Tag: #students

I attended mass on Wednesday morning at the chapel with in the school building. It was the first morning service of the year. A 7:15am mass is held on Monday’s and Wednesday’s in chapel; the celebrant is the school’s chaplain. It was wonderful to see the small chapel packed with attendees that morning; teachers, students and parents. Fr. Michael, the school’s chaplain, is also an alum of the high school, so listening to his homilies (which I always love) inside the school from which I also graduated (although more than a decade before he did), is really edifying.

A line from today’s gospel read, “At daybreak, Jesus went out to a deserted place”. Father focused on this statement, talking about how Jesus, being the Son of God and the second person in the Trinity, even had to make time for God and would go off alone to pray. He reminded us of how important it is for us to make time for God.

So after mass, I sat quietly in the chapel (something I rarely do), and made time for God. I read the reflection for the day as I didn’t have time to read it before mass like I normally would. The reflection focused on the first reading from Colossians, with emphasis on the following line, “We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.” (Colossians 1:3). It then talks about all of the struggles and issues of the Colossians, but indicates how Paul doesn’t immediately point out those problems, short comings or misunderstanding. Paul begins his letter with praise and thanksgiving for all of those things that Christ’s followers are getting right. He praises them for their faith, their love, their hope and trust in the Lord. Paul focuses on being thankful and recognizing all of the blessings that God has bestowed on the Colossians. He doesn’t begin by pointing out all the things they are doing wrong or all of the ways they need to improve.

This really is beautiful, because I think a lot of times we focus on the negative, on all the things that are going wrong. We all tend to overlook the blessings in our lives and take those “everyday” good things in life for granted. But concentrating on gratitude changes all that, it changes our focus and our outlook. If we begin with gratitude, we start with hope. And as Andy Dufresne tells Red in Shawshank Redemption, “hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

I know I tend to get caught up in everything that is going wrong, and I miss the blessing. I forget about hope. I forget about all of the good things, particularly when facing a challenge. There are a lot of things that I take for granted. Like being able to attend morning mass twice a week with students, parents, faculty, staff and alumni at my alma mater. Although it has just begun and has only happened once, it is one thing I absolutely love about my job.

Let us remember to look for the blessings in the midst of the struggle and to thank God for all of the good things in our lives. In fact, let us take the advice of Blessed Solanus Casey and remember to “Thank God ahead of time.” So today, make time for God, find a quiet place to spend time with Him, and remember to thank Him ahead of time for all the blessing that he will bestow upon you, and recognize all of the blessings that you have already received. Please pray for me and I will continue to pray for you.