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Catholic schools week 2015
Next week marks the start of Catholic Schools Week in Ireland.
The theme of Catholic Schools Week 2015 is Catholic Schools: Called to Serve. This call comes from Christ himself.
Jesus is called ‘teacher’ on forty-six occasions in the Gospels. It is the title most commonly associated with him by his first followers. So what did Jesus teach? In the villages, hills and valleys of Galilee he taught the people that the reign of God was dawning in their midst. He spoke of the reign of God as healing for the sick, hearing for the deaf, new sight for the blind, freedom for prisoners and good news for the poor.
All Christians are called to serve their brothers and sisters. This means helping them to stand up and walk on their own, exorcising their fear of the unknown and expanding their minds through education.
It entails feeding them when they are too weak to feed themselves, opening their eyes to the reality of life, challenging them to let go of hurts and prejudice, and liberating those who are unjustly oppressed. It involves introducing them to ever-greater horizons of transcendence and beauty. This is how we continue the healing ministry of Jesus so that ‘the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the good news is proclaimed to the poor’ (Lk 7:22).
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS IN TRAMORE
To mark the new secondary school in our community, a number of items and services are being planned for Catholic Schools week which runs across the country from 25-31 January.
At our 10.30 Mass next Sunday in Holy Cross, we will welcome students, staff and parents of our new Ardscoil Na Mara. The readings, prayers, serving, offertory and singing choir will be led by students in the school. All students, parents and teachers are welcome to join us for this parish event – and a way of welcoming our new school to the parish of Tramore. The parish role in a catholic school is highlighted throughout the school year, and the community recognizes these gifts in a special way.
At our 7.30 Mass on Saturday evening and 12pm Mass on Sunday prayers will also be offered at our Come, Gather, Celebrate masses for our three primary catholic schools in the parish, Holy Cross, Glór na Mara and Gaelscoil Philib Barún.
Please keep all our students and teachers in your prayer for this special week.