Religious Education
Term 1 Week 2
School Masses
Thank you to all the families who joined us for our opening school mass! We welcomed Fr Andrew as our new parish assistant priest, blessed and presented the Year 6 leadership badges.
I would like to invite all families and friends to our school masses throughout the year. Dates can be found below. Weekly mass is always available Tues - Fri @ 9.15am if you would like to attend after dropping off your child. Weekend mass times can be found in the parish bulletin at the end of this newsletter.
Your child may sit with you on the side pews if you wish, as we have allocated seating for classes and parishioners. We ask that you please respect the Church as a place of prayer and worship and not bring in any food or drink or leave rubbish behind.
School Mass Dates
TERM 1
Week 8 Tues Mar 19th @ 9.15am - St Patrick’s Day/End of Term Mass
TERM 2
Week 4 Tues May 7th @ 9.15am - Start of Term Mass/Mother’s Day
Week 6 Sat May 25th @ 6pm - Year 3 First Eucharist Commitment Mass
Week 8 Tues June 4th @ 5pm & 6.30pm - Year 3 First Eucharist Mass
Week 10 Tues June 18th @ 9.15am - End of Term Mass
TERM 3
Week 1 Sat Jul 20th @ 6pm - Year 6Confirmation Commitment Mass
Week 2 Tues Jul 23rd @ 9.15am - Start of Term Mass/Grandparent’s Day
Week 5 Thurs Aug 15th @ 9.15am - Feast of the Assumption Mass
Week 7 Tues Aug 27th @ 9.15am - End of Term Mass/Father’s Day
Week 7 Fri Aug 30th @ 5pm - Year 6 Confirmation
TERM 4
Week 3 Sat Oct 26th @ 6pm - Year 2 Reconciliation Commitment Mass
Week 4 Tues Oct 29th @ 9.15am - Start of Term Mass/ All Saints Day Mass
Week 4 Tues Oct 29th @ 2.30pm - Year 2 Reconciliation Preparation Prayer Service
Week 4 Tues Oct 29th @ 4.30pm - Year 2 Reconciliation
Week 9 Tues Dec 3rd @ 9.15am - End of School Year Mass
Gospel Reflection
Gospel Reading
Jesus cures a man with leprosy.
Unpacking the Scriptures
The Gospel of Mark that we read this coming Sunday tells us another amazing miracle - Jesus heals a man with leprosy! Leprosy is an infectious bacterial skin disease. We know what it’s like to isolate from infectious diseases, so we can understand that during Jesus’ time when there wasn’t much medicine or knowledge about illnesses, the only solution they could think of was to isolate people. This would have been a very hard life for people with leprosy. Everyone was afraid of them and kept away. If someone with leprosy healed, by law they had to wash themselves and go to a priest to be accepted back into the community.
The man with leprosy showed courage in approaching Jesus first and asking for healing. Jesus didn’t shy away, run afraid or tell him angrily to go away. With love and pity in his heart, he wanted to help. The man healed, felt overjoyed and full of gratitude! Jesus instructs him not to tell anyone what he did because he knew his popularity was growing and wanted the space to pray and travel to the next town to serve others. The man couldn’t hold it in! Are we the same when God does great things in our lives? Do we stop and give thanks to those around us who help us? Can we, like Jesus find those who are isolated and alone and show them God’s love through our actions and words?
Family Connection
Jesus was faced with a choice in today’s Gospel. By choosing to heal the man with leprosy, he showed God’s compassion for the sick and the outcast. Discuss with your family how you can lean on eachother when someone is in need. Do you take courage and trust like the leper that you will be received with Jesus' listening ears and healing words? All of our choices reflect our faith. In the leper, we see an image of all those in need. The sick and the outcast of our world are watching us, to see if we as Christians will choose to extend ourselves to others in need of healing and compassion.
Pray
Read together and discuss Mark 1:40-45. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in wisdom and strength to reach out to God in prayer and one another when you need help. May your family show compassion to others in your family decisions. Pray together Psalm 103:2-4 below:
"Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion"
Amen.
God bless,
India Mitchell-Fletcher
Religious Education Leader