Principal’s Letter
Note: NewsViews will not be published next Thursday, 4/22, due to the Easter Holidays.
Tonight at 7:00, here at St. John, we begin our series of Holy Week masses. Tomorrow we invite you to join us as Mrs. Arruela and the 7th grade students, lead us in a special Stations of the Cross prayer service, The Shadow Stations, beginning at 11:10 am. Immediately following the Stations, we will dismiss the campus in silence- we ask for your help limiting conversations on the black-top and at flag-pole during pick-up please and, note, the play pit will be closed during dismissal tomorrow.
Holy Thursday is one of my favorite days in the liturgical cycle, the night of Jesus’ final Passover meal with His disciples. The Gospel of John, chapter 13 starts out by saying, “Jesus knew that His hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved His own in the world and loved them until the end.” Jesus knew this was His final moment with His disciples and the message He chooses to give to them is one of humility, compassion and love. In this final lesson, this final example, Jesus chooses to wash the disciples’ feet, and in so doing, Jesus sums up the entire Gospel message; community- to love and serve your neighbor. Humble yourselves, take off your cloaks, loosen the straps of your sandals, pick up the basin and the towel and wash one another’s feet. By the living the mission of our Parish School we commit to this message of love and service to one another.
May is a month full of activities for our Parish and School. Be sure to watch the calendar for upcoming events. Enjoy your Easter break. See you at Easter Masses, and remember, if you still have Rice Bowl donation boxes at home, you can return those directly to the church tonight at Mass, or have your student bring them to the classroom tomorrow morning.
Happy Easter-
Principal Mansfield
