This coming Sunday marks the beginning of the Church liturgical season of Advent. The season of Advent reminds us that we can look forward to, and prepare for, the coming of Christ at Christmas. It is a season of so many things: of expectation, reflection, hope and trust. We are constantly in a state of expectation, always in advent, so much so that we can miss the present moment where, inevitably, God will be.

On Monday, Year 4 lead our Whole School Prayer and each class received some new items for their prayer spaces. These items included a wreath, a purple cloth and the first purple candle.

• The evergreen wreath symbolises continuous life through the seasons and the circular shape reminds us of God’s unending love for us.
• The purple prayer cloth symbolises the new Church Liturgical season of Advent. We are reminded that we are waiting in joyful hope to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
• The first purple candle is called the Hope candle or the Prophecy candle. Many prophets in the Old Testament spoke about the coming of Jesus. Just like the prophets of the Old Testament, we too wait in hope for the coming of Jesus our Saviour.
  

Sacrament of Confirmation

This week our Year 6 candidates will finally receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on Wednesday evening, midday Thursday and Thursday evening. I would like to express my gratitude to their families for preparing them and for being so supportive and understanding as we all navigated the pandemic. I would also like to thank their teachers, who have worked hard to also support the children, especially during remote learning, to maintain the momentum and focus on the sacredness of the

sacrament.

Please keep the candidates, their families and our Year 6 teachers in your prayers this week.