LET US PRAY
St Augustine, our patron saint.
You loved God with all your heart.
Teach us to live God’s word through respect for ourselves, others and the world around us.
May God always bless St Augustine’s school.
May God walk with us and be beside us.
May God help us to grow into a strong, loving and peaceful learning community.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen
Saint Augustine, Pray for us
Next week on Tuesday 27th we will celebrate the Feast day of St Augustine our patron saint. Proudly we honour St Augustine and give thanks that our school is named after him. As a community we will celebrate with mass in Cooinda at 9.15. Through prayer we will rejoice as a community. Please join us for mass.
St Augustine’s life
Put love in all things you do, and they will make sense. Take love away, and they become worthless and empty. (St Augustine – Sermon 138, 2)
St Augustine of Hippo was born in Numidi (now Algeria) in 354. His parents were Saint Monica and Patricius, a pagan. His father, on his death bed became a Christian and died in 373 when Augustine was just 19.
Despite being raised by a devoted Christian mother, he was a difficult child, and grew to be an atheist. As a young man, he was restless and without direction. He pursued a long and painful search for truth that he hoped would provide him with peace.
His mother, St Monica continually prayed for her son. 
It was in Milan where he listened to the sermons of Saint Ambrose. To his mother’s joy he was converted and baptised. During the time of his conversion at the age of thirty-three years, he felt his innermost heart lovingly spoken to by the Word of God. He wrote, “The words of your Scripture knocked at the door of my heart.”
Saint Augustine is often seen holding a burning heart. The burning heart symbolizes St Augustine’s desire in changing his life choices to become closer with God.
The significant spiritual events of Augustine’s life took place in the company of others Augustine greatly valued relationships with others. He reached out to people; he was, in turn, beloved and appreciated by them.
The warmth of friendship was essential for Augustine. “Without a human being who is our friend, nothing in the world appears friendly to us.” Life shared with others often culminates in friendship – the gift of loving and of being loved.
Augustine spent several years in communal living, teaching, meditating, fasting and praying. He ended up becoming a priest and went to Hippo as an assistant to bishop Valerius and established a monastic community. On the bishop’s death he became bishop – Augustine of Hippo. He began to write. He loved writing and valued education. Many of his books are still available to read. Confessions and City of God are his most famous books.
Augustine, died on Aug. 28, 430. He was one of the most intelligent and influential men in the church.
St Augustine is also known for his many quotes.
If you look around the school you will see many quotes written by St Augustine. He loved to write and his quotes are as important today as when he first wrote them. He once wrote
“A Christian is a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks and a hand through which Christ helps.” This is what we have tried to do this year with our theme based on the motto from St Mary Mackillop “See a need … Make a difference.”
A few other quotes
“To sing is to Pray twice”
“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.”
“Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.”
RECONCILIATION
Please pray for our Year 3 students who received the sacrament of Reconciliation last night. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God offers us forgiveness and it is like a circle which has no beginning, no end and is everlasting. Last night, the children took a further step on their faith journey.
There are times when we harm our relationship with our family and friends, but God never stops welcoming those who are most in need of forgiveness. When we seek forgiveness for ourselves and show this to others we rebuild our relationship with family, friends and our God.
In the words of Pope Francis: “The Sacrament of Reconciliation calls us back to God and embraces us with his infinite mercy and joy. May we allow his love to renew us as his children and to reconcile us with him, with ourselves and with one another.”
Year 3/4 AT
Amelia Calvi, Jasmine Cassar, Paris Dimech, Scarlett Incata, Jack Jurcec, Ethan Rust, Brodie Moran, Hunter Norton, Erica Pagnin, Rio Pavlovic, Audrey Zammit
Year 3/4 M
Giana Aprile, Aurora Gulizia, Jacob Previti, Sam Purcell, Joshua Yu, Holly Rowe, Alessio Schembri, Ashton Scozzaro, Charlie Steele, Aria Vella, Emily Mardijono-Ly
Year 3/4 S
Julia Assaad, Lucas Buttigieg, Oliver Crockett, Aria Dzidzic, Samuel Grixti, Tyler Moran Elandri Johnson, Alexander Long, Christian Quattrone, Alexandra Rivelli
Mrs Barone
