This week at Holy Spirit, we value courage.  Most often, we associate courage with physical prowess or bravery.  Courage can also be seen in the form of being honest, fair, not giving up, being a peacemaker.  This type of courage often requires us to sometimes step out of our comfort zone and do something we might not usually do but know we must as it is the right thing.  This week we encourage our students to think how they can be courageous and help others.

This week our Project Compassion feature story is Halima from Bangladesh.  Halima is raising two children under seven in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, while caring for her mother who has a disability.  Widowed at just 21, Halima fled violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017, arriving at the camp with nothing.

Caritas Australia, through its partner, Caritas Bangladesh, helped Halima out with a shelter and cooking equipment so that she could feed her family.  She participated in hygiene and sanitation training and took on the role of community trainer herself, organising the cleaning of washrooms, wells and toilets.  Halima’s training became all the more invaluable as the COVID-19 pandemic struck - when safe hygiene and preventative measures suddenly became lifesaving.

Halima is proud that she is able to earn a small income, while maintaining the health of her family and the cleanliness of the camp community. Her children are adapting to life in the camp and are now at school. Halima aspired to ‘Be More’ for her family and for the community around her.  

“My hope is that our children will be able to do a job, to live with pleasure, they will find their happiness - that will bring wellbeing for them,” Halima says.

This Friday, 19th March, is the Feast Day of St Joseph.  St Joseph was the husband of Mary and the foster-father of Jesus.  We know Joseph loved Jesus and when Jesus stayed in the Temple, Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him.  We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, "Is this not the son of Joseph?"  Joseph teaches us forgetfulness of self in the service of others.  He is the patron saint of fathers and workers.

Sacramental Programme

This weekend our students attend the first workshop to prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Children and families will attend the 8:30am Mass followed by the workshop.  Parents are asked to be at the Church to pick up their child/ren at 11:45am on Sunday.  Please keep our students in your prayers.

Have a great week.

God bless

Caroline Fuller