Prayer in Pyjama Workshops

The Drouin and Warragul Catholic Parish Communities warmly invite Foundation students and their parents to attend ONE of our …

Prayer In Pyjama Workshops

The final workshop will be held at:

St. Ita’s Primary School Wednesday 29^th October 5.30–6.30

All school families are welcome to attend this workshop (Catholic and non-Catholics are invited).

This workshop is activity based and is an opportunity for Foundation families to gather, pray, learn, create and have fun together.

Children are invited to wear their pyjamas and bring their favourite cuddly bedtime toy.

The workshop is free unless families would like to donate a small amount to help cover the cost of materials used.

For more information contact Liz on 5623 1642,

or email: warragul.sacraments@cdsale.org.au

Children's Liturgy

A message from Deacon Mark

How Great We Are

The parable in this week's gospel (Luke18:9-14) is challenging for all of us to reflect on: the contrast between the great man who stands proud and tall and aggressively at the front of the temple proclaiming to the Creator and to all who see him what a heavy dude he is and the small man, the sinner, beaten down by life, who effaces himself at the back of the temple, quietly acknowledging his unworthiness.

All of us can think of a "great man" in our contemporary experience who has those characteristics and instinctively we envisage ourselves as the humble sinner, the bloke on the right side of the story. However, if we dwell too long on the image, feeling righteous and justified, we begin to turn into the haughty, self-satisfied “great man" ourselves.

Time and again our society has descended into proclaiming ourselves worthier than First Nations people, than non-Christians, than people of non- Anglo Saxon Celtic heritage, than people of varying sexual and gender orientations. And each time Jesus points us to the gospel story of “the Pharisee and the Publican.” In our daily lives we are called only to proclaim from the rooftops the Good News of the Kingdom, of redemption for all, of God's love for all humankind, equally and absolutely.

Whenever we start seeing ourselves as superior to our neighbour either in status, smartness, or holiness we begin to turn into that Pharisee. There is nothing so off-putting, so undermining of our message of "Good News", as the sanctimonious Christian who lets it be known that he/she has an exclusive "Royal Telephone" connection with God and is somehow better than everyone else.

So, we are called to immerse ourselves in the world around us, humbly confident, joyful, and thankful of the salvation offered to all. That is how we carry the "Good News".

Deacon Mark Kelly