Thank for all that is good, and dear and beautiful

I think that I shall be a fan of the Sacred Heart Prep football team here in Atherton. I have been watching them prepare for their first home game this coming Saturday. As the football field is next to Westwood, we can hear the shouts and even see the scoreboard, but I shall go early and bring a book so I have a good seat on the bleachers to cheer our team. I am enjoying seeing the mixed campus here. The boys sometimes stop and introduce themselves with a poise that is unusual for teenagers. The seniors all arrived on the first day of school with white pants and the Sacred Heart red tee shirts and they led the Freshmen with a planned activity. Classes began after lunch but each was only fifteen minutes. I was told that this allowed each student to find the right classroom for the course he or she is registered for this semester.

I am not very spiritual tonight but do want to share a few more thoughts. This is from "The Diary of Anne Frank" and is quoted in Bishop Morneau's Growing in Joy: "When I lie in bed and end my prayers with the words, 'I thank you, God, for all that is good and dear and beautiful, I am filled with joy.''

Anne was in hiding to escape Nazi persecution - the circumstances were not good in that attic and there was the constant fear of being discovered. Yet, this Jewish teenager could be filled with joy by thanking God for all the good, and dear, and beautiful.
Try it yourself. I did and it was an experience of joy. We have so much to be grateful for each day. Let us not miss the opportunity to thank God and to thank others who do so much for us.