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The Last shall be First

Happy Holy Thursday students! Today as I finished my readings, I imagined Jesus washing my feet. Why did he do this? Why did he, the son of God, wash the feet of his disciples? Peter resisted. Jesus told him unless he was allowed to wash his feet then he could not truly follow Jesus. I love the way we learn lessons from Jesus. He was the champion of Socratic thought and questioning. He continually flips the script. Think of God. God is at the top of all. He is the CEO of life. What are we? Well, we all have different stations and life. We are teachers, sanitation workers, doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks, stay-at-home moms, drug addicts, alcoholics, railroad conductors, relatives caring for other relatives who are sick, managers of small businesses, homeless people, mentally ill people, young people, elderly people, disabled people, and the list could go on forever. We all have a station. Which of the station’s do you think should be the feet washers? Aha! That’s right back row, you could never imagine a doctor or lawyer washing a homeless person’s feet. That’s exactly what we are supposed to do. Front row when you get your PhD you should not be haughty. You should still wash your brothers and sisters feet who are less fortunate than you. Not literally unless the chance arises, but you are called to put others first regardless of their station. This is exactly today’s lesson. We are called to love each other and serving each other to the end of our earthly lives.

Jesus understood that for something bigger to be born something had to die. Look at biblical history. Isaac was going to die at Abraham’s hand. Abraham understood his covenant with God had to be stronger than that with his own son. At Passover, remember all of the unblemished, male lambs and goats that were sacrificed for The Exodus out of Egypt? Something had to die to protect the Israelites. Have you ever had a chance to hold a baby lamb? It makes my stomach hurt to think of them being sacrificed. Today’s Gospel ask for us to die. Back-row do not get upset; I am not asking you to die literally. We are to die to ourselves. That means our egos are to die. We are to love each other as we love ourselves. This is so hard in a world that is so egocentric, so selfish. It takes constant practice. If we practice those virtues every single day eventually we will defeat our ego. We will begin to see Christ in others regardless of the station they have been given in this life. We can get there. I know we can. Your homework today is to think of your station in life. Make a plan to wash someone’s feet. If you see a homeless person, offer them your respect by looking them in the eyes and simply greet them with kindness. Let them know they are part of the one body. If you are of a more humble station like wheelchair Sal, hold your head up and smile. Greet all those you meet with the joy of Christ in your heart. You are very important, too. Remember students one bread, one body, and one Lord of all.

Sal the Sacrifice it All Gal

Sarah Anderson Alley

Quotes of the day:

“The washing of the feet and the sacrament of the Eucharist: two expressions of one and the same mystery of love entrusted to the disciples, so that, Jesus says, “as I have done… so also must you do.” (Jn 13: 15). Pope John Paul II

“When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host you understand how much Jesus loves you now.’”

Blessed Mother Teresa

This bread I break was once the oat,

This wine upon a foreign tree

Plunged in its fruit;

Man in the day or wine at night Laid the crops low, broke the grape’s joy.

Once in this time wine the summer blood

Knocked in the flesh that decked the vine,

Once in this bread

The oat was merry in the wind; Man broke the sun, pulled the wind down.

This flesh you break, this blood you let

Make desolation in the vein,

Were oat and grape Born of the sensual root and sap; My wine you drink, my bread you snap.

Dylan Thomas

Triduum

Here we are students at Holy Week! Tomorrow we’ll begin our most sacred days of the year: The Triduum(Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Black Saturday.) I really love how our church walks the path that was created with the death of our savior. Tomorrow as we go to church we will relive The Last Supper. We listen as disciples promise to be loyal but fall short. Good Friday is celebrated alongside all other Christians. It is a holiday celebrated around the world. It is celebrating the crucifixion. I can’t imagine being at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified. It always brings tears to my eyes. Saturday is our Easter vigil. It starts at sundown in the dark. We are searching for the light of Christ. We proceeded into the dark church faithfully awaiting the light of Christ. This is when baptisms take place and new parishioners are added to our number. Those who have come to the faith through the rites of Christian initiation. It is so beautiful.

This Lent we have worked so very hard to become better Christians. We want to be better people. We don’t want it to end with Easter. Guess what students? It doesn’t have to end. We are called to grow every year. We are to get stronger in our faith. This may be a beginning for some of you but I ask you to open yourself up to whatever God is calling you to do. It may be simple like overlooking a slight given it to you by someone who was supposed to be your friend. It may be that you are to be more serious about your faith and get involved with church life. Start each day with a prayer asking God to use you. I did this long ago and boy am I ever busy. Try it.

Students have you ever noticed how busy each spring is? We have a new group about to graduate from high school. We have a new group about to graduate from college. We have children signing up to begin kindergarten next fall. We have flowers blooming and trees surging to life. The warm days begging us to come outside and forget all the things that need tied up at the end of the school year. Just like the song, “I think to myself, What a Wonderful World” and I do. In spring there is so much living to do and we feel it in our bones. Thanks be to God for Spring, Easter, and New Life. Yes you have homework. Try to attend a Good Friday service and also an Easter service. Find your place and begin your work!

Sal the Triduum Loving Gal

Sarah Anderson Alley

Quotes of the day:

“Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, ‘Christ is risen,’ but ‘I shall rise.”

Phillips Brooks

“Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.”

Martin Luther

“Easter is very important to me. It’s a second chance.”

Reba McIntire

Hope

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah 7:23-28
This is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord God.

Life happened again yesterday. I had too many obligations and not enough time. I hope you are staying strong and practicing your virtues. Today we are going to talk about the virtue of Hope. Hope can mean a lot of things in our culture. We hope we get into the college that we want when we graduate high school. We hope that we can get a good job to provide for our family. We hope that our students in class will behave and try to learn the objectives. As a Christian virtue hope takes on a different dimension. As a Christian hope it’s not based on our human desires. Hope is based on what God has promised us as Christians. We hope in the strength of our God and savior to fulfill his promise that he wants us to be happy, to have a good life, and to help us to fulfill our purpose in creating a better world for Him.

My first reading today was from Jeremiah. It was rather shocking. It said this is the nation that will not listen to the voice of the Lord God. Think about that. We hope in the promises of God but are we doing our part? Are we listening to the voice of God through scriptures and prayer and other people that God places in our lives? What if we don’t hold up our end of the bargain? In order to cash in our rewards, we have to live morally, sound lives. This is very important. That’s why students I am taking so much time on virtues. In order for you to grow spiritually we have to run a good race. You have to have a sound moral core. All of these virtues that we are discussing and learning are from God. Haven’t you always heard all things good come from God? I understand the argument of people not understanding creation and a creator, but all of the studying I have done I have come to the conclusion that this one makes the most sense. God is a god of love. All things from God should produce love. Think about the opposite of our virtues that we are building. We want to be strong . We want to be courageous, but the opposites of those are to be cowardly and weak in our faith. Think about the opposite of charity. That would to be very miserly and we all know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. How did that work out?

Today I want you to work on your virtue of Hope. I want you too have faith and hope for the best. Hope for the plans that God has for you. If you’re reading this blog, you have been led here for a reason. There are three big aspects to being a human: our relationships with others, our relationship with ourselves chosing good and acting upon it, and our relationship with God. Right now we are focusing on our relationship with ourselves and trying to create a better person, a better heart, and a better understanding of why we are even here on Earth. I hope you understand that we are not here to horde as many resources as possible, to be lauded by our accomplishments, or be accepted into the “in” crowd. We are here to live a life of virtues. We are here to love each other and take care of one another on this earthly journey. Our treasures are not here. I really hope that our time together will open your ears to hear. Not like the ones in the Bible verse today from Jeremiah. It’s never too late to fight the vices of your life. We are called to listen and fight now to build up a Kingdom of God. Today I want you to read The Lord’s prayer. I want you to really think about each line of this perfect prayer. You all are growing! I feel it. Hope in this prayer, and most of all try to live this prayer today as you go through your day.

Sal the Thy Kingdom Come Gal
Sarah Anderson Alley

Quotes of the day:
The great gift of Easter is hope – Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake.
Basil Hume

I see so many people. They just seem to be hopeless. Being a Christian and being a pastor, the ultimate hope is in Jesus.
Richie Fury

The Christian experiences and lives a paradox. He possesses joy in sorrow, fulfillment in exile, light in darkness, peace in turmoil, consolation in dryness, contentment in pain and hope in desolation.
Mother Angelica

I hope the day that all the Christians are one. This is my dream.
Pope Theodoros II

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Fortitude

Good day students! I hope the world is treating you with Justice. I also hope that you are treating others with Justice. Today we are going to talk about fortitude. Fortitude is a very wonderful virtue. The only downside to fortitude is that you have to go through trials in your life in order for your fortitude to shine.

This morning I got a text from our youngest daughter. She is at the end of her high school career and is taking calculus. Today they did some example problems for the AP exam. She said, “Thank God that God will still love me even though I am going to fail this calculus AP exam.” What does she need to do students? That’s right front row, she needs to summon her fortitude or strength. It’s really hard to do that when you are at the end of something like your high school career. I know inside of her mind she is thinking what the heck? Does this test really matter that much? I also know my daughter. I know she will muster the strength to do her best. And as long as she does that, she will have peace because she knows God will love her anyway. That’s what fortitude is, try your hardest in the face of adversity to take the high road and do your best.

In my little small corner of the world, there have been a lot of life events: births, deaths, cancer, and dealing with the ebb and flow of the each day. Life is tough. Especially when you have to say goodbye to your soulmate and trust that there is another birth with their leaving this Earth. Trust that the love and memories that you have created will sustain you until you take that journey. Seeing the DNA of your family carry on. Wow! Life is a miracle. Watching beloved friends fight cancer and other diseases takes fortitude. Waking up and facing a new day takes fortitude. How can we help when so much is trying to snatch or our joy? Well students, you call on your other virtues to help you build fortitude in others. Help them to be strong and courageous. Pray for them. Take them meals. Mail a funny card or a heartfelt note. Visit them. Share a story about them to their loved ones.

Students, we need to be fortitudious. Be strong for your sisters and brothers on this planet. We are in this together. Believe me when I say there is strength in numbers. And that’s right back row, you do have homework. Here it is. I want you to flex your fortitude muscles. Use all of your lessons we have learned this far andd show your strength. Show the strength of faith that you have as a Christian. Let someone lean on you today. Hold them up with your spiritual strength. It doesn’t matter if you do a good deed or a simple prayer. Just do it.

Sal the Fortitudious Gal

Sarah Anderson Alley

Quotes of the day:

Courage is the most important of all the

virtues because without courage, you

can’t practice any other virtue

consistently.

Maya Angelou

No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.

Orson F. Whitney

True Christian fortitude consists in strength of mind, through grace, exerted in two things; in ruling and suppressing the evil and unruly passions and affections of the mind; and in steadfastly and freely exerting and following good affections and dispositions, without being hindered by sinful fear or the opposition of enemies… Though Christian fortitude appears in withstanding and counteracting the enemies that are without us; yet it much more appears in resisting and suppressing the enemies that are within us; because they are our worst and strongest enemies and have greatest advantage against us. The strength of the good soldier of Jesus Christ appears in nothing more than in steadfastly maintaining the holy calm, meekness, sweetness, and benevolence of his mind, amidst all the storms, injuries, strange behaviour, and surprising acts and events of this evil and unreasonable world.

Jonathan Edwards

Justice

Students do you remember that rhyme: “1,2 skip a few?” I promise that it’s not what’s happening with our 40 days together. It makes me think of a John Lennon quote, “Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.” This is exactly what happened to me. Life has been happening. We have been busy researching and visiting places that could be the next chapter for our youngest daughter. But now I am back ready to double up on our journey through our 40 days.

The last day we had class we talked about temperance. Temperance is very important as we live our lives. We need to show restraint with those things that tempt us and threaten to become idols in our lives. I hope you practiced using temperance this past weekend.

We are working on virtues. We are trying to right our ship and have smooth sailing toward our goal. These forty days we are working toward many goals: creating a pure heart, creating moments of kindness toward others, clearing out the clutter of our hearts, making our little corner of the world better, and practicing virtues. Today we will add another virtue. This virtue is called Justice.

When you hear the word justice, you think of fairness, court cases, and being slighted in some way or another. The virtue Justice is something that we as humans need. It is a check on ourselves. How do we use Justice in our lives? Justice is a balance between being selfish and selfless. There is a happy balance in the middle. It is very hard to walk this thin line in our daily lives.

Charity and Justice can be used synonymously. Are you charitable to others when everything is going their way? There are days when we wonder why did I not get what I wanted and the other person did. I told you that I had been busy. One of the things that happened this past week was our daughter did not get into a college that she picked as her top choice. Looking at her transcript and her community involvement it made no sense that she did not get into this college. So we all wanted to scream, “This is not fair!” Eating humble pie is very hard. It is one of the hardest things to do when things do not go your way. Even harder is being happy for those who have made it to a goal that you yearned for and have failed.

What should we do? How can we practice Charity or Justice when these things slap us in the face? First we should be firm with ourselves. We should not fall in the face of adversity but straighten our backbones and persevere. I believe everything happens for the good of all even if we do not get everything we want. This helps us practice humility and patience. We need to remain truthful and upright and be cautious not to slander others who have reached a goal that we so desperately wanted. We need to pray with gratitude the ability to run this race of life. Until you draw your last breath, the race is on. Embrace these times of hardship. These are the times you learn exponentially. They help you become a stronger, more faithful, and a virtuous person.

Think about a time when things didn’t go the way you wished. It may have been a job promotion or position on a sports team that you didn’t get. Did you handle it with Justice and Charity? I know many times in my life I did not. Thanks be to God I am still learning how to be a virtuous person. I hope the next time you and I are faced with a tough situation, we choose to be charitable and act out of Justice. Dry your eyes and blow those noses. Today is a new day and we have living to do!

Sal the Stiff Upper Lip Gal

Sarah Anderson Alley

Quotes of the day:

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.

MLK Jr

Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.

Fredrick Douglass

Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triump.

Haile Selassie

Grand Time!

This weekend I’ve been having a grand time! I have enjoyed my family and especially my grandchildren. March is also a busy time for me because I love college basketball. When basketball games are on, we watch as a family. This is one of the reasons students that my blog is late. But have no fear I will catch up.

The readings today filled me with joy. I felt very special. God has chosen us to be his holy people. He has chosen to give us life to the fullest and weekends with my family and grandchildren make me feel that promise has been fulfilled. God really wants us to be happy I know I’ve said this over and over but I want you to believe it. Remember I told you to take a field trip this weekend. I said that field trip could be to church or just spend moments to yourself or with your family. I hope that you plan to do this.

This weekend think about what is keeping you from being happy. What is keeping you from spending precious time with your families? Are you completing your homework? There is a God and he is on your side. Whom shall we fear? I want you to look at these Bible verses from Paul to the Romans:
Scripture Romans 8:35-39
What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: / “For your sake we are being slain all the day; / we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.” / No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord

You see students, we are loved. Nothing can separate us from this great love and the gifts that God wants for us is this life and also after this life. These forty days we are going to unwrap this beautiful gift. Homework? Love your family.

Sal the Trust God Gal
Sarah Anderson Alley

Quotes of the day:
“Love is like the wind oh, you can’t see it but you can feel it.”
Nicholas Sparks

“No matter what has happened to you in the past or what is going on in your life right now, it has no power to keep you from having an amazingly good future if you will walk by faith in God. God loves you! He wants you to live with victory over sin so you can possess His promises for your life today!”
Joyce Meyer

“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.”
Billy Graham

Are you a Jonah?

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Only 32 more days to go in our adventure! Did you do your homework? Are you still working on it today? If you are that’s totally fine. Don’t forget the other tasks that go with this unit: healthy choices, not judging others, pray for those that you have negative thoughts about, avoiding temptation, and having a forgiving heart. Can you imagine how much good will be put into the world after these 40 days?

Today’s lesson will start with a question. Does the world need a change? Think about this. I have been reading a lot lately. One of the readings suggests that the world has outgrown the need for Christianity or any religious beliefs. It really makes you think.

In my devotional this morning, I read about Jonah and the Ninavites. Students, I’m sure you all remember the story of Jonah. How he was running from God and was swallowed by whale. Remember?He heard God’s voice tell him that he should go and give the warning of repentance to the Ninavites. Jonah said, “No way Yaweh!” You see students, the Ninavites hated the Israelites. Jonah knew if he went that it would be a sure death for him. The Ninavites were partying like it was 1999. They had several gods that they worshipped and were having a fine time doing they whatever they wanted without consequences. Jonah knew if he came in and blew the whistle on this big party that they would rise up and pummel him. After three days in the belly of a big fish, he decided what the heck? I need to just go and face the music. On his way into the village he started his mission by telling those he met on the way to repent their sins and worship the one true God or all of Nineveh would be destroyed. To Jonah’s surprise by the time he reached the city even the king had had a change of heart. God poured his Mercy out for the Ninavites. Jonah was baffled. God reasoned that many of the Ninavites did not know right from wrong and gave them a chance to change their wicked ways. Does this sound familiar? Let’s add a little geography to this lesson. Nineveh is in modern day Iraq. At one time in history it was a very bustling, modern city. The culture there still celebrates Jonah’s three days in the belly of the whale by fasting.

Back to our question, does the world need a change like Nineveh? Think of all the atrocities that we see in our world: child pronography, human trafficking, drug addictions, children abandoned, neglected, exploited, and used, broken families, selfishness and materialistic worship, rampant ignorance, hate of education, governments that do not put the people first but the interest of the elite, corporate giants, prejudice of immigrants, and divisions of communities over issues that should be thought of for the greater good of humanity. I could keep going but I think you get the message. The world definitely needs a change in my opinion. How do we do it? It seems so overwhelming looking at the hurt and pain it our societies and cultures. On my mantle, I have a plaque that says, “If you want to change the world go home and love your family.” (Mother Teresa) ln my kitchen window, I have a small plaque that says do small things with big love. (St. Teresa of Alvia) I also have a plaque that I put out that says isn’t it great that we need not waste one more moment to make the world a better place. (Anne Frank) You may think that I am a little nutty, but I surround myself with reminders of what we need to do to make the world a better place. I feel called to this mission. I can’t peruse the internet or Pinterest without finding myself re-directed to a way to put more good into the world. I saw some light bulbs coming on in the back row. Yes, this blog is one of them. I physically may not be able to teach very long anymore but God has given me a platform. Back row I will forgive you for that comment about Nineveh being just a lotion and what is the big deal. 🙂

I am on a roll. So let’s go a little deeper. What if everyone took care their family? What if we did just one small act of love each day? What if we all wanted a change? I understand many people and their arguments against religion or Christianity in particular. But the very basis of my religion, Catholic Christianity, is so simple. It is a life steeped in loving and caring for others. It’s just a quiet Love of all. That means loving the good, the bad, and the ugly. I never said it was easy. I just say that it’s simple in theory. Being a Christian is a very hard job. Remember Jonah? He ran. I do too sometimes. But eventually I come back to what is the right thing to do in any given situation. That’s right back row, love others as you would love yourselves.

Now the whole argument about is there a God? I have to say yes. I know that many will say bah humbug! Look at the list of atrocities in the world. How could there be a God that allows such horrible things to happen? Well students, He created us for good. He created us to be holy. How holy is the human race acting? Not very. It’s like blaming the teacher that you don’t learn anything when you never listen or do your homework. Students we have homework to do in this world. If we all do our part, we can change the world. I believe this. Do we have to be perfect? No, never. We are human, but we can try to do good things each day to create a better world. Of course we have homework back row, I’m still breathing aren’t I? Here it is. Think of one small the thing you can do to make the world a better place. Now, do it! Don’t be a Jonah and run!

Sal the Change the World Gal
Sarah Anderson Alley

Quotes of the day:

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
Ghandi

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
Harriet Tubman

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

Help young people. Help small guys. Because small guys will be big. Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds, and when they grow up, they will change the world.
Jack Ma
You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.
Tom Brokaw

I realized if you can change a classroom, you can change a community, and if you change enough communities you can change the world.
Erin Gruwell

No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.
Robin Williams
Please

Be Real

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Happy Monday students! I hope you are completing all of your assignments. Today you were supposed to listen to your heart and start fighting temptations. We’ve come a long way in 6 days. These forty days are going to be like mathematics. They will culminate or build on one another. Back row go ahead and get the ice pack for your head now. Explain it to them front row. That’s right you have to do each lesson everyday so let’s review. We are fixing our hearts. We are not pointing fingers and judging others. We are trying to do healthy things for our bodies like eating right and taking time for ourselves. We are praying for those people that we think negative thoughts about. Last but not least, we are avoiding temptation. Yes back row we still have a field trip this weekend but I will remind you of that later.

Who are you? No, I mean really who are you? That’s what we’re going to talk about today. Are you authentic? Long ago I had a friend tell me ,”Sarah, you are real.” This was probably one of the best compliments I have ever been given. What she meant was that that I am the same person wherever you meet me. She commented that this is rare. I am blessed with many, true friends. Are you? What are true friends? These are the people that love you enough to keep your soul from danger. They call you out when needed. They are there in good times and in bad. I know who I am. I know my strengths and weaknesses. I am far from perfect, but I try everyday to be the best Christian that I can possibly be. Here’s the most important thing, I try to be the best person I can be each and every day. I think that’s what we are called to do.

Some years back a friend and I were talking and she said “Sarah I feel so terrible about my life.” I was baffled! She was beautiful, had a great career, devoted husband, wonderful, beautiful healthy daughter so why was she feeling so terrible? She said, “I look around on Facebook and see how others are so happy. They are doing such great things. They have such great trips; their kids are gorgeous, and I just feel like blah.” Students, I want you to think about this. That’s right front row, on social media we could be whatever we want to be. This is so dangerous. That’s right students, it’s not real. Social media has really changed the face of communication. We can put the best bits of ourselves and our lives out there and easily delete the rest. The narcissistic nature of this is so unhealthy. This morning I listened to a video discussing how we are simply observing life. We are snapping our cameras to be sure people see us doing fabulous things. There’s nothing wrong with this unless we are not in the moments of our lives. We quickly get in to the game of competition and comparing ourselves. Is the answer to disregard all social media? To completely go away from it? I think the answer is somewhere in the middle. Yes use your social feeds to contact and communicate with family and friends. Use it to put good into the world. Beware if you use it to boost your ego or to create a fake persona. This is where the sin creeps into our lives. Know who you are and what you stand for and then you can begin to be real. God wants you to be you. It’s true he loves you just the way you are. And he has created you for a divine purpose.

Homework time! I want you to write down 5 things you like. I want you to write down 5 things that you don’t like. Look at your social media. Yes back row you can put down homework as one of your things you don’t like. Is it real? Is this really the life that you’re living? Are your social platforms positive? Are you putting things out there to help others or just to help yourself? Before you post your next picture or status update think about if it is real? Are you competing with others or genuinely sharing to communicate with others? Are the things that you put out there healthy and positive? Be honest and ask yourself before you push that post button. Can you be real?

Sal the Real Gal
Sarah Anderson Alley

Quote of the day:
Never apologize for what you feel. It’s like saying sorry for being real.
Lil Wayne

Be who you are and say what you want, for those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.
Dr. Seuss
Best be yourself, imperial, plain and true!
Robert Browning

Ride the energy of your own unique spirit.
Gabrielle Roth

To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up.
Oscar Wilde

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
Confucius

You were born an original. Don t die a copy.
John Mason

Being yourself is all it takes. If you want to impress someone don’t be someone else just be yourself.
Selena Gomez

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
Judy Garland

If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.
David Carradine

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
Steve Jobs

Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide

Temptation

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert and was tempted

Happy Sunday students! Sundays are always busy for me. I go to church early and teach the high school religion class and then attend church. After that we always share a meal together with family. By the time I get home it’s late afternoon and I really like to nap, read, watch sports with my family, and chill with them all day. However today I went to see a play at our local high school. When I finally got home it was really late, but I’m so grateful that I did go. I saw several of my former students. This always makes me happy. Some of the students that were active in the play are currently in my religion class. It did my heart good to see those students on their way to adulthood. This was the last play of the drama teacher who has meant so much to our teaching community for 20 years. This whole weekend has been like a Mr. Holland’s Opus sequel but instead of course it would have been tagged Ms. Solomon’s Last Acts. I give Ms. Chris Solomon props for a job well done. The students love of her is a testament to a job well done. More than 1,000 students came this weekend to celebrate her teaching career. Are you catching the puns students? I whispered a prayer for our school system to be able to find another teacher as dedicated as she has been. Someone to come love and teach and give her heart as she has all these years.

Today’s lesson is about temptation. This morning I was tired. I stayed up late to watch a Memphis Tigers basketball game and knew daylight savings time was robbing an hour of sleep from me. I knew I would have to get up early to make it to teach, Church, eat with the family, and then attend the play. I was very tempted to just cut my day short and go home to relax. I’m so very glad that I didn’t do that. I was very blessed with lots of love and was able to give love by shaking off the temptation to stay home. Many times we are tempted to be selfish especially selfish with our time. Students if you’re thinking of being a teacher remember giving your time and attention to your students is one of the best gifts they could ever receive.

Today our lesson for religion class and also in church was about temptations and how to deal with it. Our hearts are tempted almost continually as we go through our earthly life. The gospel was from Luke 4: 1-13. As Catholic Christians the 40 days before Easter, Lent, we try to reenact Jesus’s 40 days in the desert within our own lives. How do we deal with all of this temptation? My students and I talked about the temptations of high school: sex, drugs, peer pressure, excluding others, and basically trying to survive. We talked about how Jesus was tempted 40 days in the desert. He was promised everything but he chose to stay the course for us. The devil does the same to us. He whispers to us that it will not hurt if we abuse our bodies with drugs and give our bodies away without remorse. He encourages us to make fun of those students who are awkward. Like Adam and Eve, once we’ve bitten the forbidden fruit we feel so ashamed and instead of turning back to God we run the other direction as fast as we can. Sometimes we don’t even look back until we are in our sixties. I have witnessed this with my own siblings. How do we battle this? How did Jesus Battle this? Well, it was in today’s readings: Luke 4:1 He was led by the Spirit. Good news students, upon your Confirmation* you receive the Holy Spirit with you. Today when I was tempted to stay home and pull the crippled card I listened to the Holy Spirit. It urged to me to go. I know you hear the Holy Spirit, too. Yes of course back row this is your homework. When you are tempted stop and try to listen for the Holy Spirit to guide you. So tomorrow at school or at work whenever you are tempted, stop listen and for that twinge from your heart before you choose to act. The other assignment you have is to go on a field trip next Sunday. Take a break from work. That work could be at home or it could be something that you feel you have to do with the yard. Don’t do it. Find a place to go to church or just to read scriptures and meditate for an hour. Give time to God and to yourself. You can’t have a healthy heart if it’s overworked. The whole day needs to be a day off, time with God, and family. Rest as much as you can. That’s an order.

Sal the Tempted Gal
Sarah Anderson Alley

Quote of the day:

“People have to realize that just because you’re a Christian, it doesn’t mean that you’re perfect, because every once in a while everyone stumbles. Living by faith is about when you do mess up, getting back up, brushing yourself off, and keep trying to improve where you mess up or where you have temptation.”
Tim Tebow

*Confirmation is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church[1]. It is the one of the three sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church, the other two being Baptism and Holy Communion.[2]
According to Catholic doctrine, the Sacrament of Confirmation enables the faithful to be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, strengthening them in their Christian life.

What a sinner?

Luke 5:27-32

I did not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.

Students we have made it four days! Today reading this verse I always chuckle. We are so like the Pharisees. We want to point out all the dusty old sinners. Or say things like, “Why are you hanging out with those people?” Sometimes when we get a little bit of religion we get a whole lot of self-righteousness. We become the finger pointers or as some people say holier than thou. We humans are so funny because we want to put everything in categories. We want strict boundaries. We want to make the rules. We want to be God and judge others. I’ll use my daughters new catchphrase, “That ain’t it chief!” That’s right back row. I’m guilty but you guys are pretty rowdy. So we all get it right? We are all sinners that are supposed to follow the rules given to us by God and not use them to hurt or harm others.

Now let’s work on our heart. How could we put into action this lesson? Let’s reflect. If we’re honest we know that we are finger pointers. Here’s our homework. Tomorrow whether you go to church or just go to Walmart I want you to look around. As you look around I want you to pay attention to what you think about those you see. When you start to think something negative, stop yourself. Those people that you see and have negative thoughts about if you make eye contact with them give them a smile or a kind gesture. Control your mind of thinking those negative thoughts. We all have them. Be strong and control them. We have to control our minds in order to help clean out the clutter of our hearts.

Back row I apologize I know that I have given a lot of homework. We have to work on our hearts everyday to make a change. We need to fast continually. We need to do healthy things for ourselves to grow spiritually. Everyday is a good day. Each day we are together we are finding out more and more about how to live a better life and help others to be loved. We are figuring out what we are called to do and what is our purpose. I’m so glad to be on this journey with you.

Sal the Pointing the Finger Gal

Sarah Anderson Alley

Quote of the day:

“Just because you are happy does not mean the day is perfect, but you have looked beyond its imperfections.”

Bob Marley