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LANTERN Dear parents and friends of Presentation, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and felt (as I did) that you had an abundance of things for which to be grateful. I love Thanksgiving because it is all about family and friends, football and feasting. It is simply a time to recognize just how fortunate we are as individuals and as a nation. We certainly do not need to look far to see the real human tragedy that befalls so many of our brothers and sisters—starvation, poverty, homelessness, chronic illness, debilitating emotional turmoil, violence and bloodshed. On a global scale, our concerns often pale in comparison. Now we enter the official Christmas season which is, sadly, overwhelmed at times by Black Friday, mailboxes stuffed with consumer catalogues, online shopping days and a constant barrage of ads telling us what we must have to be happy. Too often we focus on the wrong things! A little book came out about a decade ago that stated simply: The Best Things in Life Aren’t Things. Here’s an excerpt: While the business of the country may be business, there is surely a better place to put our deepest aspirations than in a shopping cart. There is a spiritual economy that needs to
Presentation High School Parent Newsletter | December 2017
be recognized, valued and nurtured. The capital in this economy is love, caring, friendship, faith and family… The spiritual economy savors the experiences that bind us together; its’ focus is on lending a helping hand and being neighborly, on practicing generosity and extending forgiveness. It’s about showing compassion, offering comfort to those in distress and having the courage of our convictions. It’s about acknowledging the less fortunate and knowing that the end does not justify the means. It’s about recognizing the gift of simple abundance and making a “declaration of enough.” The true magic of Christmas—the waiting for and celebration of the birth of Christ—cannot be overshadowed unless we let it. We wait, not just for the birth of a child, but the birth of a new spirit—the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. May you have a blessed Christmas filled with the gifts of peace, hope and love. Blessings, Mary Miller '72 Principal