Message From St. John
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4th Sunday of Advent
Peace
This week’s Gospel tells us how the “birth of Jesus Christ came about.” More specifically, it tells us how an angel appeared to Joseph, explaining to him that Mary’s son would save the people from their sins. While Joseph might not have understood it at the time, we know that Jesus is the fulfillment of the great prophecy of Isaiah that the Messiah would come from the line of David and be born of a Virgin. In the readings this week, we first read that prophecy and then see its fulfillment in the Gospel.
While today’s reading focuses on Joseph, Mary is also present. It is because of her, and her willingness to do God’s will by accepting the responsibility of bearing his Son, that our sins can be forgiven. But we cannot overlook Joseph’s role either. As the Gospel tells us, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded—taking Mary to be his wife and accepting his responsibility of being the foster father of Jesus.
As we examine both Mary’s and Joseph’s responses to the Lord, we are shown two examples of the way that we, as Christians, are to be open to the Lord’s movement in our own lives.
Joseph, the faithful husband, accepted what he did not understand and trusted that the Lord was at work. Inspired by his example, we who often can’t understand what is happening to us can learn to trust more that the Lord is truly working in our lives.
With only a few days left before we celebrate the coming of the Lord at Christmas, let us take this time to ask both Mary and Joseph to help us truly “prepare the way of the Lord” in our hearts, our minds, and our souls.
My Food Days: The ordering window for My Food Days for January closes on December 23rd.
Second-Grade Christmas Pageants
- On Monday, December 19th the students in classes 2-1 and 2-2 will perform their Christmas Pageant in the Parish Center at 9:30 A.M.
- On Tuesday, December 20th the students in classes 2-3 and 2-4 will perform their Christmas Pageant in the Parish Center at 9:30 A.M.
Wednesday, December 21st is Ugly Sweater Day. The students may wear ugly sweaters to school with their gym uniforms.
Thursday, December 22nd is a wear red or green dress-up day. We will attend Mass as a school. Please join us at 9:45 A.M.
School will dismiss at 12 noon on Thursday, December 22nd, and Christmas Recess will begin! Aftercare will not be in effect.
Confessions are scheduled for this week for the following grades:
- Grade 7: Monday, 12/19
- Grade 5: Tuesday, 12/20
- Grade 8: Wednesday, 12/21
Grades 3, 4, and 6 attended Confession last week.
Hallway Banner: During this Christmas season, as you gather for Christmas celebrations with your children, please take a family picture and send it to school in an envelope marked “Hallway Banner” for this year’s banner. Let’s try to fill it up this year.
Goodie Bags for Christmas: Please do not send in goodie bags for your child’s class for Christmas without talking to your child’s teacher first. There are many children who have food allergies, some of the items look benign but are mistaken for food and ingested. Most of the students ride the bus home and there is no supervision on the bus to safeguard the students. Your child’s teacher will plan the Christmas needs for the students.
Drama Club
This year we will be performing Into the Woods Jr. Tryouts will take place after school on the following days:
- January 17th: Grades 5 and 6
- January 18th: Grades 7 and 8
Drama Club practices are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school from 3-5 P.M. and will begin mid-January through showtime, April 27, 28, and 29. Music practices may go beyond, until 6 P.M.
Girls should learn either one of the songs below for tryouts:
Boys should learn either one of the songs below for tryouts:
Middle School Sports
Anyone that still owes the $150.00 fee, please send it to the main office as soon as possible.
Girls Basketball:
Practice: Monday 12/19 & Tuesday 12/20 @ 3:00-4:30
Location: Stags Gym
Game: No Games this week
Boys Basketball:
Practice: Monday 12/19 & Tuesday 12/20 @ 4:30 - 6:00
Location: Stags Gym
Game: No Games this week
Girl’s Cheerleading:
Practice: Monday 12/19 @ 3:00 - 4:00
Location: Coach Farrel’s Room
Games: No Games this week
Bowling:
Practice: Begins after Christmas
Please email the coaching staff, Mrs. Brower (mbrower5546@stagnes-school.org) or Ms. Poore (kpoore5546@stagnes-school.org) with any questions.
Cell Phones, Mobile Devices, and Access to the Internet
Last Wednesday I sent an email to you regarding your children’s texting behavior in Group Texts. Thank you to the parents who responded to that email. As we are in the weekend and approaching Christmas vacation with extended downtime for the children, and the possibility that presents may be given to the children that include access to the Internet and the ability to text, download apps, and search the Internet, I want to reiterate to you the need to check your children's phones for group texts and other social media behavior that are not in compliance with the Catholic faith and the school's Technology Use Policy. These group texts and Social Media Apps become a breeding ground for rumors, bullying, teasing, and other anti-social behavior.
Please speak to your children about their online behavior, which includes group texts. It is also important to tell them that speculating among themselves about someone's involvement in an issue is not good. Your children need to know to stay out of other people's business and not speculate who is involved in an issue, that keeps the rumor mill going and feeds into it, which is just as wrong as being a person who spread the rumor. Below, please find a story about gossiping and rumors that was presented to the students in the upper grades last year. Please note, that this was NOT read to them, verbatim. The feather analogy was used.
A woman was gossiping with her friend about a man whom they hardly knew - I know none of you have ever done this. That night, she had a dream: a great hand appeared over her and pointed down on her. She was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt. The next day she went to confession. She got the old parish priest, Father O' Rourke, and she told him the whole thing. 'Is gossiping a sin?' she asked the old man. 'Was that God All Mighty's hand pointing down at me? Should I ask for your absolution? Father, have I done something wrong?' 'Yes,' Father O' Rourke answered her. 'Yes, you ignorant, badly-brought-up female. You have blamed false witness on your neighbor. You played fast and loose with his reputation, and you should be heartily ashamed.' So, the woman said she was sorry, and asked for forgiveness. 'Not so fast,' says O' Rourke. 'I want you to go home, take a pillow upon your roof, cut it open with a knife, and return here to me.' So, the woman went home: took a pillow off her bed, a knife from the drawer went up the fire escape to her roof, and stabbed the pillow. Then she went back to the old parish priest as instructed. 'Did you gut the pillow with a knife?' he says. 'Yes, Father.' 'And what were the results?' 'Feathers,' she said. 'Feathers?' he repeated. 'Feathers; everywhere, Father.' 'Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out onto the wind,' 'Well,' she said, 'it can't be done. I don't know where they went. The wind took them all over.' 'And that,' said Father O' Rourke, 'is gossip!
Another helpful tool that was given to the students is the Triple-Filter Test. The Greek philosopher, Socrates, is credited for developing it. I read it to the Middle School Grades last year, and some saw a video of it. It is a good one to share again with your children at every grade. Fr. da Luz, also referred to both of these during one of his homilies at a school Mass this year.
Below is the article that I used. It was written by Michael Thompson on August 30, 2021. The link to the article is also below for your convenience.
Better think before you speak with the “triple filter” test
“You’re not going to believe it! You’re not going to believe it!” shouted the young man as he ran across the courtyard. “I just heard something about one of your friends!”
“Whoa, slow down,” replied Socrates lifting his eyes from the scroll he was reading to face the young man. “Before you tell me the news, I’d like to give you a little test.”
“A test?” the young man fired back frustrated his eagerness had been met with resistance. “What kind of test? I don’t like tests!”
“Don’t worry,” Socrates smiled. “It’s not very hard. In fact, it’s quite simple. It’s called the ‘Triple-Filter Test’. And as its name implies, it consists of three questions that will hopefully help you better filter information.”
“The first filter is Truth,” Socrates continued. “Are you absolutely positive that what you’re going to tell me is true?”
“No, I’m not sure it’s true,” the young man responded sheepishly. “I just heard about it and I thought you should….”
“Moving on,” Socrates jumped in. “Since you’re not sure whether or not what you want to tell me about my friend is true or not, it’s time for the second filter which is goodness —Is the news you have about my friend something good?”
“No, it’s not good,” replied the young man. “It’s the opposite of good and that’s why….”
“Hmmm,” Socrates stopped the young man once again. “You want to tell me something bad about my friend that may or may not be true? Do I have that right?”
“I’m not doing very well at this test am I?” replied the now tomato-faced young man.
“That’s yet to be seen,” said Socrates. “There’s still one question left that can allow you to pass the test and it involves usefulness — Is the news you want to tell me about my friend useful?”
“No,” the young man replied completely deflated. “I’m afraid it’s not useful.”
“So what you want to tell me about my friend is neither good nor is it useful. And you aren’t even sure if it’s true or not. Let me ask you one final question — Why would I even want to hear it?”
I was talking to a friend about the obscene amount of information we have thrown at us on a daily basis. “So-and-so did this!” “So-and-so said that!” Online. Offline. We’re being hit from all angles.
Developing the know-how to filter the untrue, not good, and downright useless information may very well be the ultimate skill for navigating the future. But my friend brought up a tremendous point that we all have the ability to make the world a little quieter, calmer, and kinder and it starts with better thinking before we speak today.
- Ask yourself if what you’re about to say is true.
- Ask yourself if what you’re about to say is good.
- Ask yourself if what you’re about to say is useful.
Gossiping. Spreading sensationalism. Outing others or passing along negative news without doing the hard work of gathering facts or considering their circumstances is easy. So don’t do the easy thing.
This may sound overly basic and like most things I write, it’s something I’m trying to get better at. But if I’ve learned anything in my 43 trips around the sun it’s that the best advice usually is simple and the best way to make a positive change is by first recognizing it’s a problem that needs fixing.
Think about how you feel when your name is dragged through the mud or someone talks behind your back. Better yet, sit down and write about the last time it happened, and don’t skimp when it comes to the details and how many days it took to recover. You can even think about how much you would have appreciated someone calling you to actually talk about what happened so you had a chance to explain yourself without feeling threatened.
Some people are bullet-proof and have a slope on their shoulders where the words of others run quickly off their back. But most people aren’t built like drainpipes. And even though people love to say our actions speak louder words, what we say still holds tremendous power.
The bottom line is if someone followed you for 500 miles, I’d bet my house they’d find a reason to pull you over. But that doesn’t mean your infraction deserves a fine. And it sure as hell doesn’t mean it’s worthy of being turned into front-page news.
I do stupid things. You do stupid things. We all do stupid things. It’s one of the few things that ties all human beings together. But despite the news, most people don’t wake up thinking about how they can make the world a worse place.
The first step in building bridges will always be doing what you can to stop the divide.
Finally, Mr. John Halligan was here last December and shared his experience with the children in Grades 6—8, regarding his son Ryan. Below are his tips for parents regarding cell phones and other social media usage.
May PEACE dwell in your hearts this 4th week of Advent.
Mrs. Cecilia St. John, Principal
