We are here to help!

With the Haitian earth quake tragedy and now Chile, we have really taken time to reflect on what we can do to help, what others have and will do to help, and what God wants all of us to do in times of despair.

Often times tweens and teens get a bad rap for being self-centered. The students, from their deepest convictions and desires, want to to be there for people in their darkest hours. Here is some of what they had to say:

"I am grateful to meet the needs of others by sending them food and blankets, especially to the people in Haiti."

"I am grateful for those who help others, because they give hope to all of us."

"I am grateful to be alive, because I know God made me for a reason. I was put here to help other people."

"I am grateful to meet the needs of others by helping them in whatever way I can."

"I am grateful to be alive! Life is great, and I love living!"

"I am grateful to promote peace in these ways... setting a good example and loving everyone I know."

"I am thankful for my family, friends and justice."

"Lord of peace, thank You for allowing me to be a peacemaker. I am grateful to promote peace by being nice to everyone."

"God of Renewal, I am grateful for the rest I received during vacation. During that time, I attended youth serve."

"I am grateful to be alive, because I love life and I like to learn new things everyday."

"I am grateful for all types of prayer, because you can talk to God in many different ways."

"Today I am blessed because I have a place to go at the end of the day."

We are Grateful for Knowledge!

As we are deep into our studies of Jesus' life and the history of the church, the students are gaining a greater appreciation and understanding of the roots of our faith!

"I am grateful that Jesus is the center of my life because he is the only way to happiness."

"I am grateful for those that help people, because they are setting a good example."

"Ways that I can stand firm in my faith are by telling others not to say prejudice things and to accept everyone."

" I am grateful to know the history of my church, because we can learn form the past."

"Lord, I am thankful for my faith. Ways that I can stand firm in my faith are not letting people be talked about behind their backs and to always stand up when other people are being made fun of."

"I am grateful to know the history of my church because I can trace my religion back to see how it started."

"Lord, I am thankful for my faith. Ways that I can stand firm in my faith are by teaching younger people about God."

"I am grateful to me, because that is how I was created and I won't be jealous of others."

Happy New Year!

In this new year, we find ourselves more grateful than ever! Enjoy!

I am thankful for...Love!

I am thankful to be a part of the body of Christ. No one member is more important than another because we are all equal.

Thank You God for wisdom. I am grateful for the gift of wisdom because it allows me to practice my faith.

I am thankful for the stars that live in space that light the world at night!

I am glad to me be me, because I am made in God's image and I am special.

I am grateful for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, because these gifts help me everyday in prayer.

Thank You God for wisdom. I am grateful for the gift of wisdom because I can make the right decisions in life.

I am grateful for wisdom because I can choose right from wrong.

I am grateful to be me, because I am a unique being who appreciates all positive comments.

It is always assuring to have knowledge of my my faith, thank You!

I am grateful for my gifts and talents because I am unique!

I am grateful that Jesus is the center of my life because I am always talking to him.

I am grateful for the ability to learn because we can share our knowledge with other people.

Lord, I am thankful for the ability to do good!

Lord, you give us the ability to love. Some things that I love are beautiful days and flowers!

I am grateful to have been given strengths. Some of my greatest strengths are creativity and bravery!

JOY!

Joy to the world! The Christmas season is upon us. I find it to be a time of great joy. We can look forward to the birth of Christ as a time for forgiveness and renewal. As a class, we reflected on the importance of forgiving ourselves, others, and opening our hearts to Jesus. Wishing you all a very Blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year! See you in 2010!

Thank you God for the ability to forgive. I am grateful to to be able to forgive because I can forgive myself and let Jesus back into my heart.

I am grateful for the ability to learn. Some things that I love to learn are exploring math and religion classes because of the social teachings.

Thank You, thank You, thank You God, for blessing us with the wonderful gifts of love and compassion.

Some things that I love learning are people's different opinions.

Joy to the world! I am grateful for joy because it makes me happy. Something that brings me joy is prayer!

Joy to the world! I am grateful for joy because being happy is a good thing. Some things that bring me joy are my family, friends, nature and my life!

Thank You, thank You, thank You God, for happiness, love, joy, peace, nature, and family and friends!

Thank You, thank You, thank You God, for blessing us in the sacraments and my faith and love.

Thank You, thank You, thank You God, for friends who will always love you for who are and will always be there when you need them.

I grateful for being a follower of Jesus. Ways that I can follow him are by teaching others his ways of life, and going to Mass.

Thank You, thank You, thank You God, for being alive!

Thank You, thank You, thank You God, for my life for my life, all the places I have gone and all the people I know, my friends and family, and being able to have you in my life everyday!

Thank You God for the ability to forgive. I am grateful to be able to forgive because it can make me a better friend and family member.

Thank You, thank You, thank You God, for this beautiful world that you created for us!

Joy to the world! I am grateful for joy because it allow us to express happiness. Some things that bring me joy are snow, coldness and wind.

To My Students - Thank You!

Although this past week was filled with warm, wonderful holiday memories, it was also one of the most challenging weeks for me as a teacher. As I sat down to read the student's journals, a small part of me was feeling deflated, wondering if I was truly answering God's call and teaching these kids anything at all? As I began to turn the pages of each journal, it was as though God was telling me, no, yelling to me to keep on keeping. It seemed as if each student had written something that touched my heart in some small way. I could have written an entry or two from each student, but because of time constraints and an increased risk for carpal tunnel syndrome, I had to limit it somewhere! You will see however, more than the usual number of entries posted for this week ~ enjoy!

"In the sacraments, we meet the risen Christ - we become the Church. Thank You Lord for allowing us to become whole. We are holy in these ways...by going to Sunday worship or mass every weekend, praying and doing acts of kindness."

"We thank You God for a rainy day that turned into a beautiful day!"

"Thank You God, for the ability to make choices. Help to guide me in the choices I will make. Some of the choices I will have to make will be to do something good or bad."

"I am grateful for the ability to freely choose with God's help. If I didn't have God's help, I would make a lot of stupid mistakes."

"Lord of the Harvest, I am grateful for abundance! The abundance in my life is energy!"

"I am grateful for the ability to freely choose. With God's help, I am grateful to be able to choose these things: to go to school and have friends."

"I am grateful for the wisdom of the church! Some ways that I can work for a just society are by praying for the strength to do good deeds."

"Lord of the Harvest, I am grateful for abundance. The abundance in my life is knowledge."

"Lord of the Harvest, I am grateful for abundance. The abundance in my life is love, church and being caring."

"I am grateful for the ability to freely choose. With God's help, I am grateful to be able to choose to make friends, keep the planet clean, and be a strong leader in my community."

"Lord of the Harvest, I am grateful for abundance. The abundance in my life is happiness, joy and having my family."

"Thank You God, for the ability to make choices. Help to guide me in the choices that I will make. Some choices that I will have to make will be to choose to be a leader or a follower and to choose between good and bad."

"Thank You God for my family, friends, teachers, guardians, and for being alive!"

"We thank You God for friends who make us laugh!"

"We thank You God for the Eucharist!"

"Thank You God, for the ability to make choices. Help guide me in the choices that I make. Some choices that I may have to make will be to do something a friend may think is cool, but it is not healthy or good for you."

"Thank You God, for the ability to make choices. Help guide me in the choices that I make. Some choices that I may have to make are saying no to peer pressure that I will face in the future."

"Thank You God for everything that you have graced me with!"

"In the sacraments, we meet the risen Christ - we become the Church. Thank You Lord for allowing us to become whole. We are holy in these ways...because we are sons and daughters of Christ and God is as holy as you can get!"

"In the sacraments, we meet the risen Christ - we become the Church. Thank You Lord for allowing us to become whole. We are holy in these ways...by having good thoughts!"

Tis the season to be grateful!

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I enjoy seeing all the posts of gratitude by my friends on Facebook; only, I wish gratitude wasn't just thought about or practiced this time of year. My prayer is that we can all take a lesson from these wonderful middle school students and be thankful everyday, all year long!

"Thank You God for knowledge, because with out it, I wouldn't be able to write this sentence."

"Thank You for everyone in my life, especially those whom I find hard to accept. Some ways that I will be more accepting of them will be to stand up for them, hang out with them and play with them."

"Thank You God for knowledge, I am grateful for knowledge because it allows us to truly appreciate God's creations."

Lord, You speak to me in different ways, thank You! Some ways in which You speak to me are in my heart and in my soul."

"Ever present God, I am thankful for You. I pray to you in these ways and for these things...through prayer and for my family, friends, my health and to make the right decisions in life."

"Lord, You speak to me in different ways, thank You! Some of the ways You speak to me are by prayer and when I have a choice and I do the right thing."

"Thank You for everyone in my life, especially those whom I find hard to accept. Some ways that I will be more accepting of them will be by finding the best in everyone."

"Lord, You speak to me in different ways, thank You! Some of the ways You speak to me are through prayer, meditation, and caring people in my life."

"Ever present God, I am thankful for You. I pray to You in these ways, by praying through Lectio Divina for peace."

" Thank You for everyone in my life, especially those whom I find hard to accept. Some ways that I will be more accepting of them will be by not criticizing."

"Thank You for everyone in my life, especially those whom I find hard to accept. Some ways that I will be more accepting of them will be by helping them get a question right, or greeting them nicely with an act of kindness."

Life is to short to not have fun, or be grateful!

We learned that just one person can make a difference in this world. We can also have fun while making a difference! God wants us to have fun! In a world that forces us to grow up too fast, it is refreshing to read what the students do for fun - simple and delightful!

"Thank You God for fun! This is how I have fun; I play soccer and paintball, I can go outside and play baseball at my friends house and during the fall, I can go outside and see how many leaves I can catch before they hit the ground or make a big pile to jump in. During the winter, I make really cool snow forts and snow men and have snowball fights!"

"Lord, thank You for the people who have made a difference in this world. Some people that I know that have made a difference are our teachers!"

"Lord, thank You for the people who have made a difference in this world. Some people that I know that have made a difference are the priests that encourage us to keep the faith."

Life is a gift, but we often take it for granted. Lord, thank You for giving me life! Things that I will try not to take for granted is just waking up in the morning."

"Lord, I am grateful to to be a voice for the poor. I can be an advocate for justice by raising awareness and boycotting."

"I can be advocate for justice in these ways... by putting on workshops about the poor and helping them get the materials and love they need."

"Life is a gift, but we often take it for granted. Lord, thank You for giving me life! Things that I will try not to take for granted will be my brother, because he is really cool and nice to me. He is a great brother!"

"Lord, thank You for people who make a difference in the world. Some people that I know that make a difference in the world are U2 and the president."

"I am grateful for the opportunity to meditate because it allows me a chance to cool off."

"Life is a gift, but we often take it for granted. Lord, thank You for giving me life! Things that I will try not to take for granted will be nature, love from parents and having friends!"