Date: 2 October 2015
Weekly Memorandum No. 2015 – 10.2
TO: AdZUHS Community
FROM: Father Principal
1. Principal’s Message:
In the Catholic tradition, the month of October is considered the Month of the Holy Rosary.
Traditionally, an Atenean and the Rosary go together. The Rosary is a reminder of an Atenean’s deep and personal relationship with Mother Mary
I have read from somewhere (though I have to confirm this with Prof.AmbethOcampoJ ) that Jose Rizal held Rosary beads before he died. And Ninoy Aquino found consolation in praying the rosary in his solitary confinement. It was also said that in Bataan, during World War II, Ateneo ROTC volunteers would gather every evening to pray the Rosary together.
Like St. Ignatius, we kneel before our Mother and entrust ourselves to her care. Instead of a sword, we offer a crown of roses – the Rosary. The greatest desire of Mary is to bring us closer to her Son, Jesus. She does not seek to call attention to herself. The late Pope John Paull II wrote that when we pray the rosary, Mary also prays WITH US and for us. The Rosary is a prayer to Jesus with Mary.
The heart of the Rosary is Jesus. The Rosary is about Jesus and God’s great love for all of us.
2. Characteristic of Jesuit Education (CJE): Jesuit education is world-affirming.
Jesuit education acknowledges God as the Author of all reality, all truth and all knowledge. God is present and working in all of creation: in nature, in history and in persons. Jesuit education, therefore, affirms the radical goodness of the world “charged with the grandeur of God”, and it regards every element of creation as worthy of study and contemplation, capable of endless exploration.
3. Congratulations to the Winners of the October Literacy Month Trivia Questions.
Aaron Janos C. Sta. Teresa 7 St. John Berchmans
Althea A. Chiong 7 St. Claude la Colombier
Charles Marlo H. Pis-an 7 St. Robert Southwell Yohanne Paulus G. Dimarucut 7 St. Noel Chabanel Mark Jeroven B. Kong 8 St. Francis Regis Kyle Adrian K. Demco 8 St. Robert Bellarmine Carmellie Anne A. Plaza 8 St. Edmund Arrowsmith Vaneza Mae Guevarra 8 S. Francis Regis Joyce M. Alta 9 St. Francis Borgia Aubrey Jean L. Liu 9 St. Francis Borgia Claresse S. Labanes 10 St. Ignatius of Loyola
4. Faculty Updates
a. Fr. Pen T. Abuan, SJ will be in Manila on October 15-16 to attend the 2015 Annual Educators’ Congress. In his absence, Ms. Rosie M. Hong will be Officer-in-Charge. Ms. Hong is also authorized to sign documents in Fr. Principal’s behalf.
b. Mr. Rey S. Reyes will attend the Facilitators’ training for incoming SHS teachers to be held at BP Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna on October 13-18, 2015. These teacher-trainers will be equipped with facilitation skills to deliver training programs that CHED has specifically designed for SHS teachers of non-DepEd senior high schools. This four-day activity is sponsored by the Commission on Education (CHED) together with PEAC National Secretariat and the Philippine Normal University (PNU).
c. Bros. GeovanieS. Baco and ArbieE. Tindugan will be in Cagayan de Oro onOctober 12 – 16 for their mid-year retreat and evaluation.
d. Mr. Santy P. Araneta Jr. will be in Ateneo de Davao to represent AdZU in a CEAP-related meeting on October 16-18. He will be back to office work on October 19. 2015.
5. Activities and Events for October 12 – 17, 2015 (Review Week; no student activities)
a. October 12, Mon. * FIESTA PILAR (City Holiday); NO student activities inside the campus
b. October 13, Tue. *
c. October 14, Wed. *Islamic New Year; NO student activities inside the campus
d. October 15, Thu. *
e. October16, Fri. * 7:30AM Mass: Class sponsor: Gr. 9 St. BernardineRealino
Moderator: Ms. Christiana Alegado
f. October 17, Sat. * 8AM – 11:30 AM 2nd AdZU Math Quiz Elimination round for Zamboanga Public school pupils and special training on computer-workshop for
teachers/coaches will have. c/o Math Department
g. Weeklong activities: * Daily Mathematics Trivia Questions until October 23.
6. Teach us to Pray: Mary as Patron and Companion
Fr. James Martin, SJ
“Hail Mary, full of grace” began the prayer I said often as a boy. Walking to school on the day of a big test, I would pray plenty of Hail Marys as a way of asking for extra help in math. Most Catholics are familiar with Marian devotions, especially the rosary – even if some may misunderstand these practices.
First, we don’t worship Mary, and we don’t see her as equal to God. We venerate her under many titles: Mother of God, Our Lady, The Blessed Mother, among others. But worship is reserved for God. When we ask for Mary’s help as a patron (someone who prays for us) we believe that she is praying to God. Mary’s entire life was in service to God. “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord,” she says to the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:38). And her last words in Scripture point to Jesus when at the Wedding at Cana she says, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5).
But the saints are not just our patrons; they are our companions. Seeing Mary as our companion means remembering that the Blessed Mother was once Miriam of Nazareth, a poor woman in an insignificant village. God chose one of the most marginal of people – indigent, young, unmarried, living in an occupied region under Roman rule – to be the mother of Jesus. She knows what it means to live on the edge. Mary dealt with surprises in life, knew suffering, and rejoiced over God’s activity. In a word, Mary was human.
So the next time you take out a rosary or say a Marian prayer like the Memorare, remember that it unites us not only with Our Lady enthroned in heaven but also with Miriam of Nazareth.
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”.
