All Souls Catholic School

Newsletter - September 21st, 2017

Number 3

GOSPEL REFLECTION

Although Jesus has primarily been speaking to a general group of religious leaders up this point ("the chief priests and elders"), Matthew has also specifically indicated that the Pharisees were listening disapprovingly to Jesus (see 21:45). Another Jewish sect, the Sadducees, will soon enter the conversation and will also be opposed to Jesus (see 22:23-33). It may be helpful to understand the basic identity of each of these first-century Jewish groups.

Elders is a term that can include a variety of religious leaders. A council of elders served as judges and administrators of Israelite life and religion.

The Pharisees were a lay group of Jews who emphasized the importance of living the Jewish Law. Some Pharisees were quite strict and opposed Jesus, finding him too loose in his interpretation of the law.

The Sadducees were the priestly aristocracy as well as their families and associates. They emphasized the importance of Temple worship and a strict understanding of the Torah (law) that did not allow for belief in the resurrection from the dead.

The scribes (not mention here, but sometimes depicted in the Gospel as challenging Jesus) were experts in the Jewish law. They are sometimes called "lawyers" or "teachers of the law" and were associated with the Pharisees.

Each of these groups had something to lose if Jesus upset the status quo. It was in their best interest to continue Temple life as they maintained it and the strict interpretation of the law as they understood it, for this was how they retained their own power, prestige, and authority. In addition, they did not want to attract the attention of Rome for the fear that the Romans would crack down on Judaism as a whole. This was a palpable fear in an empire that prized peace and quickly squelched even the slightest whiff of unrest.

In Sunday's Gospel, Matthew writes that the Pharisees "plotted" in order to "entrap Jesus in the speech." Anyone who has read the Gospel of Matthew up to this point knows how futile an exercise this truly was! Jesus was a master teacher. It is unlikely he would be "tripped up" by the Pharisees. (The text also mentions "Herodians," whose identity is unclear, but who where likely Roman sympathizers.)

Note the four things the Pharisees and Herodians say about Jesus before they question him.

"You are a truthful man."

"You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth."

"You are not concerned with anyone's opinion."

"You do not regard a person's status."

Although the religious leaders may not have personally believed these things, they repeated what the crowds (who were listening) believed. They were describing Jesus' reputation. This is the Jesus of the Gospels, who stood strong and spoke strong. And of course the Pharisees failed to entrap him. His simple response to their trick question about the validity of paying taxes to Caesar "amazed" them: "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." The Pharisees wouldn't question him any further for now. Matthew writes that "leaving him, they went away" (22:22).

FROM THE PRINCIPAL

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Dear Parents/Guardians,

Our prayers go out to the victims of the recent earthquake in Mexico City and to the victims of the recent hurricanes. We have been praying for those folk here at our school. I have assured our students that in the event of an earthquake here they will be protected by our staff until families come and collect them. I need you to reassure them of this also. I hope that you have a reunification plan in place, especially if they are not at school. What if they are at a friend’s home, or at the mall, or walking or riding their bikes. These are the things that parents need to have a discussion about. Please do not be complacent and say it will not happen. That certainly is not being a responsible citizen, which is one of our SLEs.

Family School Masses

It is assumed that when we have Sunday Family Masses on the first Sunday of the month that our families will make every effort to attend with their children and come to worship together. It is also assumed that students from that particular class will participate with the preparation. Our first Sunday Family Mass will be on Sunday, October 1st at 9am.

Parish Festival

The Parish Festival will be occurring from Friday, October 6th to Sunday, October 8th. I wish to thank all those families who have been assisting with the festival. I need to reinforce that the hours that you have signed up for need to be met. If someone does not turn up then the team is let down. The festival is a great time to meet other parents and children outside school time. I hope that everyone will have an enjoyable time.

I would encourage everyone to take advantage of the meals being provided and this is a great time to bring family members together to support the parish and the school.

Class Bingo Nights

Last year we instituted the Class Bingo Nights to assist in gaining more people to attend the weekly Friday bingo. From this initiative the Bingo revenue increased, and the school was able to receive the $50,000 subsidy to offset tuition. Likewise we will be offering the same program of Class Bingo Nights throughout this year. I would encourage you to come and have fun with other parents from your child's class.

We will have the class schedule out shortly. I wish to thank my staff who are going beyond the call of duty is organizing this. Please support your homeroom teachers.

Afternoon Pick Up

A friendly reminder: when you come to pick up your child in the afternoon that you should not block the clinic driveway or enter their driveway. We, as a community, need to respect the clinic entrances so that patients and emergency vehicles can enter and exit their carpark.

Fire Prevention Workshop

On Monday, October 2nd the SSF FIre Department will be here to display their fire-ghting equipment and talk to the younger students about fire prevention. This is always such a wonderful learning experience for the children.

Coding

We are happy to be able to offer "Coding" as an afterschool program this year. Those junior high students who may be interested need to submit the forms to Mr. Conmy by tomorrow, September 22nd. Please click the link below for registration and information.

https://www.mvcodeclub.com/schedules/fall-2017-middle-school-5th-8th-school-year-2017-2018-redwood-city

Visit from Associate Superintendent

Last Thursday the Associate Superintendent visited the school for a couple of hours. She was very impressed by how our students were learning in the classrooms and to see the wonderful things happening around the school.

God Bless,

Vincent Riener

Principal