Punishment or Gift from God?

by admin on January 26, 2012

Roderick O.

Every prayer time in Talbot House we sit silently and meditate for before we start. We do this to center ourselves and better our connection with our higher power. When meditation is over, I choose a psalm to read from the bible, one usually reflecting my feelings for that day. My friend Sebastian S., who leads prayer time with me, reads a story from the AA book. One story in particular had more of an effect on my spiritual life than any religious service that I had attended gone to the entire week.

The story reminded me how blessed I am to be at this school. (Talbot House has recently gotten some new students that have been struggling with adjustment and acceptance so I thought this was perfect for them.) I expressed my feelings of gratitude for the school to the whole family. I told everyone that instead of looking at this school as a punishment that they should look at it as a gift from God. Not everyone gets a chance like we do to redefine our lives. Some people take the opportunity for granted and I don’t want my family members to miss the chance. I hope they take it to heart.

Spiritual Beings Having Human Experience

by admin on January 12, 2012

By Ileana A.

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” When I heard this quote, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, this morning during chapel, I was quite struck with the idea that I am not a human being. Oddly, there was also a sense of immediate relief. I felt freer after hearing those words.

I am not a human being.

It never occurred to me that I, who usually talks about having a soul, or an inner spirit, could actually be that inner spirit having a human body and living in a human world. I suppose the sense of relief comes from realizing that it is okay to feel awkward and foreign in new situations. And even better, that it is completely normal and natural to be seeking help from and giving thanks to something spiritual and soul-like and mystical. Indeed, I was made in the image of my Higher Power.

 

I am a spiritual being.

Mary’s Miracle

December 18, 2011

By Ileana A. This Friday, during our morning chapel service, Father Liz invited two students to reenact the scene where Gabriel tells Mary what is about to happen to her. The reenactment was a contemporary version. It ended with Gabriel saying, “God doesn’t want you to give Him your body, He wants you to give [...]

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Waiting for Christmas

November 30, 2011

By Ileana A. With the start of the season of Advent, Christmas is in the air here at The Family Foundation School. The families have been decorated and there is talk about the upcoming shopping trip. This week’s nondenominational chapel service focused on just that. According to statistics, America spends an average of $450 billion [...]

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Falling in Love

November 25, 2011

By Ileana A. During this Wednesday’s morning chapel service, Father Chris had something very interesting to share. He introduced a complementary way to take daily inventory of ourselves and our spiritual life, which was suggested by St. Ignatius Loyola. In one category, we list our desolations; what things drew us away from God today? In [...]

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Christian Love

November 17, 2011

By Ileana A. The gospel from this week’s Catholic service was taken from Matthew 25:31-46. In this reading, Jesus said one of my favorite lines, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” This was a reminder for me that I must love [...]

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Cliff Hanger

November 12, 2011

By Ileana A. During this week’s Jewish service, Rabbi Michele told a story about a motorcyclist. This motorcyclist was conversing with a rabbi and declared that he didn’t need to pray because his life was already full of miracles. The rabbi asked him to give an example. So the biker tells about how he was [...]

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All Saints Day

November 2, 2011

This Tuesday at The Family Foundation School, instead of having our usual Jewish service, Father Chris came in to celebrate All Saints Day in the Catholic tradition. In the Christian tradition, Halloween is just the vigil before All Saints Day, and following customs, on vigils before feast days, Christians mock evil because it has no [...]

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