Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. 

Fasting—means eating two small meals and one just to feel satiated. This applies to those who have completed their 18th year until the beginning of their 60th year.

Abstinence—from eating meat on the above days applies to those who are 14+ years.

During Lent we give more attention to prayer, self-denial, generosity towards others especially the needy, and meditating on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, so as to become more committed to  loving Him and others.

Prayer: eg. extra Mass attendance, family prayer, visiting a Church,  reading the Bible, making the Stations of the Cross, praying the Rosary. 

Self-Denial: eg. fasting from food, forgoing some entertainment and  giving the money  instead to worthy causes.  Project Compassion is a  major means of expressing our self-denial and helping the poor of our own country and elsewhere.

Helping Others: includes the sick, the elderly, the lonely or the over-burdened etc.

Reminders: Catholics have a serious  obligation to receive Holy Communion worthily at least once a year between Ash Wednesday and Trinity Sunday and to confess any serious sin(s) before doing so.

The after school classes run by the St Lawrence Parish religious education program catechists are conducted through the Perth Archdiocesan Catechist program, the purpose of which is to implement the mandated Religious Education Program “The truth will set you free”

This is a comprehensive and sequential program of Religious Education for children from Year 1 to Year 7 who are not attending Catholic schools.

The modules covered – and which are extended each year are:

Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, Word, Prayer, Church, Growing and changing.

Other topics covered are: 

Mary, Community, Trinity, Creation, Choices as well as Feast Days and the Seasons of the Church year.

Incorporated into the program are the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation.

PLEASE NOTE: In instructing the program, the Archbishop has mandated that for a child to receive any of the Sacraments, he/she must have completed TWO YEAR PREPARATION.

Therefore, to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at Year 3 the child must have completed the Year 2 program.

To receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist at Year Four the child will obviously have completed the Reconciliation program.

To receive the sacrament of Confirmation at year 7, the child must have completed the year 6 program as their preparation.

We also feel it is important for the child’s fullest understanding of the Sacrament of Confirmation, that they complete the Year 5 level program before entering the Year 6 class.

POLICY ON THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION:

Following extensive consultation among clergy and educators, the following Policy has now been drawn up and is hereby promulgated as the Official Policy for the Archdiocese of Perth for Confirmation of minor.

POLICY:

- Parents have the obligation and right to present their children for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

- As Confirmation normally takes place in the parish, parents are urged to cooperate with the Parish-based preparation.

Canon Law requires the Parish priest to ensure “an adequate catechesis is given for the celebration of the Sacraments” (Code of Canon Law No. 777)

- In order to ensure that the preparation of Confirmation is to truly bear fruit into the future, the parish priest will call parents, school and catechists to work harmoniously together.

- Preparation for school aged children is therefore to be PARISH BASED, FAMILY FOCUSED AND SCHOOL SUPPORTED.

Confirmation is generally to be offered in the last year of Primary school whether Year 7 or Year 6.

In cases where year 7 has been transferred to the secondary school level, Confirmation is still to be offered to students in Year 7 at the secondary school if they were for some reason, not confirmed in Year 6 in the primary school.

The mandated RE materials for Catholic School and Parish Catechists for Confirmation are suitable for Year 6 or Year 7.

*The classes for each level will run over all four terms of the school year.

Enrolment forms will be available on the day. If enrolling a child for the first time please provide the certificates of any Sacraments they may have received for viewing.

Classes will commence on Tuesday 14th February 2012 at 3.40 p.m. in the Church  and conclude at 5.00 p.m.

If you know of any Catholic families attending your child’s school who might be interested in this information, we would appreciate your sharing it with them.

Clare Di Loreto

Parish Religious Education Co-ordinator

For further enquiries please phone Mrs Di Loreto on 92473918

We wish all our Parishioners a happy and safe Australia Day! Please come to 9.00am Mass and thank God for our Great Nation!

Parish Team ;-)

Dear Parishioners!

If you have assisted our Parish in any way, please join us for a sausage sizzle as a small "thankyou" for your support and dedication to our Community throughout the year 2011.

We look forward to see you all there!!! ;-)

Parish Team

The celebration for the 75th Anniversary of St Theresa Church in Gwelup will be held on Sunday 15th January 2012 starting with Mass @ 11.30am followed by lunch at the Croation Club, Wishart Street in Gwelup. 

Please call our office for more info.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

On Sunday January 15^thFr Irek Czech SDS, parish priest of Balcatta-Gwelup Community, celebrated special mass in a packed church of St. Theresa, to commemorate the 75^thAnniversary of the opening of the church by Archbishop Prendiville on January 17^th1937.

St. Theresa was built as a church/school in 1936/7 by Fr John Moloney, parish priest of Leederville, and was part of the Leederville Parish. In 1942 it became part of Osborne Park-Wanneroo Parish, then a part of North Beach Parish and finally part of Balcatta-Gwelup Community.

The school had an equally varied life; the first teaches were the Sisters of Mercy, then in 1951 the Dominican Sisters and finally the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth who had to close the school in 1968. The representatives of these Orders were present at the celebration.

A booklet outlining the first 75 years of the church was published and given at mass as a memento for those attending.

After the Eucharist a luncheon was enjoyed at the local Croatian club by over 130 parishioners and special guests, many of whom were ex-students. Sister Anne Larney OP, one of the Dominican nuns who taught at the school in the 1950’s, told of her experiences and thoughts of some of her students.

Over the last 75 years St. Theresa’s church has been a focal point for many Catholic families from the Gwelup area. Generations of children were baptized, received their First Holy Communions, took their marriage vows and said “goodbye” to their loved ones there. Together with Fr Irek, parishioners of St. Theresa work hard to preserve and maintain their little church, which is called by many the “Jewel on the hill”.  

Paul Woodward