Reflection

Love and Gratitude

 On the first day of June, Pope Francis urged Catholics to look to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a source of love and to bring Christ’s love “to the ends of the earth.”

'Today we begin the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, source of love and peace,' the pope said on June 1.

'Open yourselves to this love and take it ‘to the ends of the earth,’ witnessing to the goodness and mercy that flow from the Heart of Jesus.'

May Jesus bless us with Love, that we may Love as he Loves! That we may show patience, tolerance, kindness, caring and love to all, especially at this busy time in the last two weeks of term.

At the end of the semester, we also need to be thankful for the blessings so far this year, despite Covid, flu and a very cold start to winter. Being truly thankful requires us to look beyond our current circumstances - whether blessings or struggles - and look to God, our true source of blessings. It's easy to give thanks to God when we can physically see and touch his blessings but what happens when feeling thankful is hard? How can we truly live a thankful life? We need to open our eyes to see the gifts we’ve given us in our lives. - food, money, clothes, good health, good education, family.

 At the heart of our relationship with God is gratitude. 'Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.' (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Gratitude promotes generosity. God promises happiness to the giver. '...It is more blessed to give than to receive.' (Acts 20:35). We at Nazareth College, have responded with generosity in a number of ways. These include giving to the St Vinnies winter appeal and supporting VCAL student initiatives to help the homeless.

May we continue to have an 'attitude of gratitude' in our lives as we start the school holidays. May it be a time of great blessing. May we be generous givers in whatever way we can these holidays. 

Holy Family of Nazareth, be our inspiration and our guide.

Jesus of Nazareth, help us to grow in Faith, Wisdom and Knowledge.