The Sacrament of First Holy Communion and The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

This coming Sunday is a special day for our Catholic community as it is the day we celebrate the First Holy Communion of 45 children in our community. We also celebrate The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The combining of these two special events is no coincidence. It is a purposeful connection of our children receiving the Body of Christ for the first time, on the solemnity which honors the Body (corpus) of Christ (Christi). This feast on the second Sunday after Pentecost has also been called Corpus Christi, which is Latin for “the Body of Christ.”

In the Gospel this Sunday (Luke 9:11b-17) we hear about the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. This miracle appears in all four Gospels and is also connected to the Eucharist.  In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and in Paul's account (1 Corinthians 11:23-24), we hear the story of the Last Supper where Jesus takes bread, looks up to heaven, blesses the bread, breaks it, and then gives it to the disciples.  In his Gospel this week, Luke uses this same language to remind his readers that in the miracle of the loaves and fishes, Jesus is doing more than feeding hungry people. That he is giving us his body and will continue to give, as often as the community breaks bread in remembrance of him in the Eucharist.

As we gather as a faith community in remembrance of Jesus this Sunday, we celebrate with the 45 children receiving the most holy body of Jesus for the first time. These children have been preparing with their families over the past 6 weeks and are ready to take this next step in their faith journey. On Friday these children will complete their final preparations by coming together to participate in a Retreat day in the Parish Hall.

All are welcome to share in this special celebration of the Eucharist this coming Sunday 23 June at 9am in St Joseph’s church. Please keep these children and their families in your prayers as they take this important step in their faith journey.

Riamabana Fundraising Appeal

Our partnership with Riamabana changes the lives of the children who attend the Riamabana Academy. This year we have been asked to support the building of an additional toilet block as the academy has outgrown the existing facilities. This building works which will significantly improve the conditions for the children at the academy will cost $2 500. To raise money for this cause that is close to our hearts, we will be holding a Market Day in Term 3 on the Feast Day of St Mary Mackillop on Thursday 8th August. Saint Mary Mackillop is well known for her philosophy of ‘Never see a need without doing something about it.’ At St Joseph’s we see the needs of the children who attend the Riamabana Academy and we plan to do something about it. More information to come next week.

Student Prayer Focus

Our Student Prayer Focus over the coming month reconnects us with our focus Scripture for 2019: Matthew 28:16-20. In our focus Scripture the disciples are commissioned and Jesus tells them that he is with them always.

Just as the disciples were commissioned, we too are invited to  “go and make disciples of all nations” and in doing so are Glorifying Christ with our lives.

How will you Glorify Christ with your life this week?

In classrooms this week you will see that green leaves are once again being added to the trees in each class prayer space. The green leaf symbolises Ordinary Time. On each leaf of a word or phrase is written which symbolise how each class member will work to glorify Christ with their lives during the week.

Sacramental Information

Students in Year 6 can now be enrolled in the Sacrament of Confirmation at the link below. Please add the Sacrament of Confirmation and preparation session dates and times to your calendars. A reminder that the Sacrament of Confirmation will take place with Archbishop Christopher Prowse on the last Sunday of the holidays before Term 4 commences.

 Please enrol at http://bit.ly/sacraments2019

Please contact Father Paul  if you have any questions about the Sacrament of Confirmation at:

paul_nulley@hotmail.com

Melanie Stratford

Religious Education Coordinator

melanie.stratford@cg.catholic.edu.au