A day of ‘grace and blessings’ for Queenstown
By Catherine Sheehan
Five young candidates received the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation at St Joseph’s Church in Queenstown on Saturday 24 October.
Archbishop Tony conferred the sacraments on Arianna, Aria, Harmony, Siobhan and Lucas. The candidates were students from St Joseph’s Catholic School in Rosebery, and St Joseph’s Catholic School in Queenstown.
West Coast Parish Priest, Fr Arokia Aruldas, described the occasion as “an event of grace and blessings” for the parish community.
Religious Education teacher at St Joseph’s Queenstown, Carmen Drake, said the students had participated in a period of preparation through the school’s Sacramental Program, working closely with their families and the Parish community. They explored the meaning and significance of the Sacraments through Scripture, prayer, discussion and reflection.
“An important focus of the preparation was helping students understand that receiving the Sacraments is much more than participating in a special ceremony,” Carmen said.
“It is an opportunity to deepen their relationship with God, strengthen their connection to the Church and recognise how they can live their Catholic faith in their everyday lives.”
Laura Dube, Religious Education teacher at St Joseph’s Rosebery, said it was “wonderful” to see so many members of the West Coast community at the Mass to support the young candidates.
“The children reported feeling both nervous and excited beforehand,” Laura said.
“They understood the significance of what they were doing and it was really important to them.”
The children all felt confident in their choice of Confirmation name, Carmen said.
“Students felt confident in their choice of Saint name, and the reasons why they each chose their Saint. They proudly shared these at the Retreat Day, and with His Grace at the Mass.
“It was particularly rewarding to see the students approach the celebration with such reverence and pride, knowing how much they had learned and grown throughout their preparation.”
Laura added that the Archbishop’s homily proved highly effective with the children.
“It was very special to have Archbishop Tony there and his homily was memorable.
“He made connections that the students could understand and relate to. He was talking about how we download apps to our devices so that we can listen to music and content whenever we want. And he explained to the students that downloading apps is like downloading the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit so that students can tap into them regularly.
“The ‘downloading’ also allows students to have a strong connection with the grace of God always. I think everyone in the church appreciated the analogy.”