WELCOME BACK EVERYONE!

We often describe our Catholic Schools as a family and it has been so nice to be back with the famiy this week, seeing all the happy faces (even behind masks) and smiling eyes of people glad to be back in our community together. We are so very much looking forward to having Years 3, 4 and 5 return next week so we are whole again!

This week at school, and next when all students return is all about reconnecting. Over lockdown we were not allowed to gather which may have made it difficult for your faith to be at the forfront of your mind. While gathering limits at the Church still apply which may be stopping us from gathering to celebrate the Eucharist, we can still be present to our faith and community by reconnecting with the Sunday Gospel.

In this Sunday's gospel, Jesus is questioned by a scribe about the greatest commandment. The context for this Gospel is Jesus’ growing exposure before the Jewish authorities. Jesus is being questioned and tested by the Jewish authorities, yet the scribe who addresses Jesus in today’s Gospel seems to be an admirer; he is not testing Jesus.

The question posed in today’s Gospel about which one is the greatest commandment, requires Jesus to interpret the Law of Moses. The Mosaic Law consists of the Ten Commandments and many additional commandments, numbering into the hundreds. For a devout Jew, adherence to the Mosaic Law is an expression of faithfulness to God’s covenant with Israel. The ranking of these commandments was regularly debated among the teachers of the Law.

As Christians, our moral behavior is guided by the two-part commandment taught by Jesus in today’s Gospel: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Many of us learned to use this framework as an examination of conscience. By examining our lives through the lens of these commandments, we have learned that the challenge of these commandments is not in our desire to follow them but in our capacity to consistently honor these commandments in our daily lives.

This week as a family and as we begin to venture back into the community and surrounds, try and identify times when we can show our love for God by loving and serving our neighbour.

RECONCILIATION- Year 3

Fr Simon, myself and Donna Victory, the REC at St Vincents, are working on a plan to make sure our year 3 children can still receive the Sacrament of 

Reconcilaiton this year in a Covid-Safe way. As soon as decisions are made and dates are set, you will receive further communcation from the school so please know we are working on it.

Have a great week!

Sharee Thomas

Religous Education Co-ordinator