Last week, ninth graders participated in a unique physical education unit that linked our Catholic identity and mission to the classroom by teaching students about the world around them, the importance of giving back, and the purpose of the Guatemala Mission trip.
This is my first year at Benilde-St. Margaret’s, and what a year it has been. Being a new teacher in any setting can be a bit challenging, but it didn’t take long to understand why the reviews of BSM are so positive.
My family went to Mass on Palm Sunday at the Parish my parents belong to and our celebrant was Archbishop Hebda. After the reading of the Passion - during which my first grader sounded out the words in the parts of the people, and to which she enjoyed shouting along with the people gathered “We want Barabbas!” - the Archbishop talked a bit about the “crowd mentality.” How easy it can be for us to shout, along with others, “Crucify Him!
In the spirit of the Lenten season, I recently began to reflect on the ways our school experiences Lent and prepares for the joy of Easter.
I attended the World Congress on Lasallian Education last week in Mexico City. It was an amazing experience and one I won’t soon forget. The purpose of the Congress was to discuss, analyze and share perspectives on the future of Lasallian education on a global level. There were 600 participants from around the world, representing 41 different countries.
A few weeks ago, every major league baseball team returned to Florida or Arizona for spring training. They will spend eight weeks or so getting into physical shape and working on the fundamentals getting themselves ready for opening day. They will work on bunting, hitting the cutoff man, covering first base as a pitcher and being able to quickly turn a double play.
“May the wisdom of God help us to know how to welcome and accept those who think and act differently from us.”
-Pope Francis
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” John 1: 1-5
The opening of John’s Gospel, read at Mass on Christmas Day, calls us to realize that although we celebrate this moment in time of Jesus’ birth, the Cosmic Christ was, is, and will always be with God.
Best Christmas, worst Christmas, all at once. It was December 25, 2009. Our two daughters, age 19 and 21 were home from college for Christmas, and we were enjoying our long-standing family tradition of opening presents that were left by Santa Claus. My husband’s father, Norman Skinner was 85 and had been battling cancer for a while, fighting hard but slowly losing ground each day.
