Merry Christmas!!!!

Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay,
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.

- From "Away in a Manger"

It is my sincere hope that all of you have been resting up, and taking full advantage of this time off to reflect deeply on the meaning of Christmas this season. See you soon! -dpat :)

A Quiet Moment from Murfreesboro...

I will be posting a video from the big game laster this week, but I wanted to share with you something that happened to me at the game that I think is worthy of mention...

With the clock ticking down the last few seconds of the game, I left my big lenses with big Sean Beeler so I could concentrate on shooting in the bench area. There was a lot of celebrating going on and I wanted to get into the thick of it all. I began working my way through the sideline, shooting as many players as I could. Most often, some yell, "shoot my picture." As the clock neared zero, however, I approached one player, raised the camera to my eye, and framed up a nice shot of him. When he saw me do this, he yelled these words to me, "DPAT! don't shoot my picture, shoot them... the Seniors and the Juniors." Then he ducked away from my vision as the clock hit zero.

I want to be clear on something having said all of that... It's wonderful to be cheering for our victory, so I don't want to take anything away from any member of the Fighting Irish that won that game. You all deserve everything you got as you worked for every inch of our gains this year as a team. Having said all that, you have to hand it to that freshman...

It was a very selfless act and one born out of humility even in the moment of certain victory at the State Championship Game. I was stunned at his clear vision in the midst of chaos, wanting his deserving team-mates to get credit, rather than himself. It was one of those moments you remember, and I have to say, I can think of others looking back over the two years I've spent at KCHS in my "loitering ministry." I'm proud as ever, as we all are, to have gone all the way with a perfect season, and to win out our final game. But I'm even more proud to work in a school where we wear red instead of green sometimes. Where we can feel good about our sports teams because we do such a good job in academics. But most of all, I'm proud to be part of a community of believers working our way towards heaven together. That kid got that moment in Murfreesboro... "It's not about me..." had to be his thought. When we think like that, and then act on it, we live out our baptismal call to be Christ to one another... and THAT is something to cheer about!

A Hall Pass and a Letter from Scott Co...

Today I was approached by two girls in the commons who were running late for class after break. They asked me if I'd be willing to give them a hall pass to get into their next class without being penalized for being late. Sometimes kids that I know try to get me to give them passes like this without good reason, so I questioned why they were late. They told me that they had been in the Chapel praying for the dead. I asked them why it took so long, and they told me that they had been working on a list. They were pretty excited and shared with me that once they got started, they kept thinking of additional people that had passed away and so they continued to pray for each of them and their families.

It was just one of those moments of great blessing for me as a Deacon serving here at Catholic. Our kids can get in real trouble sometimes, but they can also provide us with much grace. Mr. Sompayrac shared with us all a letter from a parent of one of the four girls that was killed in the car accident in Scott County recently. I copied it below for you all to see, and be reminded that Christ Jesus is at the center of not just what we do here at KCHS, but WHO WE ARE as baptized Christians.

"Dear KCHS friends:

As a parent of a cheerleader at Scott High, I was reluctant to attend Scott's football game at Knoxville Catholic. My son and wife were emotionally drained by a week that included more than a dozen hours in funeral homes and four emotional funerals. We went only to support players and coaches, knowing there would be little cheer about on this night.

I had heard that a special ceremony was planned, and that some Knox Catholic students would be wearing red. I didn't think any of that would have much affect on me.

The sight of all those Knox Catholic people wearing red, however, was surprisingly comforting. It removed that invisible wall that is usually so apparent on the campus of an opponent.

The pre-game ceremony was a moving experience. The man who offered a well-crafted pre-game prayer did a marvelous job. More importantly, his concern seemed to come from the heart. His prayer, amid the other gestures, gave us a strong reminder that we (most of us, like myself, longtime Baptists) were among caring Christian brethren.

Being in a stadium where the name Jesus Christ was being proclaimed over the PA system was quite a comfort. I happened to sit behind a group of our cheerleaders, and I know they were very surprised by the kindness shown them. A group of girls who were part of a dance routine at halftime came over to offer a hug (and cookies), and I could tell by the looks on our kids' faces that they considered the gesture very meaningful.

I was stunned by the announcement that more than $7,000 was raised. For your families to donate so much surely required sacrifices. Tears welled up yet again, in part because I knew that those families badly needed the financial help and the emotional lift that comes with it.

The entire experience made me glad that I was on the campus of school were the name Jesus Christ could be exhaulted and where his spirit could shine without legal concerns. By the time we left the stadium, I was indeed glad we made the trip.

I had one large regret. As we observed the expressions of unusual hospitality, we were appreciative but subdued. Many in our section made positive comments about your efforts, but I feel that few of those comments reached your fans.

Please tell the KCHS family that we were humbled by their many acts of kindness last Friday. We were just too heartbroken to express it at the time.

-Abe Hardesty, Huntsville, Tenn."

May God bless all of our beloved dead this month, and may Jesus help each of us honor their memories by living for others before ourselves... -dpat

Please Pray for Haiti!!!!

The following is from the Partners in Health website, giving us an update on how the two hurricanes are affecting life for the poor in Haiti. Please remember our brothers and sisters in Haiti, and remember that when you support our Mission to Haiti at KCHS or through Sacred Heart, you are indirectly supporting PIH as well. Please keep reading for an update:

Dear Friends, Haiti needs your help.

This morning, after watching images of howling wind and torrential rain tearing through Haiti, I received a note from a colleague in Haiti explaining the devastation that Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna left in their wakes. Loune Viaud, our Director of Operations in Haiti, explained that the situation is dire and the suffering extreme. She estimates that close to 10,000 people have been driven from their homes by floodwaters in Haiti’s Artibonite Valley, where we have recently expanded our operations to six new facilities.

We’ve received reports of families, doctors, and patients are stranded on roof tops as water floods homes, hospitals, and health centers and reports of social workers wading through nearly four feet of water hoping to get patients and their families to safety. While the effects are hard to quantify so soon after the disaster, there is a clear and desperate need both for emergency relief and for long-term assistance to address the vicious cycle of poverty, environmental degradation and disease, which is guaranteed to intensify in the aftermath of this crisis.
In an effort to stem the suffering of our patients, their families, and the communities we serve, PIH has taken some immediate action:

Patients at the hospital in Gonaïves, who were sent to the rooftop as the wards filled with water, are being evacuated to Hôpital Saint Nicolas in Saint Marc.
Our social work staff is doing whatever it takes to find our patients and their families in the most devastated areas and to ensure that they have all of the support and assistance they need.
Organizational partnerships and community-level collaborations are underway to ensure that those who have been displaced or lost all of their belongings have food, water, housing, and a place off of the wet ground to sleep.
Our hospitals and health centers are preparing for thousands of additional patient visits in the coming weeks and are planning long-term reconstruction and support efforts.
We ask you, now, during this time of tremendous suffering, to take action with us. Please help us keep our promises to the communities we serve as we provide additional services and support in the wake of this unforeseen, and certainly unbudgeted, disaster.

Please Pray for Central High School...

Our hearts go out to the community of Central High School. To the students, teachers, parents, staff, and administration... know that we are praying for you all, especially for the MacDonald and Siler familes. (photo by J. Mies Cary-Knoxnews.com)

Welcome Back Irish!

As you probably already know, school starts promptly at 8:05 tomorrow morning, and as is the case each year, there are some new faces (about 150 of them) and some people that we'll miss seeing from last year. There are many new teachers that will bring new experience to Catholic, but many folks will be lost tomorrow so let's all be nice and help the newcomers out.

Please be sure to welcome any of our priests that will be coming and going each day, offering the mass for us in the midst of their already hectic schedules. This week, we'll have Fr. Bill McNeeley on Monday, Fr. Bill Gahagen on Tuesday, and Fr. Alex Waraksa on Wednesday; be sure to thank them when you see them and let them know we appreciate their presence.

Our First Mass of the Year at KCHS

Today, we celebrated mass for the first time this school year in the Holy Trinity Chapel during our annual Leadership Workshop. Monsignor Mankel came and offered the sacrifice of the mass. Some would look to the cheerleading squad to see an example of the greatest school spirit at KCHS, or to a member of one of our excellent sports teams. But to those who have spent more than four years on Fox Lonas or on Magnolia, our two Monsignors rank far above any cheerleader in showing their life-long support of our singular Catholic high school in Knoxville.

With the echo's of today's Gospel reading where Jesus hands the keys to Peter and proclaims him the rock of the Church, I sat and thought about Mnsgr.'s Mankel's tenure as student, teacher, priest, administrator, principal, superintendent, Vicar General, and spiritual director. Fifty-five years has passed since the day that then Xavier Francis Mankel entered KCHS as a freshman and a mere mortal. He has been standing watch ever since, participating in our growth through the years, and is steadfast as an icon of how to respond to God's call.

In an era when priestly vocations are down, and the crosses are being removed from classrooms around our country, we are growing. Statistically, our Diocese is experiencing a boom time as compared with the rest of the country, with multiple seminarians moving through their formation and towards ordination. KCHS now has it's first every priest become elevated to bishop just last year when our Fr. Vann became Bishop Johnson. Next week, there will be various pastors coming to offer the mass for us in the chapel; these priests will offer us over 150 years of preaching experience. Please continue to pray that we will receive a new bishop soon, and that he will assign us a new spiritual director to replace our learned Fr. Orr. -dpat