Prayer for Openness to the Spirit in our Lives

Spirit of God, grant us the LOVE which filled the heart of Blessed Edmund,
inspiring him to give all to you.
Spirit of God, grant us the JOY of Blessed Edmund
who found his happiness in seeing and serving you in poor and excluded people.
Spirit of God, grant us the PEACE of Blessed Edmund
who trusted in you and your providence through countless difficulties.
Spirit of God, grant us the PATIENCE of Blessed Edmund
who held to being a person of faith even when misunderstood and opposed.
Spirit of God, grant us the KINDNESS of Blessed Edmund
who always had time for the smallest and weakest.
Spirit of God, grant us the GOODNESS of Blessed Edmund
whose broad vision saw ways all around to spread the goodness of the kingdom.
Spirit of God, grant us the GENTLENESS of Blessed Edmund
who brought the gentleness of Christ to all his relationships.
Spirit of God, grant us the FAITHFULNESS of Blessed Edmund
who did not give in to discouragement.
Spirit of God, grant us the SELF CONTROL of Blessed Edmund
who prayed constantly that your will would be done in him.

Source: http://edmundrice.net/edmund-rice/e-r-prayers/161-prayer-for-ern 

Easter Prayer Celebrations

We warmly welcome parents and friends of SJV to join us during week 10 for our Holy Week Prayer Celebrations. All celebrations will be held in the hall.

Project Compassion

Our Youth Ministry team has been doing a wonderful job fundraising for this year’s Project Compassion campaign. Last week, we held a Zooper Dooper fundraiser which was incredibly popular, and we thank you for your support and generosity of this event. We are now turning our attention to the baby photo guessing competition. Think you might know who some of these staff members are? Come and have a guess at the front office or on Monday or Friday mornings before school. Students will have the opportunity to guess during the first break up until Wednesday 9th April. Parents, staff and students are all welcome to have a guess for 50 cents each, and you can have as many guesses as you like. All correct answers will go into a draw to win an Easter basket, and if there are no correct answers, every guess will have a chance to win.

This year’s theme is Unite Against Poverty this Lent. There are many Project Compassion boxes around the school, including in each classroom, and every student is encouraged to donate some money to this worthy cause. Project Compassion is Caritas Australia’s major fundraiser for the year, and much of the work they do in developing communities around the world, depends on our generosity. Even a donation as small as 50c a week during Lent can make a huge difference to our school’s overall total. Our classroom teachers will continue to promote Project Compassion throughout Lent, and we encourage our students to embrace this as the almsgiving part of their Lenten journey. We understand that times are difficult financially for many families at the moment, so please give what you can.

Reconciliation 2025

Congratulations to the students who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time this week. We would like to thank the Parish Sacramental team for their work in coordinating the program, as well as Father Loi and Father Rafael for their support of our students, particularly in hearing their first confessions with such warmth and compassion. We also acknowledge the work, support and love of the families of our students in supporting them to take this step in their Sacramental journey. It is a privilege to walk alongside you, to help guide your children to grow in their faith.

Sacraments 2025

Registrations for First Eucharist and Confirmation are currently open. First Eucharist registrations will close on May 15th 2025. Families of students who are eligible to make one of the Sacraments (Reconciliation, First Eucharist or Confirmation) this year are encouraged to visit the Parish website: https://stjjvwestoncreek.blogspot.com/ for information and registration details for each of the Sacraments. 

Eligibility for each Sacrament is as follows:

Reconciliation - open to students who have been baptised Catholic and who are in Year 3 or above.

First Eucharist - open to baptised Catholic students who have made their Reconciliation and are in Year 4 or above.

Confirmation - open to baptised Catholic students who have received their First Eucharist and who are in Year 6 or above.

It is possible to receive more than one Sacrament in the same year, however, the Sacraments usually need to made in order (i.e. Reconciliation, followed by First Eucharist, then Confirmation). These questions and other general enquiries about the Sacramental program are best directed to the Parish Office via email: SacramentalOLA@cg.org.au