Fromthe Principal's Desk 2.24

Dear Friends,

Tomorrow is the start of Lent, as we are all aware of.  This of course is a great time to teach, and to learn, more about our faith and how to live it out in our homes.  As parents and educators we have a great responsibility and opportunity to spread the good news, we are also called upon to be witnesses to this.  What happens if we are not such great witnesses?   Perhaps your own kids and their antics have been an occasion of sin; perhaps a bad habit has reared its ugly head.  When living with children life tends to be an open book.

One of the great gifts of our faith is the sacrament of confession, and forgiveness.  If we have sinned (Christ says the just man sins seven times a day) we should avail ourselves of confession, to humbly admit our faults, and ask for forgiveness.  If we have been a poor example in front of our children, we should humbly ask their pardon.  This may seem crazy and reckless but if done properly it is not.   When I first started teaching I learned that if I made a mistake, be it losing my temper, forgetting a student’s name, or what have you,  the easiest and surest way to set things right, was to apologize, admit my fault, and fix the situation.   It must be known that while I made it very clear that while my action was a mistake, I was still their teacher and still had to be respected.    When the students realized that I didn’t pretend to be perfect, they listened more intently to what I taught.

We want to speak the truth in love to our students, and children, let us pray for the ability to do so.

Timothy Gallic

Principal, Holy Family High School

From the Principal's Desk 2.23

Dear Friends,

Today as we all know is St. Valentine’s Day.  On such a day I would like to say a few things about love.   One of the most important lessons we teach our students is that true love resides not in the emotion, although emotions may play a role, but true love consists in the selfless desire for the good of another.  To truly love is to desire the other to benefit, to give of oneself for the sake of another’s happiness.   John Paul the Great described love as a mutually revelatory experience, an experience where both souls benefit and grow together.

Sadly, it is possible to mimic this with mutual selfishness, where both parties take what they want.  This seems to be the common experience in this world and one that we need to warn our students to avoid.   Instead let us consider the greatest example of true love that the world has ever seen.  “But God showed his love for us, because while we were yet sinners, God died for us.”  (Romans 8:5)

So on this great feast, let us encourage our students, to put others first, to love as God loved us, and to treat others, as we ourselves would wish to be treated.

Timothy Gallic

Principal, Holy Family High School

303-410-1411

PS- The fight to stop the HHS ruling on mandatory contraception coverage continues. I urge you to contact your representatives and speak out against this unjust and discriminatory ruling.  No president has the authority to tell anyone to violate their consciences.

From Principal's Desk 2.22

Dear Friends,

Last week the Obama administration demonstrated that those who love liberty and religious freedom need to be vigilant.  The ruling by HHS forcing private companies and Catholic schools, hospitals and social agencies, to violate our consciences should alarm all of us.  If liberty is lost in one area, it is therefore threatened everywhere.   I urge you to contact your representatives and demand that this policy be changed.   I have attached a press release from the United States Council of Bishops.   Please take a moment to read it and let us join in prayer for our country.  http://www.holyfamilyhs.com/Bishop's%20Statement%20on%20Obama%20Policy.pdf

In other news, we are proud to announce the 2012 Lenten series.  Every Thursday in Lent we will be meeting in the school library and watching one episode of the Catholicism Documentary by Fr.  Robert Barron and then have a led discussion and reflection on the topics he brings up.  For those not familiar with the Catholicism documentary, Fr. Barron traveled around the world in an attempt to present the churches timeless message using beauty, history, art and philosophy.   You can find out more about the series at www.wordonfire.org .  We look forward to seeing you there.

Timothy Gallic

Principal, Holy Family High School

303-410-1411

From the Principlal's Desk 2.21

Dear Friends,

Perhaps you have noticed we live in an increasingly crude culture?  Not only in the youth culture and media does one find it hard to avoid crude language and foul words, in fact those who refrain from such abusive language and behavior often stand out.  As a Catholic school we need to think about what kind of language we use and how we are perceived.  Scripture strongly endorses this point.

Matthew 15 states “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man."  In other words it is by our actions we are judged.  St. James is even more explicit for he states “Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing” (James 3:10)

John Paul the Great had a saying  which I will paraphrase, “ Our actions both determine and reveal who we are”.  Thus, if I want to be patient, I act patiently, if I want to be kind, I act kindly and if I want polite I act politely.  It is quite simple to understand, but if you have ever struggled with a bad habit, it is sometimes hard to do.  We need each other’s help if we want to be a culture of kindness and respect. So let us all encourage the students at Holy Family to speak to each other in a way that reflects who they are, to refrain from cursing and foul language and instead speak the way they wish to be spoken to (or perhaps better).   As a final note I would like to end with a passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians-

“So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones,  no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. (Eph. 5:25)

Pax Christi!

Timothy Gallic

Principal, Holy Family High School

303-410-1411

From the Principal's Desk 2.20

Dear Friends,

Yesterday we commemorated the tragedy of abortion in this country.  It is interesting to note that pro-life individuals tend to speak about the baby, pro-choice tend to speak about the mother. If you have ever argued the issue of abortion you may have encountered such a divide.  It is not possible to talk about the mother without the baby.  With no mother there is no baby, with no baby there is no mother. We believe that every human life is sacred, and a blessing, mother and baby alike; there is no separating of those human lives without a great deal of sorrow and tragedy, until the proper time.  Like all things in God’s plans, one must patiently await His timing if one wants to realize the good that He has planned. 

Let us pray for all those who are pregnant, that as they realize the challenge of new life, they also see the gift.

Archbishop Chaput has penned a wonderful message on this topic and I urge you to take the time to read it.

http://archphila.org/archbishop-chaput/statements/threadforweavingjoyl.htm

God bless,

Timothy Gallic

Principal, Holy Family High School

303-410-1411