Confirmation – CONGRATULATIONS!
A number of school staff members and I had the pleasure of joining some Year 6 students on Wednesday evening for their sacrament of Confirmation. It was a beautiful mass that was celebrated by Bishop Brian and Fr Mark, and I’m sure I can speak on behalf of all the staff present when I say it was truly a privilege to be there with the children and their families on such an important moment in their lives as young Catholic people.
It was a fortunate accident that all of the Year 6 children were able to participate in a day of spiritual formation during the day, when they visited St Francis of Assisi Warrawong for ‘ACTIVATE Fire’ with Year 6 children from St Francis of Assisi Warrawong and St John’s Dapto. From all accounts the children had a wonderful day, and it complimented the children receiving the sacrament of Confirmation very nicely.
Bishop Brian was especially nurturing and supportive of the candidates, spending his 15-minute homily sitting with the children and speaking with them about the importance of the sacrament, guiding them and leading them in a gentle manner.
We also have a number of other Year 6 children who will be receiving the sacrament of
Confirmation in the coming weeks in other parishes. To all of these children and their families; we wish you all the very best of luck for this special occasion. We will keep you all in our prayers.

Power and Radiance - Feast Day of the Birth of Our Lady
Please find below a spiritual reflection as shared with all CEO staff this week regarding the Birthday of Mary the Mother of God. We were fortunate to celebrate this feast with a whole school mass on Thursday, September 8 th .
The equal representation of women and men at last week's national Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra has drawn much media commentary and indeed relief and joy in many circles. Not that long ago (well make that 40 years) when Bob Hawke held a similar gathering, out of the 97 delegates there was only 1 woman, so we have come a long way. Media commentary of the Summit included headlines such as, ‘The summit where women roared’ and one delegate, head of Fortescue Metal, Twiggy Forrest, described women in the workforce as the ‘great unsung giant, which we’re not using’.
Of course, we won’t know for some time if the presence of so many women will have the desired outcomes, however, no one can deny the visual strength of the sheer number of women in the room and the significance of the role women played in setting and running the Summit’s agenda. Let us be mindful too, of the enormous bank of individual inner strength amongst the women who gathered at the Summit, each with their own story of what brought them to that place on that day.

Today, 8 September, we celebrate the birthday of one of the most powerful, courageous and loving figures in our Christian story - Mary, the Mother of God.
Although Mary only appears in the gospels now and again, in each instance, she gives life. As Fr Kevin Bates sm says in his book “Glimmers of Grace” - Mary ‘loved a good party and encouraged the first of Jesus’ miracles’. When Mary was thrown the curve ball regarding her pregnancy she took the news with questions in her heart but also with strength, faith and conviction. In a society given to the total control of women, Mary knew that saying ‘yes’ would lead to criticism, fear, and rejection but she never wavered in the faith that God was leading her to something new and to a purpose bigger than her own self. In 2020 Joan Chittister wrote: “Mary of Nazareth knew very well what it meant to be strong. She was strong enough to bring the right concerns, the right questions, the right witness, the right insight into our world, even if it meant questioning the angels”.
Let us pray that like Mary, we have the courage and intelligence to listen to voices beyond our own. May we shine like Mary and be a light to those we encounter with hearts full of hope and love.

God of Mary, Son of Mary:
Neither birth nor death diminished you.
Neither power nor pain destroyed you.
Neither plenty nor little distracted you.
So lift up our arms in strength

so that we may lay down our arms and our armies,

our fears and our prejudices.
Because, with Mary, we know that
the silenced have words to speak.

Amen
 Pádraig Ó Tuama

All the best,
Mr Sam Mattas - Religious Education Coordinator