Sunday Gospel

For a couple of weeks now, our readings, especially the Gospels, continue to tell us
that Jesus is the bread of life. This is simply to remind us of the importance of the
Holy Eucharist in our Christian life.
Eucharist means thanksgiving. So, filled with the Holy Spirit, we give thanks to God
for inviting us to share in His wisdom, and in the Body and Blood of Christ.

                                                                                                    (Gods Word 2018- Daily Reflections , St Pauls Publications)

• What makes you happy and joyful in your life?
• What are the most important of these?
• Why are they the most important?
• Jesus tells us that we should seek things that will last. In today’s Gospel what does Jesus give us that will last forever?
• How do we show we are happy and thankful for this great gift?

Sunday Gospel

On this Sunday the Church invites us to focus on Jesus who continues to draw us to himself so that we can be nourished and strengthened like Elijah in the desert.
Jesus tells us that if we eat the Bread he gives us, we will live forever. Jesus requires us to have faith in God’s love and care for us.
Jesus asks us to have faith: after all, we have to take it on his word that we will live forever if we eat his bread.
We believe that God loves us, so we know that God cares for us even when things don’t work out as we would like.This is what it means to have faith in God: to love God and hope in God even when everything is going wrong.
This is the faith and trust that Jesus had in God. Jesus died on the cross still believing and trusting God.  Jesus draws us to Himself every day through the Eucharistic table in order to nourish and strengthen us for our journey.

Let us pray that Jesus, the living Bread, will be at the centre of our lives this week in all we say and do.

Holy Week - Breaking Open the Gospel

For the four days this week we have gathered as a school to retell the story of Easter. Holy Week is one of the most important weeks in the Catholic Liturgical year and began last weekend on Palm Sunday. 

We have used a resource called the Resurrection Eggs to help break open the Gospel readings for the children. Each day we have opened three eggs to find out the symbols inside - these symbols help us retell the story.

Thanks so much to our DRS Suzanne Newton and our Year 8 Special Character Leaders for organising these very special mornings for us.



MONDAY
Egg #1: Donkey Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem. In times of peace, a king would ride a donkey. We celebrate this on Palm Sunday. 

Egg #2: Coins 
Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 silver coins. The Jewish leaders did not believe Jesus. They wanted him to die. 

Egg #3: Cup 
Jesus and his followers drank from a cup. They were together for the Passover meal. This was the last meal before Jesus died. It is called the Last Supper.                                                    

TUESDAY
Egg #4: Praying hands 
Jesus went to a garden to pray. The garden was called the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was sad. But He knew that He must die.

Egg #5: Leather strap 
Jesus was whipped. They used leather straps to hit Jesus. 

Egg #6: Crown of thorns  
The soldiers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head. 

WEDNESDAY
Egg #7: Nails 
We do wrong things. We do not obey God. God is perfect. Jesus never did anything wrong. But, Jesus was nailed to a cross. Three nails were driven into Jesus’ hands and feet. Jesus died for us. He died instead of us. Now we can come to God – because of Jesus.

Egg #8: Die (Dice) 
Jesus was on the cross dying. The soldiers played a game using dice. They wanted Jesus’ clothes.

Egg #9: Spear 
Jesus was on the cross. Soldiers put a spear into his side. Jesus was dead. 

HOLY THURSDAY
Egg #10: Linen
They took Jesus from the cross. Joseph was a follower of Jesus. He wrapped Jesus’ body in a linen cloth. Joseph put Jesus’ body in a tomb. 

Egg #11: Stone 
A very large stone was placed in front of the tomb. The stone protected the tomb. No one could get in or out. Some women came to the tomb early on Sunday morning. The stone had been moved!

Egg #12: Empty 
The women looked in the tomb. Jesus was not there! An angel appeared. He said, “Jesus is not here. He has risen.” He is still alive today. 

Holy Week at St Francis of Assisi School

Next week is Holy Week. 

Click here for The Story of Holy Week

Holy Week is the week before Easter commemorating events in the last days of Jesus' life on Earth. It begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Monday.

Each day of Holy Week we will gather together as a whole school at the beginning of the day to break open the Gospel, share the Holy Week story with the children and pray.

Please join us daily at 9.05am next week - we would love to share this special time with you.

Jo Earl and Suzanne Newton