The Holy Post

Holy Trinity School is committed to educating the whole person. As part of this mission, HTS has developed a guide based on the Jesuit Schools Network’s Profile of the Graduate at Graduation. This guide highlights five desirable characteristics: open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving, and committed to doing justice.

Recently, Ms. Brady’s religion class reflected on community building. Building relationships is an important component of being a loving individual. Keep reading for Caitlin R.’s and Sarah F.’s thoughts on friendship in their final year at HTS.

By Caitlin R.

A quote that has stood out to me for a while is an old saying that says, “Good friends are like stars; you don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there.” I agree with this quote because it is saying that when you have a true friend, you don’t need to see them to know they will always be there to support you. This quote represents what I want in friendships. I always want there to be trust between my friends and me, trust that they will always be there for me and that friends will be the shining stars in the night to light my path. One friend of mine is always there to support me and listen to me vent about the hard things going on in my life. She never gives up on me, even when we have arguments. We always get through our arguments, especially since she is one of the kindest and most understanding people I know.

Friendship to me is the family I choose. The people I am destined to meet and learn to love. Friends are the backbone to society. Without them, people would be miserable people slumping through life. Friends add light to society. I can be a good friend to others by showing them my light and supporting them through whatever they need. Jesus is a friend in a way by showing us the light in others and always being there for us to talk to. Jesus is one of the best people to talk to because he is always listening and protecting us. By being a true friend, you are going above and beyond to help your friends when they need it. The magis is about doing more, and there is no better way to do more than to do more for and with friends.

By Sarah F.

The quote I chose was, “God sends us friends to be our firm support in the whirlpool of struggle. In the company of friends we will find strength to attain our sublime ideal,” from St. Maximillian Kolbe. This quote stood out to me because I know it is true. Hard times are so much harder without someone like a friend to talk to. I believe that this quote is true. The reason that I believe this is that humans can’t survive on their own and need other people as friends. If we didn’t have friends, we wouldn’t have as much strength or confidence to get through hard situations. In my friendships, I aspire for several things. The first is honesty. Friends should never lie to each other. The second is comfort. Good friends should always feel comfortable being who they are with each other. Finally, friends should enjoy each other’s company and have fun hanging out with each other. One example of a book with a good friendship is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. In this book, one friend promises another that he would die for them or anyone they love. At the end of the book, the character dies for his friend’s husband. I can be a good friend to others by being sensitive to anything they might be experiencing in their lives and by cheering them up when they are sad. Jesus was a good friend because he always encouraged his friends or disciples and showed them the right thing to do. We can seek magis in a friendship by striving to be better people and helping each other to be better people. Friendship means many things to many different people. However, most importantly, we have to respect each other.

By: Nora S.

St. Patrick’s Day is a widely known holiday throughout the world. St. Patrick’s Day celebrates St. Patrick for the remarkable life he lived. During this holiday we also celebrate Irish culture, especially the clothing, dances, and food of Ireland. As a Catholic school, however, it is important for us to recognize St. Patrick for his work as a missionary. At the age 16, Patrick, originally from Britain, was captured in an Irish raid and enslaved. Six years later, he escaped from Ireland and returned to his parents. After he returned to Britain, St. Patrick had a dream that he should return to Ireland and work to convert non-Catholics. Later, he became a bishop. Although St. Patrick was not Irish, he is the patron saint of Ireland.

We should look to St. Patrick’s example and share our faith with others. Holy Trinity loves to participate in St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. We get to wear green accents over our uniform, but we should also remember to be good examples of our faith, like St. Patrick. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

By: Parker M.

Catholic Schools Week does not celebrate our differences, but instead celebrates the one thing we have in common: we are all Catholic!

Catholic Schools Week shows our Jesuit Identity because it shows we are Catholic.  Showing that we are Catholic is important because it shows God that we believe in our faith. Expressing our belief in God is the most important thing about Catholics Schools Week.

The main reason we have Catholic Schools Week is to have fun in the presence of God.  God loves every one of us as individuals. Catholics Schools Week is important in many ways. Each way is like a puzzle piece, so when you put them altogether you get an awesome puzzle, that is Catholics Schools Week.

By: Abby L.

During Catholic schools week we get to have free dress, dress like a teacher, and get to wear pajamas. But why do we celebrate it? It’s a question that I’ve been pondering for a while, so I did my research and found the answer. It started way back in 1974. It was created to celebrate who we are as a Catholic school. All across the nation kids just like you celebrate all of the activities that we do. Well they might be a little different, but everywhere people celebrate being Catholic. It’s a celebration of knowing that we are a school for God. It’s to recognize the importance, the value, and the contribution of Catholicism.

It’s important that we celebrate who we are and our identity as Catholics. The definition of catholic is “including a wide variety of things; all-embracing,” which means that we include everyone, no matter who they are. Everyone is special and we should love and respect everyone’s identity.That is why we made our identity posters. That is what Catholic Schools Week is all about, celebrating all of our identities. Your identity is who you are. No matter who you are, you have an identity that makes you amazing and totally original. So yeah, Catholic Schools Week is awesome but not just because of the free dress.

By: Will P.

This week The Holy Post will be discussing the identity poster, a project that all students in the upper school and lower school are doing. The identity poster is an activity where students express characteristics of their identity on a paper or poster. These identity posters will be hung in hallways and classrooms throughout the upper and lower schools. The staff of HTS have also created posters, which include traits like race, ethnicity, family life, political opinions, etc.

The purpose of the identity poster is to express personal characteristics, make connections and celebrate our differences. Connections between posters can help strengthen relationships and start new ones. Being able to relate to somebody on a personal level can help us get past differences. Acknowledging and celebrating our differences is also important. Being able to see that people are different from each other can help us work together on projects and in the classroom. The way that people think about us and the way that we think about ourselves is something that we need to examine. If people don’t see us the way that we see ourselves, then it’s hard for us to be ourselves.

The identity poster has been one of my favorite projects this year. It wasn’t graded, which gave me the freedom to be creative. Overall, I had a great time with it. I would strongly recommend doing this project with a family member. For example, I did this project with my father, and we had a great time. Thank you and I hope that you enjoyed this write-up for The Holy Post.

“I am the ox, and I am present at the birth of Jesus. I see the Lord of all the people talking and the angels singing. I hear praises of joy and Mary and Joseph adoring the baby Jesus. I smell the incense from the candles and the hay in the manger. I feel the hay on my hoofs and lots of strong love.” -Jack

“I am a shepherd, and I am present at the birth of Jesus. I see Mary holding Jesus. I see some strange men. They are carrying gifts. I hear Jesus cooing and Mary softly humming to Jesus. I smell the air. It smells sweet and soft. I feel warm, calm, safe, and at peace.” -Lucia

“I am Mary, and I am present at the birth of Jesus. I see Joseph holding Jesus, and the animals are asleep. The wise men are walking in. I hear the soft rustle of the wind. I smell myrrh. I feel joy and the Holy Spirit” -Chloe

“Hi, I’m the angel. I’m also at the birth of Jesus. I see others watching the birth of Jesus. They look happy to see the Savior! I hear the baby crying and people are singing Amen! I smell animals that live there, like an ox. I also smell lovely spices. The birth of Jesus is exciting.” -Riley

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