“some young people may hate this stage of life, because they want to continue being children or indefinitely prolong their adolescence & put off having to make decisions. “Fear of the definitive thus generates a kind of paralysis in decision making. Yet youth cannot remain on hold. It is the age of choices & herein lies its fascination & its greatest responsibility. Young people make decisions in professional social & political fields, & in other more radical ways that determine the shape of their lives. They also make decisions about love, choosing a spouse, & starting a family. But opposed to these hopes & dreams which generate decisions, there is always the temptation to complain or give up. “we can leave that to those who worship the goddess of lament” she is a false goddess; she makes you take the wrong road. When everything seems to be standing still & stagnant, when our personal issues trouble us, & social problems do not meet with the right responses, it does no good to give up. Jesus is the way; welcome him into your “boat” & put out into the deep! He is the Lord! He changes the way we see life. Faith in Jesus leads to greater hope, to a certainty based not on our qualities & skills, but on the word of God, on the invitation that comes from him. Without making too many human calculations, & without worrying about things that challenge your security, put out into the deep. Go out of yourselves. (“Christus Vivit” by Pope Francis)
Last Wednesday the Community at Stanbrook Abbey held their Abbatial elections, & Dame Anna Brennan was elected Abbess. Please keep her & her Community in your prayers, & Mother Andrea as she steps down. We are blessed to have them as a powerhouse of prayer within our Parish.
Providentially, on the feast of St Benedict last Thursday week , we were able to send out to the parents & wider community the results of our recent Ofsted Inspection of 19th & 20th June 2019. The Inspector rated the School Good in all 5 categories with her key findings headed “this is a good school.” She rates the support for pupil’s personal development & welfare as outstanding. “The school’s warm & nurturing environment encourages pupils to be respectful of others & to become resilient, responsible learners. Pupils enjoy school & attendance is high. Behaviour is good & pupils feel safe. She praises the Head Teacher, the quality of teaching & notes the significant improvement in the quality of education since the previous inspection in March 2017. We are delighted with the Report & it’s affirmation of all the hard work & results achieved thus far by our young & still inexperienced staff who have made remarkable progress, under the leadership of Mrs Emma Barrs, & before that under Mrs Janet Spittal, & now under Mr Gerard Eddy. Happily, our Executive Head, Mr David Harrison, was able to be present, along with Mr Kevin Duffy, Diocesan Director of Schools, & they too were moved & impressed by the warmth of feedback from the Inspector. A summary sheet of the key findings is available at the back of Church. We are deeply grateful to the Staff, Governors & pupils for all they are evidently achieving in growing the life & faith of our School, & indeed those parents who have kept faith with us on our journey so far. I would ask each of you to shout this very good news within your homes & our locality so that, as was the case with the earliest believers, the ultimate accolade was that the enquirer & the hesitant would approach a believer, pull them on the sleeve & say “we want to come with you.” Currently we have 67 pupils & we are keen & eager to grow onwards & upwards. On Monday Mr Haile’s Class 4 teacher & I took our Yr 6 to Byland Abbey for a sandwich lunch & some wonderful reflective time as we considered the legacy they would leave behind, & their hopes & fears as they begin senior school in September. We finished off with hide & seek in the ruins, & it was truly a joy to be among them. We had our Leavers Mass on Wednesday in School, when I presented each of them with a prayer book from the Parish, & on Friday they fledged ; 10 to Ryedale & 1 to All Saints in York. Please keep them & everyone associated with St Benedict’s PS in your prayers as they begin their summer holidays. It has been a very good year for them & by relationship for us. With my love & prayers, Fr Bede.