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RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONWelcome back everyone to 2021.

THE YEAR OF ST JOSEPH

The Pope's new Apostolic Letter entitled Patris corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), marks the150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St Joseph as Patron of theUniversal Church. To celebrate the anniversary, Pope Francis has proclaimed a special“Year of St Joseph,” beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 2020 and extending to the same feast in 2021. For the information please take a look at the following sites: Apostolic Letter & Sister of Joseph. 

SHROVE TUESDAY

Tuesday 16th February is a day of celebration as well as penitence, because it's the last day before Lent. Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Giving up foods: but not wasting them. In the olden days, there were many foods that observant Christians would not eat during Lent: foods such as meat and fish, fats, eggs, and milky foods. So that no food was wasted, families would have a feast on the shriving Tuesday, and eat up all the foods that wouldn't last the forty days of Lent without going off.

ASH WEDNESDAY, a day of fasting, is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity. It occurs45 days before Easter and commences on Wednesday 17 th February and concludes EasterSaturday 4th April. A liturgy and the distribution of ashes will be celebrated at 10.15am.We call it Ash Wednesday because many Christians around the world receive a cross of ashes on their foreheads. God’s people have used this sign for hundreds of years. This cross of ashes tells friends and neighbours that we are not perfect, and that we know we are not perfect. With God’s help, we can try to reach out to others with more love and kindness especially in our own families, our school and parish communities and in our world and think about how we can be better people. The ashes also remind us that God brings new life where before we could see none. As we begin this season of Lent, we know that things happen in life that require struggle and resilience. We need to allow ourselves to be helped and to be loved. 

LENT

Lent is a good time to disentangle ourselves from all the things that ‘Get us tied up in knots.’It is a time when we are called to simplify life and to focus more on others, rather than ourselves. It is the season to work on our inner freedom, as we prepare to celebrate again the death and resurrection of Jesus, the heart of our faith and the source of our freedom.

Jenny Keely REL