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The Birth of the Messiah (Luke 22:14 - 23:56)
A reflection on the Gospel from Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Year C)
Written by Mr Casimir Douglas
In the Gospel passages each Sunday this Lenten season, Luke’s Jesus is confronted, challenged and carefully set up by the Pharisees and Sadducees, as they attempt to trap and humiliate him, to undermine his growing influence. But Jesus is ever agile in his mystic and non-dualistic responses, as he outsmarts, outwits and beguiles them with his wisdom at every turn. Combine this character trait with his preference and proclivity for parables, and the person of Jesus never did like to give a straight answer to a direct question.
In Matthew 26:25, prior to the institution of the Lord’s supper, when Jesus informs his Disciples that he is to be betrayed by one among them, Judas pleads with Jesus: “Surely not I, Rabbi?” To which Jesus responds: “You have said so.”
In Luke 22:70, after his arrest, Jesus is brought before his recent and frequent tormentors, the Pharisees and Sadducees, who, determined to identify any source of guilt, ask him: “Are you then, the Son of God?” To which Jesus responds: “You say that I am.”
In Luke 23:3, the leaders of the Jewish people have handed Jesus over to the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontious Pilate, to confirm Jesus’ status of guilt and condemn him to crucifixion. But Pilate, spurious of the claims of the Sanhedran, exercises his own curiosity and asks Jesus: “Are you the King of the Jews?” To which Jesus responds: “You say so.”
The questions that must be burning within you now, are the same as those burning within me: Who are they saying he is? Who is Jesus saying he is? Why doesn’t he just give anyone a straight answer? What is he hoping to achieve?
The Gospel writers are deliberately provoking and challenging their readers on Jesus’ identity by asking: Who is Jesus to you? Indeed, in Matthew 16:15, gathered with his Disciples, Jesus asks them directly: “Who do you say that I am?” And in his simple response, Simon Peter gives us the answer to all these questions: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Now whilst Matthew’s Jesus celebrated Simon Peter’s response, less than seven verses later, Jesus expresses his frustration in Simon Peter for not fully comprehending his mission, and rebukes: “Get behind me, Satan!” (Matthew 16:23). To not know the mission of Christ, is to not fully comprehend his identity. Simon Peter knew the name, but did not fully comprehend Christ’s salvific purpose. Simon Peter is the facsimile of our own faith journey. We know the word ‘Christ’, but do we understand the ‘fullness’ of its expansive and cosmic implications?
St Paul, the Epistoler, in his letter to the Christian community in Colossae (1:15-20) wrote that in Christ all things on heaven and earth were created, that Christ himself is before all things and in Christ all things are held together, and that it is through Christ that all things are reconciled. Wait….what? All things…. all things? That’s pretty all encompassing! What St Paul is proposing here is that Christ did not simply enter the world enfleshed as the human Jesus, but that all creation is held together and immersed in a universal cosmic inclusiveness of Christ. In the third chapter of his letter to the Colossians (3:11), St Paul reaffirms the very centralising principle of faith that Christ is everything: “Christ is all and in all”. As the great Christian author, Fr Richard Rohr, writes in ‘The Universal Christ’ (2019): “Most Christians still think of the incarnation as a one time, and one person, event having to do only with the person of Jesus of Nazareth, instead of a cosmic event that has soaked all of history in the divine presence from the very beginning”.
This image of the universal and inclusive Christ, is a reminder to each of us that at the end of our Lenten journey, we are called to see Christ in all things, and most pertiently, in everyone we meet. But what is this ‘seeing’? Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). The wonders of modern science have revealed to us that light is not actually what we see, but is the means by which we see all things. And to see Christ crucified is the image of God’s redemptive and compassionate love, that we are called to share with each other.
Christ, the paschal lamb sacrificed at Calvary, the vessel of God’s sacrificial love for us, the incarnation and enfleshment through which God expresses God’s cosmic and universal union with human beings and all creation, died on the cross so that we may fully comprehend, fully understand and fully love His identity, His mission, and most of all, each other.
Friday 8th April, 2022
Dear Parents and Carers,
SALUTATION
Grace to you and peace.
PRINCIPAL’S MORNING TEA
At our Friday afternoon Assembly last week, twelve students received a Gospel Value Award for demonstrating the value of INTEGRITY.
Only a few of these students were able to attended the special Principal’s Morning Tea in Josephite Hall in the Kitchen Garden Area this Tuesday (5th March) with myself and Fr Jesse. The students each shared what they were grateful for, this included their family, their friends, their pets, and also the universe and all its elemental majesty! They also shared about their hobbies, interests and dreams which included dancing, netball, Harry Potter, swimming, reading, playing musical instruments, listening to music, and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters! Below is a very average selfie I took of those in attendance, with our Grade 5/6 students away on the day, not only were they not able to attend the morning tea, but it also meant there was no-one in the near vicinty to take the photo!
HARMONY WEEK
Last Friday (1st April) we held our annual Harmony Week celebrations. All students and staff in the school were invited to wear orange clothing to school for the day. This demonstration of unity is a symbol of our commitment as a community that we stand in solidarity with all peoples of Australia and celebrate the diverse backgrounds, histories, culture and identity of our national family.
The experiences in which our students were able to participate as part of our Harmony Week celebrations include a language treasure hunt, learning the meaning of the word 'harmony', a variety of different art projects, drawing a colourful chalk outline of themselves, and activities exploring how harmony exists in all walks of creation: in nature, in planting, with people, in music, life as entanglement, reconnectioning the dots, in good medicine, in the classroom, and inner harmony. These experiences were captured on film, and the school will publish a video with our school community which shares and demonstrates our commitment to harmony as a community.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude for the leadership, tireless work and organisation of Mrs Lisa Spotswood bringing Harmony Week to life in our school.
Many of you may remember the 1985 hit song, 'We are the World'. Officially, the song is attributed to the pop group, 'USA for Africa', and was written by Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson. But those who remember the song, and the film clip, will be able to tell you that this group included the most talented, and also most famous, singers in North America at the time, including Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springstein, along with Ritchie and Jackson, just to name a few. The aim of the song was to raise awareness and money for the need of humanitarian aid in the African continent. The song not only achieved critical acclaim, but also generated more than $149 million dollars.
As a special Harmony Week project coordinated by Mrs Leah Wheeler on behalf of our Grade 1/2 teaching team, our Grade 1/2 students learned the song, and performed it on Friday 1st April. The performance was captured by the trained lenses and ability of Mr Richard Harmey of S Group, who donated his time and energy not just to film the performance, but also produce the video for us to share with the community. A significant debt of gratitude is owed to both Mrs Wheeler and Mr Harmey for provide this experience for our students. And whilst our students, may not be as famous as the participants from 1985, I proudly profess that they are more talented! Please find the video embedded below.
At the Monday morning prayer assembly this week, we explored with our students, and deepend our collective understanding of, our Gospel value of INTEGRITY. We revisited the wisdom of Maria Montessori in her defintion of integrity: "Intregrity is doing the right thing even when it is hard". We built a shared understanding that to live with integrity means that you need to be brave. We must be brave and live with courage and conviction in pursuit of doing the right thing. To exemplify this value, I shared with the students, replete with images, the story of Australian Test Cricketer, Dean Jones, and his legendary innings in Chennai, India in the tied test of 1986.
This story was also carefully chosen to build some motivation and excitement for our Grade 5/6 students, who this Tuesday (5th April) travelled to the NTCA ground to participate in a Cricket Gala Day! This experience provided the students with an opportunity to refine key motor skills, work together in teams, demonstrate good sportsmanship, have some fun, and live out their dreams of emulating their new hero, Dean Jones!
Thank you very much to our Grade 5/6 teaching team of Mr Anthony Healey, Ms Jessica McLauchlan, Ms Christine Flynn, and Mrs Aimee Rooney for their organisation and support of students to provide them with this wondeful opportunity.
MOTHER'S DAY
Our Mother’s Day breakfast will be held as per usual this year on Friday 6th May. It will be hosted outdoors only in the Kitchen Garden area. Kinder Thomas students and their adult accompaniment are more than welcome to come along that morning to participate in the breakfast. Thank you to the staff of Tenison House for organising the event. Please expect a formal invitation to be shared with families soon.
ANZAC DAY MARCH
St Thomas More’s Catholic School will participate in the ANZAC Day March this year on Monday 25th April (second week of school holidays). All students and staff are welcome to join in the March to acknowledge and pay respects to our servicemen and servicewomen. Further information will be communicated in due course.
FINAL GREETING
May the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
God bless,
Mr Casimir Douglas
Principal
School Photo day is Monday, 9th May 2022.
Photo ordering is completed through Compass using the link on your Compass app homepage - an email has been sent from MSP Photography with details on how to order.
Sibling photos will be taken before school from 8.30am, and MSP Photography request that students present themselves to the photographers in the Josephite Hall from 8.30am for the sibling photo to be taken.
Students will be required to wear their winter uniform and jumpers will not be required to be worn.
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to rule the world for a day? In our 3/4 Writing Extension group this term we have been developing short stories for a Pobble writing competition called The Mighty Write 2022. Please enjoy reading these three short stories from Halle Turner, Ivy Fankhauser and Maggie Beaumont whose stories we entered in this year's competition.
The Day I Ruled The World
by Halle Turner
Wouldn’t it be tremendous to have one moment when you rule the world and have everyone happy and cheering for you? My alarm clock screeched Ding Ding Ding, minutes later I jumped out of bed and got ready for work, I work at the restaurant downtown. Once I was ready for work there was only one more thing to do, eat breakfast. Once I put my cereal in a bowl I turned the TV on. The first channel I saw was interesting. The reporter said the Government was selecting a new prime minister. My eyes were glued to the TV, I was very interested. Later I went to get the mail I walked out the door, but then I saw a massive crowd of people. I asked what was going on, they explained and told me I was the one who could rule the world for a day.
My heart is pounding why are there so many questions? I put the microphone up to my mouth and took a deep breath and said … today is the day that I can rule the world, and ruling the world I have to change some things. Number one - everybody gets a home. Number two - everyone gets a flying car. Number three - every child gets education for FREE!
After all that got out of the way I started walking around the big crowd of people and hopped in my new big Limousine and told the driver to bring me to my new office. Once I got back I stared out the tenth floor of my office building and watched all the flying cars come by. I also saw children in those flying cars they had very snazzy school uniforms on. Then I looked through my other shiny window and saw lots of new homes. I saw Mr Greg, he's someone I say hi to every day when I walk to school, now he has a home and he doesn’t live in a bus shelter. I'm really proud of myself because I changed what needed to be changed.
If I Ruled the world for a Day
By Ivy Fankhauser
Wouldn’t it be fabulous to have one moment when you rule the world and have people screaming your name?
At six o’clock the next morning I was woken by a little man knocking on the door telling me congratulations you’re ruling the world for a day! Then he said,“in a minute you are going to run down to the newsroom and tell the world what you are going to do as ruler.”
I announced to the world that the kids can eat whatever they want, free roller coasters would be available to get you where you want quicker and you don’t have to go to school.
A few hours later I went for a walk to see what was going on and I heard kids screaming so loud my ears hurt. I ran past them and blocked my ears and went to see the roller coasters. Kids were hanging off them like monkeys! So I ran back past the roller coaster and back past the screaming kids and hit the big red buzzer which says I quit! I am not ruling the world AGAIN!
If I could rule the world for a day
By Maggie Beaumont
Do you want to know what I’d do If I could rule the world? Do you want a bit of joy in your day? Are you so bored that you’re about to perish and shrivel up and blow away on the summer wind of boredom? Then come aboard and get ready to laugh so hard your pants fall right off!
Unicorns would deliver every single thing a girl would need for the day, and boys would get whatever they need for the day, getting delivered by dragons. This would be helpful and fun if you wanted to guess what you are doing that day, but then find out it’s super boring and you cry and moan. I mean, crying and moaning isn’t fun, especially for parents.
Anyway, moving on. I think it would be wonderful if parents got a day off work, and kids got a day off school. Even the brainy kids need a break of school work and numbers. Yes, I’m aware that the other school holidays give you a break, but wouldn’t it be fun to nag your parents to get a time machine so you can get to the day earlier? Anyhoo, not even homework would be allowed! I think I’m going to be the best ruler ever! Sorry, I wandered off track there…
Now I’m talking about a serious issue. Not everyone has access to clean and fresh water. Every person on this planet needs water. No, I’m not talking about the mucky, disgusting, grotty water, because who would want to drink water that tastes like dog poo? So that is why I’m going to make sure everyone has easy access to clean and fresh water, and no one will be forced to drink dog poo water.
Another serious issue that needs to be fixed. Food. Not everyone, again, has it. Every single human being needs food. That’s why everyone in the world would get access to unlimited food. Everyone would get a key card to tap on a box.. and BAM! Food would be there. The box would be made out of bulletproof materials so then it is high security.
That’s it folks. That’s all going to happen for sure if I ruled the world for a day. It’s a foolproof plan! What could possibly go wrong?
Prep T and Prep M have been busy uncovering their wild side!
Over the past two weeks, both classes have walked to the amazing Wildspace centre located at St Giles for some serious sandpit play, finding fairies, cooking with mud, and exploring the native bush surrounds hunting for creatures.
Ready ... set ... launch!
1/2S and 1/2M (1/2T next week) transformed into a team of Rocketeers as they shuttled through an unforgettable lesson on the forces around us.
By developing their understanding of pushes and pulls, gravity and friction, they were mesmerised by how applying forces can affect an object’s movement. May the force be with you!
"We Are The World" - Harmony Day
The Grade 1/2 students explored the theme of Harmony Day 'Everyone Belongs' through learning the song 'We are the World'.
The song demonstrated to students how they can celebrate cultural diversity and how we need to be inclusive, respectful, and create a sense of belonging for everyone.
We would still love to have any Project Compassion Boxes returned if you have them at home - please bring them to the office at the start of term!
St Patrick's College Year 7 2023 Enrolments now open
Enrolments for St Patrick's College in Year 7, 2023 are now open. Applications close 22nd April, which is during term break. Any applications received after this date may be waitlisted.
Please see the attached flyer for details.
Please find following the Launceston Parish bulletin for this coming week.
Launceston City Council
The City of Launceston is currently developing the City's inaugural Public Art Strategy. An online survey (see link below) has launched to help shape directions, identify needs and opportunities, and build a distinctive place-based vision. It would be good to encourage students to participate in the Survey. Their inputs will be greatly appreciated.
The Survey can also be accessed via Council's engagement platform, Your Voice Your Launceston (https://yourvoiceyourlaunceston.com.au/public-art-strategy).
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Autism Tasmania
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Hockey Tasmania
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Ten Pin Bowling - Launceston Lanes
Lilydale District Pony Club
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Amy Road School Holiday Program