Living Lasallian Blog

I love November! I can’t think of a better way to begin this month than to take the time to remember all the saints whose spirits continue to live as examples for us, as well as all the people in our lives who have acted and continue to act as saints today.

As we move through this month, the changing colors of the leaves excite us and remind us that change is literally in the air. November is always an enjoyable time for me because the changes that take place in nature awaken my anxious anticipation for what comes at the end of the month—Thanksgiving.

All too often, busy days fill my mind and my time, so during this month, as I await Thanksgiving Day, I become more aware of the people and things I am thankful for in my life. I hope that as the month comes to a close, you, too, are able to take some time to give thanks—thanks to God for all He has bestowed on our lives, and thanks to all the people in our lives who brighten our days. I know I am going to take advantage of this month for what it reminds me to be: thankful. And I hope you, too, find your own joys of the season.

In closing, allow me to share with you this prayer from “Prayers for God’s People,” edited by Thomas P. Roberts:

O God of all Creation, You have cared for the earth, and have filled it with your riches. Abundance flows in your steppes, through the pastures and wilderness. You provide for our land, softening it with showers, bathing it in light, and blessing it with growth.

The hills sing with joy; the meadows are covered with flocks; the fields deck themselves with wheat; and together they glorify your name!

On this occasion of our Thanksgiving, we as a nation take rest from our labors to consider your many blessings. We thank you for our freedoms, and for the opportunity to contribute our skills, our attributes, and our values toward the good of society.

We thank you for the mixture of or cultures, blending us into one people under God. Help us to be a light unto other nations and to further the cause of freedom and justice all over the world.

We remember those who are less fortunate than we. We lift up in prayer the victims of poverty and racism, and all those who suffer from forms of political and economic oppression. Let the word that goes forth from our mouths speak of your peace, and let us proclaim our hope in Christ as Savior of all humankind.

We pray that you will bless all those who gather here, as we have come to experience your presence among us. Give us your guidance, O God, and empower us for your work. For we claim nothing for ourselves, but return all honor and glory unto you, and offer our thanks and praise. Amen.

Peace and Blessings! Enjoy your holiday!

When speaking about what Lent means to me, I share with my students how much I love the Lenten season. So many times in our busy lives we take so much for granted or we give thanks and then move on quickly, but during Lent we are asked to slow down, to change our “normal” ways, and to prepare ourselves for the resurrection of the Lord. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are ways that help Christians unite with Christ during the Lenten season.

One of the most important parts of Lent is making time for prayer. Lent is a season of need, of emptiness, of limitation. Lenten prayer rises out of our weakness and when we realize our emptiness and recognize our limitations then Lenten prayer can begin. 

It is through prayer that we are able to empty ourselves and listen to God speak to us. Prayer helps remove the obstacles that hinder our path so that we can follow His way more clearly. De La Salle tells us in his meditations, “Prayer, says Saint John Chrysostom, is a divine medicine that drives out of our hearts all the malice it finds there and fills them with all justice. This is why, if we wish to deliver ourselves from sin completely, we cannot do anything better than to devote ourselves to prayer.”  He goes on to say, “We are so subject to temptation that, as Job says, our life is a constant temptation. Prayer puts us in a position to resist [the temptations].” 

Prayer is a habit that we should reserve time for each day—the best time we can afford. Whenever we pray, we begin by tracing the sign of the cross upon our bodies as a sign of defeat and a sign of victory. The cross marks our lives as we struggle in our weakness and as we yearn for the victory of charity and justice.

A common topic of conversation during Lent is sometimes centered on what people are “giving up” for Lent. We are constantly reminded that it does not matter what we “give up” if this action does not bring us closer to God.  Fasting entails giving things up so that the discipline of lent may purify our minds. De La Salle reminds us that “external fasting is of little value; it must also humble your spirit…fast with your eyes, your tongue, and your heart.” When we fast by turning away from the things that distract us, or when we keep silent to listen to God, we are purifying ourselves so that as the psalmists writes, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me . . . Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a generous spirit.”

Some people might have a hard time thinking what would be best to give up. Maybe this small reflection from the EWTN website might offer some reflection. 

WHAT TO GIVE UP . . .
Give up complaining. . . . . . . .focus on gratitude.
Give up pessimism. . . . . . . . . become an optimist.
Give up harsh judgments . . .think kindly thoughts.
Give up worry. . . . . . . . . . . . . trust Divine Providence.
Give up discouragement. . . . .be full of hope.
Give up bitterness. . . . . . . . . . turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred. . . . . . . . . . . . . return good for evil.
Give up negativism . . . . . . . . .be positive.
Give up anger. . . . . . . . . . . . . .be more patient.
Give up pettiness. . . . . . . . . . .become mature.
Give up gloom. . . . . . . . . . . . . .enjoy the beauty that is all around you.
Give up jealousy. . . . . . . . . . . .pray for trust.
Give up gossiping. . . . . . . . . . .control your tongue.
Give up sin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . turn to virtue.
Give up giving up. . . . . . . . . . . hang in there!

Another part of lent is almsgiving, or giving of yourself. All year long we tolerate the intolerable: people left hungry, without visitors, without homes.  Yet baptism in Christ demands our intolerance of evil.  As we go through this Lenten season, we are challenged to renew our efforts to reach out to others in need.  We are invited to give our time, our money and our imaginative efforts to feed the hungry, visit the lonely, and restore dignity and justice to lives warped by human evil. 

Have you ever seen the movie Pay It Forward? In that movie one boy shows how it is possible to reach out and help others in need. What can you do this Lenten season to reach out and help others? 

Every year at St. Michael’s we recall the needs of our brothers and sisters in Africa. All of the Lasallian schools in the US-Toronto Region are paired with Lasallian schools in English-speaking Africa in a program called Twinning. We are twinned with St. Joseph’s school in Eritrea, Africa. Over the past fifteen years, many young Africans have been given the opportunity to pursue their hopes and dreams by receiving a quality education partly funded by generous Lasallians from St. Michael’s High School. Each year, the goal is to send $5,000 to help support our brothers and sisters at St. Joseph’s. Br. Awate, the headmaster at St. Joseph’s, shares with us the reality of the situation in his school: “In our school we have many orphans, poor kids, some disabled and alike. We charge the students only 16 USD per year. The monthly expenses of the school are 8,000 USD. So, the students can cover only three months of the whole academic year's expenses. The rest is paid from the Twining program and other small contributions which come at times from here and there. Our country is never a safe place because of the border tension with Ethiopia, but our school tries to give hope for the many desperate young people of the country.” 

We have raised $500 thus far and ask for you to help our efforts to reach our goal of $5,000. The student campus ministers go around to the classes every Wednesday and Friday (B Days) to collect donations; you may also drop off contributions in the front office through the end of April. I echo the words of headmaster Br. Awate: “Thank you for working hard to make sure that our mission for the service of the less fortunate of the continent continues smoothly. Indeed the Twining program has guaranteed the continuity of our mission here.” 

The following letter was sent to parents yesterday. To download and print the sign-up form, click here.

Dear Parents/Guardians of Juniors and Seniors,

In today’s world, with so many societal pressures, it is often difficult to keep God’s presence front and center in our lives.  At St. Michael’s, we hope to offer a KAIROS retreat so that students may have the opportunity to strengthen their personal relationship with God. One of the unique characteristics of a KAIROS retreat is that it is mainly student-led. Sixteen students and seven faculty members, including myself, have had the opportunity to attend a KAIROS retreat at Mullen High School, a Lasallian school located in Denver, CO, and we all believe that the KAIROS retreat program will greatly benefit our students. We are working hard to bring this program to St. Michael’s High School starting this year, but in order to make this happen, we need at least 30 junior or senior boys and 30 girls (30 for each retreat) who are willing to take advantage of this amazing experience. Based on student-interest alone, there is the potential for four retreats total (two for boys and two for girls). 

The Kairos retreat team is extending an invitation to all juniors and seniors to participate in St. Michael’s KAIROS retreat. The following is an excerpt from Mullen’s invitation letter from Mr. Joseph Schuhardt, the Pastoral Director at Mullen High School, which will further explain the KAIROS retreat: 

KAIROS means “the Lord's time.” Your son/daughter is at a very special point in his/her life. This retreat will be a wonderful opportunity for your son/daughter to grow in self-awareness, as well as deepen her relationships with God, with you, his/her family, and with his/her fellow students. KAIROS is a wonderful and powerful program, and I greatly appreciate your cooperation and support in allowing your son/daughter to participate in KAIROS. 

I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Kairos Program. Kairos is a retreat program that was started in the 1970’s by the Jesuits. Since its conception, the Kairos program has evolved and spread to countless schools throughout the world. 

What makes Kairos such a popular and powerful experience? Kairos takes the participant and helps him/her examine the most fundamental values of adolescent relationships: his/her place in relation to his/her parents, his/her friends, himself/herself and God. Kairos will challenge your son/daughter to see God in all these and to put his/her faith into action. Above all, Kairos challenges your son/daughter to embrace his/her role as a “faith-filled leader.” 

The actual cost of the retreat is $350/participant, but the KAIROS retreat team is working hard to defer that cost, so we are asking each participant to pay $225 for the 3 ½ day retreat. I am asking you to discuss this opportunity with your son/daughter and if the Lord leads you, then to indicate below your interest in helping to make the KAIROS experience a reality at St. Michael’s. Please return the bottom of this letter to the front office by Wednesday, October 6, 2010.

I will distribute registration forms for the first boys’ retreat by the end of this week and other registration forms closer to the retreat date. We don’t want cost to prohibit any student from attending, so please contact me so we can make some kind of arrangement. If you have any questions, call me at (505) 983-7353 ext. 142 or my cell at 660-3104.  Thank you for considering this invitation. 

Sincerely,Diahann Larson, Director of Lasallian Ministry and the Kairos Retreat team