October: Month of the Holy Rosary
The entire month of October is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. The rosary has its origin in several hundreds of years of Christian prayer with repetitive structure. Third-century Christian hermits and monks in Egypt (known as Desert Fathers) used stones and later prayer ropes to keep track when praying the 150 Psalms. The Hail Mary prayer as we know today came together slowly over the centuries.
In around 1050 AD, the words Elizabeth used to greet Mary during the Visitation were added: Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb (Luke 1:42). In 1261, Pope Urban IV added the name of Jesus to the end of Elizabeth’s words. It is believed that in 1214 St. Dominic had a vision of Mary. Mary is said to have presented St. Dominic with the rosary, both the beads and the prayers to be prayed. Dominic had a great devotion to Mary and the rosary, which he promoted wherever he preached. He encouraged the faithful to gather in small groups to pray together what was an early form of the rosary together. The version of the Hail Mary we pray today was given official approval in 1568. The Rosary is a powerful prayer and has been attributed to many miracles and apparitions most famously Fatima.
Our students are encouraged to participate in our annual ‘Live Rosary’ which will occur at lunchtime on Tuesday 28 October.
The Rosary Explained in Two Minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuT7HI7ZvfA
Article Title Year 9 Faith Formation Day – Real Talk
On 15-16 October our Year 9 students participated in their Faith Formation Day. The event was facilitated by Real Talk Australia, and students explored the dignity of the human person, as well as God's incredible gift of sex, love, and relationships. This day complemented the current Year 9 Religious Education unit on the Theology of the Body.
Michael Gigliardi of 9 Wonga shares his experience of the day:
On Wednesday and Thursday, Year 9s was presented with this term’s Faith Formation Day, hosted by Real Talk Australia. The presenters, Hannah, Cherrie and John shared their testimonies to show the importance of self-worth, following the teachings of the church about sex and marriage, aligning it with God’s plan and the human dignity of every person involved. We also learnt about consent and the consequences of not respecting the dignity of others. We also covered why making better decisions is better for us in the long term and how negative decisions impact us, not just legally or socially, but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
We learnt that consent in practice must be a definite ‘yes’, it’s specific to a certain type of activity, and it must not be immoral. For example, if you ask someone if you can punch them, and they say ‘yes’, that still isn’t exactly a good idea.
The day provided the opportunity to challenge our thoughts and reflect on our catholic values and allowed us the chance to change for the better and becoming better humans.