Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem:

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”

Mark 11:1-11

Holy Week - Triumph and Tragedy

It all begins with the Triumphant entry into Jerusalem. I am sure many images come to mind for each one of us during this Holy Week. A recontextualised and contemporary image is shared with you above. So many messages in this imagery by Australian artist Jan Hynes, take us on the journey from what we read in the Bible, to how we align it with what can be for us today. Do you recognise Jesus in this image? What other connections do you notice?

Breaking open the Scriptures of Holy week, we should see this week as one unit, summed up under the phrase “Paschal Mystery”. It includes the suffering, death and resurrection as well as the ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. In fact, all these elements can actually be seen present on the Cross on Good Friday. This is a day both of triumph and tragedy.

There is the joy of Jesus entering Jerusalem and getting an enthusiastic welcome from the crowds. “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Words we continue to sing during the Eucharistic Prayer at every Mass. But the picture very soon changes to darkness, to suffering and death.

Continuing on from last week’s theme of service, we read the biblical text to engage in Jesus’ service once again to save us from sin.

We know that the One to whom all this is being done is the Son of God, the One whom ‘even the wind and the sea obey’ (4:41). We know why this is being allowed to happen: because this is the kind of ‘service’ that God willed the Messiah to perform: to enter into the sinfulness, pain and suffering of the world, to overcome those things from within, to give his life that the ‘many’ might have life.

And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said, ‘In truth this man was a son of God.’

Mark 15:1-39

I encourage you to walk around our school courtyard and view the Stations of the Cross created by our students and teachers as an authentic learning experience about Holy Week. We will conclude the term with a Holy Thursday - Stations of the Cross liturgy led by Senior C & Senior L.

May the Holy Week ahead allow for spiritual encounter with our God for you and your family and I pray you all have a blessed Easter to commence our school holidays.

The first day of Term 2 will be what we have named as 'Alleluia Day' whereby we will formally celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, together as a school community. The students will be involved in a number of activities and we will conclude the day with a liturgy led by Senior H.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Congratulations to all the students who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation last week. Let it be the start of many Reconciliation encounters for you to experience.

Grow in gratitude and empathy.

Michelle Hinds

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