From the Principal's Desk 3.20

Dear Friends,

Welcome back!  Although the break was wonderful and much desired one cannot help feeling the excitement which greets us at the beginning of the semester.  My family and I traveled back to Jersey for a wedding and some time with the family.  It was great to be back home but sad to see the incredible amount of damage Hurricane Sandy did.  Most of the inland damage has been repaired; the coast continues to be a mess.   It will be a long journey getting these areas rebuilt.

I want to restart the character trait theme with that trait almost universally desired and yet extraordinarily elusive to modern man, Peace.

What is peace? While there can be many ways to define it, the most useful  one I have found is the ability to be grateful with where God has you, content with what you have and a readiness  to accept change that may occur.   To be peaceful at all times seems beyond the ability of mortals.   How can one be peaceful when the world around us is failing, when evil strikes, or sickness afflicts?    Peace seems dependent on external events, it seems incompatible with grief, loss and disaster and yet it is not.  The path to peace is found in surrender to the will of God.  Peace comes when we express to God gratitude for what He has given us.   Often times God gives us a task to be accomplished or a situation to be endured.  And if we are peaceful we can approach them most effectively.

Peace frees us from the tyranny of outside forces. For Catholics, when we exercise the sacrament of Confession, we find forgiveness of sins and release from attachment of sin, and we experience peace.    If I am peaceful  than I am in control of myself and from that position I can decide how best to act.  Can one be peaceful and excited? Yes. Can one be peaceful and sorrowing? Yes.  

The world resounds with examples of persons who have the peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7)and through their examples we can learn why this character trait is so useful.  It is God’s plan for us and it is a character trait which makes us easier to live with, more successful in our studies and frankly, happier.

I end this, the last Tuesday Alert for the Christmas season, with the following poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  I find the last verse inspirational

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Thank you for your support,

Duc in Altum!

Timothy Gallic
Principal, Holy Family High School