February 19, 2021 LENTEN SEASON BEGINS
At St. Mary's, one of our four Pillars is Catholic. As Lent began this week, we take this opportunity to feature Lenten Reflections each Friday this Lent to focus on the Catholic Identity that is the thread through all facets of our school.
This week's Lenten Reflection is by Head of School Dr. John F. Dolan.
During the past year of a worldwide pandemic, our St. Mary's and Sacred Heart schools have remained open for in-person learning. This amazing achievement is directly attributable to our wonderful teachers and staff. These dedicated educators, who sacrificed so much for our students, reminds me of a line from scripture. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?" (Luke 9: 24 – 25)
As we journey into Lent, hopefully in the waning days of the pandemic era, we are called to take pause and inventory our lives. Over the last year the pandemic forced us to consider our main priorities, in some cases forcing us to purge ourselves of the earthly things that prevent us from full communion with our Lord. To keep our school open, our students and families were offered the choice of intentionality in following the rules, or to be self-centered and do as they please. The same is true for this Lenten season. We have been given the privilege of freewill in our lives- the ability to choose what is finite or what is infinite. We can choose abundant life that comes with following God and obeying His commands, or we can cling to earthly pleasures that lead to death. The formula seems simple, yet so often we stray from the narrow path of righteousness only to be lost in the turbulent world around us.
As I reflect on this line from Luke's Gospel, it truly strikes a chord in my heart. "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?" When I walk the hallways and classrooms of my school, and watch our teachers and staff in action, I witness a group of people who choose to give their lives over to God, to allow him to further advance his creation. Their sacrifice inspires all of us.
This Lenten season, as we enter the desert of Lent, I wish for all of us to embrace this same spirit of surrender. Help us to break away from the struggles which tie us to this world, so that we can fully become the saints God created us to be. Give us the strength to order our lives with God at the center, and to set aside our personal desires.
St. Mary's Head of School Dr. John F. Dolan and Associate Head of School David Angeramo at Mass on Ash Wednesday.
A GREAT MILESTONE Congratulations to the St. Mary's girls hockey coach Frank Pagliuca on achieving his 300th career victory with yesterdays win! Coach Pagliuca has built a strong girls hockey program here at St. Mary's. We are certainly proud of this Spartan for what he has accomplished along the way.
SENDING THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS The fundraiser held for A.J Quetta was a success. In addition to the fundraiser our students and science department made a card and a 3D printed heart from our STEM lab to send to A.J.
We like to highlight our alumni and students' achievements on our Spartan Weekly Update. If you have any news please let us know or share them with us so we may feature it on social media and in the Spartan Weekly Update. Please send photos with a small description to update@stmaryslynn.com. St. Mary's Lynn 35 Tremont Street, Lynn MA 01902 P: 781-595-7885 F: 781-595-4471 Copyright © 2021 St. Mary's Lynn Inc. All rights reserved. |