Thursday, May 26, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Song:Open the eyes of my heart
Open the eyes of my heart
CHORUS
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You(bis)
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
(Chorus)
To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy
(Repeat two more times)
Holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy,
I want to see you
(Repeat five more times)
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Poem: First Day at School
First Day At School
It´s hard to explain, the way I feel;
A place unknown but is so real!
A soft voice welcomes me to the place,
I look up to see a lady´s smiling face.
I am led to a table that is covered with shapes,
A young girl my age says. Hi I am Grace,
I am three, but soon will be four.
I am a big girl and not afraid anymore.
Days go on and I encounter many new experiences and friends,
I feel like I´m on a roller coaster, which never seems to end.
I forever trying new things and learning everyday.
And the best thing is I having fun while I play!
Today I wrote my name for the very first time,
My teacher hugs me and gives the most gracious smile.
I feel full of pride; confident I can do anything if I try.
If you come to Kindy you are sure to find inside,
Happy smiles from children that continually shine!
By Julie Mc Millan
WELCOME DEAR GIRLS!
My first day at school was unforgettable. I was so excited that I didn’t sleep the night before. My clothes were laid out for me, my snack packed, my backpack loaded with paper and colored pencils, everything was new.
My mother accompanied me to school on the first day. Other parents accompanied their children as well. We all waited in front of the school premises. Soon a teacher came and led us to some classrooms. There we were put into three separate classes. This was when some children began to cry as the parents were not allowed into the classrooms. I did not cry because I had been to kindergarten before. Actually my mother went home soon after for she knew I would be all right.
One of my classmates came running up and asked my name. When I entered the classroom my teacher told me to sit in the first bench.
It was an enjoyable time for me as I got to know my new classmates. The teacher was very busy writing down our particulars so we had plenty of time to ourselves.
Meantime some children continued to sob while their parents looked in anxiously through the windows.
Soon recess came. Some of us headed for the school canteen while the rest headed for their parents. I bought a drink with the money my mother gave me. Getting to know my new friends had made me thirsty.
After recess we went back to our classroom and my new friends and I managed to talk two girls to stop crying, soon we were laughing and playing together. Once in a while the teacher had to tell us to keep quiet as we were making too much noise.
I was actually quite jealous in seeing some of my classmate who came with both of their parents. How I wish my dad was with me too that day.
I still cry easily when I think of my dad, but I treasure the memories and thank the Lord everyday for allowing me to spend the time that I had with him even for a short time.
My dad passed unexpectedly a few years ago, it was devastating. There were so many conversations yet to be made. So many questions that would forever go unanswered.
He was a special person. I will never forget his wonderful voice, his laughter and his positive attitude.
My father was a prideful man, but not like most would think of it. He was proud of the achievements of my mother; he was proud of the achievements of other members of his family; he was proud of the accomplishments of his friends, no matter how close they were to him.
Everything in my father's life centered around caring about others. My dad always listed the order of things he cared about and why he cared about it, and this was just the way it was with him.
First on the list was my mother, the love of his life. He always told me that he knew my mother longer than he knew me, therefore my mother was at the top of the list. I was second, and in our dynamic family I didn't mind being second on the list.
Finally the bell rang for us to go home. Some of us were very relieved to be reunited with our parents. I too was glad to see my mother waiting for me at the school gate. I had made many friends. It had been a wonderful first day at school.
I really missed my dad, especially seeing a father walk with his daughter down the street going to school.
By: Miss Mónica Medina
Saturday, July 17, 2010
San Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi (Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone; 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226) was a Catholic deacon and preacher. He also was the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans.
He is known as the patron saint of animals, the environment and one of the two patrons of Italy (with Catherine of Siena), and it is customary for Catholic churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of 4 October.
Francis of Assisi was one of seven children born to Pietro di Bernardone, a rich cloth merchant, and his wife Pica, about whom little is known except that she was originally from France. Pietro was in France on business when Francis was born, and Pica had him baptised as Giovanni di Bernardone in honor of Saint John the Baptist, in the hope he would grow to be a great religious leader. When his father returned to Assisi, he took to calling him Francesco, possibly in honor of his commercial success and enthusiasm for all things French.
As a youth, Francesco—or Francis in English—became a devotee of troubadours and was fascinated with all things French. Although many hagiographers remark about his bright clothing, rich friends, street brawls, and love of pleasure, his displays of disillusionment toward the world that surrounded him came fairly early in his life, as is shown in the "story of the beggar." In this account, he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for alms. At the conclusion of his business deal, Francis abandoned his wares and ran after the beggar. When he found him, Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided and mocked him for his act of charity. When he got home, his father scolded him in rage.
In 1201, he joined a military expedition against Perugia and was taken as a prisoner at Collestrada, spending a year as a captive. It is possible that his spiritual conversion was a gradual process rooted in this experience. Upon his return to Assisi in 1203, Francis returned to his carefree life and in 1204, a serious illness led to a spiritual crisis. In 1205 Francis left for Puglia to enlist in the army of the Count of Brienne. A strange vision made him return to Assisi, deepening his ecclesiastical awakening
Francis of Assisi by Francisco de Zurbarán.
According to the hagiographic legend, thereafter he began to avoid the sports and the feasts of his former companions; in response, they asked him laughingly whether he was thinking of marrying, to which he answered "yes, a fairer bride than any of you have ever seen", meaning his "lady poverty". He spent much time in lonely places, asking God for enlightenment. By degrees he took to nursing lepers, the most repulsive victims in the lazar houses near Assisi. After a pilgrimage to Rome, where he begged at the church doors for the poor, he said he had had a mystical vision of Jesus Christ in the Church of San Damiano just outside of Assisi, in which the Icon of Christ Crucified said to him, "Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins". He thought this to mean the ruined church in which he was presently praying, and so sold some cloth from his father's store to assist the priest there for this purpose.
His father Pietro, highly indignant, attempted to change his mind, first with threats and then with beatings. After legal proceedings before the bishop, Francis renounced his father and his patrimony, laying aside even the garments he had received from him. For the next couple of months he lived as a beggar in the region of Assisi. Returning to the countryside around the town for two years this time, he restored several ruined churches, among them the Porziuncola--little chapel of St Mary of the Angels--just outside the town, which
He is known as the patron saint of animals, the environment and one of the two patrons of Italy (with Catherine of Siena), and it is customary for Catholic churches to hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day of 4 October.
Francis of Assisi was one of seven children born to Pietro di Bernardone, a rich cloth merchant, and his wife Pica, about whom little is known except that she was originally from France. Pietro was in France on business when Francis was born, and Pica had him baptised as Giovanni di Bernardone in honor of Saint John the Baptist, in the hope he would grow to be a great religious leader. When his father returned to Assisi, he took to calling him Francesco, possibly in honor of his commercial success and enthusiasm for all things French.
As a youth, Francesco—or Francis in English—became a devotee of troubadours and was fascinated with all things French. Although many hagiographers remark about his bright clothing, rich friends, street brawls, and love of pleasure, his displays of disillusionment toward the world that surrounded him came fairly early in his life, as is shown in the "story of the beggar." In this account, he was selling cloth and velvet in the marketplace on behalf of his father when a beggar came to him and asked for alms. At the conclusion of his business deal, Francis abandoned his wares and ran after the beggar. When he found him, Francis gave the man everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided and mocked him for his act of charity. When he got home, his father scolded him in rage.
In 1201, he joined a military expedition against Perugia and was taken as a prisoner at Collestrada, spending a year as a captive. It is possible that his spiritual conversion was a gradual process rooted in this experience. Upon his return to Assisi in 1203, Francis returned to his carefree life and in 1204, a serious illness led to a spiritual crisis. In 1205 Francis left for Puglia to enlist in the army of the Count of Brienne. A strange vision made him return to Assisi, deepening his ecclesiastical awakening
Francis of Assisi by Francisco de Zurbarán.
According to the hagiographic legend, thereafter he began to avoid the sports and the feasts of his former companions; in response, they asked him laughingly whether he was thinking of marrying, to which he answered "yes, a fairer bride than any of you have ever seen", meaning his "lady poverty". He spent much time in lonely places, asking God for enlightenment. By degrees he took to nursing lepers, the most repulsive victims in the lazar houses near Assisi. After a pilgrimage to Rome, where he begged at the church doors for the poor, he said he had had a mystical vision of Jesus Christ in the Church of San Damiano just outside of Assisi, in which the Icon of Christ Crucified said to him, "Francis, Francis, go and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins". He thought this to mean the ruined church in which he was presently praying, and so sold some cloth from his father's store to assist the priest there for this purpose.
His father Pietro, highly indignant, attempted to change his mind, first with threats and then with beatings. After legal proceedings before the bishop, Francis renounced his father and his patrimony, laying aside even the garments he had received from him. For the next couple of months he lived as a beggar in the region of Assisi. Returning to the countryside around the town for two years this time, he restored several ruined churches, among them the Porziuncola--little chapel of St Mary of the Angels--just outside the town, which
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