The mutual love of man and woman becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves humanity.

God who created us out of love also calls us to love – this is the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.

For we are created in the image and likeness of God who is love. The mutual love of man and woman becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves humanity.

Marriage is an “intimate community of life and love … established by the Creator… God himself is the author of marriage.” Gaudium et Spes 48. This communion of spouses is ordered to the good of the spouses and the good of children.

Marriage between baptised persons is a sacrament.

pdf Celebrate your Marriage at Home (132 KB)

pdf Of Love and Life (198 KB)

Eating and drinking with the rest of the community at the Table of the Lord is a sign of belonging fully to that community.

First Holy Communion, that is, sharing in the body and blood of the Lord at Mass (Eucharist) for the first time, is the climax of the initiation process. Eating and drinking with the rest of the community at the Table of the Lord is a sign of belonging fully to that community.

Confirmation is celebrated together with, or just prior to, first reception of Eucharist.

When and where?

The local parish is where children celebrate confirmation and first communion because the parish is their local community of faith.

Children who are baptised as infants may be considered eligible for confirmation and first reception of Eucharist from about the age of seven years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who prepares the children for Confirmation and First Communion?

It is the duty of parents and the parish to offer children prayerful and practical help to celebrate the sacraments with proper devotion and to coach them in the rituals of receiving the sacraments. Parishes conduct sacramental preparation programs that involve at least child and parents and assist parents to do their part in preparing their children.

What do the Children Wear?

In the past, the white dress and veil has been the standard dress for girls celebrating First Communion. Our way of celebrating the sacraments has changed over the years, as has the accepted style of dress for important occasions. What is appropriate will be influenced by the varying situations, traditions and wishes of the families involved. Matters such as dress will be dealt with at parish preparation sessions.

Contacts

Please contact the Parish Office to find out about the Parish Sacramental Preparation Program and to make enquiries about enrolling your child: Parish Office = 03 9877 2292; Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

pdf 10 Ways to Celebrate your Child's First Eucharist (121 KB)

pdf The Sacrament of the Eucharist (84 KB)

pdf Gift of Love (190 KB)

Through this process, a person is reconciled with the Church and continues to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Reconciliation is officially called the Sacrament of Penance. In the past, it was also called Confession. These titles are all aspects of the meaning of the Sacrament.

The Sacrament of Penance is a celebration of God’s love and mercy. It celebrates the call to repentance after a process of conversion of heart.

This includes confessing our sins and receiving the forgiveness of God through the ministry of the priest. Through this process, a person is reconciled with the Church and continues to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

pdf 10 Ways to Celebrate your Child's First Reconciliation (121 KB)

pdf Reconciliation (96 KB)

Holy Orders or Ordination gives the ordained person a sacred power in the name and authority of Christ and through the Holy Spirit, to serve the people of God.

There are three different orders or dimensions of ordination in the Catholic Church: bishop, priest and deacon.

In the Roman Catholic Church, bishops and priests are obliged to celibacy, that is, to remain unmarried. Married men may be ordained as deacons.

In the Ordination ceremony, the bishop places his hands on the head of the one being ordained and prays that God will give him the special gifts of the Holy Spirit needed to carry out his ministry.

pdf Ministerial Priesthood (108 KB)

The RCIA and associated program educates, then initiates adults to become a Catholic as an adult.

You may be aware that in the past people wanting to become Catholic were required to participate in a program of private instruction with the parish priest, consisting of a set number of weekly ‘lessons’ on Catholic doctrine. After the instructions were completed, the ‘convert’ was baptised (if necessary) and confirmed in a private ceremony with only the priest and a sponsor present.

This changed after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. The current process by which new members are brought into the Catholic Church is called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, or the RCIA.

The Lenten season is an invitation to relive with Jesus the forty days he spent in the desert, praying and fasting, before undertaking his public mission … This is the authentic and central program of the Lenten Season: to listen to the Word of truth, to live, speak, and do the truth, to reject lies that poison humanity and are the door to all evils.

The resurrection. A story too good to be true? Even Jesus' disciples found it difficult to believe at first. But then the reality began to sink in: He is risen from the dead! Death is not the end. Our sins are forgiven. Peace is a real possibility. Life can be filled with a hope which no one, not even the most evil of evils, can take from us.

Pentecost is a special event in the Catholic calendar as it marks the day that the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles of Jesus.

Advent has a twofold character, for it is a time of preparation for the Solemnity of Christmas, in which the First Coming of the Son of God to humanity is remembered, and likewise a time when, by remembrance of this, minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time.

Safeguarding: Children, Young People and Vulnerable Persons

• Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Safeguarding Commitment

• ACBC Safeguarding Guidelines

At Saint Luke the Evangelist Catholic Parish Blackburn South we are committed to a safe and nurturing culture for all children and vulnerable persons in our Church. Saint Luke the Evangelist Catholic Parish Blackburn South holds the care, safety, well-being of children and vulnerable persons as central and fundamental responsibilities of the Church. This commitment is drawn from and inherent to the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ, with love, justice and the sanctity of each human person at the heart of the Gospel.

We adhere to the Victorian Government's Child Safe Standards and follow the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct. A copy of this document is available for viewing below.

Safeguarding Lens:

How can parishes monitor their compliance for safeguarding? The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Framework has been informed by the following organisational child safety frameworks.

• Victorian Child Safe Standards
• National Catholic Safeguarding Standards
• National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

A comparison of the requirements of each of the organisational child safety frameworks can be found in the Information sheet - Organisational Frameworks for Safeguarding Children and Young People

The Parish Child Safety Assessment Tool (located here) enables parishes to self-assess their compliance with the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Safeguarding Children and Young People Framework noted above. This tool can be useful to facilitate your parish’s readiness to be audited by the Victorian Government Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP).

Protecting God's Children ~ A Resource for Parents

As children’s first and most enduring educators, parents are best placed to begin conversations with their children in an age and developmentally appropriate way. Protecting God’s Children Parent Resource: A Catholic Parent’s Guide to Keeping Their Kids Safe is a protective behaviours resource aimed at supporting Catholic parents of children aged 5-12 years old. The resource helps parents teach children a range of important personal safety skills, supports the development of emotional intelligence skills and promotes a child’s understanding of the right to feel safe through engaging activities and storybooks. Using the concept of "basket fillers", the resource begins by exploring the theme, “God gave all children the right to feel safe at all times” and sequentially builds on:

• children’s understanding of safety
• awareness of their feelings and early warning signs
• body awareness
• helping seeking strategies
• empowering children to say no in unsafe situations
• reinforcing the concept of personal space, and
• importantly the theme of “Nothing is so awful that we can’t talk with someone about it”.

Whilst we maintain that adults are ultimately responsible for maintaining safe environments for children, it is just as important to empower children to recognise when they are feeling unsafe and to tell a trusted adult (or adults) so that action is taken to help them be safe and feel safe.

Developed by Andrea Musulin (Director of Safeguarding, Catholic Archdiocese of Perth), this resource has been adapted by our Professional Standards Unit (PSU) for use by families within the Melbourne Archdiocese. We also thank Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB (Archbishop of Perth) for making the resource available to us. Protecting God's Children Parent Resource.

The parish takes the safety, well-being and inclusion of all children very seriously and has policies and procedures in place to maintain a Child Safe environment.​

• Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy 

• Commitment to Child Safety

• Code of Conduct Child Safety

• Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct Declaration

• Reporting abuse or safety related misconduct

Members of the Parish Safeguarding Committee are: Janette Clark, Darren McLean and Fr Gerard (Contact details)

Reporting and Responding

We work to ensure all children, families and staff know what to do and who to tell if they observe abuse or a victim, or if they notice inappropriate behaviour. Our Parish’s reporting policy is detailed in the Reporting child safety related misconduct and/or child abuse document available below and provides guidance on how to make a report when there is a reasonable belief that a child in our parish environment is in need of protection or if a criminal offence has been committed.

Our Parish records any child safety complaints, disclosures or breaches of the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct and stores the records in accordance with security and privacy requirements.

pdf Information Sheet Safeguarding Responsiblities V1 1 (280 KB)

pdf Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct (331 KB)

pdf Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct Declaration (265 KB)

https://ccyp.vic.gov.au/child-safety/being-a-child-safe-organisation/the-child-safe-standards/

COVID 19 Online Safety for Parents and Children

Policies Attachments:

Media Release Pathways Victoria

Archdiocese Safeguarding

Archdiocesan Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy

pdf Parish Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy - July 2020 (310 KB)

pdf Reporting child safety related misconduct and/or child abuse (777 KB)

pdf Reporting Abuse or Safety-Related Misconduct (84 KB)

pdf Expansion of mandatory reporter groups – fact sheet People in religious ministry – commencing early 2020 (755 KB)