Religious Education News 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Hope you are all well! The end of year is fast approaching and we have many special celebrations in our church commencing with the Feast of Christ the King.

Feast of Christ the King!

This Sunday concludes the Church’s liturgical year with the Feast of Christ the King. It celebrates Jesus Christ as King. This is quite a recent Feast day, inaugurated in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. This was a time in our world’s history when the first Great War was over, but there were signs in Europe that peace was illusory. The feast was to be a reminder that though world powers may fail, there is a power for peace within the world that will not fail. The reign of Christ has been established, and the values of peace and justice are possible for those who seek this reign of God.

Sunday’s Gospel - Luke 23: 35 - 43

The people stayed there before the cross watching Jesus. As for the leaders, they jeered at him. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer him vinegar they said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’ Above him there was an inscription: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’

One of the criminals hanging there abused him. ‘Are you not the Christ?’ he said. ‘Save yourself and us as well.’ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus,’ he said, ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ ‘Indeed, I promise you,’ he replied, ‘today you will be with me in paradise.’

Reflection

In response to the criminal’s faith, Jesus assures him, ‘today you will be with me in paradise’. There is a certainty and immediacy about the response. Jesus does not tell him that some time in the future he will be rewarded for his faith. No, it is today that the criminal will join Jesus in paradise. It is an expression of the welcome and inclusion that Jesus has extended to the outsider and undervalued throughout his ministry. It is a clear indication that the Kingdom of God that Jesus has worked to bring about is a kingdom of inclusion and welcome.

As the liturgical year of Luke comes to an end, and Christ is proclaimed the Universal King, may the Good News of Luke touch our hearts bringing life, joy and peace.

ADVENT SEASON

The First Week of Advent, Sunday 27th November

What is it you ask?

•  It is a Four Week period when we prepare to welcome Jesus into our hearts and celebrate his birth on Christmas Day.
• The colour in the Church is violet, which symbolises a time of peace, hope and joy.
• An Advent Wreath is prepared with evergreen leaves symbolising everlasting life. The wreath is a circle, it has no beginning and no end, reminding us of God’s everlasting love.
• The first purple Advent candle symbolises our longing, our desire, our HOPE. 

It reminds us to stay awake, to watch and be ready, because Jesus our Saviour will soon be here.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew - (Matthew 24: 37 - 44)

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.

‘So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’

God of Hope,

Help us to have hope for the future. 

Please help us to patiently wait in this season of Advent as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

We pray for those in our world, who are hopeful for an opportunity to build a better life. 

We ask this through Christ our Lord.   Amen

Have a lovely week!

God Bless!

Mrs Vozzo