Dear Parents and Students,

This mid–March letter is always very exciting. The high schools have sent out their letters to our eighth graders and once again we are very proud of the accomplishments of our students.

Congratulations to the:

• 9 students accepted at Sacred Heart Cathedral
• 8 students accepted at Mercy High School
• 4 students accepted at Saint Ignatius
• 4 students accepted at Archbishop Riordan
• 4 students accepted at Lowell High School
• 1 student accepted at Marin Catholic High School
• 1 student accepted at The Woodhall School
• 5 students accepted ‘With Distinction’
• 1 student accepted ‘With Honors’

We are very proud of the Class of 2008!

My mid March letter usually refers to Saint Patrick or Saint Joseph. These two Saints offer great examples of how we should strive to not only accept, but love others even under difficult circumstances. However, this year Saints Patrick and Joseph have their feast days in the middle of Holy Week, so the focus really must be on this most important week in the Church year.

It was on Palm Sunday that the people first began (in large numbers) to acknowledge the glory of Jesus. Yet the events that followed took so many twists and turns. Those in power, who feared the changes Jesus might bring, sought ways to silence him. Confusion and fear gripped his followers and he was betrayed, arrested, denied, tortured and executed within a few short days.

Luke’s Gospel tells us that at the moment of Christ’s death, the curtain in the Temple was torn. For those unfamiliar with the structure of the Temple, it was arranged so that only people who ‘qualified’ were allowed access to each successive level. The final level was where the Covenant with God was kept, in effect God’s home on earth. Only one person, the High Priest, was allowed to enter this area and that was only once per year. That the curtain was torn at the moment of Jesus’ death is symbolic that no longer did anything separate God from His children. Redemption was (is) ours!

But even greater than that, Jesus rose from the dead the following Sunday. We are so loved by God that not even death brings an end to our lives, we live on in the love of our Creator!

I encourage you to review the Gospel readings for Holy Week and spend some time appreciating how loved we all are. God bless you.

Sincerely,

Terrence Hanley
Principal

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