Dear Parents and Carers

“…then we hauled on the ropes
and he rose in the hot air
like a diver just leaving the springboard, arms spread
so it seemed
over the whole…[of] creation
over the big men who must have had it in for him
and the curious ones who’ll watch anything if it’s free
with only the usual women caring anywhere
and a blind man in tears.”

Bruce Dawe, A Good Friday Was Had By All

These confronting words come from the last stanza of the Australian poet Bruce Dawe’s poem, ‘A Good Friday Was Had by All’. https://lentproject.wordpress.com/resources/poetry/and-a-good-friday-was-had-by-all/

It is a poem of lament and mourning, told from the point of view of one of the soldiers who crucified Jesus. This Friday Lent comes to near-culmination as we mark the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Part of the confronting nature of the poem is in the way that Dawe describes the almost casual way that Jesus was put to death and the indifference from the crowed that witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion. It invites the reader into an honest self-reflection about the ways we might have responded had we been there at the time. We know of course that Good Friday is not the end of the story. As Peter Steele SJ has said, Easter is the story of promises made good, and Easter Sunday is the story of Jesus’ experience of love triumphing over death. Again, as Steele says, bitter experience does not have the final word. In these difficult times, this message is more vital than ever.

On Monday I sent home a long letter detailing the way that Term 2 will work at Sts Peter and Paul. It probably needs to be stressed that all children, be they at home or at school, will undertake the Remote Learning program. If your child attends school, he/she will not be in the same classroom as their normal teacher, who will be focused on delivering the Term 2 curriculum remotely. All children who attend will be grouped in broad age groups and be supervised by a member of staff (e.g., a member of the Leadership Team, or a relief teacher) while he or she undertakes the Remote Learning program relevant to his/her grade. This is the policy of all Catholic and public schools while this period lasts. Catholic Education’s position is a preference for all children to remain at home, where possible, and of course where that is not possible, they can attend school. Please contact me at school if you have any queries.

This is a very trying period and I appreciate that many families may be undergoing particular stress and hardship of one or more kinds: financial, emotional, marital and the like. I strongly encourage all parents and families, while maintaining social distancing, to not maintain or start social isolation. Please monitor the mental health of your friends and family, and your own health as well. Depression and anxiety can creep up slowly. Please be alert to early warning signs. The school certainly aims and intends to maintain regular contact with its students and parents and I hope, even if it is only in a small way, that this lessens social anxiety and isolation amongst the community. The school staff are missing the students greatly and we look forward to their return – sooner rather than later, we hope. Again, I would like to thank the parent community for their extraordinary kindness and support. We have been buoyed by the many words and messages of support and the gifts of cakes and chocolate – thank you all. We are deeply grateful.

I would like to wish all Sts Peter and Paul families a very happy and Holy Easter and that you all know the peace of the Risen Christ. I would like to leave you with another stanza of a very different poem, written by the 19^th century Jesuit poet Gerald Manly Hopkins. Without referencing Easter directly, it speaks to God’s creativity and love of the world, and through that, new life:

“And for all this, nature is never spent;

There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;

And though the last lights off the black West went

Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs —

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent

World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.”

God’s Grandeur, Gerard Manley Hopkins

Have a wonderful Easter and an excellent holiday.

Best wishes

Cameron Johns

Principal

Sunday Gospel: Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, Year A

Women go to the tomb as dawn is breaking. The Power of Darkness which had Jesus unjustly sentenced, cruelly tortured and buried in the pitch blackness of the tomb, is conquered by the Son-Rise of all sun rises flooding our world and the whole of human history with Divine Light and Energy. This is the heart of our faith as Catholic Christians, which we celebrate with bon-fire (good fire) in darkness at the Easter Vigil. From that earthly element we light the Easter candle and the Exsultet is sung: ‘Be glad, let earth be glad as glory floods her, ablaze with light from her eternal King.’ The resurrection itself is nowhere described in the gospels, but we do have appearances of the Risen Lord Jesus. The first appearance was to a woman, Mary of Magdala. A title given to her by the early church was ‘Apostle to the Apostles’ because she was the bearer of the message which the male disciples initially did not believe. But eventually they too believed that Death had been done to death because the Son had risen. Christ’s body was transfigured by the energy of Divine Love and we can, by grace, participate in that resurrection life of Our Lord. A glorious destiny awaits us, as indeed it awaits the whole cosmos as it is to be transformed by that resurrection life recreating the whole of creation. We could take a moment to pray that we, along with all that matters, are graced with the life-giving energy of the Risen Son and that we may join Mary of Magdala in spreading the Good News of Christ’s victory over death. Alleluia! (Gospel Reflection by Fr Michael Tate) 

The Encounter: Way of the Cross 

The Encounter: Way of the Cross is a guided series of testimonies, scriptures, reflections and prayers that follow the final encounters of Jesus.

The Way of the Cross is the journey of Jesus. It is also our journey. As you undertake this journey, be open to encountering Jesus in a new way this Easter. I encourage you all to take the time to explore this resource and use it to pray as a family this Good Friday.

https://www.cgyouth.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/200401_Encounter_Primary-1.pdf

Holy Week Celebrations, Mass and Prayer during COVID-19

All Holy Week celebrations will be streamed through the Catholic Voice YouTube Channel and the Catholic Voice website.

The Director of Catholic Schools, Ross Fox recently shared the following resources with all staff in the diocese, and I believe some of these may be valuable to you also and may assist in keeping people connected in these challenging times.

• Mass Online provides us with the opportunity to pray the Mass on a daily basis.

• Living Word provides a reflection on the readings of the day.

• Daily Voice provides a daily snapshot of what is happening locally, in the Archdiocese and across the world.

Dates for your Diary:

Stay safe these holidays, and take care of each other,

Stephanie Burns

Religious Education Coordinator

Each week we will try and include a recipe from Mrs Moore. These recipes may come from our Saints Peter & Paul Anniversary Cook Book, still available for sale for $20 via Qkr! or eftpos (No cash please). Books can be collected from the front office. 

CHOCOLATE TWISTS

Ingredients

2 sheets puff pastry

1/2 cup apple juice

200g chocolate melts

Method

Preheat oven to 200 degreees, line 2 trays with baking paper and set aside

Cut pastry sheets in half, then cut each half into 2cm strips

Place apple juice in a small bowl, dip pastry strips one at a time into the juice and twist, then place on the prepared tray

Bake twists for 10 minutes or until golden

Meanwhile melt chocolate in the microwave on low for 1 minute , stir and repeat until melted

Dip one end of each twist in the melted chocolate and leave on tray to set

This recipe can be found on page 114 of our 50th Anniversary Cookbook.