Remembering

November is a time when we collectively as a country stop, stay silent and remember the dedication and sacrifice of others in times of conflict around the world.  Schools are amazing places to ensure that we learn about the significance of peacekeeping around the world and our responsibility to be agents of peace.

As Christian Schools and communities, we are blessed beyond measure as we process the events in our world that have and continue to show pain and suffering in the face of injustice, wrongdoing, and evil.  We know that as agents of peace, we ultimately serve the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings.

This past week, we were learned through the participation of veterans, interaction with local Legions, the preparation of band pieces, dramatic vignettes, and art projects that helped us ask questions and delve into the meaning of sacrifice and justice and how to respond to the problem of evil in the world.  In a Christian school, we are able to process together with students and in community, singing and remembering together that we have a 'Saviour, who is mighty to save'.

As we pause for a moment of silence this weekend to remember those who served and sacrificed for our freedom, may we be reminded of God's continued work of restoration in the world.  The words of Saint Francis are an apt reminder of this paradox and call:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive, 
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.