Education in Faith
SACRAMENTS 2023
To assist us with the administration and preparation of the Sacraments for 2023 we ask you to please accept/decline on Operoo, to indicate the Sacrament your child will be celebrating in 2023.
Dates for Sacraments, Parent and Child Workshops will be published in our school app, calendar and newsletter closer to the date of the Sacrament.
Reconciliation : Baptised Catholics in Year 3 or above.
Sacrament of First Eucharist : Baptised Catholics in or above who have received their Reconciliation.
Sacrament of Confirmation : Year 6 ONLY Catholics, who have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation and First Eucharist.
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C
Gospel Focus – ‘I am who am’
In this week’s Gospel we hear the Sadducees quote the Law of Moses at Jesus but Jesus goes one better by quoting the very conversation when Moses encountered God in the burning bush. In this encounter, God reveals Godself to be the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God does not say, I was the God of Abraham, but rather I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This distinction confirms that the relationship is ongoing, not stuck in a time before their death. It is in this same encounter that God reveals God’s name as ‘I am who am’ – represented in Hebrew by the letters YHWH from which we get Yahweh.
Life after death, in one form or another, is a common belief of most of the major faiths of the world. It is certainly a basic belief of Christian faith. Because the Gospels record Jesus as speaking about an afterlife, we tend to assume that this was a common belief of his time. However, within the different groups of Judaism, there was significant diversity of belief about this point. While the Pharisees believed in resurrection, the Sadducees did not. The Sadducees, whose name means ‘righteous ones’ were an elite group within the Jewish faith. They were purists in their obedience to the Torah and their rejection of any later teachings or writings – this actually put them in conflict with the Pharisees, although the two groups are often portrayed in the Gospels as being united against Jesus. The Gospel passage depicts an attempt by the Sadducees to ridicule belief in an afterlife by questioning Jesus about an extremely exaggerated scenario.
The reply Jesus gives largely ignores the silly nature of the question. Rather, Jesus makes clear that the resurrected life is not merely an extension of the earthly life. The things that are of concern in this world are not an issue in the next. Through death and resurrection, life is changed; not ended. This idea can be challenging at a time when we are mourning the loss of a loved one, yet we are called to respond to that challenge with a genuine hope and trust in the life that goes on in a different way. Jesus, in fact, dismisses the whole idea of death as an ending by saying that to God all people are alive, whether on earth or in the resurrection.
Discussion Starters
- What do you think heaven is like?
- How might it be different to living in this world?
- How might it be the same? (God is with us)
- Jesus promises to be with us now and strengthen us as we do his will on earth.
- What can we do that shows that God is with us?
- Why do the Sadducees seek to quote Moses in their argument?
- What does the scenario they paint reveal about the Sadducees’ notion of the afterlife?
- Why do Christians tend to refer to a funeral as a ‘celebration’?
- What comfort and hope exists for those who have lost a loved one?
God Bless
Rozeta Ambrose
rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au
MINI VINNIES NEWS
MARKET STALL
What a great effort at our Market Stall last night!! Mini Vinnies and staff were busy painting nails, colouring hair and applying temporary tattoos! A big thank you to all the Mini Vinnies and staff who gave up their time to help run the stall!
We managed to raise $120. This money along with the money we raised in Term 2 will be donated to our flood victims here in Victoria. Many thanks to everyone for their support!
REMEMBERANCE DAY
On Friday November 11th is Remembrance Day where we remember all the soldiers, nurses and doctors who died in the World Wars to give us the life we have today. Mini Vinnies started selling poppies at our market stall last night. They will continue to sell them before school and during 1st lunch and 2nd lunch eating times during the week.
Giuliana & Mini Vinnies