St Brigid's Catholic Parish Primary School Gwynneville eNewsletter

From the Religious Education Coordinator's Desk

WELCOME BACK

Such a wonderful sound, the chatter and laughter of our students, back together.

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Mark 10:13-16

MISSION MONTH FUNdraiser

‘We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’

Thank you for your support of our Friday FUNdraising day. We have raised $250 for Catholic Mission.

ALL SAINTS DAY - 1 November and ALL SOULS DAY - 2 November

We celebrate the memory of all the baptised who have gone before us and whose lives were virtuous. The saints of God are all those who have been baptised into Christ, who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. We all know people whose lives were steeped in genuine holiness. The life of every one of us has been blessed by their goodness. This is a day for us to remember and to celebrate their holiness. We celebrate the lives of all those who have been marked with the sign of faith, those who have been canonised by the church, those whom we have known personally as well as those whose names we do not know.

In the beatitudes listed in today’s gospel we are given examples of what it means to live lives of holiness. This gospel really does not present a blueprint for holiness. Rather, it offers a series of snapshots that demonstrate the holiness that is ours by virtue of our baptism. Those who have gone before us lived such lives. Today, as we remember them, we hold up their lives as examples of holiness and models for our imitation. The sentiments that are expressed and the commitment that it illustrated in the beatitudes clearly stand in opposition to the standards of the world. Their radicality may be more than some can understand, but they are traits that are recognisable by those who belong to the family of God, for they are genuine godly traits.

© Dianne Bergant CSA

And so we pray:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

And may the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

REFLECTIONS

Sunday 31 October

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Dual Command

Jesus does not command us to love ‘God’ in the abstract. Teaching Jew to Jew he says: ‘You shall love the Lord your God’ – the Lord who had rescued the Jewish people from slavery. So, commanding a love which responds to an initiative of Divine Love. Why wouldn’t one respond ‘heart, mind, strength, soul’ in gratitude for the gift of life itself, for some particular person or incident, for the beauty and grandeur of nature, for rescue from some situation which seemed to engulf us? And if the Lord God loved you in such a way, why wouldn’t you love yourself? Then you can properly ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. There is nothing sentimental in his teaching from Leviticus 19:18 and the preceding verses. Jesus was pointing to the system of social justice which looked after the poor and which did not exploit workers. It is up to us as global citizens of the 21st century to recognise as ‘neighbours’ those beyond our borders and to love them in the practical ‘Levitical’ way.

Fulfilling the Dual Command, we guard against the extremes of religious piety or social activism and become Christian humanists loving God and neighbour. We might pause a moment to pray in responsive gratitude to the Lord God, and to commit ourselves to loving our neighbour, hoping to hear the words of Jesus Christ: ‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God.’

Sunday 7 November

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

The willingness to give all that one has is the central theme of today's readings. They offer us three models.

Jesus is the ultimate example of heroic generosity. He first offered himself as expiation for our sin. Now, as the eternal high priest, he stands before God as our mediator, pleading on our behalf, bringing salvation to those who eagerly await him.

It is interesting to note that the other two models of selfless giving are widows, individuals who are doubly disadvantaged by the patriarchal societies of which they are members. Their generosity is religiously inspired, and it comes from women who had the least material possessions to give. This kind of giving requires that we reach deep into ourselves and almost strip ourselves of our hold on life, and that we do this for religious reasons. The giving that is pictured in today's readings is nothing less than heroic generosity.

God will not be outdone in generosity. Sometimes we become the beneficiaries of obvious blessing, as was the case in the story of the woman of Zarephath who was granted a year's supply of flour and oil. At other times, we simply continue living life as usual, like the woman in the temple who was unaware of the commendation that Jesus had given her. The truly generous do not look for reward. They carry out their responsibilities and place the rest in God's hands.