Refugee Week

Sunday 14^th June to Saturday 20^th June

Next week is Refugee Week in Australia. Refugee Week is Australia’s peak annual activity to inform the public about refugees and celebrate positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. The ultimate aim of Refugee Week is to create better understanding between different communities and to encourage successful integration enabling refugees to live in safety and to continue making a valuable contribution to Australia.

The aims of Refugee Week are:

• to educate the Australian public about who refugees are and why they have come to Australia
• to help people understand the many challenges refugees face coming to Australia
• to celebrate the contribution refugees make to our community
• to focus on how the community can provide a safe and welcoming environment for refugees.

The theme for Refugee Week this year is: Celebrating the Year of Welcome

Trinity will be conducting a day of activities next Thursday to provide a unique opportunity for all the children to experience and celebrate the rich diversity of refugee communities in Australia through food, craft, music, dance and sports. During the week students will also have opportunities in Library lessons to find out more about refugees in Australia.

If you would like to know more about Refugee Week, please follow this link: https://www.refugeeweek.org.au/

St. Vincent De Paul

With over two million people living below the poverty line in Australia, including over half a million children, donations allow the St Vincent de Paul Society to provide people and families in need an opportunity of a better life. If you or a member of your family are interested in supporting any of the St. Vincent De Paul Appeals, please visit the NSW site through this link: https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-nsw

The Power of Pen to Paper

Archbishop Christopher Prowse has encouraged Catholics to put their name to a petition calling on the ACT government to boost Mass numbers to 50. More than 1200 Catholics have signed the petition since it was kicked off a week ago, including the Archbishop. More signatures are needed to show the strength of a Catholic community eager to return to parishes to pray and be together. https://www.catholicvoice.org.au/petition-to-the-chief-minister-of-the-act/

Readings this Weekend – The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

GOSPEL:  John 6:51-58
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A51-58&version=NIV

Whoever eats and drinks of the body and blood of Christ has eternal life.

Living the Gospel

Meals are very important events. Not only do we physically need food and drink to keep ourselves alive, but we also need meals to mark occasions and celebrate events: birthdays. weddings, dates, achievements, reunions, anniversaries. There is a sacredness about gathering with friends and family and sharing a meal together. Stories are told; memories shared; the food is appreciated and more often than not there’s a drink to accompany the meal. Treating such occasions with gratitude – as blessed moments of grace – is living out the Eucharistic reality of welcoming Jesus into our lives and seeking to be more like him.

Reflection

Jesus tells us that he is the living bread of life, and that those of us who eat his flesh and drink his blood will live forever. We call that meal the Eucharist; this name means ‘giving thanks’.

Are you thankful for the abundance of food in your life? Or do you take it for granted?

How often have you got ready for an evening meal (after eating once or twice already that day) and said, ‘I’m starving!’

How often do you think of people who only have one tiny meal to eat, if anything, all day?

May the real food and drink we provide away from the sacred table of the Lord prove to the world the power of the Eucharist can change us into people that are good and loving. May we not just share – but also give!

Thought of the Week

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
― Mark Twain

Wishing everybody a wonderful week.

God bless,

Donna Wade