Faith facts Week 1-5 Term 1

Faith Facts Term One 2014

The Faith Facts below are intended to support the Catholic formation of students and families within your School.  They are able to be edited and/or duplicated for School newsletters or similar publications throughout the term.

Enjoy J

WEEK ONE:            Waitangi Day (6^th February)

On the 6^th February 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.

This is a day of importance in the history of our country, and we recognise this not only as New Zealanders but as Catholics of Aotearoa too.  Amongst those at Waitangi, was Bishop Pompallier, our first Bishop, who had arrived from France in 1838.  Due to his strength of faith and discipleship, by 1840 he had established a number of Catholic missions, and many converts.

Pompallier was sympathetic to Maori concerns, and for this time, he had an enlightened view towards Maori culture. At the Treaty signing, he asked Lieutenant-Governor Hobson for his promise to protect the Catholic faith and obtained a guarantee of religious freedom for all, and free and equal protection to Maori and other religious customs.

WEEK TWO:           What is a Charism?

We are currently learning about the Charism of our School.   A charism is a divine gift to individuals or groups for the good of the community.  Although some charisms are extraordinary, such as prophecy or healing, most are powers for the ordered growth of the Christian community.  Preaching, teaching, administration and generosity are important charisms; love is the greatest of all.

During this time we look at the unique gifts of the founders of our school, for it is these gifts that are bestowed upon us from generation to generation to continue the work of growing the faith in our Catholic School community. 

What charism did we receive from the Holy Spirit?

WEEK THREE:       Why do we pray?

Prayer is a time of building a strong relationship with God.  This takes communication, as with any other relationship.  That means that there is a time for talking to God and also a time for listening to God.  Sometimes we pray in the company of others but at other times we pray on our own.  Jesus showed his disciples how to pray, and taught them the most universal Christian prayer “The Lord’s Prayer”. 

As Catholics, we firmly believe in the power of prayer.  We know that God will respond to our prayers in God’s own time and way; prayer is not a ‘quick fix’ exercise, it is our developing bond with our Father.

“Ask and you will be given, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8)

WEEK FOUR:         Children’s Day (2^nd March)

This Sunday is the day of prayer for children.  Through Jesus, we came to truly understand the love of God, and therefore we often look to the Gospels stories of Jesus’ life to better understand how to be loving too.  A well known Bible story, with many additional songs written about it, is ‘Jesus loved the little children’.

In this story, Jesus has been busy spreading the Good News to huge crowds and is tired.  Some people brought children to Jesus to be blessed, but his disciples who were trying to protect Jesus scolded these parents and told the children to go away. 

“Let the little children come to me.  Don’t keep them away.  God’s kingdom belongs to people like these” (Mark 10:14).

 God asks us to be as open as children, to want to run to God for his welcoming, open embrace just as children do.  This weekend we prayer for all the children of the world, that they may feel the loving, warm embrace of God and family in their lives.

WEEK FIVE:            What is Ash Wednesday (5^th March) & Lent?

Unlike the fixed date of Christmas, the date of Easter changes each year. 

This is because Jesus rose and died at the time of the Jewish Passover festival,

 which is related to the time of the full moon.  The earliest date is 22^nd March

and the latest is the 25^th April.  This then moves forward or back other important festivals. 

The first of these is Ash Wednesday.  This Wednesday, marks the first day of Lent which is the period of 6 ½ weeks leading up to Easter (40 days not counting Sundays).  On Wednesday we will be blessed with an ash cross upon our foreheads.  The ash is a symbol of repentance from the Old Testament’s ‘sackcloth and ashes’.  During this Lenten season, we prepare ourselves to become better Christians by praying, fasting (giving up something that distracts us from our relationship with God) and almsgiving (genuine acts of charity and kindness).