An invitation to all parents and children

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1 February 2025

In collaboration with St Brigid’s and Good Samaritan Parish Schools, we invite all parents and children in our Parish to be part of the Lumen Christi Parish Sacramental program for 2025.

Receiving the Sacraments is a very blessed time in our journey of faith, and it is the means by which baptised children can complete their journey into full membership of the Catholic Church. They are community events, which remind us of the role of the parish community in the development of our life of faith, hope, and love.

Our Catholic Schools and Parish are here to help you as parents in your vocation to make known the light and love of God to your children.

Enrolments have now opened for Confirmation 2025 and will close on Friday 11th April 2025.

Please read the following pages for further information about how to enrol your child into the Sacrament of Confirmation program for 2025.

We look forward to seeing you all during the Lumen Christi Sacramental Program in 2025 and celebrating this joyful and blessed time for your child, your family and our parish community.

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HOW DOES THE SACRAMENTAL PROGRAM WORK?

• Students seeking the Sacrament of Confirmation are invited to enrol in the Sacramental program through the Lumen Christi Parish Online Portal. (Enrolments close on 11th April 2025).
• A compulsory information session for all parents is conducted with the Parish Priest, the School Principal and the Religious Education Coordinator of the Catholic Parish Primary Schools or the Parish Catechists at the commencement of the program.
• Candidates from the two Parish Schools (St Brigid’s Gwynneville and Good Samaritan Fairy Meadow) will complete their Sacramental program over a 5-week period during class Religious Education time.
• Candidates in other schools within our Lumen Christi Parish will complete their Sacramental program by attending 4 sessions at St Francis Xavier Cathedral from 3:45- 4:45 pm.
• Parents participate in the Sacramental preparation of their child through attendance at the parent information night, at the Commitment Mass, at weekday parish Masses, by attending the Sacrament of Reconciliation, through targeted homework tasks, and opportunities to come into the learning space.
• Candidates from the parish schools will attend a retreat day.
• During the 5-week Sacramental program, the candidates from our two parish schools are invited to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Please refer to the schedule.
• The Sacrament will be celebrated in the Parish Church attached to where your child attends school. Candidates from other schools in our Parish will receive the Sacrament at St Francis Xavier Cathedral.
• Further details:
  • Students attending St Brigid’s Gwynneville contact the school on: (02) 4229 1969
  • Students attending Good Samaritan Fairy Meadow contact the school on: (02) 4226 6577
  • Students from other schools (outside Catholic Parish Primary Schools) contact the Parish Sacramental Officer on: (02) 4211 0506

IMPORTANT SACRAMENTAL DATES FOR CONFIRMATION 2025

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Confirmation of enrolments for 2025 has now closed.

We are a group of passionate, fun-loving people at the University of Wollongong who seek answers to life’s big questions;

how are we here?
Is there more to life?
How can I live my best life?
Why God?

We believe we have found answers in the spiritual, intellectual and liturgical tradition of Catholic Christianity. We hope to demonstrate to the UOW community the love of a God who wants to know us so much that He became human, and strengthen ourselves to live His ethical and moral teachings so that we might live life to the fullest.

Whether you are Catholic or not, we welcome everyone, especially those who are simply curious. Come and meet us – you won’t regret it!

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St Therese & Immaculate Conception (STIC) Young Adults.
A group for young adults eager to grow in community, faith, fellowship, and service.
Anyone aged 18-35 years welcome!

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Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Sometimes we feel that our hands are empty and so we have little or nothing to give. But at the heart of our faith is a deep conviction that God is present and has given each of us gifts which bring us great joy when we share them. These gifts become riches of life when we place them at the service of our community to build up our life together as the Body of Christ.

We have these riches because Christ is present within us by his loving grace, a love and a grace that seeks to be shared as a joy for the whole people. In his letter to the Colossians, St Paul writes of the glorious mystery of Christ present within us:

“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

As a parish community, I invite you to join me in prayerful reflection on this beautiful passage from St Paul and focus on the riches of Christ that are in you and in our parish community. To discover these riches will give us hope in the love of Christ and confidence that we have much to offer for the growth of our parish life.

As a fruit of this reflection we can ask: how can our riches be shared so that our parish communities of St Francis Xavier, St Brigid, St John Viannney, and Mater Dolorosa can grow together in faith, hope, and love? Further questions that may help our reflection are: What gifts do you have? How can you help others see their gifts? How can we support each other in making these gifts shine for our families, friends, and those we meet in our everyday life?

To bring together the fruits of our parish reflection, please join the clergy and parish staff in formulating our Parish Pastoral Plan. The aim of the Pastoral Plan is to develop our goals over the next five years to develop our:

• Community Life
• Worship as a community of faith and service
• Mission in bearing witness to Christ’s truth and love
• Parish Support through our Parish Staff
• Stewardship of our facilities and properties

The Pastoral Plan will set our major pastoral, mission, and financial goals for the next five years and be an instrument for reviewing our progress in achieving these goals. The first three steps in formulating the Pastoral Plan will occur on the following dates:

• On 19 February 2023 (7th Sunday in Ordinary Time) and 26 February 2023 (First Sunday of Lent), the Sunday homily will reflect on the theme “the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you”, to help everyone reflect on our gifts and how they can contribute to our parish.
• On 5 March 2023 (Second Sunday of Lent) we will distribute a survey asking for your suggestions about how we can develop the five key areas of parish life. The survey will be presented by a member of the Pastoral or Finance Councils to each of our four local communities.
• After this Lenten period of reflection, the Pastoral and Finance Councils will consult with Bishop Mascord to finalise and publish the Pastoral Plan on 10 December 2023 (Second Sunday of Advent).

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our Lumen Christi Parish. Through preparing our Pastoral Plan, may we see the riches God has given us to build our life together in Christ and so reveal his light to the world.

Yours in the Lord Jesus,

Fr Bernard Gordon

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The Pastoral Plan will set our major pastoral and financial goals for the next five years and be an instrument for reviewing our progress in achieving these goals. The first three steps in formulating the Pastoral Plan will occur on the following dates:

• On 19 February 2023 (7th Sunday in Ordinary Time) and 26 February 2023 (First Sunday of Lent), the Sunday homily will reflect on the theme “the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you”, to help everyone reflect on our gifts and how they can contribute to our parish.

• On 5 March 2023 (Second Sunday of Lent) we will distribute a survey asking for your suggestions about how we can develop the key areas of parish life. The survey will be presented by a member of the Pastoral or Finance Councils to each of our four local communities.

• After this Lenten period of reflection, the Pastoral and Finance Councils will consult with Bishop Mascord to finalise and publish the Pastoral Plan on 10 December 2023 (Second Sunday of Advent).

“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

“Christ in You”

This is a powerful affirmation by St Paul of the reality of Christ’s presence in the lives of Christians. Christ is present in all things: 

• as Creator, holding all things together 
• as he is united with his Body, the Church 
• as the one in whom God’s fullness dwells, reconciling all things to himself by his self-giving love on the Cross (1.15-20)

This creating, upholding, uniting, and reconciling presence of Christ is the source of the gifts we share as a parish community. Christ’s presence is the source of our life together in faith, worship, service, and mission.

Christ’s Open Arms
At the centre of the logo is Christ and the rays of light radiate from him to the world. Christ faces us with open arms in a gesture of generous welcome for our parish community and for all people. In welcoming us, Christ teaches us to welcome all the people who may walk into our lives, be present in our churches for special occasions, or meet us in our family home or workplace. The wounds in Christ’s hands remind us to imitate Jesus in his self-sacrificing love that others may live.

The idea for using this image of Jesus in the logo came from the beautiful statue high at the front of the Lumen Christi Office, next to Wollongong Cathedral. The statue represents Jesus with a strong and loving face and with a gracious gesture of open arms. For our Lumen Christi Staff, this statue represents how all parishioners and visitors need to be received with kindness and attention. We are committed to making our parish and our parish office a place of hospitality that gathers people together and assists them in their time of need.

Lumen Christi

Underneath the logo is the title of our parish, Lumen Christi, the Light of Christ. The words “The Light of Christ” are sung at the Easter Vigil as the Paschal Candle is held high before the people after it is lit from the newly blessed Easter Fire. Christ’s Light is himself as the Truth and the Life (John 8:12; 14:6). It is Christ as the Resurrected Lord who conquers sin and death through his self-sacrificial love for us (John 12:32-36). He is the Light who lifts our hearts in the hope of forgiveness and eternal life (John 11:25-26). Christ calls us to share in his Light and to be the light of the world by doing good works that move the hearts of people to praise our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-15).

Parish Pastoral Plan

Our Pastoral Plan focuses on the presence of Christ who enriches us with gifts to share for building up our parish community as the Body of Christ. After a time of reflection on the theme “Christ in You” that gave us a more lively awareness of the gifts we have and can share, we set ourselves goals relevant to five main areas of parish life:

• Community Life
• Worship as a community of faith and service
• Mission in bearing witness to Christ’s truth and love
• Parish Support through our Parish Staff
• Stewardship of our facilities and properties