Religious Education

 

Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door I will come in. 

Dear Parents and Caregivers

This Sunday we celebrate All Saints Day; an important anniversary in our Churches calendar. The Gospel for All Saints Day is the Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew. For those who are unfamiliar with this Gospel I have included it below:

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew  (Mt 5:1-12)

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit:

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy the gentle:

they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn:

they shall be comforted.

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:

they shall be satisfied.

Happy the merciful:

they shall have mercy shown them.

Happy the pure in heart:

they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers:

they shall be called sons of God.

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

The Beatitudes, from the Sermon on the Mount describes perfectly the saints we have known in our ordinary life and it is also them that we celebrate on this feast day. The Beatitudes celebrates those who respond to God’s call through particular attitudes towards life and towards others. Jesus presents them to the disciples and the crowd as images to inspire us to live in this way. Those who live with these attitudes in this life are to be celebrated – “Happy are you” – for they will be saints. They will be welcomed into communion with God in heaven.

Please join us tomorrow afternoon as our Year 5/6’s lead us in prayer to celebrate All Saints Day

Take Care

Bernadette Reed

(Religious Education Leader )