Religious Education & Parish News
Advent - Happy New Year! 
It may seem early to be considering New Year’s resolutions, however, in our Church, the new liturgical year began last weekend with the First Sunday of Advent. With that in mind, now is as good a time as any to be thinking about making some new year’s resolutions around our spiritual life and wellbeing. These ideas from CatholicLink might be a good place to start.
If you have visited any major shopping centers lately, you have probably noticed that it’s already beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Perhaps you have started getting into the festive spirit yourself by putting up your Christmas tree, nativity scene, and other Christmas decorations. Maybe you have purchased an Advent calendar with some description to help you count down to the celebration of Christmas.
Arguably, one of the most widely recognised symbols of Advent is the Advent wreath. The Advent wreath symbolises our spiritual preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth. During Advent, we prepare our hearts to receive the Good News that God has blessed our world with the birth of Jesus by allowing our loving God - who is with us always - to enter our hearts. It is a time of watching, waiting, hoping, and praying. Perhaps one of your New Year’s resolutions could be to invest in your family’s prayer life. You may like to set up an Advent wreath in your home and use it when you pray together as a family.
- The Advent Wreath’s evergreen, the circular shape reminds us of God’s endless love for us.
- The three violets (purple) candles remind us of our waiting, longing, and preparation for Jesus’ coming at Christmas.
- The rose (pink) candle reminds us of the joy and hope that will replace our longing, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
- The white candle, if included, is the sign of Jesus’ birth and the new life that comes to us through his death and resurrection.
This CatholicLink infographic provides the focus of each week of Advent.
Lighting the candles of the Advent wreath:
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- First Sunday & week of Advent
light only 1 violet candle. - Second Sunday & week of Advent
light 2 violet candles. - Third Sunday & week of Advent
light 2 violet candles and the rose candle. - Fourth Sunday & week of Advent
light 3 violet candles and the rose candle. - Christmas Day – light all candles.
- First Sunday & week of Advent
Christmas Hampers for St Vincent de Paul
Thank you to all of the families that have sent in items for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hampers over the last few weeks, your generosity is much appreciated! Our food items will be collected by representatives from the St Vincent de Paul society tomorrow and they will soon be on the way to families in need in preparation for Christmas. Thanks again!
Christmas Hearts
This week, we are sending home a cardboard heart for children and/or families to turn into an ornament for our parish Christmas tree. The idea is to decorate and write “Happy birthday, Jesus!” on one side of the heart and to write a prayer for your family and/or the needs of the world on the other side. In this way, we can keep our hearts and minds focused on the real meaning of Christmas. If your family chooses to create a Christmas prayer ornament, you can return it either to the church this weekend or bring it to school early next week. If you would like extra hearts to create multiple ornaments, there will be some blank ones available in the church.
End of Year Celebrations
| End of Year Liturgy | Friday 9 December | 9.00am |
| Year 6 Graduation Mass | Tuesday 13 December | 6.00pm |
| Christmas Concert | Thursday 15 December | 6.30pm |
| Friday 2 December | Year 5 Gold |
Parish News
Children’s Nativity Play 
There will be a children’s nativity play before the 6:30pm Christmas Eve Mass at St Francis of Assisi church. As noted in our last newsletter, the parish is looking for children to be involved in the retelling of the Christmas story. If your child would like to be involved, please let Ms Maloney, Mrs Briscoe or Sr Anna know. There will be an initial rehearsal on Wednesday 14 December at 3pm in the church and another one closer to Christmas.
Continuation of First Holy Communion Celebrations
Last weekend, our two parish communities of St Mary of the Rosary, Berkeley and St Francis of Assisi, Warrawong were able to celebrate with some of the children who recently celebrated their First Communion. Special thanks to Tom from the Legion of Mary - a lay Catholic organisation in our church - who provided mini Rosaries for all of the children and to Deacon Mick who arranged for each child to receive a pamphlet on how to pray the Rosary. Thanks also to Deacon Mick for making sure we had cake and drinks at our two gatherings! If your child was involved in the First Communion Mass that was celebrated at Warrawong on November 20, and you were not at the celebrations over the weekend, your child’s certificate will be available for collection at either of the weekend Masses this weekend.
The Ministry of Altar Serving
On Sunday, the topic of altar serving was raised during a conversation with a child who recently made their First Communion. This brief discussion revealed there is a misconception that altar serving is a ministry only for boys. Not true! The ministry of altar serving is open to both boys and girls so if you have a child who is interested in serving at either of our parish churches, speak to Deacon Mick or Ms Maloney.
Religious Education Coordinator