Term 1 2020

• Friday 12^th Feb – School Mass (Beginning of the Year Mass, 9:30 am at STA, Year 6 attending )
• Wednesday 17^th Feb – Ash Wednesday
• Monday 1^st – 5^th March – Catholic Schools Week
• Friday 5^th March – World Day of Prayer
• St Patricks Day 17^th March – Year 2 Maubara Fundraiser
• Thursday 19^th March – St Joseph’s Day
• Thursday 1^st April – Holy Thursday
• Friday 2^nd April – Good Friday

School Mass
Welcome back to another school year. To celebrate our new school year, St Michael’s will have a School Mass on Friday the 12^th of February at 9:30 am. Due to COVID 19 restriction the Mass will take place at St Thomas Aquinas, Bowral and due to restricted numbers, Year 6 only will be attending. During this Mass they will receive their leadership badges. The Mass will be recorded and available for the whole to school to watch the following week. It will be a wonderful way to celebrate returning to school.

Thank You
Thank you to Year 1 for the wonderful Christmas clothes fundraiser for St Vincent De Paul last year. Year 1 managed to raise $190 dollars and was graciously collected by Mr Peter Doris from St Vincent Paul on the last day of Term 4. Thank you to all our students and families for your continuous support of our community.

Corpus Christi Parish Mittagong-Bowral

On the 1st January 2021, the Catholic Parish of Mittagong and the Catholic Parish of Bowral became a new Parish called, Corpus Christi Parish, Mittagong-Bowral.  After consultation within the parish over the past few weeks, the new logo for Corpus Christi Parish Mittagong Bowral has been finalised.

The symbolism of the mother Pelican feeding her babies is rooted in an ancient legend that preceded Christianity. In ancient Egypt, the Pelican was associated with death and the afterlife.

​The legend is that, after her chicks hatched, the mother would leave the nest to search for food, return and feed the chicks. The chicks are delicate, need to be fed daily, and without food are quickly in danger of starvation and death.

​In the time of famine, the mother would wound herself, striking her breast with the beak to feed her young with her blood to prevent starvation. In reviving her young from death, she, in turn, lost her own life.

​Given this tradition, we can easily see why early Christians adapted it to symbolize Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

​The image of the Pelican is a strong reminder of our Lord, who suffered and died for us to give us eternal life. We were dead to sin and have found new life through the Blood of Christ. Jesus continues to feed and nourish us on our pilgrim way with the Eucharist.

​The Pelican has also been part of Christian art and of our liturgical tradition.

​An image of a mother Pelican with her chicks is carved into the top of a column at the Cenale, the upper room on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, where tradition holds that Jesus shared the Last Supper with His Apostles and instituted the Eucharist.

It is the only artwork in the entire room.

​In early times, when tabernacles were sometimes suspended over the altar, they were shaped like pelicans. For example, Durham Cathedral, which was attached to a Benedictine monastery before the suppression of all monasteries by Henry VIII in 1538, had the Blessed Sacrament reserved in a tabernacle fashioned in silver lie a Pelican and suspended over the High Altar.

​The hymn: “Adore te devote,” written by St. Thomas Aquinas, is one of the five Eucharistic hymns which were composed and set to music for the solemnity of Corpus Christi, instituted in 1264 by Pope Urban IV.

​In the sixth verse, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote:

“Lord Jesus, Good Pelican,

clean me, the unclean, with Your Blood,

one drop of which can heal

the entire world of all its sins.”

MASS
Be assured that in the Parish, every precaution is being observed to ensure the safety of those who come to Mass: distancing is clearly marked in the Church and maintained during Mass; all of the liturgical restrictions are followed (Communion in the hand and no singing); the Church is cleaned after each Mass; registration of those who attend is carefully recorded; sanitising is practiced by all who enter the Church.  So, please, if you are well and able do not be hesitant about coming to Mass.

 Go to the website www.ccsh.org.au and press the link “Register Here” for Mass.

Please remember that all Masses will be celebrated at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, because of the social distancing requirements.

Please do not attend Mass if you have any coronavirus symptoms such as coughing, sore throat, shortness of breath, fever or fatigue.