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Dear Mount Community,
Welcome to the 2024-2025 academic school year at Mount Saint Joseph Academy!
It is always a privilege to share the theme that will guide and direct us throughout the year. A brief review of the last few years' themes offers fitting context of this year's focus.
During the 2021-2022 academic year, we had the unique honor of a special year consecrated to our patron, Saint Joseph. Joseph, a father to us all, an everyday saint, a man of few words, offers a way to love love through obedience; selflessness; good example; hard work; leadership rooted in gentle courage. In the words of an SSJ Maxim, Interpret all things from the best point of view. That year we grew in leadership and perspective.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, our focus was on Service to the Dear Neighbor. How can we serve the dear neighbor if we do not see them? And so, the Zulu greeting of Sawubona became a regular reminder to really pause and see another. Literally, this greeting means that you see another and all that makes them who they are. To really see someone is to recognize their worth and dignity! Maxim 3 was a daily reminder to let go of your ego and choose love.
Last year, 2023-2024, our theme was The Journey Toward Reconciliation That All May Be One. The SSJ Mission and Charism reminds us that union/unity/communion is built on reconciliation. Within the word reconciliation is the root word - cilia, that means eyelash. Unity calls us to reconciliation which is a journey. When we engage eyelash to eyelash, person to person, truly encountering one another, we continue the work of service to the dear neighbor as we recognize the worth and dignity of each other. Maxim 41 provided helpful insight about how to make the journey toward reconciliation. Be gentle with yourself, the dear neighbor, and all creation. We are still evolving.
Our theme this year roots us directly in the mission of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the direction statement from the General Chapter 2024 held this summer. The theme invites us to be a Healing Presence In Word and Action.
- To be present (Maxim 49: Treat everyone as if you were meeting God/Love.)
- To be mindful (Maxim 83: Even our best intentions can be motivated by selfishness.)
- To be Love (Maxim 48: Don't forget the end game: Love and Maxim 6: Shed old ways that keep you self-centered. Embrace love. Be Love.)
The mission of unioning love calls us to be a healing presence - to be present, to be mindful and to be love. Being a healing presence models Saint Joseph, provides the way for serving the dear neighbor, and beckons us to reconciliation in all the places that need it.
What does it mean to be a healing presence in any and all situations?
To be a healing presence means...
- To listen more than we speak: Are my words encouraging and inspiring? Do they unite community or divide it?
- To remain calm even when others are in chaos: Can I be like balm that soothes and comforts?
- To stay clear and focused even when no clear direction is apparent: Can I pause and reflect on the situation to see the next best step?
- To value people exactly as they are and not as we think they should be: Am I willing to engage another eyelash to eyelash and let another’s point of view stretch me to really see them?
- To be with people who are suffering and in pain, rather than trying to fix them or have all of the
answers: Am I willing to suffer with another person?
- To let go of the temptation to show only our perfection and excellence and show compassion and
gentleness: Can I be present to another in sharing my vulnerability?
- To pause and take notice of someone who needs help whether I like them or not: Will I gather and
include others as Jesus did?
Healing presence is not just about doing something, it is about being present even when there is nothing that can be done. And, when we enter this vulnerable state of simply being with another person whether in pain or in sorrow, we experience being a healing presence because we have been present, mindful and ultimately a reflection of Love.
To be a healing presence calls us to Love the Dear Neighbor
Who doesn't...
Look like you
Think like you
Learn like you
Dress like you
Love like you
Speak like you
Vote like you
Worship like you
So, Love the Dear Neighbor
Without distinction (no exceptions)
In a world fractured by so many miseries – violence, destruction, acts of nature, division, hatred,
racism, sickness, injustice and so much more, we can be a healing presence in any and all situations. Be present, be mindful and be the love that the dear neighbor needs.
Blessings on this new academic year!
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