We Have Seen the Lord!

Happy Easter!

We are celebrating fifty days of Easter Joy.

Our Gospel Readings speak about how the apostles

experienced the Risen Lord in the breaking of the bread.

Many of our freshmen students attended the Passion Play

at Park Performing Art Center before Easter and broke bread afterwards.

It is a tradition at Benedictine Academy to begin all our good works with prayer

and to celebrate with the breaking of the bread.

We, too, like the apostles experience Jesus in our midst.

May the Peace of our Lord be with you and your families!

Sister Donna Jo and the Blue Angels, our Junior Campus Ministers.

RECONCILIATION

In preparation for the Easter Season, all students are invited to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is a most valuable opportunity for us to encounter the healing presence and forgiveness of our Lord in a deeper way. Both Father ST Sutton and Father James Worth echoed Jesus' last words on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" as they offered spiritual guidance and absolution to each of our students.

As a reminder of this sacred time of the year, each student received an African palm cross. The purchase of these palm crosses enabled us to help the communities in South Africa who are desparately in need of our care and support.

LECTIO

An important Benedictine tradition is for the entire school community to take time out of the busyness of the school day to quietly reflect on God's Word. Every Friday during the Lenten season, the Church Bells sound calling our staff and students to halt their work and journey to St. Walburga Monastery for an hour of silent reflective prayer. We listen with the ear of our hearts to the Lord's transforming Word. It is a blessing to be able to sit at the feet of our Lord pondering the Gospel Message. We are ever grateful to the Sisters for the opportunity to share in this beautiful time of peace and joy in their Chapel.

Stations of the Cross

Each Lenten Season, our students make a weekly pilgrimage to the St. Walburga Monastery in order to pray the Stations of the Cross. It is often a source of deep healing and comfort as they remember the suffering our Lord endured because of His deep love for us. How blessed are we to have a Lord who is full of such mercy and compassion for you and for me!

Celebrating Women!

March is the month that has been designated to celebrate women! St. Joseph Social Service Center in Elizabeth invited our gifted Praise Dancers to give thanks and praise in honor of their dedicated working staff. Kejandra Sharpe, Jasmine Durr, Crystal Orr, and Jalissa Allen received a standing ovation for their soul-touching dance performance to The Storm is over Now! Our beautiful seniors freely share their gifts and talents to bless others with the Lord's loving presence! May God Bless All Women during these thirrty one days.

Join us for Earth Hour!

We are privileged to be one of the few schools in New Jersey that have been designated as a Green School/Green Faith. This weekend, millions of people will be making a proactive statement about climate change. "Please join our world community on Saturday night, March 29th, by shutting off your lights for one hour: 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm. www.earthhour.org. This movement originated on 31 March 2007, when 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney (Australia) businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. If the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney during Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year! Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement." Together, we can and will make a difference.