Christmas Para Todos

It was a packed house for the matinee performance of the most delightful Christmas musical entitled "Christmas Para Todos". This special afternoon performance was held for the senior citizens, the students of local grammar schools, and the Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburga Monastery. Everyone left having received the true gift of Christmas- JOY which overflowed from the hearts, dance and songs of the cast and crew. Produced and directed by veteran Broadway actress Liz McConahay Wanfried, this high-energy playful theatre production filled the air with the Spirit of Christmas. Many of our students, who have trained and performed with Ms. Wanfried at the Young Artists Institute of NJPAC, brought their high level of experience to the stage Friday afternoon and evening. This was no ordinary Christmas play. The music arrangement was done by Emmy Award winning composer, Gary Schreiner, whose music can be frequently heard on the Oprah Winfrey Show. There were also a few added surprises to the festivities - guest broadway actress Danielle Chambers, whose angelic voice deeply touched each of our souls (she was absolutely magnificent) and the appearance of a British Rock Star (of the Foreigners)!!!!

Need we say more? If you missed Friday's performance, you can catch Monday evening. It is a five star performance * * * * * that you will not want to miss! We give thanks to God for the blessings He continues to bestow on Benedictine Academy. Merry Christmas to all!

Make A Wish ...

Santa rode in on his scooter from the North Pole to thank all the students on the nice list for participating in Macy's Make-a -Wish come true for terminally ill boys and girls. As Santa's elves distributed candy canes, the National Honor Society students were busy collecting gifts for the Christmas Giving Tree and spreading cheer with the Gospel Choir to the patients at St. Michael's Hospital; Junior students were gathering coats for the homeless, and the Theatre Group was rehearsing for the most delightful play - Christmas Para Todos!

"The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces...

let us rejoice and be glad that He has saved us!

Blessed are all who wait for him!" (Isaiah 25; 30)

Bishop Manny Cruz comes to town!

How blessed were we to receive the gift of a visit from Bishop Cruz to Benedictine Academy. His inspiring words of faith and hope will remain in our hearts for months to follow. Stopping in each classroom, the Bishop left his pearls of wisdom... "When you fall, get up" ... "Do not be afraid, God is with us." Perhaps, we were most touched by the Bishop's gentle, humble heart and deep faith in Emmanuel. He shared a most beautiful story about his reunion with a childhood teacher. Flying back to Cuba after 40 years, Bishop Cruz spoke about the Sister who had taught him the faith as a young boy in the back room of a small pharmacy. As we reflect on our own Benedictine school and the Sisters who have dedicated their lives to spreading the Good News of Jesus, we,too, are filled with grateful hearts. WE give thanks to Sister Sharon, Sister Germaine, Sister Martin-Elizabeth, Sister Lucy, Sister Lauren, Sister Donna Jo, and all the Sisters of St. Walburga Monastery for the outstanding catholic education our students have received at Benedictine Academy for almost a century. May God Bless You one and all.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Mary , Theotokos, was chosen to be the bearer of blessings to all nations; to proclaim the greatness of God's Name. In December of 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on a hill in Tepeyac, Mexico. She said, "I am your most merciful Mother... I want to show my loving clemency and compassion to those who call upon me in their sorrows." Roses blossomed in the middle of winter as a sign of God's love. And even today, a beautiful rose received is a sign that God hears our prayers and is with us in the midst of our winter sorrows. During our Advent Prayer Service, our Gospel Choir so sweetly sang a responsorial chant as we prayed to Our Lady for her intercession to our Lord Jesus for peace and justice in our troubled world.

P.S. You may be wondering what happened to the Feast of the Immaculate Conception? We celebrated Mary being conceived without sin, destined to be the Mother of Jesus, with an Advent day of prayer, rest and relaxation.

"Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!"

In 1897, an eight year old young girl asked the editor of the newspaper, the New York Sun, if there really was a Santa Claus. " And the editor Francis Church responded,

"....Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. ... . Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernatural beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. ..."

On Dec. 6, the Feast of St. Nicholas we celebrated the faithfulness, generosity and secret gift-giving of the real Bishop Nicholas of Myra. Nicholas was a saint known as the Wonderworker for the many miracles of love God granted through his intercession for the poor and young children. He became a model for the legend of Santa Claus and the joy of gift-giving during Christmas. Our Campus Ministers, Priscille and her many elves delivered gingerbread houses to all our staff with young children. And everyone was invited to send a letter to Santa Claus with one wish for a better world in the year 2010. Santa will be delivering these letters to Macy's as part of their Make a Wish Program. For every postcard they receive, Macy's will be donating $1. to Make a Wish Foundation for young children with a terminal illness. Doing small things with great love is a tradition at Benedictine Academy!

Advent Prayer

Our school community gathers each Friday for the lighting of our Advent Wreath and to hear God's Word. We prepare for the coming of Jesus in a new way this Christmas Season, a time of tremendous hope. This Advent tradition reminds us of the beautiful words of the Prophet Isaiah: "The people of darkness have seen a great light... you have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing..."

Attitude of Gratitude

Our dear friend and Brother, Rev. William Paige, flew in from a recent engagement in the Dominican Republic to bless our school community with the Word of the Lord. Rev. Bill Paige is a world renown speaker who inspires people, young and old, with his story telling and reflections on the Good News of Jesus Christ. He opened with a letter that he personally carried from one of his retreatants in the Dominican Republic. "To my teachers and friends at Benedictine Academy... I miss you and wish I were back with you all...O.R." Synchronicity. It was a letter of thanksgiving to Benedictine Academy from one of our students who recently moved back to her family's home of origin. She had an attitude of gratitude to B.A. for her education and the sisterhood that she had experienced.

Rev. Bill Paige vividly shared the story of the healing of the ten lepers, explaining how only only one of the ten lepers healed returned to give thanks and praise to Jesus. He pointed to Jesus on the crucifix, hanging life size in St. Walburga Monastery Chapel. Rev. Bill Paige asked, "How often do we say `thank you' to Jesus for all the blessings He has bestowed on us in our lives?" Are we like the one leper who knelt before Jesus to give thanks, or are we like the nine who received the blessing and kept on going with their lives?" Attitude of Gratitude!

Unlike the scripture passage of the ten lepers, we were blessed to have another alumnae return to Benedictine Academy to join us for our traditional Thanksgiving Prayer Service. Ericka Davis flew home from college for the Thanksgiving break, and joined us as she does every year to share in giving thanks and praise to the Lord. We wish all of our Benedictine family and friends, all of our Blog readers, a blessed Thanksgiving. May we always remember to walk with an attitude of gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ.