Advent prayers for your family

During Advent, reflection and prayer help us to maintain awareness of God’s mercy towards us. In this time of Advent, let us remember that mercy comes with love and solidarity. Prayer helps us to remember to spread God’s love as we wait for the birth of Jesus.

Prayer for the Advent Wreath God the Father, who sheds light on the world, Give us strength in this season of Advent. Prepare us to be better Christians. Let the Holy Spirit give us courage and guide us in our actions and our prayers. Lord, we ask you to make your son Jesus our example and inspiration. Let the Virgin Mary accompany us and carry us in her arms. And let the saints be our fellow travelers on the way to your mercy. We ask you for all of this with open and willing hearts. Amen

The liturgical year begins with Advent, the four weeks prior to Christmas. It is a season of preparation, waiting, and anticipation. Christmas is both a feast and a liturgical season. Each day of the Christmas season renews the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ

WEEK 1:  Light one candle and sit for a moment in silence. Christ our Light, Shine in our lives with hope and promise. Give us right vision so that we remain attentive to this holy season. Remind us to look for you in small acts of kindness and love. We await your coming with wonder. Amen.

WEEK 2:  Light two candles and sit for a moment in silence. Christ our Hope, Illuminate our hearts with your grace. Enlarge our vision so that we recognize our kinship with all of the people of the world. Help us to give to others in ways that meet their deepest needs. We await your coming with gratitude. Amen.

WEEK 3:  Light three candles and sit for a moment in silence. Christ our Joy, Brighten our homes with your presence. Clarify our vision so that we might see you in the people we cherish. Make every holiday activity an opportunity to spread your light and love. We await your coming with delight. Amen

WEEK 4:  Light four candles and sit for a moment in silence. Christ our Peace, Glow brightly in each moment. Enlighten our vision so that we see beyond the trappings of the holidays. Relieve us, if just for a moment, of our worries and stress. We await your coming with serenity.

Amen.

Anne Atkin, Principal

Blessing the Family Christmas Tree

Before Christianity came to be, trees that remain green all year round warded off evil spirits and were special to people during the winter. It wasn’t until the sixteenth century in Germany that trees were brought inside and decorated. When does the Christmas tree go up in your home or parish?  Continue the tradition by gathering together and blessing this special symbol.

You may bless the tree as soon as you put it up, or you can wait until after you have decorated it. When you are ready to do the blessing, gather everyone around the tree and designate someone to lead the following prayer.  You will need water or holy water (if available) to celebrate this blessing.

Leader: Loving God, we stand before you once again. We stand here ready to celebrate the birth of your son, Jesus.

All:  Extend a hand in a gesture of blessing. Sprinkle water or holy water on the tree while praying the following prayer.

Leader: Bless this tree, this sign of life and freshness and perseverance in our midst. It stands as a reminder that you are born anew in us each day. Bless our family and friends as we celebrate this joyous season. Keep us safe in our travels, kind in our conversations, and gracious in our giving and receiving. We ask you this in confidence, because we know you love us.

All: Amen.  Join in singing a favorite Christmas carol, such as “O Christmas Tree” or “Joy to the World.”

Peace,

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.

Service to others starts with empathy

What does it mean to serve? The first sentence of the vision of Sacred Heart School is: to serve the community. The school has been serving the church and the city of Hudson for the 90 years that it has been in operation. But what does that really mean? If we serve the community, we must be able to look at who we are and who we are meant to bring comfort. Making people feel comfortable is such a beautiful way to share. In morning prayer, we have been engaging the students with ways they can serve. When we think about service, it is easy to think of the big projects like The Angel Tree or the Community Clean-up at Memorial Park. But we can serve in small ways too. The small ways we serve are hard to measure but they are the ones that develop our soul and bring comfort to our surroundings. How can we raise children to have an open heart to service? It seems like a pretty selfish world sometimes. Can we teach our children empathy? Can we teach our children to ask someone how long it took to make dinner? Or how much time they spent washing the car? They can be curious about what is involved in putting on a play at the theatre or how much thought it takes to make a delicious dessert. Empathy can start at a very young age when children are asked to think about the world around them and how it all works. The desire to relate to people and to want to spread joy begins with the understanding that God made each person beautifully special. With a mindset that it is people and hard work that make everything happen, children can gain empathy and a desire to serve. It is important to point out that people make the toys they play with and people serve us food in a restaurant. Moms and dads work tirelessly to keep the house tidy, and pay the bills. Teachers spend hours patiently teaching us. Police officers protect us, mail carriers deliver packages, priests comfort us at Mass; the opportunities to teach children about the ways people serve are endless.

This week, I asked the students to think about little ways they help. They were excited to share the things they do that help their families. It is clear that they are well on their way to spreading joy through service. I reminded them that the things they do bring comfort to their families. These acts spread joy and it is contagious. Keep up the good work!

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.

THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL GALA

To everyone who bought a table package, ticket or sponsored the event, Sacred Heart School is grateful! We strive to be worthy of your hard earned donations.  We know that you do not have to support the school and we are inspired to achieve a high level of excellence because you believe in us.  We appreciate the confidence you have in us to be good stewards of your donation and to use your support to bring every person associated with the school closer to Jesus.

A huge thank you to Tammy Houser for creating the program and attending to every detail. The front table team of Tammy, Carrie Town, Christie LaRussa, Judy Schutte and Nate Johnston were able to handle the details and recording of the raffle games without any disruption. Their ability to handle a fast paced raffle and seamlessly take care of all accounting is incredible.

The food for the Gala was delicious. Robert and Angela Czeiszperger have a gift for cooking amazing food on a large scale. We had so many complimentary comments and satisfied people. Your team of Michele Henning, Stacy Parker, and Lance & Jenn Tedora who worked so well together to create a magical meal.

Jen Loar and the confirmation students were excellent servers. They were professional, courteous and represented Sacred Heart and St. Mary on the Lake well. Their parents should be proud. Thank you to Jen Loar, for the smooth delivery of hot food to all of the tables. What an amazing blessing of service your crew provided.

Thank you to the Sacred Heart Staff for supporting and volunteering. Also, to Deacon John and Kimberly Amthor for watching 25 of our children so their parents could be at the Gala. A school is only as good as the people who teach and run the day to day operations. Because of the wonderful people who see their job to be a vocation, to bring Jesus to our students, we are inspired to spread that joy to everyone we meet.

To Lynn Townsend from A Happening by L&L, and her crew, for donating the décor and dinnerware needed to transform the Church Hall into a beautiful banquet hall. Thank you!  Lynn was inspired by the historic architectural beauty of the hall and wanted to showcase the original craftsmanship. The room was comfortable and elegant.

To Sarah Martinez and Rebecca Shields for playing the violins again at the entrance of the Hall. We absolutely love the ambience created when you both play for us. Thank you!

Thank you to Father Todd and the Koenigsknecht family for their unwavering support of the Gala and for allowing us to auction a tour of the family farm every year.

A special thank you to The Posy Shop, Temperance Distillery, and Garland’s Flowers for the extra care you gave to make the Gala beautiful and special. Thank you to CR Motors, Butch’s Sports Bar, Wright’s Plumbing and Chres Reuter for working with me and giving just what we needed to bring people to the event. You are such great friends of SHS!

To all of you who gave generously during the Gala, thank you for coming and sharing your joy with us.  My heart is overflowing! May God continue to bless this event and guide our intentions.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal

Ouch! Your Words Hurt Me

Sometimes we say things we shouldn’t. We say things we don’t mean and children say things having no idea what they mean. They do not comprehend the full weight of the words on another’s soul. This week in morning prayer, we are talking about words. We can choose to say anything we want to. Words are completely generated from our own minds. For children, this is a powerful concept. Your words represent who you are. I asked the students if any of them had said something that hurt someone. Not a misunderstanding but words that were mean. Words that came out of their mouths with teeth and fire and thorns; said in anger or disrespect. Most every hand went up (they are so honest with themselves). Mine too. Saying words that are mean, happens. We are a product of our environment and the world is not particularly holy right now. “Garbage in, garbage out.” In computer science, garbage in, garbage out describes the concept that flawed, or nonsense input data produces nonsense output or “garbage”. Kids will hear nonsense as they live their lives, there is little doubt.

We must teach our children to speak clearly. To make eye contact, and smile as they speak. They can focus on the words they speak by looking at the expression on the other person’s face. This is a learned behavior and they can start to practice at a very young age. All of the children practiced this at morning prayer by turning toward someone and looking them in the eye. After taking a moment, give them a compliment. This was awkward at first and they were a bit tongue tied. But then they had a hard time stopping, and you could feel the joy in the hallway. Then I asked them to say “will you pray for me?” to the other person. This is how we can train our minds to be conscious of the things we say and to look people in the eye so we can see the effect of our words on their soul. We should use our words to bring people closer to the kingdom of God.

But we all agreed that we might say mean things. Even still. So we heal our heart by confessing them. We should ask for forgiveness and feel God’s mercy as we face another day with a mindful purpose of being a light of Christ.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, principal

Ephesians 4:28 “Let no evil come out of our mouths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.”

How the story of a “Lost Boy of Sudan” Inspires us to Persevere

This week, the students in 1st through 6th grade listened to the testimonial of Dr. Jacob Atem, the co-founder of Southern Sudan Healthcare Organization. At 7 years old, Jacob was forced out of his peaceful village in South Sudan when his family was attacked and killed. 40,00 young boys were without homes after their villages were burned by northern soldiers. They were left alone and scared for their lives as they walked over 1,000 miles to find refugee camps; only half survived. They were the “Lost Boys of Sudan.” After years of starvation and fear, the survivors found stable homes in America or Australia.

His story is about perseverance. The students were amazed at what Dr. Atem told them and they were inspired by how kind and gentle he was now. He told then how hard it was being without a home and food, afraid for his life. How hard it was to be a refugee, missing his family, and without enough to eat. How hard it was to be a complete stranger in a foreign country. How hard it was to study to become a doctor. Yet, he was not angry. He was joyful and grateful to God.

His message to the children was clear. Study. Go to college and keep learning. Realize how blessed you are to live in America. Persevere.

The last sentence in the Vision of Sacred Heart School is: “We will graduate students who are prepared to persevere.” They will never be faced with the pain from Dr. Atem’s life, but they will still struggle as they grow as students.

Our children will need to develop the virtue of perseverance. In kindergarten, the key to success is to enjoy schoolwork. If we can get the little ones to want to work, they will be good students, they will get smarter. They must do their work when it is hard or they find it boring. In first/second grade, they have to work independently. To push past struggle and get to the end of the assignment. In third/fourth grade, they need to ask questions instead of giving up. Students need to erase and fix mistakes until they assignment is correct. In fifth/sixth grade, each student has to participate in St. Art Prize, where they research a saint, make art to represent the saint’s life, and present it to the community. It is a big assignment and it is hard.

Schoolwork can be overwhelming. We can try to avoid the struggle but God knows that the struggle is what helps to develop strength of character. We will struggle many times and we will overcome all of it with strong virtues. We are learning to put our trust in God, and overcome negativity. We take God with us everywhere we go and in everything we do. Life is challenging, at times, for all of us. But when we learn to persevere, we handle it!

God Bless,  Anne Atkin, principal

Support for The Southern Sudan Healthcare Organization can be made at https://sshco.org.

11 REASONS TO ATTEND THE SHS GALA AND MONEY RAFFLE

All proceeds benefit Sacred Heart School

1. Hilarious Comedian Sal Dimilio is Coming to Hudson!!
2. The Church Hall will be Beautiful.
3. Pumpkin Pudding in a Caramel Sauce and Chocolate Trifle
4. Roasted Meatballs over polenta; Chicken & Bacon Roulade
5. Father Todd’s Farm Tour
6. Chance to Win Large Sums of Money
7. Diamond Earrings, Whiskey Basket, Lazy Boy Recliner, Yeti/Coffee Basket, Leather purses, String of Pearls, Meat and Cheese Basket, and much more….
8. Everyone Receives 5 Luxury Raffle Tickets at the door.
9. Over 100 Door Prizes
10. Wall of Wine and Craft Beer
11. Live Auction: Dinner at the rectory, tickets to see The Grinch at the Fox Theatre, Wine Tour, Movie with the School Counselor for Your Class.

Tickets are $100 apiece, Table Packages are available.

Call the school for tickets and or to reserve a table package. 517-448-6405.

“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).

Faith begins as a belief in God. Simple. God the creator of all things visible and invisible. Then, we think about faith as the certainty that God exists and He loves us. Faith becomes the belief that God will guide us, teach us and give us the purpose we need to bring our soul back to God in Heaven. We use our faith to weather the storm as we grow from children to adults. But as we grow in faith, it becomes so much more. According to the catechism of the Catholic Church, “faith is a gift from God. A supernatural virtue infused in Him” (CCC153). Faith can set us free from turmoil and despair. It keeps us from running away when the world is mean and we doubt our abilities or purpose.

For any of us who have forgotten to rely on our faith, we know how difficult life is to figure out if we only use our own mind. I think of the times when I just could not wrap my brain around a problem or I felt attacked and treated unfairly. I have sought advice from friends or even experts and still could not find answers. It is an empty feeling and life feels almost impossible to manage.

Instead, we can take ownership of how we react to the chaotic and unfair world around us. Knowing the world can be unfair, we ask God to give us the strength we need to calm fear and anxiety. This can be a true sense of self control. Faith gives us a chance to take a time out from the intensity. Faith reminds us that God is in charge and He gives us all of the power we need to handle the day. To see God in all things and to not judge; but to become reasonable and open to correction. To learn. To grow. To achieve. The faithful will set their mind to God’s purpose and can learn to rebuild instead of breaking down. To shine. Faith can fill up a worn out person who has given in and give them the strength they need to grow in spirit. Faith can save the weary and inspire the disheartened. Faith, what a gift!

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, principal

Sacred Heart Families,

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Hudson Food Pantry by pledging money for the Walk of Faith last week. We were able to raise over $500 and many food donations. During the Walk of Faith, every student prays for the hungry, the dead, and people who serve. We begin by praying the Act of Faith together and walk to shine a light on how powerful faith is when we pray together. Faith gives us the ability to see, feel, and talk to God. Faith brings Jesus to life and gives us the power to help people. We had a special day practicing faith and using it to be stewards of God’s love.

This week we celebrated the Feast of the Guardian Angel. This is an important Feast Day to the students because we pray the Guardian Angel Prayer often. As the children grow, it is a comfort to know that they each have an individual angel assigned to them. We refer to the Guardian Angel prayer often as an easy reminder that we are always in the presence of God. We have a deeply personal connection that lights, guards, rules and guides us as we live every moment. Our guardian angel is tough and protects us from demons. Our guardian angel shows us right from wrong and reminds us of the virtue we need to be strong people.

Fun Facts about Guardian Angels:

• We will meet our Guardian Angel in Heaven
• Each soul, including Christians and Non-Christians, has a Guardian Angel assigned to give guidance throughout its life on earth.
• Our Angel cannot affect our free will.
• Protects us from demons and inspires intellect.
• Feast of the Guardian Angels has been a feast day since 1608.
• Angels are mentioned 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament

What a special gift! We will use our guardian angel every day to be closer to God.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal

Angel of God, who are my guardian, enlighten, guard, govern and guide me, who have been entrusted to you by the heavenly goodness. Amen

Prayer of John Paul II

Sacred Heart School would like to thank Bill Mullaly for his generous donation of three very nice projectors and 4 document readers for the classrooms.

Our Technology Council listened to the needs of the teachers and the students and researched products that will enhance classroom learning. They concluded that with better visual aids, teachers can easily project books, computer images, or videos for everyone to see. The council put together a list of technology for our wish list and we were able to get them ordered and in the classrooms this week.

We are so blessed by our parents and church community who work to make Sacred Heart a wonderful school for all students.

God Bless,

Anne Atkin, Principal