Religious Education

“Let them grow together until the harvest.”

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

As we settle into the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, and a new school term, it is helpful to recall that the word 'ordinary' in this context does not mean unremarkable or not important. Rather, it refers to the fact that the Sundays during this season are counted using 'ordinal' numbers. Ordinary Time is a time to learn, establish and grow the foundational principles of good liturgy and enable the community of faith to experience and witness  the presence of the risen Christ. 

​The liturgical colour for Ordinary Time is green, the colour of life and hope. St Brigid's Church will be dressed in green, and for the purposes of classroom prayer, a green leafy plant might appropriately reflect the beauty of nature and the changes in the local environment.

While our liturgical calendar is enriched with celebrations of feasts and memorials of the saints, Sunday is the original and ultimate feast day for Christians, on which the assembly gathers to participate in the paschal mystery and to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  

You are always welcome to join in our weekend celebration of Mass with the Saturday Vigil at 5pm and Sunday morning at 9:30am.  School attendance at Mass will resume this Friday 24 July at 9:30am for Primary Students and Staff, and Infant Students and Staff on the 31 July - this allows us to adhere to the current regulations and health and safety of our whole community.  We are hoping to resume participation in the Readings from Week 5.

In Matthew's Gospel (13:24-26, 28-29) last Sunday,  Jesus told the story of the 'Kingdom of Heaven'.  He likened it to a farmer sowing seeds and overnight, whilst everyone was asleep, an enemy came and scattered weeds among the crop.  

Sometimes we are quick to judge people. We might think it is easy to recognise a ‘good’ person or a ‘bad’ person. It is important to remember that every person is capable of both bad and good deeds. We don’t always know the full story behind someone’s actions. For example, we might condemn a child who takes other children’s lunches. Yet, how would we think differently if we knew that child came to school hungry each day without any lunch? Jesus tells us to accept everyone, because only God truly knows a person’s heart.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is set down for Term 4 this year with dates to be confirmed soon.  As advice continues to change, please keep up to date with developments by reading this iNewsletter each week.  Families who have a child or children eligible for this Sacrament will be contacted through St Joseph's Primary School in the coming weeks.

God bless,

Mrs Wendy Rheinberger

REC