GOSPEL: Luke 19:1-10
He entered Jericho and was going through the town and suddenly a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He kept trying to see which Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I am to stay at your house today.' And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what was happening. 'He has gone to stay at a sinner's house,' they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, 'Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham;

for the Son of man has come to seek out and save what was lost.'

REFLECTION
The Gospel this week is the story of Zaccheus, the tax collector. Tax collectors are not very popular with people — in Jesus’ time and also today. And yet Zaccheus was determined to see “this Jesus” he had heard so much about. He had heard stories of his preaching as well as tales of his amazing power to heal. Zaccheus wanted to see and to listen to this man’s preaching and decide for himself who and what this man was!

Zaccheus knew the route that Jesus most likely would take through Jericho. He made sure he got there early to get a good spot. As we know, Zaccheus was a man of short stature and if there were a crowd he would be unable to see Jesus. He found a way around that problem. He decided to climb a tree that was on the roadside. Being in the tree above the crowd should enable him to see Jesus clearly!

As Jesus was walking down the road, he looked up and saw Zaccheus sitting in the tree. Surprisingly, Jesus asked him to come down. Jesus told Zaccheus that he wished to stay at his house. Zaccheus was amazed and overjoyed that Jesus would come to his house but simply being in Jesus’ presence overwhelmed Zaccheus. Immediately Zaccheus had a deep conversion. Simply being in Jesus’ presence and then being seen by him changed Zaccheus’ heart and his life. He would never be the same.

Today Jesus is inviting us to come and spend time with him: to sit, listen, and talk with him. What will our response be? Will we invite him into our inner home? Or will we stay in our tree and watch him walk by? If we choose to invite him into our inner house, we also may have a conversion. 
(Sr Kristine Anne Harpenau)

MARKET DAY
This Friday, 8th November, Years 5 & 6 are hosting a fundraiser at recess for those in need in Timor Leste – there will be a cake stall, gardening stall, games and fun activities with prices ranging from $0.50 to $2.00. There will be things for everyone to enjoy as we answer our “Call to Serve” and raise funds for those in need. Fr Mick has organised a guest speaker, a Dominican sister from Timor Leste who teaches in Dili, to come and speak with the students next Friday. Our students will have this amazing opportunity to hear directly how their fundraising efforts will help others. Please support this student fundraiser generously so our students can make a difference in other children’s lives.

REMEMBRANCE DAY
On Monday, 11th November, 1EK will be leading the school community in a special Remembrance Day Prayer Service at 10:45am in the PAC. We welcome all members of our school community to join us and remember those that fought for the freedom we embrace today.

On 11 November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after four years of continuous warfare. With their armies retreating and close to collapse, German leaders signed an Armistice, bringing to an end the First World War. From the summer of 1918, the five divisions of the Australian Corps had been at the forefront of the allied advance to victory. Beginning with their stunning success at the battle of Hamel in July, they helped to turn the tide of the war at Amiens in August, followed by the capture of Mont St Quentin and Pèronne, and the breaching of German defences at the Hindenburg Line in September. By early October the exhausted Australians were withdrawn from battle. They had achieved a fighting reputation out of proportion to their numbers, but victory had come at a heavy cost. They suffered almost 48,000 casualties during 1918, including more than 12,000 dead.

In the four years of the war more than 330,000 Australians had served overseas, and more than 60,000 of them had died. The social effects of these losses cast a long shadow over the postwar decades.

Each year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts. 
(Australian War Memorial)

God Bless,
Warren Ziebowski
Religious Education Coordinator