Words from our Principal
Dear families and friends of Lumen,
On Friday, October 28 (which also happens to be the birthday of our beloved chaplain Fr. Riley!), our Church celebrated the Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude. Though we have already reflected on the Honor Code principle of genuinely seeking the moral, spiritual, and intellectual good of my peers, ensuring that their lives are enriched by my presence, when we listened to the first reading at Mass for the feast day, I couldn’t help but think of this precept again. In that letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul tells us:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God. . .
How different our interactions with each other might be if we could keep Paul’s insight in mind all the time – that we are not strangers to each other but members of God’s family, and that we ought to meet, greet, and treat others as our fellow citizens in the Kingdom of God, delighting that they are part of our lives and willing to bear their burdens with them, rather than seeing them as burdens to us. We are enriched by each other’s very presence – indeed, by each other’s very existence – and we would be heartbreakingly impoverished if any one of us was missing. It occurred to me too that the challenge posed to us by our Honor Code is not just one of acting in such a way that we enrich the lives of others (though this is important and essential!). The challenge is also that of seeing and recognizing how we are enriched by others – and treasuring them for it.
Trappist monk Thomas Merton had a famous experience of this truth one day while walking around the streets of Louisville, KY, in 1958. He wrote:
In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness. . . This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud. . .I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. . . If only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.
I felt this very keenly as I sat at Mass on Friday, heard Paul’s words, and gazed around the church at our scholars and our faculty. I could not help but be filled with gratitude for each and every person in that church. The prayer that kept running through my mind was: Lord, how good it is that each of us is here, and how glad I am that we are here together! In that moment, I was filled with an inexpressible awe of how deeply my own life has been enriched by every single scholar, every single teacher, every single parent in our community. Every day, you nourish me with your good humor and kindness, humble me with your trust and forgiveness, and challenge me to grow in my love and service to you and to God. I cannot thank you enough, personally, for the gift you have all been to me by your very presence. And I pray that, in turn, your days may be filled with the peace and joy that comes from our fellowship in the household of God!
Pax et bonum,
Karen Celano
LVA 4 Life Bake Sale
Through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Biggins, our LVA scholars were invited to the Banquet to celebrate the overturning of Roe, to hear moving speeches by pro-life activitists, and to enjoy a delicious dinner. Scholars learned about the First Concern Pregnancy Resource Centers and their mission to support women and families facing unexpected pregnancies.
Inspired by the Life Matters Banquet, the scholars hosted a bake sale and raised over $450 to benefit First Concern! Thank you to everyone who donated!
Immersive Vatican Exhibit
Fall Cross Country
Open Houses
