Education in Faith

Sacramental News and Dates

Sacrament Levy

There is a $25 Sacrament Levy to cover the cost for:

•  a guest speaker to conduct a Parent and Child Workshop for each Sacrament.
• professionally made stoles. 
• a candle for children receiving reconciliation.
• children receiving First Eucharist and Confirmation to travel to St. Kevin’s Church for Reconciliation, Eucharist practice, and reflection day by bus.

This levy needs to be paid in full to the school in an envelope clearly indicating your child’s name, Home Group and name of Sacrament being received at the start of the year, before or on the day of your Family Workshop Session.

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A

My command to you is: love your enemies, pray for your persecutors.

In this week’s Gospel, Matthew continues the Sermon on the Mount with a three part instruction by Jesus on the Way of Life in the kingdom of heaven. There are three parts to this week’s reading. Part one deals with the Law. Part two deals with worship and religious practice and contains the Lord’s Prayer. Part three deals with trusting God and deeds of loving service to our neighbour.

The Law condemned murder. Jesus condemns anger. The Law condemned falseness. Jesus condemns even immodest looks. As Jewish Christians who had always been faithful to the Law Matthew’s community need a way to understand the difference Jesus and the kingdom he brings have made. They affirmed that God had always been at work in history through “the Law and the prophets.” But God’s work goes beyond embodied by the Messiah who reveals the definitive will of God. The written scriptures and their interpretation in tradition are surpassed by Jesus whose life and teaching are the definitive revelation of the will of God.

The last two contrasts offered in the Sermon on the Mount in the gospel, deals with love of enemies. We should not look at “an eye for an eye” as a very strict punishment. It is actually meant to limit acts of revenge by making sure the punishment is not excessive. However, Jesus asks his followers to take a different approach by resisting retaliation altogether. The response to a stronger person who slaps us on the cheek, takes us to court, or demands a service of us is not to resist. Similarly, for a weaker person, such as a beggar or borrower, we are to give him or her what he or she asks for. Those who are called to the Kingdom of Heaven are to go beyond the way the world usually works and serve God’s kingdom here on earth.

The other difficult demand of those who are called to the kingdom is to embrace the enemy. There is no command in the Old Testament to hate individuals in a personal or vindictive way. But there is a religious stance that calls one to hate evil and to distance oneself from those who participate in evil. In contrast, Matthew emphasizes that love of God and love of neighbours are the fundamental commands on which all else depend. Because God’s love is unconditional, we are to strive to love as God does, though, of course, it is challenging. 

The key is in the final verse. We are to be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect. Matthew uses the Greek word telos, which is probably better translated here as “complete.” We are not to be perfect as in doing everything correctly, that is, as in being absolutely morally correct. We are to be perfect as in striving to reach the completeness we are called to in the Kingdom of Heaven. Attempting to love our enemies is part of striving for that completeness.

Discussion Starters

If someone is unkind to you, or takes something that is yours, how do you respond?

Jesus asks us to be kind to the person who is unkind to us. Is that easy or hard?

Jesus tells us that it is easy to love those who love us, but he asks us to love our enemies as well.

What would the world be like if everyone loved their enemies?

God Bless

Rozeta Ambrose

rambrose@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au 

GRADE 5/6 SOCIAL JUSTICE TEAM – MINI VINNIES

COMMUNITY SPIRIT AWARD

We have started our Community Spirit Award Competition and we are excited to announce the updates for last week:

                        1st                    MacKillop        86

                        2nd                   Bosco               78

                        3rd                    Teresa              72

                        4th                    Patrick              70

Congratulations MacKillop!!! But it’s early days so come on Bosco, Teresa and Patrick!!

CARITAS – LENT

Next week we will begin raising money for Caritas. Each Learning Space and the Office will have a House Caritas box. Mini Vinnies will collect and count money each week and the points will go towards the Community Spirit Award as well.

More information will be provided next week about the focus of the Caritas fundraising for this year.                  

I am so glad Mini Vinnies will be back next week to assist in the counting of House points!! I hope they had a great time on camp this week.

Giuliana

Mini Vinnies