Date: 18 August 2015
Weekly Memorandum No. 2015 – 9.4
TO: AdZUHS Community
FROM: Father Principal
1. Principal’s Message:
All of us at Ateneo de Zamboanga Junior High School are overcome with grief at the passing of Natasha Frances E. Sousa of Grade 10 Rodriguez. Tisha, as she was known to us, was a student of whom we all thought highly; a girl to whom we pointed with pride as a student at our school. She shall be missed by us all.
The loss of a child is one of life’s greatest sorrows. When it is someone of the quality of Tisha, it is a real tragedy for us all.
We are all aware that there are no words which are appropriate to ease the pain of the Sousa family during this time of grief, loss and sorrow, but we can give them our sincere message of condolences, our comforting presence, and our loving prayers.
As a community of believers, we pray for the repose of the soul of Tisha; we pray for healing and for a deepening of her family’s faith in God.
2. Characteristic of Jesuit Education (CJE): Believing that God is active in all creation and in all human history, Jesuit education promotes dialogue between faith and culture – which includes dialogue between faith and science. This dialogue recognizes that persons as well as cultural structures are human, imperfect, and sometimes affected by sin and in need of conversion; at the same time it discovers God revealing Himself in various distinct cultural ways. Jesuit education, therefore, encourages contact with and a genuine appreciation of other cultures, to be creatively critical of the contributions and deficiencies of each.
3. Student and Faculty Updates
a. Mrs. Rosie M. Hong, Mr. Rey S. Reyes, and Fr. Pen T. Abuan, SJ will be in Pasay City on September 29 – October 3 to attend the 2015 Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) National Convention. The theme of the convention is “Set Forth in faith with new eyes on the many faces of the Poor”. While Ms. Hong and Fr. Principal are on leave, Mr. Honey Rod T. Alfaro, Asst. Principal for Formation, is Officer-In-Charge.
4. Activities and Events for September 28–October 3
a. Sept. 28, Monday * Assembly sponsor: Danzar Atenista Moderator: Ms. Marlyn W. Rico
* Science Month Announcement of winners
* 7:30AM Mass: Class sponsor: Gr. 8 Francis Regis
Moderator: Ms. Mary Lucel B. Sumatra
b. Sept. 29, Tuesday * Teachers’ submission of Test Draft to Department Chairs
c. Sept. 30, Wed. * 7:30AM Mass: Class sponsor: Gr. 9 St. Francis Borgia
Moderator: Ms. Mari Flor M. Pamalison
* 4PM – 5PM: PaglilitisniMangSerapio presentation for
Gr 7 Chabanel, Gr. 7 Daniel, Gr 10 Garnet
d. Oct. 1, Thursday * Teachers’ submission of Test Draft to AP Academics
* 4PM – 5PM: PaglilitisniMangSerapio presentation for
Gr 7 Colombiere, Gr. 8 Claver, Gr 8 Bellarmine
e. Oct. 2, Friday * NO Community Mass
* 4PM – 5PM: PaglilitisniMangSerapio presentation for
Gr 7 Southwell, Gr. 8 Regis, Gr 8 Pongracz
* 5PM: Overnight recollection for Gr. 9 Xavier (Day 1)
* Overnight recollection for Gr. 8 St. Francis Regis (Day 1)
f. Oct. 3, Saturday * 1PM: End of Overnight recollection for Gr. 9 Xavier (Day 2)
* 7:30 AM End of Overnight recollection for Gr. 8 St. Francis Regis (Day 2) * 8:30 AM Overnight Leadership Training for Council of Leaders (COL) officers, class mayors, and club/organization presidents c/o SAP (Day 1)
* 8AM – 4PM Radio Broadcasting Training for Blue Eagle Publications and Liga Atenista Editorial Board Members rat OSS Conference Room
g. Oct. 4, Sunday * 7:30 AM End of Overnight Leadership Training for Council of Leaders (COL) officers, class mayors, and club/organization presidents c/o SAP (Day 2)
h. Weeklong activities: * Sept. 28 – Oct. 2: Science Gallery (Project/Output/Exhibit) Exhibit Room406 Person-in-charge: Ms. Mary Joy B. Roque
5. The Pre-Service Education students will be excused from their classes on September 28 to October 3, 2015 in observance of the AdZU Education Week 2015. For your information and guidance.
6. Teach us to Pray: Everyday Mysticism
Fr. James Martin, SJ
Mysticism is sometimes seen as a privileged experience for only the most well trained of spiritual athletes. But in her book Guidelines for Mystical Prayer, Ruth Burrows, a Carmelite nun, says that this form of prayer is not simply the province of the saints: “For what is the mystical life but God coming to do what we cannot do; God touching the depths of our being where man is reduced to his basic element?” Karl Rahner, the 20th-century Jesuit priest and theologian, spoke of “everyday mysticism.” But how can we define it?
A mystical experience is one in which you feel filled with God’s presence in an intense and unmistakable way. Or you feel “lifted up” from the normal way of seeing things. Or you are overwhelmed with the sense of God in a way that transcends your understanding. Needless to say, such experiences are difficult to put into words. It’s the same as trying to described the first time you fell in love, or held your newborn child, or saw the ocean.
Sometimes people feel moved to tears, unable to contain their love or gratitude. One man described feelingalmost as if he were a crystal vase, and God’s love was like waters about to overflow the top of the vase.
While mystical experiences are gifts, they are not as rare as some might believe. But because they are so personal, they are often hard to describe. (The saints even had a tough time with that.) But that does not mean they are not real or that they should not be reverenced – and treasured.
James Martin is a Jesuit priest and author of “Between Heaven and Mirth”, “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything”, and “My Life with the Saints”.
