Who will you make peace with?

If you were to look at my bucket-list, you would find the #1 "to do" to be "meet St. Francis of Assisi."  Since I will have to wait until my time here on Earth is done before I have any chance to do that, I'll settle for doing my best to follow in Francis' footsteps.  Sure, I am open about my love (some call it an obsession, but I don't know why) for animals, and I try my best to be a good steward of our environment, but the aspect of Francis' life that I love the most is likely that of being a peacemaker.
That's not to say that I don't get angry when I'm stuck in traffic, etc., but, that's a story for another blogpost.

This year, the Academy of the Holy Family is participating in World Peace Day, but doing it over two days.  Yes, I guess we might be considered overachievers.  However, the two days are going to really be special in their own ways.  I think that the most exciting part of this is that we are literally going to be joining people from around the world while we do it.  Not small change, I'd say!

On Friday, 20 September, the Academy will be hosting students from the other five Catholic high schools in our Diocese for Peace One Day - High School Invitational  Visit our link to see a Facebook Event Page for more information.  Let me just say that the speakers list is already starting to look so ex- citing, that it is really difficult to contain our excitement!

On Saturday, 21 September, the Academy is inviting families and friends from the Diocese and local communities to campus for World Peace Day - Families and Friends Invitational.  As excited as I am to have students from the other schools coming to "our house" on that Friday, the thought of having families join us for a full day peace-making activities is way over the top with excitement!

Those Event pages are going to include schedules as they develop, so please revisit them.

The theme of World Peace Day 2013 is "Who will you make peace with?"  www.peaceoneday.com reminds us that Peace is not just the absence of war.  It is the absence of domestic violence, racism, hunger, community violence, and more.

Please pray for the success of both days.  Much work to be done...

Our poster for the High School Invitational...

     For the Families and Friends Invitational                          

In case you hadn't seen them, just two photos of Joy during our summer vacation.  She has her sea-legs, as evidenced by these shots of her on a whale watch.  Nope.  I'm not obsessed.  *shrug*  Have a blessed day!

Digging Our Iggy at AHF...the best way to spend July!

We keep our Facebook page as fresh as possible and, while it may look time consuming, it is really great fun to find items of interest that are spiritual, educational and, even, humorous in nature.  

During the month of July, we have been Digging our Inner Iggy with the help of our brothers, the Jesuits (also known as the Society of Jesus).  Now, this affiliation might seem a bit odd since the Jesuits are a male Religious order...there are no female Jesuits...but, since the Academy of the Holy Family is so strongly based on our Catholic Identity, and is an educational institution, we can gain a great deal from the Jesuits.  They are, after all, commonly known as the most Intellectual Catholics.  Besides being spiritually strong, they tend to have quite a sense of humor!

The Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order, is celebrated on July 31st.  Ignatian Spirituality is a really rich website that offers so much to us all, regardless of whether we live a vowed or ordained religious life, are members of the laity, are young or old.  There is something on that website for everyone!  

Now...Digging our Inner Iggy is a day by day journey through some interesting spiritual exercises.  Some of them are easy, others are difficult.  Some are extremely serious, and others are laugh out loud hysterical.  There is something there for everyone, and that's the point of Digging for YOUR Inner Iggy.  

Since July 1, I've been posting the exercise for the day on our Facebook page, and have been getting some interesting responses. 

I guess I look at this daily posting from the perspective of a teacher (big surprise, I know).  I hope that the graphic that I attach to the link will attract the attention of our loyal Friends.  Then, I hope that they'll read the exercise and, hopefully, internalize what they're reading.  What does it mean for them...what does it relate to in their lives?  Literally, where can they find Ignatius' (aka Iggy) philosophy in their everyday lives?

This week, things are really going to heat up because they will lead up to Ignatius' Feast Day.  If you haven't visited the past Digging posts, it's not too late!  Check them out and see if you can find Iggy in your life!

May your day be blessed!

peace,

Mrs. T

Peace One Day 2013...celebrating One World @ AHF

On Friday, 20 September, the members of the Academy of the Holy Family community will be celebrating Peace One Day 2013.  We will be observing this special event with schools and communities around the globe, and will be enjoying the chance to study ways in which we can truly become people of peace.  Stay tuned...it is going to be a life-changing day!

Peace One Day 2013