GOSPEL:  John 17:11-19
I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except one who was destined to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures. But now I am coming to you and I say these things in the world to share my joy with them to the full. I passed your word on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.


REFLECTION
This week’s Gospel is a loving and tender passage. Jesus is praying for all the people (including us) whom God has entrusted to his care. Jesus realizes that his time on earth is short. He is concerned about the people whom he soon will be leaving. Jesus prays and asks his Father to keep them “in his name.” Jesus longs for his “flock” to be protected and safe when he is no longer with them. What a caring and loving shepherd we have!

Clearly Jesus dearly loved his disciples. He longed for them to share his joy fully and completely. Jesus knew that he would be leaving them and he longed for them to be safe and secure in God’s love and care for them. Jesus also longed for his disciples to share the depth of joy He experienced in being one with God.

Take a moment and remember a time when you experienced a sense of closeness or oneness with God or Jesus. Do you remember the time or place? What were the emotions you experienced? Joy? Peace? Love? Awe? 

Jesus longs to share his peace, his joy and his truth with us today. Are we open to receiving these gifts? If so, I invite you to sit quietly in Jesus’ presence with an open mind, heart and hands. . . .and wait! Jesus will come and gift you! Be patient!(Sr Kristine Anne Harpenau) 

PENTECOST
This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost on Sunday 23rd May.

Pentecost, also known as Whit Sunday or Whitsunday, is observed on the seventh Sunday after Easter and 10 days after Ascension. The name comes from the Greek word "pentekoste" which means fiftieth as Pentecost Sunday takes place on the 50th day of Easter.

As the date is based on Easter, this day is a moveable feast. The earliest day that Pentecost Sunday can fall is May 10th (as in 1818) and the latest possible date is June 13th (next in 2038).

It marks the end of the Easter cycle, that began 90 days ago with Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent.

This Christian holy day commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of flames to the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the New Testament in Acts 2:1–31, the fifth book of the New Testament of the Bible.

The Holy Spirit allowed the apostles to speak in other languages, and they started preaching the word of Jesus to the Jews who were in Jerusalem for the feast of Shavuot (also known as the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost - in this case, meaning seven weeks since Passover).

Many Christians recognise the Descent of the Holy Spirit as the birth of the Church. (https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/pentecost-sunday)

CONFIRMATION
This weekend many of our Year 6 students will be making their Confirmation. The Sacrament of Confirmation is the second of the three sacraments of Christian initiation.

Confirmation completes Baptism, by which in the laying on of hands and the anointing with Chrism Oil, which first happened at Baptism, we are confirmed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

We are reminded of our participation in the ministry and mission of Jesus, and strengthened to follow Jesus more closely. We pray for each of our Confirmandi and wish them all the best as the celebrate this special sacrament.

God Bless, 
Warren Ziebowski 
Religious Education Coordinator