It is a Brand New Year
Help me, God my Savior, for the glory of Your name, deliver me and forgive me for my sins for Your name’s sake. Lord, I pray that You remove my guilt and wipe away my sins so that I can draw closer to You. With You there is forgiveness so that I can, with reverence, serve You. I praise You for forgiving me for my sins even though I do not deserve it! Thank You for loving me unconditionally, Amen! Psalm 79:9 & Psalm 130:4
During the first week of Advent, Bishop Boyea asked two great questions in the article entitled Advisory: The Perfect Christmas Gift. In this article, he talks about forgiveness and repentance and how they can heal and change you. The questions are: Still don’t know what to give your family for Christmas? Why not surprise them with a new, improved version of you? One that is more happy, peaceful and easier to live beside. The full article can be found here: https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/office-bishop You can sign up for Bishop Boyea’s Friday Memo at that address as well.
This article touched me on a deep level and I was inspired to do exactly that. Give my family a better, more peaceful version of myself. But Advent and the end of 2020 at school is very busy. Here it was, Christmas already and I was still the same old me. As it turns out, four weeks of Advent is not enough time for me to really dive into forgiveness and repentance. So, I would like to give my family the gift of a more peaceful me as a New Year resolution.
Forgiveness
I have a bad habit of hanging on to my hurt. Maybe you do too. The times I have been wounded and the times I have injured, can pop into my head unexpectedly. It is easy to pretend that we are over it. That it is all in the past or that everything worked out in the end. We are wiser and stronger for persevering through the times when we have had to apologize for hurting someone. Or the times when we had to forgive when we are wounded. Yet, it can continue to bubble up when we least expect it. The times I was left out or judged. The times I was misunderstood and not shown God’s grace and had to fight for myself. This type of sin is sneaky because we can harm or be harmed with a harsh word or a quick judgement. Yet, the effect can last in our soul until we truly give the hurt to God.
Our children do it too. Feelings can get hurt quickly when they feel left out or say mean things. These injuries can be long lasting. The students at Sacred Heart are taught that they are beautiful through this sin. They are taught that injuring each other is normal and so is forgiving yourself and others, by talking to God through prayer and confession. We will injure people. We will be injured. It is in how we think about it, that we can find divine purpose in the day. Children who are taught that they are a beautiful gift from God with special talents will be more at peace because they try to shine this light on those around them. So we love them and build them up with respect and understanding and they have an easier time with forgiveness and repentance. The concept is a simple one, but like all things that involve our brain, we must practice it everyday. So, this year, we will really get after forgiveness and repentance. The perfect gift to give our families. A more peaceful me.
Have a Happy New Year and Blessed 2021.
God Bless,
Anne Atkin, Principal
Sacred Heart School
Students are balanced: confident of mind, academics and Catholic Faith.
Serving the Community. Teaching our students to live and model the Catholic faith. Reflecting the unconditional love of Jesus.
Remaining structured with the purpose of graduating students who are prepared to persevere.