From the Religious Education Coordinator's Desk
FEAST DAY - ST JOSEPH the WORKER MAY 1
Glorious St Joseph,
model of all who devote their lives to labour, obtain for me the grace to work, in the spirit of penance, in order thereby, to atone for my many sins;
to work conscientiously, setting devotion to duty in preference to my own whims;
to work with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honour to employ and to develop, by my labour,
the gifts I have received from God;
to work with order, peace, moderation and patience,
without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties;
to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self,
having always before my eyes, the hour of death and the accounting
which I must then render of time ill spent, of talents wasted, of good omitted
and of vain complacency in success, which is so fatal to the work of God.
All for Jesus, all through Mary,
all in imitation of you, O Patriarch Joseph!
This shall be my motto in life and in death,
Amen.
EARTH DAY 2021
The theme for Earth Day 2021 is Restore Our Earth™, which focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems. In this way, the theme rejects the notion that mitigation or adaptation are the only ways to address climate change. It is up to each and every one of us to Restore Our Earth not just because we care about the natural world, but because we live on it. We all need a healthy Earth to support our jobs, livelihoods, health & survival, and happiness. A healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity.
In his message for Earth Day 2021, Pope Francis has reminded everyone of the importance of working together to protect our planet.
"When it comes to safeguarding creation, there is no time to waste — humanity either must live up to its responsibility or continue on a path of self-destruction".
As the world continues to take measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, Pope Francis highlighted that the crisis has shown us, “what happens when the world stops, pauses, even for a few months.”
He noted the pandemic’s impact on nature and on climate change, which shows us all that global nature needs our lives on this planet.
“It affects us all, albeit in multiple, diverse and unequivocal forms; and so it teaches us even more about what we need to do to create a just, equitable, environmentally safe planet,” the Holy Father pointed out.
Furthermore, “the Covid pandemic taught us this interdependence, this sharing of the planet,” Pope Francis said, adding that both global catastrophes - Covid-19 and the climate emergency - show us that we are running out of time.
“We have the means, it is time to act, we are at the limit,” he urged. (Vatican News 22 April 2021)
Video: Pope Francis Earth Day Message 2021
Loving God,
Pour out your blessing
Upon our beloved children,
That during this time of Sacramental preparation
May they grow closer to you,
And come to know your special love for them.
May this time of preparation be a time of blessing
For our families and our community,
And unite us all in your great love.
Amen.
MAY the MONTH of MARY
It is appropriate that we celebrate Mother’s Day in May as we remember our Mother in Heaven, Mary.
Mary was the mother of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. She was a willing servant. She trusted God and she obeyed his call.
Mary was young, poor and female. God looked upon the quality of her trust and obedience. He knew she would willingly serve God in one of the most important callings ever given to a human being. Just like Mary, God looks at our obedience and trust.
Can we willingly accept God's plan?
And so we pray...
Loving God, we thank you for mothers – for all they mean or have meant, for the love they have shown and the care they have given.
We thank you for the qualities of mothers – their patience, their kindness, concern and understanding.
We thank you for the part they play in our lives, and we thank you for this day of saying ‘thank you’, this opportunity to say what we so often mean to say but so rarely do.
For mothers and motherhood, for children and families we bring you this day our grateful praise.
Happy Mothers’ day
REFLECTIONS
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Sunday 2 May 5th Sunday of Easter
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All who live in me, and I in them, bear much fruit. This parable is a profound insight into the Christian life. We can claim to belong to the Christian family all we like. We can come to Mass every Sunday. But if the fruit we produce is bitter and poisonous, if we are unforgiving, unjust and uncaring, we cannot claim to be on the vine of Christ’s love. And if that’s the case we are in desperate need of the gentle hand of the vinedresser, who only wants to see us bring forth the yield we are capable of achieving. God will not judge us by what we say or the public face of goodness we can turn on, we will be judged by our acts of love in and through our kindness and compassion. Excerpt from © Richard Leonard SJ |
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Sunday 9 May 6th Sunday of Easter
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No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. The boundlessness of God’s love is seen in the fact that God loved us even before we were deserving of God’s love. In fact, it was God’s love that made us able both to receive and to give love in return. Love is of God; love is God. Divine love is constant and trustworthy. How easily we can think this thought or speak these words, yet how difficult, even impossible, it is to comprehend what it means. We can only really recognise love in its many concrete manifestations. Love is patient, kind and forbearing; it believes, it hopes, it endures. The love of God breaks down the barriers between Gentile and Jew, between slave and free, between the poor and the prosperous, between women and men, between the healthy and the ailing, between young and old. Excerpt from ©Dianne Bergant CSA |