VOLUME XXXII No. 3 6th March, 2015
DATES TO REMEMBER MARCH Swimming Carnival JS (Years 3 – 6)
Forgiveness: Not the power to remember, but it’s very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition for our existence.
6
th
Independent Schools Expo University of Sydney
7th & 8th
ISA Swimming Carnival
11th
25th March Celebrations
22nd
Year 6 25th March Assembly 2:30pm in Hall
24th
Annunciation School closed
25th
Year 12 Half Yearly Exams begin
26th
Twilight Tours SS Information Morning JS
31st
APRIL Term ends
2nd
Public Holiday – Western Good Friday
3rd
Western Easter Palm Sunday
6th
Orthodox Easter
12th
Staff Development Day
20th
Students return Term 2
21st
Anzac Day
25th
K2016 Information Morning
29th
MAY Futsal Regionals JS
1st
National Schools Event School Photos JS NAPLAN
6th – 8th 12th – 14th
School Photos SS ICAS Digital Technologies JS
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Appreciating Culture Lecture
26th
th
St Basil the Great
HOMILY FOR GREAT LENT 2015 In the Gospel according to St Matthew, we read that immediately after His baptism in the River Jordan, our Lord Jesus Christ “had fasted for forty days and forty nights” in the wilderness (Matthew 4: 2). This fast is the foundation of the Church’s forty day Lenten period before the Great feast of Pascha. It is during this period of time that our Lord Jesus is tested with hunger, but does not sin. Our Lord Jesus fasted to overcome temptation, giving us an example of our own power and limitations in the face of temptation. The hunger of Christ’s flesh does not control Him. Rather, Christ controls His flesh by annihilating temptation - therefore offering to us His own example during this Lenten period. Great Lent is a time for self-examination and self-denial – a time for taking control of our lives and our bodies. St Isidore (4th Century) teaches us that: “Fasting in respect of food is no benefit for those who fail to fast with all their senses; for whosoever is successfully waging their battle must be self-controlled in all things.” Ultimately, the purpose of the Lenten fast is to give us a greater awareness of our dependence on God. It is a time to improve our relationship with God and our fellow human persons. It is a time to reassess our identity as Orthodox Christians. It is a period of purification through prayer, fasting, confession and Holy Communion at its peak. This Great Lent, we are called to cleanse ourselves –in mind, body and soul– through the physical and spiritual fast, keeping a Christian attitude in all that we say and do. All this is done to prepare us for the Great Feast of Pascha – our Lord’s three-day Resurrection from the tomb. I wish you, one and all, a blessed and fruitful Great Lent 2015. Mr A. Picardi Orthodox Studies Teacher
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