Friday 20th March 2020

The school will remain open from this coming Monday for children whose parents are critical workers and also for pupils who are within our more vulnerable groups.  However, whenever possible parents are urged to keep their child/ren at home to reduce the risk of possible spread of Covid-19 to other pupils and staff at the school.  Parents will be requested to confirm their status as critical workers next week and to keep the school informed of any changes to the provison of the 'care' of their child/ren at the school.  Please check the 'Covid 19' tab on the home page of the school website to keep up-to-date with any Government guidance.  We will be thinking and praying for all members of our school community during this challenging time.  God bless and keep safe.

In this Sunday's Gospel we hear about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well.  Just as water quenches our thirst, prayer satisfies a deep need for us to commune with the living God.  Except it is God who first seeks us and it is God who first asks us for a drink.  Jesus' thirst arises from the depths of God's desire for us.  Whether we realise it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours.  God thirsts that we may thirst for him.  In the Scriptures water has a depper meaning as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the One who quenches our thirst and renews our faith.

A request has been made to exercise prudent pastoral judgement in respect of these guidelines. They are a necessary and proportional temporary response. Care of Priests - Those who are over 70 must at this time not to make themselves vulnerable to any risk. From Friday 20th March the Celebration of Mass will not be public in any setting. Priests will celebrate Mass but the Church will remain closed to the public. Our Church will be open between the hours of: 10-00AM – 4-00PM Monday - Friday for the opportunity for private prayer. Please remember to follow the guidelines of hygiene and social distancing. OTHER POINTS – MASS will be live streamed - the link can be found on our website www.olas.org.uk. First Holy Communion has been posponed. Marriage can only take place with immediate family. Anointing of the Sick - There will be no pastoral visits but phone support can be offered. Funerals – a Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated for the deceased once this crisis is over.

Pupils at St. Joseph's are growing to be: faithf-filled in their beliefs and hopeful for the future.

Catholics in China: We pray that the Church in China may persevere in its faithfulness to the Gospel and grow in unity.