St Francis of Assisi Feast Day

On Wednesday we will be celebrating our patron saint- St Francis. The actual date for his Feast Day is October 4th but due to it being in the holidays we will gather next week. St Francis (1181 or 1182 – 1226), founder of the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church, lived during the late 12th and 13th centuries in Italy. He is remembered for his generosity to the poor and his willingness to minister to the lepers. However, what many people recall about him is his love for animals and nature. St Francis died at Portiuncula, Italy on October 4, 1226.

On Wednesday we will be celebrating Mass in the school hall at 9:30am followed by planting individual seeds to honour St Francis' love of nature. After recess we will all move to the hall for the St Francis has Talent Show. Students this week auditioned for their grade with 3 acts from each grade performing on Wednesday. After our pizza lunch we will have the much anticipated teacher swap where the teachers get to move around to a different class and share an activity with their 'new students' based on St Francis. We welcome parents, caregivers and significant adults to attend any of the activities until lunchtime!

Pizza orders will close at 5pm TODAY. Due to us ordering from our local Domino's, no late orders will be accepted. PLEASE NOTE consent to the event does not mean you have paid for a pizza- you must go to the bottom of the event and "proceed to payment". Orders that are not paid for will not be accepted. The canteen will be open as normal on Wednesday and the children are also welcome to bring their own lunches. Recess will not be provided. 

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Enrolments for Year 4 students who wish to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation have now closed. If you didn't register your child and wish for them to receive the Sacrament, please contact Anne Gowan on the following email: TuggeranongSouth.Sacraments@cg.org.au 

A parent formation evening will be on THIS WEEK on Wednesday 7-8pm or Thursday 5:30 - 6:30pm. You only need to attend on 1 evening will attendance is required if you wish for your child to receive the Sacrament this year. 

Sunday Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Parable of the Wedding Banquet

Gospel Reflection by Dianne Bergant

As incredible as it may seem, some people turn down the invitation to the eschatological banquet. This is the case, both in the parable and in our world today. This invitation seems much less interesting than a sports event, the latest movie, or some social affair. So much of our time and energy is spent either climbing the economic ladder or just trying to keep our heads above water. Even if we are interested in the banquet, we do not seem able to afford the time and energy that it might require. And so we send our regrets: I cannot come. What a shame! We seem to have forgotten that everything is tending toward the end; all of our plans, interests and distractions will cease. Only the banquet will remain. All God asks of us is that we receive the blessings that have been prepared for us. We need not work for them. In fact, we cannot work for them on our own. All we can do is enjoy them. Enjoyment of the eschatological time of fulfilment is open to all, but guaranteed to none.

One theme seems to connect all of the readings for this Sunday, our total dependence on God. God spreads the banquet table and invites the guests; God punishes those who are indifferent to or antagonistic toward the eschatological banquet; God supplies whatever we need in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. We do not have to bargain with God, or make reservations. All we have to do is accept what God has to offer.

Have a great week!