It's Not OK!

As we continue to "Accept Forgiveness" as part of our 3rd quarter mission, it is helpful to better define the idea of forgiveness. Unfortunately, as parents we probably encourage the wrong idea in our children at a young age. Consider the following:

Two five year old boys are playing with blocks. One child purposefully knocks down the tower the other child has been building for the last 20 minutes. Screams erupt from the builder like lava from volcano. You rush over and make the offender apologize to the victim, "I am sorry," he mumbles. "It's ok," the victim replies. The two boys resume building.

This scenario implies that granting forgiveness means being "OK" with the wrong done to you. I think this is why many people struggle to forgive others. They don't agree that the hurt done to them was OK--and they are right. Forgiveness is not recognizing that things are OK or giving your approval of what has happened; instead, forgiveness is accepting that what happened was wrong but you agree to move on with the understanding the hurt won't happen again. This heals the relationship damaged by the sinful action.

If we need an example of how this works, we should look no further than the confessional. During confession, we are not asking God to accept what we've done as OK; rather, we're acknowledging that our actions were wrong and our willingness to avoid sinning again. Consider again the above scenario, perhaps a better response from the builder should have been, "I accept your apology" or "I forgive you." 

These responses acknowledge the wrong without implying that it was OK. Granted, the difference in meaning by the subtle change in words is probably beyond most 5 year olds. However, it is never too early to teach the idea of real forgiveness and give children the tools to practice it. Although it is just a small step, hopefully it can lead them towards true forgiveness and peace.

Accept Forgiveness

This quarter, our mission at Christ the King Catholic School is to “Accept Forgiveness.” This mission has multiple meanings for our community. Primarily, it is a reminder that God is always there to hear our confession and grant us forgiveness for our sins, with our firm intention to sin no more. This is an important concept for our students to understand—that no matter what wrong they have committed God is willing to accept them back into His arms. It is a reminder for us as teachers and parents to show the same kind of love for even our most wayward children.

Last school year, Sr. Colleen Clair, a Salesian sister, came and spoke to our students. She told a powerful story of St. John Bosco illustrating the importance of confession and forgiveness. It has been documented that Don (Father) Bosco had many prophetic visions and dreams. One morning at Mass, he noticed that some of the boys were not paying attention, fidgeting in their seats, and even whispering to each other. As he looked more closely he noticed little monkeys whispering into the ears of these boys. As he approached the boys, the monkeys disappeared. After another week and much prayerful reflection about what he had seen, Don Bosco saw the same sight at the weekly mass. However, the number of inattentive boys—and the number of whispering monkeys--had doubled. Upon seeing this, he made the decision that all the boys should make an honest confession before next week’s mass. The boys did as Don Bosco asked, and at the next mass the monkeys were gone and the boys reverence for mass was restored.

Sr. Colleen’s story is a great reminder why it is important to “accept forgiveness.” Like the monkeys in the story, our sins can be a constant distraction, taking our focus away from God. However, through confession, God is willing to take these distractions away from us. In exchange, with a clear focus, we can rededicate our attention to God, who has spiritually taken the monkey off our back. Through the acceptance of His Love, no matter how far we have strayed, we can always return to Peace.

If you are interested in seeing more of Sr. Colleen’s work, she has a YouTube channel with many entertaining and educational videos. You can even see what some of the Salesian sisters who served at CKS are doing now: https://www.youtube.com/user/happynun.

Resolution Solution

For me, and I am guessing many Catholics, the new year reminds me of the beginning of Lent. Not for any religious reasons but trying to make a good resolution is almost as nerve wracking as figuring out what to do during Lent. Do I give up some vice or guilty pleasure (so long Walking Dead)? Do I resolve to make a lifestyle change (goodbye morning coffee)? Do I challenge myself to reach a new health goal (farewell 20 lbs)? 

Judging by the number of people I see at the gym in January and the drop off by March, I would guess many people are challenged to both make resolutions and keep them. Like a Lenten sacrifice, I think the key to keeping a resolution is to pick something realistic, something that will make you a better person, and someone to hold you accountable.

At CKS, as some of you have picked up from previous posts, our mission this school year is to be agents of Peace. Bringing peace to others starts with bringing peace to ourselves. We live in a busy connected world. It is difficult for many, me included, to break away from that world and take a few moments for myself and spend them with God in silence. I find that when I do, I soon find peace.

My resolution this year is to take at least one minute each day and sit in silence listening to what God has to say. Too often my conversations with him are one-sided—not because God is silent but because I never give him a chance to talk. I fill our time with what I have to say and wrap up quickly with an “Amen” hardly giving Him a chance to respond.

In 2015, I hope I can change that by giving time each day to both talk to God and listen to His response. Hopefully, it will bring me more peace. If I start to fall off from keeping this resolution, hopefully you will hold me accountable. 

Christmas Break

Like me, my blog is enjoying the Christmas Break. 

Remember that Christmas is a season not a day, and the happiness we feel on December 25th can last beyond that day. However, We have to choose Joy. 

Enjoy your families, and I look forward to posting again in 2015.

Joy

This past Sunday was Gaudete Sunday, which is a celebration of the Joy that is approaching with the coming of Jesus at Christmas. Our CKS students have had many opportunities to spread joy this holiday season—bringing in canned food for St. Vincent DePaul, purchasing toys for our toy drive, and adopting a Christmas “Angel” in our Parish.

Recently, Grace Casper, a CKS alumnus, and Sam Awad were recognized for the joy they have helped spread as Co-Presidents of the teen organization Teens for Haiti. This organization, completely run by teenagers has raised tens of thousands of dollars to give the people of Haiti a “hand up rather than a hand out.” To date the organization has raised money for a generator to power a clinic, a chicken farm project, and the expansion of vegetable farming program. More details can be viewed at their website http://www.teensforhaiti.com/.

The Tampa Bay/Hillsborough Human Rights Council honored Teens for Haiti with the Youth Leadership award at a ceremony Friday, December 12, 2014. There, alongside religious sisters, judges, and retired colonels, who were also honored for their contributions to the community, were two teenagers. This is an important reminder during this season of Advent that we are all called to spread Joy to others. I challenged our students this week to conclude this semester’s peace mission the same way we started it, with a smile. Each day, I asked them to find three people, smile at them, and wish them a “Merry Christmas.” Joy is contagious, and I hope our student do their best to spread it. 

Merry Christmas!

Immaculate Conception

Today, December 8, 2014, Catholics around the world celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. If you ask a Catholic what that means, you are likely to get a wide range of answers like, it celebrates Mary going to Heaven; it celebrates Mary saying “Yes” to God; or most likely, it celebrates Mary conceiving Jesus in her womb “magically.” Those answers would all be wrong. 

The Immaculate Conception celebrates Mary’s conception in her mother’s womb without original sin. This is a difficult concept to explain to students, especially the younger ones. We choose to focus on the fact that Mary, even as a baby was without sin. It is a reminder to us all that we are born with original sin and, more importantly, will continue to sin throughout our lives. Our God, however, in His mercy, provides an opportunity to confess our sins and repair our relationship with Him through the sacrament of Reconciliation.

All of our students will have the opportunity to receive Reconciliation tomorrow at school. I challenge all our CKS families to go to Reconciliation at least once this Advent season. Reconciliation times are listed in the church bulletin As we prepare our homes for Christmas, let us experience God’s mercy to prepare our hearts. 

Happy New Year?

"Happy New Year!" Fr. Len greeted the congregation at 12:30 Mass yesterday with this phrase. After several confused looks and several repeated expressions from Father, we realized he wasn't crazy! Yesterday, Sunday, November 30, marked the beginning of a new year for the Church calendar and the start of the season of Advent. This is a time of waiting and preparation for the coming of Christmas.

At morning assembly, I asked students how many of them decorated their homes this past weekend. Many told me their "Shelf Elf" had come to visit, some talked about decorating their Christmas trees, and others told me about dads putting lights on the house. We often take time to make these outward preparations during Advent for Christmas. Do we take the same kind of time to prepare ours hearts? I asked the students to reflect on what inward preparations they wanted to make for the coming of Christmas.

Saint John Bosco instilled in the boys under his care a devotion to Mary, Jesus' Mother, daily communion, and frequent confession. As a school, we will provide our students an opportunity for confession next week; each Wednesday we offer our students an opportunity for communion at mass; and at the beginning of each day of Advent at school we will say a Hail Mary. Through the Intercession of Mary, we will ask God for patience during Advent to prepare our hearts for the coming of his Son, Jesus.