Faith Reflection 

The Father sees what is hidden.

Matthew 6:1-6. 16-18

Almsgiving, prayer and fasting were the hallmarks of a faithful Jew at the time of Jesus. They could be regarded as ‘pillars’ of the Jewish faith. In fact, in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for ‘almsgiving’ (charitable giving) was the same as the word for ‘righteous’ – to give alms was to be righteous and to be righteous was to give alms. These three pillars were essential elements of the practice of one’s faith. However, as Jesus warns in this passage, these same practices also presented opportunities to draw attention to yourself and ‘big note’ yourself in the eyes of others. Jesus criticises the ‘hypocrites’ who parade themselves in front of others when supposedly doing good works or practising these three pillars of faith. ‘Hypocrite’ is a Greek word that effectively means ‘actor’. So when someone is being a hypocrite they are only acting a part – pretending to be prayerful or pious for the purpose of impressing others.

The repetitive structure of the passage is an intentional device to stress the importance of what is being said. It is actually an ancient technique used by story tellers. (It’s like the repetitive pattern often used in telling jokes!) The pattern is: don’t be like the hypocrites; they’ve had their reward; act in a way that is simply between yourself and God.

Sometimes in Lent the emphasis is too rigorously placed on the observable actions of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Whilst these actions are important, it is actually the purpose behind these actions that is more important than the actions themselves: focusing our attention on our relationship with God. Almsgiving, prayer and fasting help us take the focus off ourselves and turn our focus to God.

Historical Context – The mark of the cross

The tradition of marking the forehead with ash on Ash Wednesday can be traced back to the ancient Jewish action of dusting oneself with ash as a sign of repentance and mourning for wrongful actions. It was a public declaration of the acknowledgement of the wrong and the commitment to turn one’s life around and try not to make the same mistake again. It still remains a public declaration that during the period of Lent those who wear the cross of ash are going to attempt to turn around their lives and re-focus themselves more fully on God.

by Greg Sunter

Holy Week 

Later this term, we will be celebrating Holy Week, the pinnacle of the Catholic calendar, as we commemorate the passion and death of Jesus Christ.

At school, each class will engage in meaningful reflections and responses:

• The Foundation and Year 1/2 students will share their reflections at school assemblies, focusing on Palm Sunday and Easter.
• The Year 3/4 students will create a mural, which will be displayed for the community. We encourage families to visit and take time to reflect on their work.
• Finally, our Year 5/6 students will lead the Stations of the Cross, reenacting the Passion of Jesus through the stations.

We warmly invite all families to join us for this special Stations of the Cross service on Wednesday, April 2nd, at 2:15 PM in the Performing Arts Area.

We look forward to coming together as a school community to journey through Holy Week in prayer and reflection.