Dear Parents, Carers and Friends,

Thanks, you for all the support of the Lap-a-thon. It was a wonderful day, and we loved having so many family members join us. The day started off on a great note with a lovely Father’s Day breakfast that was so well attended. The children then participated in a St Gregory’s Feast Day mass before making their way to the park. Such a full but fun day was had, and it is so nice being able to celebrate these occasions with our community members. Thank you to everyone involved in making the day as special as it was and a special mention to our Front Office Staff, Kate McManus-Green, Kiralee Nolan and the Community Council for all their work in ensuring the day was amazing. Additional thanks to the Rotary Club of Queanbeyan and Four Bee Meats who donated and cooked all 850 sausages!

As part of the Personal Development/Health curriculum over the past two weeks we have been focused on ‘Safety’ and this coincides with this week’s National Child Protection Week (7–13 September). The eSafety Commissioner offers valuable resources for parents and schools so feel free to have a look around the site if you have time Parents | eSafety Commissioner. This week we have some links to share with parents from the eSafety newsletter we received. I hope you find these resources fun and useful to help reiterate eSafety learning with your child/ren.

• Conversation cards and advice sheet – developed in partnership with the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), these resources help parents and carers discuss online safety with their child. Available in English, Arabic, Simplified Chinese and Arabic.  
• Play IT Safe - A collection of play-based online safety activities to help young children learn online safety in a fun and engaging way. 

Our Confirmation liturgies on Friday night and Saturday were just beautiful and so sacred with the students and families participating so reverently. Fr George confirmed our students on Friday evening and Archbishop Christopher Prowse together with Fr George confirmed the students on Saturday morning. Saturday morning also saw Archbishop Christopher Prowse say mass celebrating Mother Teresa’s feast day with the Missionaries of Charity sisters of our parish who are inspired to follow in Mother Teresa’s footsteps helping others in our local community every day. Archbishop Prowse also officially installed Fr George as our parish priest.

Mother Teresa was a renowned humanitarian known for her selfless service to the poor and sick and her feast day is September 5^th. She founded the Missionaries of Charity, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was canonized by Pope Francis on September 4^th, 2016. Interestingly Mother Teresa visited St Gregory’s Parish twice. Below are some inspiring quotes from Mother Theresa to inspire us.

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." Mother Teresa

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love." Mother Teresa

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Mother Teresa

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Mother Teresa

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.” Mother Teresa

"There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those." Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa Quotes - Mother Teresa of Calcutta - Catholic Online

On Sunday Pope Leo XIV canonized Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, officially declaring them saints. These first modern day saints who are role models of holiness, particularly for children, youth and young adults. Carlos Acutis is the first millennial saint and the only saint who was computer literate! He used technology to spread the word of God and his faith and is informally know as ‘God’s influencer’. He has been declared the patron saint of the computer programmers and youth. Let us pray together…

O God,

You have given us in St. Carlo Acutis a model of virtue and holiness for our digital age. We thank you for making him an inspiration to young people through his devotion to the Eucharist, his love for the poor, and his ability to use modern means to spread the Gospel.

St. Carlo Acutis, friend of God and servant of the poor, intercede for us before the throne of grace. Help us to recognize Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, to use our talents in service of others, and to navigate the digital world with wisdom and charity.

Like you, may each of us proclaim that “the Eucharist is my highway to heaven” and strive to live in constant communion with Our Lord. Guide us to use technology as a tool for evangelization and to bring others closer to Christ through our witness.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to St. Carlo Acutis - The Catholic Crusade

Please also continue to pray for those in our community who are sick and their families who care for them.

Have a blessed fortnight.

Tiffany Reedy