Faith Reflection and RE News 

Faith Reflection 

Mark 6:30-34 - They were as sheep without a shepherd.

In this week’s Gospel, Jesus is re-joined with the apostles who had briefed him on all they had done. Jesus says, “You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.” This was because, in all the busyness, the apostles hadn’t even had time to eat. So they all went off in a boat where they could be by themselves. While leaving by boat, the crowds had worked out where the disciples were going and ran by foot, meeting the disciples at their destination first. Upon reaching the shore, Jesus saw the large crowd and took pity on them because they were “like sheep without a shepherd,” and so he began to teach them at length.

We are living in interesting times. Around the world, there are more elections in one year than at any time in history. While this might be a cause for celebration, it has perhaps highlighted the divisions that exist within our societies, in part brought about by the echo chambers we live in. Through social media, we have started to each live in our own worlds. By locating news through places like TikTok and Instagram, we are made to look at the world in a certain way. Before we know it, each of us believes very different things and finds it difficult to even agree on the most basic of facts. More than this, we are encouraged to aspire to images that are not even real. Scenery that has a filter, photos of people that are edited by AI, and carefully curated snippets of people’s lives showing only the most glamorous parts, leaving out the daily grind.

What does this week’s passage tell us about this phenomenon? I wonder if our society is resembling this image of “sheep without a shepherd.” Lost, but looking for something authentic to come along. A sheep without a shepherd is like a rudderless boat—floating in the water without any ability to move. In our world, it feels like we have become so used to being lost sheep or rudderless boats that we have forgotten we have a choice. Like the crowd, we have a choice to stay on the shore looking into the distance, or we can follow God. This week, we are called to reflect on who are the shepherds in our lives. Do we look more to social media influencers and celebrities, or rather do we try to emulate the lives of the saints and follow the teachings of Jesus?

-Jonathan Rooney

Sacraments

Confirmation -  Sunday 28th July @ 2.00pm 

First Communion

Information Session  6th August 10amor 7pm in the Church

Sacrament -  Saturday 9th November @ 6.00pm 

Sunday 10th November @ 10.00am 

Saturday 16th November @ 6.00pm 

Sunday 17th November @ 10.00am 

Class Mass Timetable