The St. Rita Knights of Columbus annual Memorial Day car wash will be held on Friday, May 25th from 6-8pm and Saturday, May 26th from 8am-1pm at the St. Rita Day Care Center at 30 Gillies Rd across from St. Rita School. The cost is $5 per car (which includes a free flag) or free for veterans and active military and their families. Hot dogs and refreshments will be available.

All proceeds will be donated to Fisher House in West Haven.

Dear Parents,

God’s peace!

As the year begins to wind down (that is in number of days…not in what needs to be accomplished by all!) I find myself reflecting on what our students have accomplished.  There is much for which to be proud.  Our students do well academically as shown by their ITBS scores as well as their daily achievement.  In the arts their talents are manifested through their involvement in our Middle School musical, our school band, and their dedication to other creative arts.  Our sports teams are well prepared and do well both in terms of talent as well as in learning skills and sportsmanship.  Our students are expected to be polite and respectful and they excel in courtesy as well as in leadership.  Their faith life is rich and they share readily all that God has done for them. All this “good news” is something for which to be proud…and grateful.

In pondering all these gifts that are daily on display here at St. Rita School, I realize that none of these qualities come easily…  There is, no doubt, a good deal of frustration that shows itself throughout the elementary years (and beyond)!  Frustration often gets a bad rap.  Often times we fall into the temptation of “blaming” or “giving up” or “giving in” to frustration.  Frustration can sometimes be a tool to get us going… as well as getting us learning.  When a students says, “Forget it… I’m not doing it…I’m frustrated” it’s best to encourage rather than to give a quick answer or simply to show them how to complete the task.  There is always an entry point to any problem… we can brainstorm… and we can discern where to begin…  If we are given the answer or the reason all the time… we’ll expect that those answers or ways will always be there.  Frustration needs to be worked through…and the tools we need to work through those frustrations are perhaps the most important skills we can acquire.

I would imagine that Jesus worked through a good bit of frustration… He shared with his disciples over and over the life lessons that needed to be learned and lived… I’m sure the disciples initially proclaimed “we get it”… only to forget the lessons as time passed on.  The disciples themselves must have been frustrated as well.  Jesus was imparting to them truths that were counter to anything they had heard… “Love your enemy?” “Do good to those who hate you?”  “Turn the other cheek?”  These lessons were difficult to hear and, no doubt, difficult to learn.  Frustrations arose frequently… but the disciples began to learn what was essential because despite their frustration…and most likely because of it… they learned perseverance…and the lessons that were necessary to living a full and vibrant life.  They took first steps… and when they failed… Jesus was there to encourage… and to lead them to the next step along the way.

As our children become frustrated with what is “new” (and we at times become frustrated as well!) let us look to life-lessons in need of mastery rather than simply getting them through today or a single hurdle.

Thanks for your support through frustrations and challenges…   Our students always impress me with their approach to learning… I have MUCH to learn from them!

A blessed week!

In prayer,
Sr.Maureen

We will also be having a meeting for the Parish Nurse Program on Sunday, May 20^th at 10:30 A.M. in the Parish Meeting Room. All parishioners are welcome to attend.

Dear Parents,
God’s peace!

I suppose I’ll be saying, “This time last week at this time I was… reveling in the beauty of the Dingle Peninsula…celebrating my niece’s wedding in Adare, marveling at the vastness of the Cliffs of Moher, enjoying a Pub in Doolin or Dublin, or walking the scenic streets of Dublin.  All of these experiences were life-giving and I tried my best to soak in the beauty and the culture of the Irish people.  Of all these experiences the one that I most treasure is spending time with family.  It was wonderful to connect with my siblings and their families from St. Louis as well as my Irish family who live in Dublin and New Ross in Wexford.  What an incredible celebration we had this past week!!!

It was wonderful to be among family celebrating the Sacrament of Matrimony with my niece.  The setting was glorious, but the family and friends celebrating with her… even more glorious.  At the end of the week I traveled to our “family farm” in New Ross where my sister, nephews and I enjoyed even more time with our Irish cousins.  We were treated to a wonderful dinner…a tour of the farm… tea…and a quick tour which included a visit to my great-grandfather’s grave.

I think this trip highlighted for me more than anything…the importance of family.  Simply “being with” is ever-more important than doing this or that.  When you are with those you love… just being with them is enough.  The green hills…the blue sea…the wonderful weather (believe it or not)…the Irish music…the pubs…the historical places…as glorious as all this was… the true gift…the true grace was being with…family and friends.

I remain ever-grateful for this gift and I will never forget the importance of family.  I have found that when times get tough…or when you need someone with whom to celebrate… family are the first to be there for you.

It’s good to be back… for in many ways, SRS is home too… so forgive me if I share the grace of this past week (over and over again)…

May you know the gift of family… may you savor your time together…and may you celebrate family every day!

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

Dear Parents,

God’s peace!

I pray that your spring break was blessed with some time to enjoy your families!

These past days I have been thinking about our reason for being here.  Quite an ambitious thought with which to wrestle… but one that deserves a good bit of reflection.   Henri Nouwen, a contemporary spiritual writer once wrote,

“When we live our lives as missions, we become aware that there is a home from where we are sent and to where we have to return.  We start thinking about ourselves as people who are in a faraway country to bring a message or work on a project, but only for a certain amount of time.  When the message has been delivered and the project is finished, we want to return home to give an account of our mission and to rest from our labors.

 

One of the most important spiritual disciplines is to develop the knowledge that the years of our lives are years ‘on a mission.”

If we live the reality that we are, indeed, on a mission (we are not talking Tom Cruise and something impossible!) then we approach life a bit differently.  Although we live in this moment…and only have this moment in which to live… all lived moments are guided by the reason for being here.  We were sent by God to do something quite unique.  Although it matters WHAT we do…the greater importance focuses on HOW we do it.

I always find when I have a project at hand I assess how it will be accomplished…Who I will need to consult to get a greater sense of what needs to be done…Whose help I need to engage to help me complete this task.  I also need to set benchmarks for achieving the goals that have been laid out for me.  These steps can also be applied to the living of life as well.  In my life who do I consult to gain wisdom?  Who do I go to when I need someone to help me to stay focused on what is most important in life?  What goals have I set for myself and how am I working towards them?

If I want to be a good parent, for example (and incredible mission in life!)… who do I admire as a parent?  Whose wisdom do I seek in helping me to accomplish this mission?  This is not a matter of seeking out those who will agree with me…or who may well set themselves in competition with me… but rather seeking out those who are wise, prayerful and reflective.   What benchmarks have I set for myself?  Do I expect my child to grow in becoming more independent…more capable of responding to challenges?…more respectful towards others?  If these are my expectations, then what am I doing now to engender this growth?  How am I preparing my child(ren) to become what I envision?  How will my mission as parent reach fruition?

Christ’s mission to bring us the “good news” didn’t begin with the resurrection and the assurance of everlasting life… it began in being born in human guise…understanding a nature that was foreign to him… and it continued as he walked with and lived among those who would support him in this mission.  Christ mission included a vital relationship with his father that would guide his decisions and give him strength when things grew difficult.

Perhaps this week we can reflect on our “mission.”  What is it that we are about?  Do our actions manifest our priorities in the mission we have been given?

John Henry Cardinal Neuman seems to sum it all up in this prayer…

God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments. Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.

A blessed week!

In prayer,

Sr. Maureen

PS  I will be in Ireland from April 27-May 6.  I am blessed to attend my niece’s wedding and will meet family there.  I shall carry each of you with me in prayer as I visit “the old sod.”  Unfortunately, the timing of this celebration means that I will not be present for First Communion… one of my favorite celebrations!  Each child receiving this most important sacrament for the first time will be tucked in my heart and prayer in a special way that day.

Please feel free to contact Sr. Barbara in my absence. 

I have attempted to anticipate next week’s News and Notes in this one.  If there is additional information that is time sensitive… then we will send reminders out next Tuesday.  Thanks!  I would appreciate prayer for a safe journey!

Dear Parents,
God’s peace!

These past Triduum days held some wonderful moments of reflection.  These holy days were packed with so many emotions and experiences, and the liturgy of each day sought to capture those emotions and experiences in ritual, word, song and sacrament. We gather around a common table to share a common meal with common people… and there…in our midst…Christ is present.  On Holy Thursday we recall that night when Christ gathered with his apostles to celebrate Eucharist for the first time.  There…gathered around that common table were common people too… people who had walked with Jesus for the past three years of his life… some understood him more than others…while others remained doubtful and one even betrayed him.  I am always moved by the procession at the end of the Holy Thursday liturgy… we leave the table to follow Christ… and we simply wait with him in anticipation of his death.

On Good Friday those same people gather in a holy abandon… for the one with whom we had rejoiced the night before is lost to us… and the liturgy echoes that sense of loss… the music is somber and the processions are solemn.   In the liturgy of Good Friday we are invited to venerate the cross… to walk in quiet procession to reverence a symbol of torture that would soon become a symbol of new life and ultimately our salvation.  Our God died on a tree emptied of its life… and yet… it is redeemed by the body who would hang in sacrifice on it.  One by one… the poor…the homeless…the learned…the young… the old…the handicapped…the well-to-do, men and women from so many backgrounds and ethnicities… all were drawn in gratitude to the cross…We left that day in silence…

The vigil of Easter began in darkness… people gathered in the same space in anticipation of light and song and sacrament… There was a murmur of expectancy… all awaited the light that we might be freed from the darkness.  The vigil began with the proclamation of our faith-filled history, and we renewed our promise to continue that history by our renewal of baptism.  Music mingled with incense as we gathered once more around that common table…our hearts now filled with alleluias…and deep, deep gratitude for life!

There is a line proclaimed in the Exultet, the Easter Proclamation, that begins the Easter vigil… I never tire of hearing that line…and I wait each Easter to hear it proclaimed… “O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!  O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!”   Christ had to take on death… and rise… so we could know life!  Perhaps we can find ourselves in this movement from death to life.  If we do not know sorrow, we cannot know joy… if we have not known darkness, we do not recognize the light… If we have not walked through death, we cannot experience resurrection.  How like life… for “in the midst” of confusion…darkness…sorrow…despair… we long to be relieved of these burdens… So often we are called to wait… to live-through… and then… often as we do not expect… the light comes… the comfort needed is present… joy becomes real…and we are one with the mystery of Easter!

These fifty days of Easter let us celebrate the journey both we and our Lord have walked…

A very blessed Easter season!

In prayer,
Sr. Maureen

]]> http://www.stritahamden.com/2012/04/st-rita-school-golf-tournament/feed/ 0 http://www.stritahamden.com/2012/04/news-notes-april-3-2012/ http://www.stritahamden.com/2012/04/news-notes-april-3-2012/#comments Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:43:31 +0000 admin http://www.stritahamden.com/?p=2449 April 3, 2012

Dear Parents,

God’s peace!

Recently I read a story that caught my attention.  The story centered on a jewel thief who spent his energy stealing only the most precious of stones.  He would stand outside the most exclusive jewelry stores until a rich client entered and purchased the rarest of jewels.  After the purchase was made the owner would walk from the jewelry store and was immediately followed by the jewel thief.  The thief was an expert at remaining unseen as he quietly and carefully planned his crime.  He was a master pick pocket.  He would slide his hand in and out of any pocket without being seen or felt.

The owner of the most precious of jewels was now meandering in and out of streets on his way to the train which would take him home.  Both men purchased tickets and slowly found their way to their seats.  The thief sat next to the man who purchased the prized gem and as the train wound its way around mountains and through steep valleys the thief’s hand was in and out of every pocket of the jewel owner’s coat and pants… nothing.

As the train arrived at its destination the gemstone owner walked down the steps of the train to the wide planks of the platform.  He turned slightly and faced the jewel thief.  The thief in turn met the eyes of the stone’s owner and out of frustration shouted… “Where did you put the precious stone?”  “How could you have eluded my expert gaze?”  The owner smiled and responded… “I put it in a place that you would never suspect… a place that you would never look.”  With that the owner reached into the pocket of the thief and removed the priceless gemstone.  He smiled and walked down the platform holding tightly to his precious possession.

How much like the thief are we!!!  We think of ways to steal what is most precious…and it has been slipped into the pockets of our hearts virtually unnoticed.  We like the thief miss the incredible gift that is ours!  This Easter we rejoice that God has given us eternal life…

The difference between the owner of the precious gemstone and our God is that our God will not take back what He has won for us.  Easter is the greatest of all feasts!  Had God become man and not died and rose for us… we would have been missing what is most important… becoming one with God as he rises from the dead to live forever with His Father.  This promise resides in the heart of each of us… it was slipped into our human pockets at our Baptism and we must live in recognition of that incredible gift!

May your Holy Week be filled with grace and blessing!  A blessed Easter!
In prayer,
Sr. Maureen