GOSPEL: Luke 9:51-62
Now it happened that as the time drew near for him to be taken up, he resolutely turned his face towards Jerusalem and sent messengers ahead of him. These set out, and they went into a Samaritan village to make preparations for him, but the people would not receive him because he was making for Jerusalem. Seeing this, the disciples James and John said, 'Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?' But he turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village. As they travelled along they met a man on the road who said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus answered, 'Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.' Another to whom he said, 'Follow me,' replied, 'Let me go and bury my father first.' But he answered, 'Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.' Another said, 'I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say good-bye to my people at home.' Jesus said to him, 'Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'

REFLECTION
The opening words of this Gospel are: “As the time drew near for him to be taken up, he resolutely turned his face towards Jerusalem.” Jesus sent His messengers on ahead of Him to Jerusalem so that they could prepare for his arrival. 

As Jesus traveled up to Jerusalem, there were people who refused to welcome Him.  When James and John saw this happening, they were extremely angry. They turned to Jesus and asked: “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and annihilate these people?” Jesus turned and sternly looked at them. Then He corrected them for what they had said.  

As they approached Jerusalem, a man came to Jesus and said to Him: “I will go with you wherever you go.” Jesus replied to him, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests.  However, the Son of Man has no place to call His own.” Jesus then invited the man to follow Him. However, the man looked at Jesus in dismay and said: “Let me wait until I have buried my father.” Jesus bluntly responded: “Let the dead bury the dead.”

Then another person came to Jesus and said: “I want to follow you, Lord; however I need to return home and take care of some affairs and then I will follow you.” Jesus looked at the man and said: “Anyone who begins to plow and keeps looking back is not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.” 

While this collection of stories may just seem to be strung together as a sequence of events that occurred as Jesus made his way toward Jerusalem, there is a common theme. In these stories, Luke instructs us about how to receive Jesus and his call, even if we find the call inconvenient or untimely.

We are not to be like those who ridicule Jesus for behaving a certain way, and we are to follow Jesus’ call without reservation. It is easy for us to say, “Sure, Jesus, I will do this for you after I do what I want to do.” Jesus does not want a halfhearted response from us when he calls. He wants all of us, our entire selves, and he wants us to respond to his call with a wholehearted “yes.”

To what is Jesus calling you today? Spend some quiet time reflecting on this question. What is stirring within your heart? How will you respond to Jesus’ call for you? (Sr Kristine Anne Harpenau)

VINNIES WINTER APPEAL (FINAL WEEK)
Last year, Vinnies Conference members provided over $2 million in emergency assistance including food vouchers and parcels to people in need.

Help us make a difference to people in need in our local community this winter.

Support the Vinnies Winter Appeal and help bring safety and security to people struggling to make ends meet.

This year, Mt Carmel are doing a canned food drive to support families within the Yass community. In each classroom we have placed a basket where students can place their donations. Food cans should be free of rust and damage and should not be out of date. 

If each of us were to bring in just one food can this year, we would have over 300 cans to support those in our community who need our support most.

Our appeal will conclude on Friday with all cans being donated to Vinnies so that they can be distributed to those in need across our community. Thank you to all the families who have already donated to the appeal. Your generosity is most appreciated! 

NAIDOC PRAYER SERVICE
On Thursday 25th July, 5/6MA will be leading us in a prayer service to celebrate NAIDOC Week at 9am in the PAC.  

NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’. This committee was once responsible for organising national activities during NAIDOC Week and its acronym has since become the name of the week itself.

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. https://www.naidoc.org.au/about/naidoc-week

We extend a warm welcome to all members of our school community to join us in this celebration.

THANK YOU
It has been a very busy term with many celebrations taking place. In particular, we celebrated with some of our students as they partook in their First Eucharist. Your generosity has again been displayed through the many donations to our Vinnies Winter Appeal and we thank you most graciously. Each week I have the opportunity to spend a Religious Education lesson with one of our classes. I thank each class for welcoming me into their rooms and allowing me to partake in the wonderful work being completed. There is a real buzz across our school this year as we explore the Scriptures through Worlds of the Text. Finally I would like to thank each of you for your ongoing support and being part of the faith journey. Have a well earned Winter Vacation and I look forward to the many great things that await us in the second half of the year!

God Bless,
Warren Ziebowski
Religious Education Coordinator