In Sunday’s gospel (Matthew 22:1-14), Jesus tells the story of a King who had a wedding feast for his son. The invited guests refused to come so he sent his servants to invite everyone they met.  We are all invited to accept God’s invitation to join him in the Kingdom of heaven by making an effort to do what is right and follow God’s way.  We encourage our students through their actions and words to respect each other and take pride in doing their best.

Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Rosary.  Formerly known as Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary, on this day is traditionally a day to pray for peace in the world.  With the many incidents we see and hear of in relation to violence both at home and abroad, there is a great need to pray for peace.  You might like to pray a decade of the Rosary for peace in our world with your family.

October is Missions Month.  The World Mission Month of October is a time when we can teach our children to respect people from other cultures and reach out to those people, particularly children who live in poverty.  It is an opportunity for reflection, prayer and support for the missionary efforts of individuals, communities and the whole Church.  This year, students across Australia are encouraged to not only learn about Cambodia and the work of the Church there, but to do something extraordinary for Mission through the fundraising, advocacy and prayers.

When we look at the world at times, we can see that it is not very fair.  Some people have lots of food.  Some people don’t have enough.  Some people have clean water in their homes.  Some people have to walk a long way to collect water for their families.  Catholic Missions gives hope to communities so that real changes can be made for people in need around the world.  For more information on how people are being supported in Cambodia, please visit:  https://www.catholicmission.org.au/our-work/see-our-work-in-action/wmm20-cambodia-appeal 

This week at Holy Spirit we value compassion.  What does this mean?  It means sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.  Compassion gives us the ability to understand someone else's situation and the desire to take action to improve their lives.  It is the quality that allows us to step outside of ourselves and see the circumstances of others.  It supplies the will power to do what is necessary to make the world a more caring place.  What better way can our community show compassion?  By supporting Catholic Missions and the good work of many people across the globe.  

Welcome back to Term 4 and God bless.

Caroline Fuller