Catholic Character

As it was also the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, we incorporated the two very special occasions in our mass. It was a wonderful celebration and, despite the fact that we elected not to walk to the church because of the weather, the hall was a place of peace and ākonga/students respected the hall as having become a sacred space for the mass.

It was lovely to see the young people of our kura participating in the mass and ministering to others through leading the readings, prayers, offertory and being Eucharistic ministers. The entire school participated beautifully in the responses and the singing of hymns.

After the mass we celebrated with kai - a free sausage sizzle for all. We are grateful for the members of the Catholic hub who cooked the sausages on the BBQ and who cleaned up afterwards.

You can see from the photos below that the afternoon was also a joyous occasion. Thank you to Alex Stone for organising and leading the afternoon activities in the gym. It was also really special to see staff and students sharing in the fun together.

The joy of seeing our community celebrating like this reminds us that we must always remain unafraid to share the message of the gospel and to share the reason for the hope that is in us.

We will celebrate the solemnity of the Ascension in parishes for Sunday mass this week and next week will be the great Feast of Pentecost. We look forward to celebrating that as a community too.

May God continue to bless you all abundantly.