Many Blessings to all of you!
Last week we celebrated the Presentation of the Lord, which is forty days since we celebrated the Nativity. As we continue through ordinary time, we continue to celebrate the Joy of our Lord Jesus Christ. The first reading of this week, from Isaiah, teaches us to show compassion towards others in need. When we share bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, and clothe the naked, God’s light will fill the darkness and in trusting the Lord, we will have our own prayers answered, if we call to Him.
St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians tells us about the importance of trusting the power of God and not resting our faith on human wisdom. Paul’s words constantly remind us of that key idea of trusting in the Lord and all of his Glory. Finally, in Matthew’s Gospel we are reminded when Jesus tells the disciples that their light must shine before others, that our good deeds should be seen, so others may join us in glorifying our Heavenly Father.
This entire Sunday’s writings can only remind me of how much I have to trust and glorify the Lord in all that I do. As a sinner, I fail at this often; but as a culture, we also fail at this. Last week, we celebrated Super Bowl Sunday, which marks the end of the football season. Many look forward to watching all of the commercials. Unfortunately, Super Bowl Sunday also includes the Halftime Show, which this year did not bring great joy to me.
As I sat at my parents’ house with my wife and daughter, I was so saddened that girls have “role models” who choose to dress in less-than modest attire. This type of culture is conflicting with St. Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Theology of the Body teaches us how our visible bodies can express the truth about our invisible souls. The Pontiff goes on to say that “our bodies teach us that we have been created for loving relationships with God and others.”
This relates even to our everyday school happenings. There are times when we have to remind our students about the appropriate length for their skirts and making sure pants are not too tight. Although many feel that we are worried about our dress code too much, we have a responsibility as a Catholic School to promote modesty as well as to learn from what St. Pope John Paul II taught us in these writings. We have a responsibility to our daughters and the girls of our school to promote modesty and to encourage them not to fall into the “current culture” of our society. This protects our young men as well. We work hard to have a (not always popular) counter-cultural approach, to help our staff and students understand the importance of respecting one’s body and being a part of a culture of respect all around.
We are so happy to have your children and grandchildren in our school. Let us continue to always find ways to glorify and trust the Lord, while instilling Catholic values and teachings into our everyday endeavors.
May the Lord bless you and your family!! Mary, Queen of Angels, Pray for US!
Dennis G. Wiegmann
Principal
