The saints are women and men who have chosen to live according to the truth of the Gospel in their own time by addressing the needs of their day. They exemplify what it means to be a disciple and serve as role models of faith, showing us what is achievable. In August, the Catholic Church honours the Feast Day of two outstanding women who were exceptional examples of female discipleship.

 Images of Mary Mackillop by the Bright Start students.

On 8th August, the Year 2 and 3 class, together with Mrs Schilling and Miss D, hosted a Mass to celebrate the Feast Day of St Mary MacKillop. We all got the chance to dress up in 1800s fashion to honour this remarkable woman.

St. Mary MacKillop's story is truly inspiring. She dedicated her life to helping others and played a significant role in establishing schools across the nation. Her legacy continues to inspire us today. Despite facing many challenges, St. Mary MacKillop showed extraordinary bravery, kindness, and love for others. She was an ordinary person who did extraordinary things, and that's a message we want to resonate with all our students.

May we continue to draw inspiration from St. Mary MacKillop's incredible story and strive to do extraordinary things in our own lives. Her legacy lives on through our school community, and I feel blessed to be a part of it.

Most loving God, 

We thank you for the example of St Mary MacKillop, 

who in her living of the Gospel, 

witnessed to the dignity of each person. 

She faced life’s challenges with faith and courage. 

Inspired by her example, may we shine our lights brightly to reach out to our brothers and sisters in need.

Give us generous hearts to respond to the cries of those who are poor in our community and in our world. 

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Feast of the Assumption of Mary 

Yesterday, on the 15th of August, we celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary, as our first disciple, provides a model for us on how to live a life open to God and be ready to say "yes" even if we do not understand the circumstances at the time. We give thanks and praise for Mary's grace-filled and blessed life and honour her assumption into heaven. On this Feast Day, we affirm our belief that Mary is now in heaven, and we are encouraged to follow in her footsteps and treat people with dignity as children of God. We honoured Mary with a whole school Mass, beautifully hosted by Miss Lange and her Year 1 and 2 students. Thank you to the many family members who attended in support of our students. It is always very special to see families attend our class Masses. We even had some visitors from out of town who took the time to commend our amazing staff for the way they beautifully worked with our students and for the students' outstanding reading and general behaviour.

Empowering God,

Inspire us by the example of Mary’s openness to Your love.

May we live in this attitude and inspire other to do the same.

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.

Amen

May we all follow the examples of these remarkable women and shine our light to create the world that God desires.

In love and light, 

Rosemary Perre 

APRIM

The latest Southern Cross Newspaper can be found with the following link.

 The Southern Cross August 2024