Saints Speak from Mrs. Marshall - 3/14/2024 - Mercy Not Sacrifice
Typically, when I share the quotes from Pope Francis each week, I take them from a daily calendar, but today’s message is a little different. I am reading a book for Lent called Sacred Space, written by the Irish Jesuits. It has daily Scripture and reflections, and the reflection I was reading last night references Pope Francis quoting Hosea 6:6, which says
“What I want is mercy, not sacrifice.”
The reflection goes on to say, “This is a shift of emphasis away from what I do, to what God does in me.” As the authors discuss, in Lent we may get caught up in self-sacrifice – what we are giving up, how we are showing self-discipline, etc. While this can be valuable, it also can remove God from the equation. The quote from Hosea has a subtle difference, calling us to mercy instead of sacrifice. The authors say, “For example, a person may be called to go the extra mile with someone, to mend a fractured relationship, to ask forgiveness for a hurt caused, to turn away from vice and reform their life. Obviously there is sacrifice involved here, and there is always a cost in changing for the better, but the goal is not sacrifice, it’s trying to do the right thing, the loving thing…what God wants.” May these words touch your heart today as they did mine!
Living Stations
Since we will not be together for Holy Week, we are having our Living Stations a week earlier. Please consider joining us on Wednesday, March 20th, at 2:30pm to pray the Living Stations of the Cross led by our 7th grade students.
DDA
The DDA is just two days away! We look forward to seeing you all Saturday at Bolingbrook Golf Club! If you aren’t attending, you can still bid on silent auction items and purchase raffle tickets or instant buys from home by visiting the DDA website.
Honor Roll
My apologies for not sharing this sooner, but congratulations to all junior high students who earned a place on the Honor Roll for the second trimester! We are proud of their accomplishments and will recognize them at Mass tomorrow morning.
MATHCOUNTS
I shared previously that our ASCA Mathletes earned 3rd place at the Regional MATHCOUNTS competition, making them one of only 40 teams in the state to advance to the State contest held last weekend. We are so proud to share that they finished 8th at State! This is the best finish in ASCA history, making All Saints the first Catholic school to finish in the top ten at the state level. Congratulations to team members James Budd, Gavin Foley, Abbie Ling, and Lucas Ling, who will be recognized at Mass tomorrow. Special congrats to James for also finishing in 10th place on the individual contest. Way to go, Saints!
Saintly Acts
Congratulations to the following students who were recognized today for their recent Saintly Acts: Adalyn Z. (5th grade), Will G. (4th grade), Caleb S. (2nd grade), Julie Ann C. (2nd grade), Andrew C. (5th grade), Charlotte H. (2nd grade), Cosette L. (2nd grade), Zachary L. (5th grade), Miles S. (2nd grade), Mark T. (5th grade), and Thaddeus V. (Kdg). Keep being saintly!
Warm regards,
Margie Marshall
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