A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’ Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?
‘It is the spirit that gives life,
the flesh has nothing to offer.
The words I have spoken to you are spirit
and they are life.
‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. He went on, ‘This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’ After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.
Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.’
Ref:Liturgyhelp.com
The first followers of Jesus and those who became followers in the years after the death of Jesus were faithful Jews. They saw the teachings of Jesus as a way of being a better Jew. They didn’t think that they were beginning a new religion; just a new way of interpreting their faith. However, as the years passed and the followers of Jesus began to clarify their understandings and beliefs, it started to become obvious that their belief in Jesus as the Son of God was distancing them from their Jewish brothers and sisters. Gradually the term, Christian, came into use and their differences from Judaism became more apparent.
We live in a world that is saturated by advertising and marketers trying to persuade us to think certain things, want certain things and even act in certain ways. At times the message and the medium of the message blur and it’s not always clear where one stops and the other begins. For Christian people the medium – the person – IS the message (or at least should be!). We are called to live what we believe. That can be tough at times, especially in our modern world, but the challenge comes from the example Jesus gave.
© Greg Sunter
On Monday 16 August all families received an email or SMS (for those parents without email) from Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP) asking you to review and, where necessary, update the key information they hold about your children currently enrolled in CEDP schools.
The purpose of this review is to ensure that CEDP has the right details to correctly identify and support students, including contacting families in an emergency or to share important updates.
Steps have been taken to ensure this process is as secure as possible to protect your information and your family’s privacy. Your information is only accessed by authorised staff when it is necessary and in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
The link is open until Friday 3 September and I encourage you to complete the review/update as soon as possible to ensure that your family’s correct details are on file. This is particularly important as Greater Sydney remains in lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
This short “how to” video may assist you with completing the process (use the closed caption icon to turn on subtitles). Please don’t hesitate to contact the school office if you have any questions or concerns.
Only one person per family needs to complete the survey and it takes about 15 minutes to complete. If you have any questions or to seek help, please contact the CEDP Community Liaison Team on 9840 5796.
Term 3 Statements have been mailed to families. Please contact the school office via email (ololbhills@parra.catholic.edu.au) if you have not received your statement.
CEDP is working hard to support the families in our communities who are struggling financially as a result of COVID -19.
As always we encourage parents who are experiencing hardship to seek support.
Please refer to the letter from the CEDP Director Capital Resourcing, Sarah Alder, outlining the system’s approach to school fee support, which was emailed to families earlier this week.
All Busways Western Sydney school bus services will not operate from Monday 23 August 2021. We have been advised by the NSW Government that in line with COVID-19 restrictions, Western Sydney bus services will operate to a Saturday timetable, effective from Monday 23 August 2021. This means that no dedicated school bus services will operate until further notice and there will be limited standard route services. Although student numbers are significantly reduced at the moment, we understand this is a challenging time and are aware this may impact some families who continue to send their children to school via public transport during this time. If you need further advice or would like to seek clarification, please visit the Transport for NSW website. Thank you for your ongoing patience and understanding. Kind regards, Busways. |
Skoolbag is the school’s primary avenue for immediate communication with parents.
Skoolbag is a communication app which all parents are strongly advised to install on their smartphones, ipads etc.
