DECEMBER 2016
LEARNING, FAITH & LEADERSHIP A Kennedy Catholic Lancer Publication
COMMUNI-K PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE I remember my first year as a vice principal. I was hired to replace a retired administrator that carried a concealed weapon for protection. Yes, the challenges were all about restoring new hope in hopeless situations, inspiring teachers to be faithful to their call and challenging middle schoolers to high standard of academics while accepting that the formation of this age comes with its developmental milestones! Add the commute from Northeast Tacoma/Brown’s Point to South Everett every day and my days often ended with feelings of despair, disillusionment, and my own level of hopelessness. It was about December of my first year that I first heard this song by Rich Mullins, “I Am Ready For The Storm.” Mike Prato - President The song compares a lonely sailor encountering lightning, rolling oceans, and his inability to navigate the journey to safety to each of us encountering the challenges of life, when we feel fear, abandonment, hopelessness and times when we greet each new day with tears. The song brings hope, confidence and a vision of what life with Christ will look like. Isaiah invites us in the days to come to “climb the Lord’s mountain to the house of the God of Jacob “. . . where one nation shall not raise the sword against another nor shall they train for war.” Are you ready to climb that mountain, to encounter the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding? St. Paul in his letter to the Romans exhorts us to wake up from our sleep, throw off the works of darkness, to put aside the distortions of our culture and put on the armor of light, for our encounter with Christ is upon us. Are you ready to allow Christ to fill that loneliness that only He can overcome? Last, Jesus reminds us of that encounter with God when we are called to account for our life’s work. “Stay awake, be prepared, and watch for signs.” You need not be that lonely sailor lost in the storms of life. This season of Advent calls us to prepare ourselves for something new; the birth of the light of Jesus in every part of our lives. Are you ready?
Click here to see entire 2016 Advent Reflections booklet
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