We came together yesterday to thank God for giving us Mary the Mother of Jesus and for being our Mother too. Mary had the courage to trust God and say Yes to all that God wanted her to do we hope that we have the same courage that Mary had.
God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee with a message for a young woman named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. The angel greeted Mary and said,
“Peace be with you. You are truly blessed. The Lord is with you.”
Then the angel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid. God is pleased with you and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus and he will be called the Son of God, the Most High.”
Mary said to the angel,” I am a virgin. How then can this be?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come to you and God’s power will rest upon you.”
“I am the Lord’s servant.” said Mary. “May it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.
This Holy Day of obligation was today celebrated with Fr. Pawel, pupils and staff and at St Teresa’s.
The ascension of Jesus is our belief in the departure of Christ from Earth into the presence of God. The narrative in Acts 1 takes place 40 days after the resurrection. Jesus, in the company of the disciples, is taken up in their sight after warning them to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit; as he ascends a cloud hides him from their view, and two men in white appear to tell them that he will return “in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
On Saturday 28th April we, as a School Community came together to celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter.
Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more. You are pruned already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you. Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire, and they are burnt. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it. It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.”
People become good disciples of Jesus because of their relationship with him. We develop this relationship with Jesus through our reading of Scripture and our life of prayer. But most especially, Jesus promises us that he will remain in us and that we will be his disciples when we share his Body and Blood in the Eucharist.
WELCOME BACK
We hope you all had a happy, healthy and holy Easter. We return to a very busy term in school especially for Years Two and Six as they are now working hard towards their SATs. We are looking forward to working with you all over these coming months.
The Story of Holy Week
The Bible tells us that Jesus had many friends. He liked to be with
them. He taught them many things. Yet the time came for His
“Passion.” That meant it was time for Him to suffer and die to pay
for the sins of the whole world. That’s what Holy Week is all
about. On Sunday of Holy Week Jesus entered Jerusalem. He rode on a
donkey. Many people were there. They took branches and waved
them. Some took off their coats and laid them on the road.
The people shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the
one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest
heaven!” Then Jesus went to the temple. When He got there, He threw out
the people who exchanged money and sold animals for use in the
temple. He said, “Scripture says, ‘My house will be called a house
of prayer,’ but you’re turning it into a gathering place for thieves” The next few days Jesus continued to teach both His friends and the crowds who came to listen. He continued to speak against the wrong people did. Many of the religious leaders didn’t like what
Jesus said since they thought He was talking about them. They decided to find a way to kill Jesus. Since Jesus knew He would soon die, Thursday evening He shared a special meal with His friends. Christians call this meal The Lord’s Supper. This is what the Bible said happened at the meal. “While they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it. He broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said, ‘Take this, and eat it. This is My body.’ “Then He took a cup and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He gave it to them and said, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood, the blood of the promise. It is poured out for many people so that sins are forgiven’ ” Then Jesus went with His friends and followers to the Garden of
Gethsemane. He asked His disciples to stay awake and pray for Him. He prayed
to God the Father, asking the Father if there was another way to save us besides dying on the cross. Yet Jesus ended this prayer with, “… let Your will be done rather than Mine” Just then Judas, one of Jesus’ followers, came with a large crowd. He came and kissed Jesus on the cheek. This was a sign to tell the guards who they were to arrest. They came and arrested Jesus. All Jesus’ followers ran away. The next day they took Jesus to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. They told Pilate that Jesus should die. Pilate finally agreed
to it. After the soldiers made fun of Jesus, they led Him to Golgotha. That’s where they crucified Him. They hung Jesus on the cross with nails pounded through His
hands and feet. A criminal hung on each side of Him. Jesus
suffered terribly for over three hours on the cross. Many people
made fun of Him. Finally Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” You might think that meant
He was about to die. But it meant more than that. It meant that
right then Jesus had paid off the debt of all our sin. That’s why He
had to die on the cross—to pay for all our sins. You see, we are
responsible for His death. Jesus allowed Himself to be captured,
tried, and crucified so He could suffer the punishment that should
be ours. After paying for our sins He died. On Wednesday this week Father Pawel celebrated Mass with us here at St Teresa’s. 
