The Patriot Report – October 20, 2023

“Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” – Matthew 22.21

In order to understand this quote, we need to appreciate the context of Jesus’ teaching. The Roman Empire was one, in a long history of empires, that had exercised control over the Jewish people. From the time of the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish people had seen different foreign rulers come and impose rules and taxations upon them. Needless to say, the Jewish people were oppressed and despised the taxation system imposed upon them. So the Pharisees come to Jesus trying to trap him by asking about the lawfulness of paying taxes. If Jesus says to pay your taxes then he is supporting a foreign empire and clearly cannot be God’s anointed one. At the same time if he says to not pay your taxes, then they can report him to Rome and he will be punished and perhaps executed for going against the Emperor. 

Jesus sees through the trap and in one simple line makes clear to everyone that there are things that are man made and things that are from God alone. And so we need to reflect what we must give to God. 

Jesus does teach his followers what they are to give to God. Their time, their hearts, their strength, their thoughts, and ultimately their life. When we give our time to God in prayer and worship, when we direct our lives towards God, then we in essence are giving to God the things that are his. Many today, tend to think that their life is their own but the Christian worldview is that all of life belongs to God and if it belongs to God we need to give it to God.

While the deadline to order has passed, we are working with Cambridge to have these items as part of our regular inventory. We hope to have something updated for January. 

We are implementing the Remind Text Messaging system at our school. In order for the school to communicate via text messages in case of emergencies, parents need to individually enroll. This service is free of charge to St. Jude Families. We presently have 75 families signed up. We need this to be all of our families as this will be our primary communication tool for Snow Days, Emergency Closures, and Lockdowns. 

There are a couple of ways to sign up:

Use your phone and text @8hdh4ga to the number (514) 613-2161

Follow this link: https://www.remind.com/join/8hdh4ga

We will have two fun assemblies this coming week at St. Jude School. As always, parents are welcome to join us. 

Thursday, October 26, 11:20am — The Living Rosary: Grades Four and Six lead the student body in praying the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary with a special twist–each student takes on the roll of a rosary bead, making the rosary truly come alive. 

Friday, October 27, 11:20am — Feast of St. Jude Assembly: Our Grade Sevens lead the school in celebrating our patron saint, St. Jude, in honor of his feast day. 

We are excited to welcome kindergarten sibling registration for children born in 2019, turning 5 in 2024. These children will begin kindergarten in September 2024.  Please pre-register by completing this form.  

We are so proud of our Grade 6 girl’s volleyball team who secured second place at the Volleyball Tournament this week. The girls showed team spirit and great sportsmanship. Thank you to Coach Velasquez and Coach Wong for pushing our girls to do their best. Go Patriots! 

With Halloween fast approaching, St. Jude School will allow students to dress in costumes on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.

Please ensure that your child’s costume is appropriate and suitable for our Catholic school community. Those who dress as Saints or Biblical Characters will receive special prizes!

Students are not permitted to wear the following:
● Any costume that covers the face. Staff members must be able to identify
students.
● Costumes that are provocative, revealing, sexual in nature, or employ questionable props, including fake weapons.
● Costumes that depict violence, alcohol, or drugs.
● Costumes that could be offensive or perpetuate a stereotype of someone’s culture, gender, heritage, age, sexual orientation or religion.
● Costumes that mimic or imitate another person or group of people in our community.

Students who choose to not be in costume are to be in their school uniform.

Reminder to submit absentee notes for when your child is sick or away from school. This can be done online through our school website: https://stjude.ca/absentee-note/

School photo retakes are Nov 3, 2023.

St. Jude Parish Mass Times

Monday – Saturday: 9 am morning Masses
Novena Mass on Wednesdays: 7:30 pm.
Saturday anticipated Mass: 5 pm
Sunday Mass: 9 am, 11 am, 5 pm