For the week of March 28, 2010

Thanks to the following families who helped this past week
• For hosting students: Mr. and Mrs. Ban Van Nguyen

Announcements
• This week’s photo gallery includes: student ambassadors for Living History experience for 7th graders and serving dinner to the homeless in Laguna Beach.
• Third Quarter Oral Exams begin March 30. The exams are conducted by the teachers in that discipline area and weighs 10% of the quarter grade. Oral exams have several purposes. They provide the students the chance of thinking and speaking “under pressure.” This skill is very important in effective communication, logical thinking, and all forms of public speaking. Oral exams also provide another medium through which student progress is regularly assessed. The Third Quarter grade counts as 40% of the second semester grade. No student may sit for his semester or quarter exams without all of his financial obligations being current. Parent Student Handbook, Chapter 6, section 10.
• Easter Holidays begin after after the Good Friday Liturgy. Please calculate student departure from St. Michael’s to be approximately 4:35 p.m. There will be a shuttle departing from St. Michael’s to the train station at approximately 4:40 p.m.

Volunteer Opportunities
• Join in sponsoring a Parent Lunch or Event Reception
• Take photos
• Help before-during-after an athletic event
• Host weekenders

Baseball This Week – please see the school’s online calendar
Movie: The Passion of the Christ – if you have not done so, please email Fr. Chrysostom your permission for your son to see this movie at school on Good Friday.

Homily of the Week by Fr. Sebastian Walshe, O.Praem.,
Among other things, Fr. Sebastian teaches philosophy to the juniors at St. Michael’s.

It is a fact of our experience that those who love us the most are often perceived as our most severe judges, even our worst enemies. Those who love us the most are those who most intensely desire our greatest good, yet if we ourselves do not desire that good, we can interpret the persistent and forceful efforts of those who love us as accusations and rejection simply because we want one thing for ourselves while they want another thing which is better for us. Perhaps nowhere else in the moral life of man is there such a patent division between perception and reality: a son believes he is the object of his father’s scorn; a daughter believes her mother is trying to destroy her happiness; a husband or wife feel only condemnation from their spouse. Sometimes we go so far as to think that the real motive of such people is to think of themselves as better than us. And so our lives become a tragedy in the truest sense.

The tendency to interpret intense and perfect love as hatred and rejection is most of all evident in the case of Jesus our divine Lover. “Unless your righteousness…you shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven.” How readily we perceive these words as words of accusation and rejection. There are in fact no words more tender, more full of mercy, in all the literature of human history. Jesus also said: “You shall be judged for ever idle word.” This is not because Jesus wants to punish us for the slightest faults, but because His love for us is so intense that He hangs upon our every word, and longs to hear our profession of immortal love in response to His.

Jesus says that our righteousness must go beyond the righteousness of the scribes and pharisees. Among other things, this means that our perfection must not be merely at the level of external actions or deeds, but also, and more importantly, at the level of our thoughts and words: “You have heard it said…but I tell you, if you are angry with your brother….liable to the fires of Gehenna.” The English translation of this morning’s Gospel says “settle with your opponent along the way,” but the Greek actually reads “think well” of your opponent. This is the fundamental law of the Kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of Heaven is not like other kingdoms where people can live together by moderating their external actions, all the while bearing indifference or animosity toward their neighbors in their hearts. The kingdom of heaven demands an interior love for our neighbor: “The kingdom of God is within you.” Unless this interior love for neighbor is present in each of the members of a society, such a society could never really be a place of perfect happiness.

Jesus is already a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, He is in fact its most merciful King. That kingdom is a place of perfect joy, so perfect in fact, that someone could really be happy there forever, which is a good thing since our souls are immortal. Spending eternity in a less than perfect world would ultimately mean eternal misery and sorrow. So for us, there is really only one choice: live in a perfect world or in eternal misery. And a world in which we lived could hardly be perfect unless we ourselves were completely free of imperfections. Jesus sees all this. He knows that our only hope at everlasting happiness is if we ourselves are made suitable citizens of a kingdom where perfect joy can last forever. And so He is not ambiguous or moderate in His demands that we must be thoroughly perfected, and the sacrifices He requires are extraordinary. All this is perfect mercy.

But you say “I do not desire this perfect good, the sacrifices are too great and painful.” It is better for you that Jesus does not also feel as you do. You may want to be lost, but you are fortunate that Jesus does not also want this. If both you and Jesus did not desire eternal life for you, then you would certainly perish; but if Jesus desires this life for you, even without your consent, there is still hope.

But again you say: “I do not have the ability to meet such great demands.” That is very true. But though you lack the ability, Jesus possesses it and He wants to help you. Jesus has the power to save you whether or not you will it, but He will not save you without your consent. To consent is easy, even for a wicked man: “[but] If the wicked man…he shall not die” “none of the crimes…” By merely turning away from our past sins, we bring Joy to the Lord: “Do I rejoice…”

Jesus compares entering the Kingdom of Heaven with approaching the altar: “Therefore, if you bring your gift…” We too shall soon approach the altar of sacrifice bearing your gift – now is the acceptable time. [Were all the realm of nature mine, that were a present far to small, love so amazing so divine, demands my soul, my life my all.] Be reconciled with the divine Lover, He is not your opponent, your adversary. He is not your judge: He is your life and salvation.


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 whose cancer has reoccurred.
• Mrs. Josie Holbach, mother of Luke Holbach, who is ill.
• Mrs. Michele Jacobs who is ill
• Mrs. Amber Manly for a healthy pregnancy
• Mr. Mark McCormick, who was injured during baseball practice
• Two year old Cole Workman, who has autism
• Six year old Iris Workman who has spina bifida
• St. Michael’s older priests and those who care for them
• Those who suffer in the current economic crisis
• Those who are in the armed forces.

• For the repose of the soul of Mrs. Jane Grimard

For the week of March 21, 2010

Thanks to the following families who helped this past week• For hosting students: Mrs. Kelly Choi, Mr. and Mrs. Jaime Manzano, and Mrs. Elizabeth Tractenberg
• For taking photos: Mr. Brian Tran, Fr. Claude Williams
• For providing a Parent Lunch: Mr. and Mrs. Hai Pham, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Rivero, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Schardt, Mr. and Mrs. Brian Tran, and Mr. and Mrs. Tin Vu.
Congratulations to Nick Hanson who received the rank of Eagle Scout at his Court of Honor on March 20, 2010 !
Announcements
• This week’s photo gallery includes Nicholas Hanson's Eagle Court of Honor, American ballad singer “Big Mike” Hills, and March's Parent Lunch.
• Third Quarter Oral Exams begin March 30. No student may sit for his semester or quarter exams without all of his financial obligations being current. Parent Student Handbook, Chapter 6, section 10.
• Easter Holidays begin after after the Good Friday Liturgy. Please calculate student departure from St. Michael’s to be approximately 4:35 p.m. There will be a shuttle departing from St. Michael’s to the train station at approximately 4:40 p.m.

Volunteer Opportunities
• Join in sponsoring a Parent Lunch or Event Reception
• Take photos
• Help before-during-after an athletic event
• Host weekenders

Baseball This Week
Tuesday, March 23rd vs Eastside Christian @ Ameritage Park; 3:15 pm
Thursday, March 25th vs CVC @ San Juan Sports Park; 3:15 pm

Movie: The Passion of the Christ
Before the solemn liturgy on Good Friday, St. Michael’s is planning to show to the students the film “The Passion of the Christ.” Since showing R rated films is not our usual practice, we ask each parent to email their authorization to Fr. Chrysostom, the dean of students. cbaeropraem@juno.com Any student who has not received parental permission will not watch the film.

Weekly Homily by Fr. Justin Ramos, O.Praem.Among other things, Fr. Justin helps lead the abbey expansion project.
“The man believed what Jesus said to him and left” words of this morning’s gospel…

There was a tightrope walker, who did incredible aerial feats. All over Paris, he would do tightrope acts at tremendously scary heights. Then he had succeeding acts; he would do it blindfolded, then he would go across the tightrope, blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow. An American promoter read about this in the papers and wrote a letter to the tightrope walker, saying, "Tightrope, I don't believe you can do it, but I'm willing to make you an offer. For a very substantial sum of money, besides all your transportation fees, I would like to challenge you to do your act over Niagara Falls." Now, Tightrope wrote back, "Sir, although I've never been to America and seen the Falls, I'd love to come." Well, after a lot of promotion and setting the whole thing up, many people came to see the event. Tightrope was to start on the Canadian side and come to the American side. Drums roll, and he comes across the rope which is suspended over the treacherous part of the falls -- blindfolded!! And he makes it across easily. The crowds go wild, and he comes to the promoter and says, "Well, Mr. Promoter, now do you believe I can do it?" "Well of course I do. I mean, I just saw you do it." "No," said Tightrope, "do you really believe I can do it?" "Well of course I do, you just did it." "No, no, no," said Tightrope, "do you believe I can do it?" "Yes," said Mr. Promoter, "I believe you can do it." "Good," said Tightrope, "then you get in the wheel barrow."

The word believe, in Greek means "to live by". The story of the tightrope makes you ask, how often do we say that we believe in Christ and all the teaching in his church but refuse to get in the wheelbarrow?

The royal official had very little faith in Christ. He asked that Christ come to his home to heal his son; he didn’t think Christ could heal his son unless he was physically present. He wanted to see the miracle with his own eyes. That is why our Lord tells him “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”

Faith is a supernatural virtue; it is a super human power! We all get it at baptism. It gives us the capacity of assenting with our mind to everything that God has revealed in Sacred Scripture and in Sacred Tradition.

This superhuman power allows us to accept, assent with our minds to everything that God has revealed. But, we accept everything God reveals not because we comprehend, but because God who can neither deceive nor be deceived reveals it. In other words, we believe because Christ has told us it is true.

We get a glimpse of what this faith entails with the story of the Tightrope and with this following illustration:

One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, were flames, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters."

Our Catholic faith enables us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen; not that we know all the answers, but that we are known and loved by God.

As we continue in our Lenten journey, let us ask our Heavenly Father to give us the faith of his holy mother Mary as she stood on Calvary and saw her son bleeding to death. She believed he was God who as man was dying out of love for us. May she obtain for us from her Son greater faith in him so that believing in Him here on earth, we may possess him and be embraced by him for all eternity. Amen.
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 whose cancer has reoccurred.
• Mrs. Jane Grimard, grandmother of Patrick Grimard, who is near death.
• Mrs. Josie Holbach, mother of Luke Holbach, who is ill.
• Mrs. Michele Jacobs who is ill.
• Mrs. Amber Manly for a healthy pregnancy
• Mrs. Miriam Schardt who is recovering from foot surgery
• Two year old Cole Workman, who has been diagnosed with autism
• Six year old Iris Workman, who is experiencing complications of spina bifida
• St. Michael’s older priests and those who care for them
• Those who suffer in the current economic crisis
• Those who are in the armed forces.

For the week of March 14, 2010

Thanks to the following families who helped this past week
• For hosting students: Mr. and Mrs. Ban Van Nguyen, Mr. and Mrs. Dale Rincon, and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Rivero

Announcements
• This week’s photo gallery includes weekend outing in the mountains and baseball. Photos taken by sophomore Don Nguyen.
• There will be a Parent Lunch on Wednesday, March 17th sponsored by Mrs. Rivero, Mrs. Pham, Mrs. Tran and Mrs. Vu.
• In honor of St. Joseph, Friday, March 19th is a non-school day. School will be dismissed at 12:20 p.m. Thursday, March 18th .

Financial Information for 2010-2011
• The room, board, and tuition is $17,900
• There is no change in:
• 3% discount when tuition fully paid by June 5th, 2010
• Graduation Fee
• Non-refundable tuition deposit
• Sports Fees
• Student Account
• Textbook fee
• Transportation fees
• Vantage Point Gala participation
• Weekend fees

• Non-refundable tuition deposit of $3000 due Thursday, March 18th .
• If you have any questions, please contact our Business Office:
 Mr. John Kohl kohlj@stmichaelsabbey.org 949.858.0222 extension 266
 Mrs. Agnes Kwon agnesk@stmichaelsprep.org 949.858.0222 extension 268

Baseball This Week:
Tuesday, March 16th @ Windward; 3:30 pm

Movie: The Passion of the Christ
Before the solemn liturgy on Good Friday, St. Michael’s is planning to show to the students the film “The Passion of the Christ.” Since showing rated R films is not our usual practice, we are asking that each parent email his/her permission as soon as possible to the school office in care of Mrs. Christian. Any student who has not received parental permission will not be allowed to watch the film.

Weekly Homily by Fr. Ambrose Criste, O.Praem. Among other things, Fr. Ambrose is the novice master in St. Michael’s Abbey.
“More tortuous than all else is the human heart...I, the Lord, alone probe the mind and test the heart, to reward everyone according to his ways.”

The human heart, as all of you biology students well know, is a very complicated organ. Not only on the biological level is it a complicated organ, but especially on the spiritual level is it complicated. We fallen men fix our affections on things that can't help us to reach heaven, and we miss all the opportunities that God offers us each day to become saints. Do you want to become a saint? I shouldn't even have to ask for a show of hands to answer that question – and don't worry, I won't...this isn't a summer camp homily – I don't have to ask that question because I already know that everyone here this morning has the desire for holiness somewhere inside the twists and turns of his tortuous human heart.

Holiness is what we are created for. We are made for heaven, but because of our fallen nature we often forget this most important truth, and we live instead as if our own selfish will is the reason for our existence...like the rich man in Our Lord's parable today who dined sumptuously while poor Lazarus was starving right at his front door. God wants you to become a saint even more than you do, and He can even make that happen today, if you are willing to cooperate with Him today. The rich man in today's Gospel could have ended up in a much happier eternity if he would have just forgotten about himself for a moment and seen poor Lazarus in great need right there at his door. Instead, the tortuous twists and turns of his selfish heart prevented him from seeing that opportunity. He missed his chance.

Today, God is surely going to ask you many times and in many different ways to forget about yourself and to reach out to someone in need. For you men in blue coats it might be that roommate or classmate that you just can't seem to get along with. Just think how different today will be for him if you treat him like a human being, offer him a kind word when you're inclined to tease or ignore him. Or for all of us up here in white, that someone in need might be some unknown soul who needs our prayers, and the invitation will be to get up from the computer or to put down that book or that phone, and to get to Terce, and Sext, and None.

You see, my friends, holiness is not something that we have to just keep putting off for tomorrow. No! We can pursue it today, and it means embracing the concrete acts of charity – overcoming our selfish inclinations – that God offers us today. The Saint whom we commemorate today, Saint Casimir, offers us an excellent example of embracing holiness in the ordinary course of one's state in life. True, his life was far from ordinary – Saint Casimir was the son of the King of Poland in the 15th century – but the point is that he was able even in his royal life of privilege and prestige to die to himself and to pursue the heights of holiness. Saint Casimir spent his short life very much involved in the affairs of his world. He went with his father the king on many military campaigns, and just like all of you students he spent his teenage years studying. He even took an unsuccessful step in the direction of career advancement when he agreed to be crowned king of Hungary at the young age of 17. Because of the complicated political situation he found there, this attempt failed and he returned to his father's kingdom of Poland. So he was very much a young man of privilege and very much in the world. But unlike the rich man in today's Gospel, Saint Casimir was always looking out to serve others in need – the poor, the sick, strangers, prisoners. And most especially, he absolutely poured himself out in his love for God, and particularly in his devotion to Our Lady and to the Blessed Sacrament. He often spent entire nights kneeling outside the locked doors of a church in adoration of Our Lord housed there within. Saint Casimir died of tuberculosis when he was only 25, and he teaches us that God gives us absolutely everything we need to become saints today. If we look down inside the twists and turns of our complicated and tortuous hearts, we will find there, my friends, the love of God and the desire for holiness. And if we keep our eyes open today, Our Lord will show us where he wants us to die to ourselves and to reach out to our neighbor in need. And what's more, my friends, He even gives us the strength to do all of that when he feeds us with His Body and Blood from this altar. May we seek Him today, and find Him, and receive Him, and love Him in return...and so become saints. Amen.

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 whose cancer has reoccurred.
• Mrs. Josie Holbach, mother of Luke Holbach, who is about to undergo a biopsy.
• Fr. Michael Huggins who struggles with cancer.
• Nicki Madrid, who is being deployed to Afghanistan
• Mrs. Amber Manly for a healthy pregnancy
• Mrs. Miriam Schardt who is recovering from foot surgery
• Two year old Cole Workman, who has been diagnosed with autism
• Six year old Iris Workman, who is experiencing complications of spina bifida
• St. Michael’s older priests and those who care for them
• Those who suffer in the current economic crisis
• Those who are in the armed forces.

For the week of March 7, 2010

Thanks to the following families who helped this past week
· For hosting students: Mr. and Mrs. Dimen, Mrs. Hippolito, Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen
· For taking photos: Edward Lim and Don Nguyen

This week's photo gallery includes
· Visit to the Getty Villa in Malibu by the students of Latin II and Latin III
· Students helping Mr. Lieggi putting in an herb garden
· Landscape removal between the Abbey and School, preliminary steps to Edward Lim’s eagle project


Open House at St. Michael's Prep - Sunday, March 14 at 3:30 pm.
contact the school office for additional information. 949.858.0222 ext 237

Baseball:
Tuesday, March 9th vs. Crean Lutheran @ STM; 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 11th vs. Eastside Christian @ STM; 3:00 p.m.

In honor of St. Joseph’s Day, Friday, March 19th is a non-school day. Students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 18th.

Weekly Homily by Fr. John Henry Hanson, O.Praem.
Among other things, Fr. John Henry teaches English

“A good measure, overflowing, will be poured into your lap.” As we very carefully measure out our food and drink and so many other things in this season of Lent, do we run the risk of missing the point? Our Lord indicates so in the portion of the Sermon on the Mount that we heard on Ash Wednesday. Maybe what enables us to keep our priorities in order, to accept our share of Christ’s passion, is having an appreciation for what has been measured out to us by the Lord. Our question, in the midst of our penance, should be: What shall I return to the Lord for all that He has given to me? because before we can measure out to others, and give to others, we first have to appreciate what we have been given.

What has been measured out to us? Mother Teresa, in speaking about the priesthood, once said something that all Christians can apply to themselves in some way. She said: When Jesus makes a man a priest, He gives Himself entirely to him. That is, there is no measure in His giving. For the priest this should be a sober reminder to stay focused on what the Lord has given us: Himself. The Lord has nothing to offer us except Himself.

All of us, priests or not, are tempted to think that we don’t have everything we need to be joyful, content, happy. We sit in the midst of treasures and still look around for something more. Is Christ withholding something from us, something necessary for our happiness? Is Christ withholding Himself from us in any way? The circumstances of our lives, or rather our perception of them, seem to suggest this from time to time. Our own moral lives, our inability to renounce certain sins once and for all—these make it appear that something is lacking to us. Is it so? What does Scripture tell us? What do the saints tell us--the voices of those who see truly and judge rightly?

In the parable of the prodigal son, the heavenly Father says, through the mouth of the father of the parable: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” Saint Paul says, very briefly, “everything is yours; and you are Christ’s.” Outside of Scripture there are few passages from any age or in any language that parallel the beauty of this one from St John of the Cross:

“Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine, and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. What do you ask, then, and seek, my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the [desires] of your heart.”

Is this the way we judge our lives—especially our lives in Christ? Shouldn’t it be? We tend to see many of the circumstances of our lives as basically unfair—things are not going the way I had planned, my ambitions have not been realized and probably never will be; I’m not as happy as I think I should be. Everyone else seems better off than I am.

One characteristic of the saints is that they never think that they have been short-changed, or tricked, or trapped by Divine providence. They live their lives according to the truth: Christ has given me all things and therefore all things that matter are mine. This is why we see in them, as it were, an endless source of love, devotion, and mercy.

C.S. Lewis once said, arguing against those say that there is no hell, although we can apply the same truth to ourselves: Those who say there is no hell: What do they want God to do? Give everyone a second chance? A new start? He has already given that to us on Calvary. And in giving Himself on Calvary, He has given us all things.

All of our penances, prayers, and acts of mercy should lead us to appreciating that. And the beautiful thing about Calvary is that Christ’s love and mercy were so immeasurable there, at that time and place, that they are present here on this altar today as we represent His sacrifice. And we approach it, hoping for a new start, hoping to appreciate just a little bit more what God is doing for us and how much Christ is giving to us--so that we can go forth and measure out to others something of what has been measured out to us.

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.

Student Birthdays
March 9 Vitalyi Tractenberg

Prayer Requests
· Dr. Joseph Gloudeman who has the reoccurrence of cancer.
· Fr. Michael Huggins who struggles with cancer.
· Mrs. Amber Manly for a healthy pregnancy
· Cole Workman, a two year old who has just been diagnosed with autism
· Iris Workman, Cole’s six year old sister who is experiencing the reappearance of spina bifida
· St. Michael’s older priests and those who care for them
· Those who suffer in the current economic crisis
· Those who are in the armed forces.