Happy New Year!

Dear Salesian Families,

Happy New Year! 2024 is here! As we look back to 2023 and reflect on what has passed by so quickly, we feel grateful for the many blessings that have come our way. Life brings with it many wonderful moments and many challenges, but as the saying goes, ‘Our attitude determines our direction.’ So, let us look ahead with a positive attitude at the countless opportunities that will come our way in this new year. It is a spirit of deep gratitude that will point us in the right direction.

God has given us so much. We now have this new year, and like anything new, it gets our attention and actually feels good and energizing as we have a chance for a new beginning. It is as if God is saying to us, “Here is a precious gift of time…here are 365 fresh, new days. They are all yours. The question is, how am I going to use them? We all enjoy the chance to wipe the slate clean and have a brand-new start. Let us take a moment to look at ourselves in all sincerity; what improvements can I make in myself? We can start off by looking at material things, like losing weight or learning a new skill. I need to move to the next level and ask myself about my spiritual goals, such as becoming more prayerful, being more forgiving, or practicing self-control. By the way, practicing self-control is the virtue that we have selected to focus on as a student body during this month of January. Perhaps we need to sit down as a family and see what we all need to work on to become a better family.

In our Salesian world, we honor Mary Help of Christians every 24th of the month. This year, 2024, we at Salesian will dedicate in an extraordinary way to Our Blessed Mother, under the title of Mary Help of Christians. Let us all begin our day's journey traveling with Mary by saying a Hail Mary as we travel to school. She will be our constant companion on the journey through all our ups and downs this coming new year! With this positive energy at the start of our day, we will be ready to face any complex challenges that come about. Let us pray that we may model a positive response to conflict in our homes, our place of work, or the world around us… My heartfelt wish for you is that your year may be filled with deep happiness and inner peace that only God can give!

God bless,

Sr. Carmen, FMA