Saints Speak - 9/14/2017 - Understanding and Happiness
Understanding is a gift of the Holy Spirit that opens our hearts so we can be more compassionate and loving toward others. This virtue has resonated with me this school year in a deep and very heartfelt way.
The start of a new school year is similar to the beginning of a new calendar year. Most of us make New Year’s resolutions in January where we hope to be better and effect change in our lives. Some very common goals include losing weight, eating healthier and exercising more, quitting smoking or drinking, getting a new job, saving more money to get out of debt, getting organized, and spending more time with family just to name a few.
Truly understanding the virtue of understanding is helping me towards goals that I hope to accomplish this 2017-2018 school year. This virtue is a beautiful gift that guides us towards putting love, kindness, gentleness and peace into action. Jesus is such a beautiful example of how we should aspire to act. Jesus took the time to understand others. He listened to those whom others despised, rejected or ignored. He asked people what they needed, seeking nothing in return, simply offering his love and compassion.
Just like Jesus, we are called to be understanding towards all people. Think about how you feel when you are surrounded by or encounter people who are positive and uplifting. It is infectious! We want to be around happy people who have a joyful way thinking, and who have a ‘glass is always more than half full’ attitude. I want to become that person. We should all desire to spread peace in our school, in our homes and in our communities. We need to take the time to understand how others think or feel, and seek how to respect each other’s differences. It is then that we can then accept, affirm and honor our students, children, colleagues, family members and all others for who they are.
Motivational speaker Lou Tice tells us that there is a direct relationship between self-esteem and the way that your world works. So, we have to realize that our happiness must start with each one of us. We must realize that we have great worth that is not dependent on others’ opinions of us. We need to accept and embrace the good in each one of us with grace and thanksgiving. It is then our responsibility to help others towards this end. Our life, and the lives of those around us, will then change in an amazing and quite intentional way. We will become stronger individuals; and an even stronger All Saints school community.
So, let’s all keep working on making All Saints the best, the happiest, and the most caring school it can be in keeping with our mission: The Mission of All Saints Catholic Academy is to develop future leaders who are formed by academic excellence, service to others, and respect for all in a Christ-centered community.
I hope that you have had an opportunity to visit and explore the new ASCA website. We are working with our webmaster on some hiccups in terms of our ability to put up linked documents, so we hope that you will be patient as we take care of these little speed bumps. We will continue putting up new content on our calendar and our news feed, so we hope that you will come back to take a look. We have just updated our teacher, staff and pastor bio’s. You can find the link on the home page. Athletics will be a featured tab on our new website with more information coming soon. For now, take a look at the latest news ASAA news below. I would also like to extend a welcome to our new Welcome Desk attendant, Diane Weltzien, who will be at Door 1 in the afternoon. Please give a warm All Saints welcome to Diane when you meet her.
News from the ASAA (All Saints Athletic Association)
Dig, set, spike…….
The girls 8A team brought home another victory this past weekend. Be sure to watch for the “Weekend Sports Report” to see where you can come out to watch our Saints play in the new uniforms!
Want to follow the team standings and future games? Schedules can be found at the Dupage Parochial League website http://www.dplvba.org.
Cross Country
Congratulations to the 5th Grade Girls on their 2nd place finish and the 5th Grade Boys on their 4th place finish at their very first ever meet! Keep pushing Saints!
Top 25 Ribbon Winners were:
- Payton Knox (7th)
- Kiley Senall (3rd)
- Zoe Girard (21st)
- Will Yacullo (25th)
- Brendan Fenlon (12th)
This week the saints will compete Marmion. Come out and encourage our runners to finish strong!
IMPORTANT NEWS!
Mark your calendars. . . Blue Out is scheduled for Friday, October 13! Come out and support our 8th graders as they close out their final season on HOME court.
Don’t forget your Blue Out tshirt for free admission and a free popcorn! We still have tshirts available. Order forms will be available on the ASCA website at http://www.ascacademy.org/sports or by contacting Keith Glab (kglab@ascacademy.org) or Erika Baka (jnebaka@gmail.com) Get yours today!
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@ASCA_Athletics) and Instagram (@allsaintsathletics)!
GO SAINTS!!
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