Spirituality
The goal of true education…
These closing comments were offered at the end of our traditional "Prize Day." Members of the Board of Trustees, Faculty and Staff, Students and Family members. Thank you for being here this morning, and for sharing in the formal ceremonial end of the 2017-2018 school year. The end of the year signals for all of us a time of celebration, especially as we come to the end of this Prize Day program where so many of you have been recognized for outstanding achievement. Today, we celebrate your success, and, more importantly, we celebrate the character of your person as reflected [...]
Our Sacred Heart Roots
“I don’t really have any roots…,” a young woman recently shared with me while visiting the school. Listening quietly, I suspected that rather than having “no roots,” she was on an archetypal journey to find them. Does it surprise you that she has found her way to New Orleans? For us who live under the canopies of Live Oaks, whose tap roots extend both deep and wide, we value our roots as a source of identity and insight, character and culture. Looking deeply into our roots as a Sacred Heart school community, we discover that on this day, February 7th [...]
Bicentennial Celebration of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, St. Louis Cathedral
This short "Call to Worship" opened the Liturgy of Celebration with banners and song in a packed Cathedral. Philippine's spirit is alive and well! Good afternoon! We gather here in this beautiful Cathedral for the opening of the Bicentennial year of celebration of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. Philippine Duchesne was a pioneer missionary of the Catholic Church. She was a frontier woman of vision. And, she was a woman known as the “one who prays always.” Beginning today, November 18th, 2017, and continuing through the coming year, the Religious of the Sacred Heart and members of the larger community of [...]
With these rings….
Last week, members of the Junior Class at Sacred Heart received their ASH school ring from members of the Senior class. This special ceremony takes place in the context of a Eucharistic celebration, followed by a traditional ritual that includes hugs, flowers, and lots of smiling friends and families. Did I mention refreshments? What follows in this post are my comments following this endearing ceremony: Some people might wonder why we have a Sacred Heart ring, or why is it so important to have a "ring ceremony" like this one. They might think "...after all, it is just a ring!" [...]
Lent and the Blooming Azaleas
The courts of Rex and Comus have met. The Fathers' Club has sold its last hot dog from the ASH trailer. The flags of royalty have been lowered. Yes, the cacophony of marching, music, and Mardi Gras mayhem has ended for another year. With its ending, many of us have segued into the season of Lent signed with ashes across our foreheads. Beginning late this year, this solemn season coincided with the blossoming of beautiful pink azaleas stretching across the front of the Rosary Campus, a full block along St. Charles Avenue. The appearance of iconic azaleas for New Orleaneans [...]
