• For hosting students over the weekend: the Manson/Rincon, Martin, Ruiz, and Terlisner families.
• For Brian Tran who took photos during our football game against Southlands Christian.
Volunteer Opportunities are available – contact the school office to help
Congratulations to our students
First Quarter Honor Roll
First Honors
94% and Above
Joshua Aaker
Jonathan Bonello
Brendan Bowe
Matthew Brooks
Adrian Chavez
Peter Goodwin
Anthony Guerra
Michael Haeuser
Nicholas Hanson
Jay Hipolito
Luke Holbach
James Howard
Alan Le
Marc LeMire
Edward Lim
Don Nguyen
Thomas Nguyen
Hieu Pham
Alexander Porrello
Joseph Porretta
Brian Schardt
Scott Schardt
Joseph Terlisner
James Tran
John Tran
Second Honors
88% - 93%
Nicholas Cannizzaro
Jacob Holke
Daniel Lim
Vincent Lu
Spencer Manson
Michael Martin
Jacob McDowell
John Michael Mikolaycik
Daniel Murphy-Dimen
Brian Nguyen
Michael Porretta
Joseph Rivero
Ricardo Ruiz
Marco Saglietto
David Suh
• Daniel Murphy-Dimen who won first place in the Speech and Debate tournament on October 31st . The topic debated: Public high school students in the United States ought not be required to pass standardized exit exams to graduate. The student team which earned the highest marks was: Nicholas Hanson and Conrad Lakomy.
• Pumpkin Carving Contest Winners Daniel Lim, Alex Porrello, and Brian Schardt. The pumpkins were judged on the elements of art, the principles of design as well as originality and theme.
• Pioneer football player, Andrew Ford, who plays both tight end and middle linebacker, for his effort last Friday against Southlands.
Admissions
• Fr. Gabriel participates in a High School Information Night sponsored by St. Anne’s in Laguna Niguel on Wednesday, November 4th at 6 pm. If you know any families who would enjoy finding out more information about St. Michael’s, please let them know about this event.
• St. Michael’s next Open House is Saturday, November 14th at 3:30 p.m.
Student Birthdays
11/05 Conrad Lakomy
Fall Sports Award Ceremony
Players, coaches and parents are invited to attend the Fall Sports Award ceremony November 15th at 7:00 p.m. The award ceremony honors those who participated on the football and cross country teams. It takes place in the school’s Recreation Room. Parents who can help organize the reception are asked to contact Mrs. Elizabeth Tractenberg whose phone number is in the school directory.
Upcoming Athletic Events
• Monday, Nov. 2nd: XC Irvine Regional Park League Finals; 3:00 p.m. 2009 Cross Country Captains are: Jake Holke and James Howard.
• Friday, Nov. 6th: Fball vs. Eastside Christian @ STM; 3:00 p.m. 2009 Football Captains are Luke Holbach, Conrad Lakomy, Thomas Nguyen, and Joseph Rivero.
Weekly Homily by Fr. John Henry Hanson, O.Praem.
Among other things, Fr. John Henry teaches English at St. Michael’s
“You are now members of the household of God.” When Jesus calls us to belong to His “household,” which is the Catholic Church, we have to be prepared to embrace a peculiar type of sadness. The Church is the universal family of God. As Scott Hahn says, Human fathers ideally father one family only, not close to 40,000, as a statistic numbers the global amount of Christian denominations. The heavenly Father fathers one family only—and we are it. We are His children, members of His household. As in all families, there are members who fall away, go astray, making it hard for those who stay put. If we did not believe that there is only one faith, Church, hope, one family of God, we might not care so much about those who fall away and stay away. But this is where we feel some of our deepest sadness.
On the feasts of Apostles we often hear this Gospel passage which always ends with the same, unhappy verse: “and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” The same man whom the Lord called friend and brother, that same man ultimately bargained away his Master, bargained away his vocation, bargained away his hope--his place in the family.
The message to us, whether we are priests or laity, is that our place in the household is no more secure than was Judas’—nor is it any less secure. So the Church asks us to imitate the fidelity of the other Apostles who also fell away, but came back and stayed. In celebrating the Apostles, we are celebrating men who came back--not men who never failed, but men who came back. The Lord never tells us: Do not fail, but (as He saint to St Peter): “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren.”
All of the Apostles experienced an initial over-confidence in themselves and then failure. “You will all fall away because of me this night” but all of the disciples said, “We will not deny you.” Overconfidence, trusting in our own enthusiasm, our own anything, will never keep us faithful. We need to cling to Christ. Sometimes it is the very sorrow that we feel over the failures of others, and especially our own, that makes us see this as something more than an exhortation, but a way of life. St Paul says that in the Church we are like stones fitted together tightly around Christ, who holds us together, and keeps us in place.
What made Judas turn away from the Lord and stay away from Him was a hardening of the heart. Elsewhere in the Gospel, Jesus attributes the break-up of marriages to hardness of heart, to stony hearts. Families break-up, even the family of God, because of hardened hearts. When we grow hardened toward the Lord, insensitive to Him, we fall away from Him. When we persistently trust more in ourselves than in Him, we fall away.
On the night of the Last Supper, He told His Apostles: Do not let your hearts be troubled. A hardened heart begins as a troubled heart: troubled by expectations that have not been met, troubled by loneliness, troubled by fears, etc. We imagine that Jesus has set us up for failure, but we do not hear His word to us: “Amen, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” Be prepared to weep--for yourselves and for your fallen brethren, and be prepared to rejoice in my mercy. Cling to me, and you will rejoice even in your sorrow.”
When Jesus called into His household, He thought that we could handle some sadness, and from time to time some loneliness, some fatigue, some failure. He thought we could and He was not wrong. He thought that we could look up to Him as to our elder Brother, that (as priests) we could stand in His place, and take all of the sorrows that He Himself bore for our sakes and fill up in our frail, sinful flesh the sufferings that are wanting to His own, for the sake of His body, His family, which is the Church.
Jesus chose twelve whom He named Apostles to become the pillars in the household of God. Through the intercession of Saints Simon and Jude, men who came back, may we turn anew to the Lord and accept our share of family sorrow, knowing that by our evangelical mourning, blessed mourning, we are building up His family, the Church, unto an everlasting household, where every tear shall be wiped away.
In publishing this homily, we hope to share a portion of the spiritual treasure by which the students are enriched every day. However, this homily may not be reproduced by the parents or friends of St. Michael’s without written permission of the author.
Prayer Requests
• Dr. Joseph Gloudeman who suffers from the reoccurrence of cancer.
• Mrs. Amber Manly for a healthy pregnancy
• Mrs. Jodi Meschuk for a healthy pregnancy.
• Mrs. Betty Vaughan who suffers from declining health.
• St. Michael’s older priests and those who care for them.
• Those who suffer the effects of the current economic crisis.
• Those who are in the armed forces.
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