Liturgy
NAIDOC WEEK 2016
Songlines - the living narrative of our Nation
The College celebrates NAIDOC in the last week of term. This year Marie Taylor, a Noongar Elder, will conduct a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony for the College community.
Date: Thursday 30 June
Where: Chapel Lawn
Start time: 8:00am
All students and their families are welcome to attend this annual College segue into NAIDOC Week, which commences Sunday 3 July. Students are encouraged to get to school early on the day in order to participate.
WHAT IS A WELCOME TO COUNTRY?
The Welcome to Country is a right of the local traditional custodians and owners. The land, waterways and sites of cultural significance are still very important to Noongar people. The Welcome to Country recognises and acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of the land and demonstrates respect for Aboriginal people as Australia's first peoples.
WHAT IS A SMOKING CEREMONY?
The Smoking Ceremony is a traditional Noongar ritual used to not only cleanse and purify a specific area but to cleanse the spirit, body and soul whilst you are on Noongar Country. In the Smoking ceremony, the leaves and shavings from the balga and other local trees are allowed to smoulder - and the smoke purifies the area and prepares for a new beginning. This ritual of purification and unity signifies the beginning of something new. The Smoking Ceremony is a blessing while on Noongar Country.
Source: http://www.noongarculture.org.au/spirituality/
WHAT IS NAIDOC WEEK?
NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. NAIDOC week officially falls in the holidays: 3-10 July.
Further information: http://www.naidoc.org.au/
ASTHMA ALERT - SMOKING CEREMONY
Students whose asthma is triggered by smoke, or who are unwell with asthma on the day, should not attend the smoking ceremony. All students who have Asthma must be careful at the smoking ceremony, must take any additional precautions and must have their asthma medication with them.
'GOOD NEWS' for 12th Sunday in 'Ordinary Time'
"You are the Messiah sent by God. It is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer much." (Luke 9:18-24)
The reflection for this Sunday's Gospel is by Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ, and is reprinted here with his kind permission. Father Andy is a Jesuit, a theologian and, among his other roles, the Media Officer for Jesuit Social Services.
In Luke's Gospel, Jesus asks the disciples, 'Who do you say that I am?' The question is asked in a private moment after Jesus and the disciples have been in prayer. The question goes to the heart of Jesus' work and to the reasons why his disciples are following him.
Peter answers that Jesus is the Messiah. This was a huge word. It says that Jesus is central in God's plans for Israel and will introduce the time when God will reign over his people. Peter's answer suggests that if we want to see what God is like we must look at Jesus. It places Jesus at the top of the tree.
But in the conversation that follows, Jesus undercuts this view. He places the Messiah at the bottom of the pile, and invites his disciples to follow him there. We can imagine their shock at hearing Jesus speak about his fate. He was not only going to be killed, but was to die the most degrading and frightful death by crucifixion. For his hearers this punishment made people unclean and placed them completely outside God's care. Messiah and cross went together as badly as would a bride and an execution go today.
Jesus then hammered his point home. If he was to die this death that separated him from God's comfort, his disciples would also have to be ready to follow his path, finding their own cross, that stinking and horrible instrument of torture. For Jesus' disciples this was shock treatment. It turned their expectations of God's path upside down. If we think about it, it should also turn our ideas upside down. Who would want to go there?
The point of Jesus' words is not to make us focus on the terrors that might await us, but to recognise that to follow Jesus is to walk step by step along a path without knowing where it will take us. We share Jesus' road to death and to rising, knowing that it will lead us through humiliation and pain. But we do not anticipate the form our cross will take before it comes to us. Jesus' path is one on which we keep our eyes on Jesus, our companion along the way, and on the people to whom he came, and take one step at a time.
As we hear Jesus' words we are invited to reflect on how we imagine our life. It is easy to imagine for ourselves a path that will take us from success to success, from a prosperous childhood to a wealthy old age, from being loved by our family to being admired by everyone. That is not Jesus' way as he walked with the poorest and rejected.
Certainly, working with vulnerable young people at Jesuit Social Services is not always a comfortable path. If we care for people who struggle we suffer with them, particularly when they are seen as rubbish and excluded from society. And if we take their side publicly, we are likely to be dismissed as 'bleeding hearts'.
Of course, this pain is not exceptional: it is part of all of our lives. The Gospel invites us to see it as central to our following of Jesus.
© Andrew Hamilton SJ
SACRAMENT PROGRAM
The College Sacrament Program, aligned with Archdiocesan policy, is 'Family-focused, Parish-based and Catholic School supported'.
Families of children in Years 3, 4 and 6 are preparing to celebrate, respectively, the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation in their own 'home' parish.
The knowledge component is also covered in the Religion Curriculum of those classes.
Local Parishes
Some parishes, located near the College, have supplied calendar details for their Sacrament Programs. This information can be accessed via the link to the College website.
Further Information?
COMMUNITY LITURGY
Next Friday's Community Eucharist will be prepared by our Magis students. Families and friends are all welcome - whether or not your son or daughter has a role in the Mass. For those able to stay, the celebration continues after Mass with coffee in the Café.
If you have any queries about Community Mass please contact Mary-Anne Lumley: Lumley.mary-anne@johnxxiii.edu.au or 9383 0513.
When: Fridays in Term Time
Time: 8:00-8:30am
Where: College Chapel
