In some of your actions? With your entire life? “If a brother or sister is without clothing and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that”? Might one criticise a Catholic faith that is primarily “a fact on an ID card” rather than a missionary? How do you transmit your faith with “testimony”?

Gospel Mark 8:27-35

Do you want people you love to know you well? Do you think Christ wants you to know him well personally? He asks the apostles, “who do you say that I am?” What if he asked you that question? Do you answer it differently at different times in your life? “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering … ” In these words, Jesus is telling the apostles what discipleship is all about. Why does Pope Francis say Jesus chose the cross?

He [St. John Chrysostom] saw that despite appearances, Jesus is not a loser, but God, who willingly offers himself for every man and woman. Why did he do this? He could have saved his life, he could have kept his distance from the misery and brutality of human history. Instead, he chose to enter into that history, to immerse himself in it. That is why he chose the most difficult way possible: the cross.

So that no one on earth should ever be so desperate as not to be able to find him, even there, in the midst of anguish, darkness, abandonment, in the scandal of his or her own misery and mistakes. There he came, to the very place we think God cannot be present, there. To save those who despair, he himself chose to taste despair; taking upon himself our most bitter anguish, he cried out from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” A cry that saves. It saves because God took upon himself even the experience of our abandonment. And now, with him, we are no longer alone, ever.

– Pope Francis, Homily at 53rd Eucharistic Congress, 15 September 2021

What’s happening in our Parish Thirroul

Mrs Ronelle Peardon:  Acting Religious Education Coordinator