St. Mary School Gilroy -Registration

Dear Parents,

Thank you for choosing St. Mary School for your children. We appreciate the trust you put in us for the education of all our students. We begin our 137th year in operation. We have grown and changed much since those early days in the 1870’s. However, we know that we want to continue to change in order to meet the needs of the students of 2008-09.

Please be assured that we will provide you the best quality Catholic education possible. We eagerly look forward to a great year together.

Our school theme is “I am with you always.” The ending of Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Jesus told the people, “And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”

What great hope we have because of knowing that Jesus is always with us…in good times and in bad times, in health and in sickness, in prosperity and in poverty, in clarity and in obscurity, in joy and in sorrow. Jesus is with us.

Max Lucado has written a powerful letter from God/Jesus based on this idea that Jesus is always with us. Please take the time to read it and let its message take hold.

A LETTER FROM JESUS by Max Lucado

Dear Child of Mine,

Are you thirsty? Come and drink. I am one who comforts you. I delight in you and claim you as my own. I will never fail you or forsake you.

I know your transgressions and your mighty sins, yet my grace is sufficient for you. Your sins have been washed away. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.

You are worried and troubled about many things; trust me with all your heart. I know how to rescue godly people from their trials. My Spirit helps you in your distress. Let me strengthen you with my glorious power. Never give up. I will help you. I will uphold you.

Trust in me always. I am the eternal Rock, your Shepherd, the Guardian of your soul. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

So, don’t worry. I never tire or sleep. I stand beside you. I will go ahead of you, directing your steps and delighting in every detail of your life. I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. I surround you with a shield of love.

I will make you fruitful in the land of suffering, trading beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for despair. If I am for you, who can ever be against you?

I throw my arms around you, lavish attention on you, and guard you as the apple of my eye. I rejoice over you with great gladness. My thoughts of you cannot be counted; they outnumber the grains of sand. Nothing can ever separate you from my love. Death can’t, and life can’t, Your fears for today, your worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep my love away.

I call you my friend. You are valuable to me.

Remember, I am at hand. Come to me when you are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. I delight in you, and I can be trusted to keep my promises.

Love,

Jesus

With Jesus on our side, how can we NOT have a good year? May we have more blessings than burdens. May we trust and believe in the goodness of God and of each other. May this be a year of grace for all of us.

Sincerely,

Dear Parents,

I hope that you bring back to the school a renewed sense of energy for the coming scholastic year and a willingness to be involved in all the School and Parish programs with enthusiasm and dedication.

As always, my first concern for and prayer for the coming year is centered on the fact that we are a Catholic school. The hard work and the effort that are put into the school by the Principal, the teachers, and the total administration are, above all, to foster the gift of the Catholic faith in the lives of your children and yourselves. We are not a private school; we are not a school catering to the wealthy or to the privileged; we are a Catholic school, trying to share faith in Christ as the central value and goal for human living.

Our basic expectations of every family are that you come to Mass on every Sunday, that you try to instill a sense of the Catholic faith in your children and that you inspire them in that Faith by your own personal commitment to Christ Jesus and to the Church—this is why we have a Catholic school in the Parish. We hope that this is the basic reason that you are sending your children to St. Mary School.

Our primary religious commitment also enhances the other goals of the Parish school: moral awareness, academic excellence, a sense of community with those who are less fortunate, and a well-integrated and joyful personality on the part of the student. There is a great quote from St. Ireneus that says: “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”

We understand, further, that you as parents are the “main teachers of your children” in the ways of faith, justice, and goodness. If you aren’t growing spiritually and personally as your children are here at school, we will be able to accomplish little through all our efforts. So we hope and pray that you vitally become a part of the Parish and the school community.

We have many other ministries in the Parish, along with the Catholic School. We have Religious Education programs for the public school children; we have adult Catholic education and spiritual programs; we have a strong commitment to serving the needy through St. Joseph Family Center; we have liturgical ministries and we have financial ministries in the Parish along with many social programs. Hopefully, as parents of our Catholic School children, you will find a place to use your gifts for building up the Body of Christ, the whole Church, and in particular, our Parish.

I ask you to reflect on your own priorities, your own faith, and your own religious practice and to determine whether you are holding up this part of your calling for your children.

God bless,