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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:<br />

Fathers' Presence 4<br />

Linked to Enhanced<br />

Intellect, Well-Being<br />

Among Children<br />

Virtue of the Month: 5<br />

TRUTHFULNESS<br />

Passing on the Faith 6<br />

(Part IV)<br />

Formative Activities 8<br />

for Parents<br />

PARENTS FIRST<br />

ACTIVITIES FOR PARENTS<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 2 - Fathers’ Day<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 3 - 1st Sunday Recollection<br />

for Fathers<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 6 - 3rd PQF (Grade<br />

1)/4th PQF (Afternoon<br />

<strong>School</strong>)<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 7 - 3rd PQF (Year V HS)<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 8 - 3rd PQF (Grade 2)<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 9 - BCD Class for Fathers<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 10 - Family Day<br />

(Afternoon <strong>School</strong>)<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 15 - 3rd PQF (Grade 3)<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 16-BCD Class for Fathers<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 20 - 3rd PQF (Grade 6)<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 21 - 3rd PQF (Year II<br />

HS)/3rd Thursday Recollection<br />

at Molave Study Center<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 23 - First Holy Communion<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 24 - 4th Sunday Recollection/BCD<br />

Class for Afternoon<br />

<strong>School</strong> Mothers<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 27 - 3rd PQF (Grade 7)<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 28—3rd PQF (Year III<br />

HS)/The SHOW<br />

A Publication of <strong>PAREF</strong> <strong>Southridge</strong> <strong>School</strong> for Boys<br />

<strong>School</strong> Year 2012-2013<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 2013<br />

18 WAYS TO BE A BETTER FATHER<br />

Being a father can be a wonderful thing, once you get past all the gross<br />

stuff, all the stressful events, the loss of privacy, and the bewildering numbers<br />

of ways you can screw it up.<br />

But other than those few things,<br />

fatherhood is wonderful.<br />

Every dad has fears that he won‘t<br />

be a great dad, that he‘ll mess up, that<br />

he‘ll be a failure. It comes with the job.<br />

Unfortunately, what doesn‘t come<br />

with the job is a simple set of instruc-<br />

Lewis Yu with sons, Tristan and Nathan<br />

tions. As guys, we often will skip the<br />

manual, figuring we can wing it … but when things go wrong, it‘s nice to have<br />

that manual to go back to. Fatherhood needs that manual.<br />

And while, as the father of six children, you might say that I‘m qualified to<br />

write such a manual, it‘s not true — I‘m winging it like everyone else. However,<br />

I‘ve been a father for more than 15 years, and with six kids I‘ve learned<br />

a lot about what works and what doesn‘t, what‘s important and what you can<br />

safely ignore (unlike that odd grating sound coming from your engine).<br />

What follows are the fatherhood tips I wish they‘d passed out to me upon<br />

the delivery of my first child. It would have helped a ton. I hope they‘ll help<br />

you become an even more awesome dad than you already are — feel free to<br />

refer back to them as a cheat sheet, anytime you need some help.<br />

1. Cherish your time with them. One thing that will amaze you is how<br />

quickly the years will fly. My oldest daughter is 15, which means I have three<br />

short years with her before she leaves the nest. That‘s not enough time! The<br />

time you have with them is short and precious — make the most of it. Spend<br />

as much time as you can with them, and make it quality, loving time. Try to be<br />

present as much as possible while you‘re with them too — don‘t let your mind<br />

drift away, as they can sense that.<br />

2. It gets easier. Others may have different experiences, but I‘ve always<br />

found the first couple of months the most difficult, when the baby is brand new<br />

and wants to feed at all hours of the night and you often have sleepless nights<br />

and walk around all day like zombies. It gets easier, as they get a regular<br />

sleeping pattern. The first couple of years are also a lot more demanding than<br />

later years, and as they hit middle school they become almost functioning,<br />

independent adults. It gets easier, trust me.


Page 2<br />

<strong>Southridge</strong> Alumni<br />

Homecoming 2013<br />

Parents First <strong>Feb</strong>. 2013<br />

3. Don’t look at anything as “mom” duties — share responsibilities.<br />

While there are a lot of good things from our grandparents‘ day that we<br />

should bring back, the traditional dad/mom split of parenting duties isn‘t<br />

one of them. Some men still look at certain duties as ―mom‖ duties, but<br />

don‘t be one of those dads. Get involved in everything, and share the load<br />

with your baby mama. Changing diapers, giving baths, getting them<br />

dressed, even feeding them (you can give them breast milk in a bottle).<br />

4. Love conquers all. This one sounds corny, but it should be at the<br />

center of your dad operating philosophy: above all, show your children<br />

love. When you‘re upset, instead of yelling, show them love. When they<br />

are upset, show them love. When they least expect it, show them love.<br />

Everything else is just details.<br />

5. Kids like making decisions. While it is easier to be an authoritarian<br />

parent, what you‘re teaching your child is to submit to orders no matter<br />

what. Instead, teach your child to make decisions, and he‘ll grow up much<br />

more capable — and happier. Kids like freedom and decisions, just like<br />

any other human beings. Your job is to allow them to make decisions, but<br />

within the parameters that you set. Give them a choice between two<br />

healthy breakfasts, for example, rather than allowing them to eat a bowl of<br />

sugar if they choose to.<br />

6. A little patience goes a long way. As a parent, I know as well as anyone<br />

how easy it is to lose your patience and temper. However, allowing<br />

yourself to react in anger or frustration is not the best thing for your child,<br />

and you must remember that. That means you need to take a deep<br />

breath, or a walk, when you start to lose your patience. Practice patience<br />

with your child and your relationship, and your child, will benefit over the<br />

long run.<br />

7. Sense of humor required. There will be times when your child does<br />

something that might make you blow your lid — writing in crayon all over<br />

the walls is a good one, as is dumping some kind of liquid on your couch,<br />

or sneaking out and taking your car to meet up with friends. While you<br />

need to teach your child not to do these things, it‘s better to just laugh at<br />

the humor in the situation. I‘ve learned to do this more often, and it helps<br />

me keep my sanity.<br />

8. Read to them, often. Whether you‘re a reader or not, reading to your<br />

children (from the time they‘re babies onward) is crucial. It gets them in<br />

the habit of reading, and prepares them for a lifetime of learning. It gives<br />

you some special time together, and become a tradition your child will<br />

cherish. I read with all my children, from my 2-year-old and my 15-yearold,<br />

and love every word we read together. See my list of Best All-Time<br />

Children‘s Books.<br />

9. Don’t be the absent dad. The biggest mistake that dads make are not<br />

being there for their children. Always, always set aside time each day and<br />

each week for your children. Don‘t let anything violate this sacred time.<br />

And at those big moments in your child‘s life — a soccer game, a music<br />

recital, a science fair — do you very best to be there. It means the world.<br />

10. Let them play. Kids really develop through playing — and while it<br />

might seem obvious, you should allow them as much free play as possible.<br />

That‘s aside from TV and video games (see below), aside from reading,<br />

aside from anything structured or educational. Just let them play, and<br />

make things up, and have fun.<br />

11. Spark their imagination. Free play, mentioned above, is the best<br />

way to develop the imagination, but sometimes you can provide a little<br />

spark. Play with your kids, creating forts, dressing up as ninjas, role


Page 3<br />

<strong>Southridge</strong> Families<br />

Olan & Shai Umali with son,<br />

Dylan Raphael<br />

Raymond & Bea Lacdao with<br />

sons, Jaime Sebastian &<br />

Joaquin Santiago<br />

Chris & Sheryl Borja with<br />

son, Carl Matthew<br />

Toby & Rica de Castro with<br />

children: Daphne, Emilio,<br />

Penelope & 1-month old Franco<br />

Parents First <strong>Feb</strong>. 2013<br />

playing, imagining you‘re explorers or characters in a movie or book … the<br />

possibilities are endless, and you‘ll have as much fun as they will.<br />

12. Limit TV and video games. I‘m not saying you have to be Amish or anything,<br />

but too much of this type of entertainment keeps them from doing more<br />

imaginative playing, from reading, from getting outside to exercise. I recommend<br />

an hour a day of ―media time‖, but you can find the amount that works for<br />

you and your family.<br />

13. Learn the “firm no”. While I‘m all for giving kids the freedom to choose,<br />

and for free play, and lots of other freedoms, there should be limits. Parents<br />

who don‘t set boundaries are going to have children with behavior problems,<br />

who have problems when they grow up. And if it‘s not good to always say<br />

―yes‖, it‘s also not good for the child to say ―no‖ at first … and then cave in<br />

when they throw a temper tantrum or beg and plead. Teach them that your ―no‖<br />

is firm, but only say ―no‖ when you really feel that it‘s a boundary you need to<br />

set.<br />

14. Model good behavior. It‘s one thing to tell you child what she should do,<br />

but to say one thing and do another just ruins the message. In fact, the real<br />

lesson your child will learn is what you do. Your child is always watching you,<br />

to learn appropriate behavior. Excessive drinking or smoking or drug use by<br />

parents, for example, will become ingrained in the child‘s head. Bad manners,<br />

inconsiderate behavior, sloppy habits, anger and a negative attitude, laziness<br />

and greed … all these behaviors will rub off on your child. Instead, model the<br />

behavior you‘d like your child to learn.<br />

15. Treat their mother with respect, always. Some fathers can be abusive<br />

toward their spouse, and that will lead to a cycle of abuse when the child grows<br />

up. But beyond physical or verbal abuse, there‘s the milder sin against the<br />

child‘s mother: disrespectful behavior. If you treat your child‘s mother with disrespect,<br />

your child will not only learn that behavior, but grow up with insecurities<br />

and other emotional problems. Treat your child‘s mother with respect at all<br />

times.<br />

16. Let them be themselves. Many parents try to mold their child into the person<br />

they want their child to be … even if the child‘s personality doesn‘t fit that<br />

mold. Instead, instill good behaviors and values in your child, but give your<br />

child freedom to be himself. Children, like all humans, have quirks and different<br />

personalities. Let those personalities flourish. Love your child for who he is, not<br />

who you want him to be.<br />

17. Teach them independence. From an early age, teach your children to do<br />

things for themselves, gradually letting them be more independent as they<br />

grow older. While it may seem difficult and time-consuming to teach your child<br />

to do something that you could do much faster yourself, it‘s worth it in the long<br />

run, for the child‘s self-confidence and also in terms of how much you have to<br />

do. For example, my kids know how to wash their own dishes, help clean the<br />

house, clean their rooms, fold and put away laundry, shower, groom and dress<br />

themselves, and much more — saving a lot of time and work for me. Even my<br />

2-year-old knows how to pick things up when she‘s told to do so.<br />

18. Stand together with mom. It‘s no good to have one parent say one thing,<br />

just to have the other contradict that parent. Instead, you and mom should be<br />

working together as a parenting team, and should stand by each other‘s decisions.<br />

That said, it‘s important that you talk out these decisions beforehand, so<br />

that you don‘t end up having to support a decision you strongly disagree with.<br />

(Source: 18 Ways to be a Better Father by Mr. William West of MecatorNet of the<br />

Nov. 23, 2012 Issue. Parents of six children Brett and Kate McKay have drawn up<br />

what they call "The Awesome Dad Cheat Sheet", offering "18 Fatherhood Tips They<br />

Should’ve Handed Out at the Delivery Room".)


Page 4<br />

Outreach Program of SR Batch<br />

2016 at Daughters of Charity<br />

Parents First <strong>Feb</strong>. 2013<br />

Fathers' Presence Linked to Enhanced Intellect, Well-<br />

Being Among Children<br />

ScienceDaily (Aug. 31, 2011) — Fathers who actively engage in raising their children<br />

can help make their offspring smarter and better behaved, according to new research<br />

from Concordia University. Published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science,<br />

the long-term study examined how fathers can positively influence the development<br />

of their kids through hands-on parenting.<br />

"Fathers make important contributions in the development of their children's<br />

behaviour and intelligence," says Erin Pougnet, a PhD candidate in the Concordia<br />

University Department of Psychology.<br />

"Compared with other children with absentee dads, kids whose fathers were active<br />

parents in early and middle childhood had fewer behaviour problems and<br />

higher intellectual abilities as they grew older -- even among socio-economically<br />

at-risk families."<br />

A patriarch's influence<br />

"Regardless of whether fathers lived with their children, their ability to set appropriate<br />

limits and structure their children's behaviour positively influenced<br />

problem-solving and decreased emotional problems, such as sadness, social<br />

withdrawal and anxiety," continues Pougnet.<br />

A total of 138 children and their parents took part in the study and were assessed by<br />

researchers in three separate sessions. Kids were evaluated between the ages of<br />

three- to five-years-old and again from nine to 13-years-old. They completed intelligence<br />

tests, while their mothers completed questionnaires on home environment and<br />

couple conflict. All children were recruited as part of the larger Concordia Longitudinal<br />

Risk Research Project, an intergenerational study launched in 1976.<br />

<strong>School</strong> teachers were also recruited as observers of child behaviours outside homes.<br />

"Teachers were a somewhat more independent source of information than mothers,<br />

fathers or children themselves," says Pougnet, "because a father's absence can<br />

result in home conflict, maternal distress and child distress."<br />

Greater impact on girls<br />

The study found girls to be most affected by absentee dads, although the researchers<br />

caution that paternal absence can foster other problems such as lack of support or<br />

discipline. "Girls whose fathers were absent during their middle childhood had<br />

significantly higher levels of emotional problems at school than girls whose fathers<br />

were present," says Pougnet.<br />

Mothers, caregivers equally important<br />

According to 2007 Statistics Canada figures, there are an increasing number of singleparent<br />

homes across the country. The agency estimates some 13 percent of Canadian<br />

families and 22 percent of Quebec families are composed of households where biological<br />

fathers are absent. "While our study examined the important role dads play in<br />

the development of their children, kids don't necessarily do poorly without their fathers,"<br />

stresses co-author Lisa A. Serbin, a professor in the Concordia Department of<br />

Psychology and a CRDH member. "Mothers and other caregivers are also important.<br />

No doubt fathers have a major impact, but there are definitely many alternative ways<br />

to raise a healthy child. Some kids with no contact with fathers, or with distant dads,<br />

do well intellectually and emotionally."<br />

This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social<br />

Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.


Parents First <strong>Feb</strong>. 2013 Issue<br />

Outreach Program of SR Batch<br />

2016 at Daughters of Charity<br />

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH: TRUTHFULNESS<br />

A <strong>Southridge</strong> gentleman seeks the truth, loves the truth, humbly tells the truth.<br />

He knows himself and lets himself be known.<br />

A person of high character always exhibits honesty, therefore teaching children<br />

honesty is essential. Honesty is a quality that is harder to find than it should be.<br />

As parents, it’s our responsibility to make sure we strive to teach our children the<br />

importance of honesty, but how do we do this in a culture where it is important to<br />

look out for “#1” at all cost?<br />

The first step in encouraging honesty in children is to make sure you have a<br />

respectful, honest, and trusting relationship with your child. If your child looks up<br />

to you and understands you want the best for them, the easier it will be to teach<br />

them moral qualities they may struggle with.<br />

Knowing and loving are the natural functions of the human mind and will.<br />

These activities need to be underpinned by strong habits of sincerity and generosity.<br />

Sincerity is the habit proper to the intellect. Sincerity is essential if we to be<br />

able to seek and recognise the truth about ourselves and about others, and if we<br />

are to be able to face objectively the impact of our actions on others, if we are to<br />

be direct and transparent in relationships and face up to the duties permanent<br />

relationships place on us.<br />

Parenting tips on how to instill the virtue of TRUTHFULNESS to your children<br />

Model integrity. Accept feedback humbly and make resolutions to fix whatever<br />

needs fixing. Let children see your own efforts to improve, particularly in your<br />

work, and by hearing you apologize after life’s inevitable mistakes.<br />

Help your child to have objective view of their own many qualities and of areas<br />

where they need to improve.<br />

Trust your child’s word, unless the evidence is irrefutable.<br />

Correct each small act of insincerity. Don’t let opportunities pass to teach this<br />

vital virtue. It is too important. Show affection—you are correcting out of love.<br />

Help your son or daughter to see that your only goal is their welfare.<br />

Allow natural consequences to take their course—a lie to a teacher should be<br />

fixed by honesty and an apology, shoplifting requires restitution and face-toface<br />

apology, etc. Explain your reasons for insisting on consequences.<br />

Show your child that insincerity harms others and between adults can break<br />

trust virtually irreparably. Agree on a concrete plan to fix things up. And them<br />

firmly, but with infinite affection, hold your child to the agreement.<br />

Defer meting out punishments while you are emotional. It is good if parents<br />

also help each other in this.<br />

If you have become angry, apologize for the harsh things you said and make<br />

sure you listen to your child’s view.<br />

When making a point to an older child, use David Isaac’s 3Cs. Be clear, be<br />

concise, and then change the subject.<br />

Help your child to internalize the lesson by reflecting on the causes and consequences<br />

of their actions.<br />

(Source: Parenting Character by Andrew Mullins. Andrew Mullins is Headmaster<br />

of Redfield College, Dural, Australia)<br />

Page 5


YEAR OF FAITH (OCT. 11, 2012 - Nov. 24, 2013)<br />

YEAR OF FAITH<br />

ANNOUNCEMENTS<br />

Suggested things to do<br />

for <strong>Feb</strong>ruary 2013<br />

1. Prepare for Lenten<br />

season. Ash Wednesday<br />

is on <strong>Feb</strong>ruary 13. Day of<br />

Fasting and Abstinence.<br />

2. Observe Abstinence on<br />

Fridays of Lent.<br />

3. Prepare for a good confession.<br />

Ask for the grace<br />

of real conversion.<br />

4. Learn and practice the<br />

devotion of the Way of<br />

the Cross. Do it once a<br />

week during Lenten season.<br />

5. Be generous in the corporal<br />

and spiritual works<br />

of mercy. Be generous in<br />

helping the poor.<br />

6. Practice daily mortification<br />

e.g. give up softdrinks<br />

and junk food, less<br />

time watching TV or internet.<br />

Eucharistic Procession 2012<br />

PASSING ON THE FAITH (Part IV)<br />

Showing the Beauty of the Faith<br />

Consequently, it would be a mistake to regularly associate supernatural<br />

motives with doing unpleasant jobs or carrying out burdensome<br />

obligations. It is not always helpful, for instance, to ask children to finish their<br />

soup so as to offer our Lord a sacrifice. According to their age and level of piety, this<br />

approach may be appropriate, but we should also try to provide other reasons. God<br />

cannot be seen as merely the ―enemy‖ of caprice; rather children should be helped to<br />

overcome their whims, so that they can lead a happy life, detached from material<br />

goods and guided by love for God and neighbor.<br />

A Christian family passes on the beauty of faith and love for Christ most effectively<br />

when its members live in harmony with one another out of charity, taking things with a<br />

smile and forgetting their own petty concerns in order to care for the others. ―They<br />

need to forget about the insignificant little frictions that selfishness can magnify out of<br />

all proportion, and put a lot of love into the small acts of service that family life requires.‖[6]<br />

A life guided by self-forgetfulness is an ideal that is very attractive for a young person.<br />

We educators may sometimes not fully believe this ourselves, perhaps because<br />

we still have a long way to go in this area. The secret lies in tying formative goals to<br />

reasons for achieving them that children can understand and appreciate: in order to<br />

help their friends, to be useful or courageous.... Each child has his or her own concerns,<br />

which we must know how to build on when explaining why they should be<br />

chaste, temperate, hard-working, detached from material goods, careful when using<br />

the Internet and not spending hours playing video games.<br />

Page 6<br />

The Christian message will then be perceived in all its inherent beauty and rationality.<br />

Children will discover God not just as an ―instrument‖ their parents use to get<br />

things done around the home, but as their Father in heaven who loves them madly<br />

and whom they too must love and adore, the Creator of the universe, to whom we owe<br />

our very existence, the good Master, the Friend who never lets us down and whom we<br />

cannot let down.<br />

Helping them find their own path<br />

Above all, bringing children up in the faith means teaching them to make their<br />

whole life into an act of worship of God. As the Second Vatican Council teaches,<br />

―without the Creator, the creature would disappear.‖[7] In worship and adoration we<br />

find the true foundation of personal maturity: ―If people refuse to adore God, they will<br />

end up adoring themselves in various ways, as the history of mankind has shown:<br />

power, pleasure, riches, science, beauty.‖[8] Fostering an attitude of worship requires<br />

that children meet Jesus face to face, even at a very early age, helping them to talk to<br />

him personally. Praying with children can mean something as simple as telling them<br />

about Jesus and his friends, or taking advantage of some daily event to get them to<br />

imagine themselves in a Gospel scene.<br />

Fostering piety in children comes down to helping them to put their heart in Jesus,<br />

to speak to him about the good and bad things that happen to them each day; it<br />

means teaching them to listen to the voice of their conscience through which God reveals<br />

his will and to try to put it into practice. Children acquire these habits almost by<br />

osmosis, when seeing how their parents speak to our Lord and strive to make him present<br />

in their daily lives. Indeed, faith refers first and foremost not to a list of duties or a<br />

catechism text that has to be memorized, but to a Person in whom we believe wholeheartedly<br />

because we trust him. If we want to convince them that the Life of one Person<br />

has changed mankind‘s whole existence, ennobling all our human faculties, it is


YEAR Parents First OF August FAITH 2012 (OCT. 11, 2012 - Nov. 24, 2013)<br />

only natural that children should first see clearly that our own life has been transformed by Christ. Being good transmitters<br />

of faith in Christ means showing through our own life our adhesion to his Person.[9] Being a good parent<br />

means above all being a parent who is good, who struggles to be holy. Children quickly notice this, and will admire<br />

their parents‘ effort and try to emulate them.<br />

Good parents want their children to achieve excellence and to be happy in all areas of life: professional, cultural,<br />

emotional…. It is only natural, therefore, that they don‘t want them to be content with spiritual mediocrity. God‘s plan<br />

for each person is something marvellous and sacred. The greatest service we can render to someone, especially to<br />

one‘s children, is to give them the support they need to respond fully to their Christian vocation and discover what<br />

God wants of them. This is not something secondary that would lead to a bit more happiness, but rather affects the<br />

outcome of one‘s entire life.<br />

Discovering the specific parameters of one‘s personal call to holiness means finding a white stone, a stone engraved<br />

with a new name that no one knows except him who receives it.[10] It means finding the truth about oneself<br />

which gives meaning to one‘s whole existence. Each one‘s happiness and that of many other people depends on<br />

one‘s generous response to what God is asking.<br />

The children’s vocation, and the parents’<br />

Faith by its very nature is a free act that cannot be imposed, even indirectly, by ―irrefutable‖ arguments. Believing<br />

is a gift grounded in the mystery of God‘s grace and each one‘s free response. Therefore Christian parents need to<br />

pray diligently for their children, asking that the seed of faith they are planting in their souls may grow and produce<br />

fruit. Often the Holy Spirit will use these holy desires to bring forth from within Christian families a great variety of<br />

vocations, for the good of the whole Church.<br />

A child‘s vocation may require parents to give up plans they have made that are dear to their hearts. ―No sooner<br />

is a child born than his mother starts thinking about how to marry him off to so-and-so and how they‘ll do this or that.<br />

The father is thinking about the career or business he‘ll get his son into. Each creates their own ‗novel,‘ an enchanting<br />

rose-colored novel. Later, the child grows up to be bright, and good, because his parents are good, and he tells<br />

them, ‗That novel of yours doesn‘t interest me.‘‖[11]<br />

The vocation of one‘s children is part of the wonderful vocation of motherhood and fatherhood. It could even be<br />

said that a child‘s vocation is twofold: that of the child who gives himself or herself to God and that of the parents<br />

who give their child to God. And sometimes, the merit of the parents is even greater than that of their child, since<br />

God has asked them to give up what they love the most, and they do so joyfully.<br />

Thus a child‘s vocation becomes ―a reason for holy pride,‖[12] which leads parents to assist them with their<br />

prayers and affection. As Blessed John Paul II stressed: ―Make sure you are open to vocations in your family. Pray<br />

that, as a sign of his special love, God may deign to call one or more members of your family to serve him. Live your<br />

faith with a joy and fervor that will encourage vocations. Be generous if your son or daughter, your brother or sister,<br />

decides to follow Christ by a special path. Help their vocation to take root and grow strong. Give your wholehearted<br />

support to the choice they have freely made.‖[13]<br />

The decision to give oneself to God springs forth naturally from the seedbed of a Christian upbringing, and can<br />

even be seen as its culmination. Nurtured by the parents‘ loving care, the family thus becomes a true domestic<br />

Church,[14] in which the Holy Spirit bestows his charisms. In this way, the parents‘ educational role reaches out beyond<br />

the confines of the immediate family circle to become a source of divine life in environments previously closed<br />

to Christ.<br />

Footnotes:<br />

[6] Christ is Passing By, 23.<br />

[7] Second Vatican Council, Past. Const. Gaudium et Spes, 36.<br />

[8] Bishop Javier Echevarria, Pastoral Letter, 1 June 2011<br />

[9] St. Thomas Aquinas, S. Th II-II, q. 11, a.1: ―Now, because he who believes adheres to the word of someone else, that which<br />

seems primary and which seems to play the role of end in any belief is the person whose word one adheres to. The truths that we<br />

know because of this adherence seem almost secondary.‖<br />

[10] Rev 2:17.<br />

[11] St. Josemaria, Notes taken during a family get-together, 4 September 1972.<br />

[12] The Forge, 17.<br />

[13] John Paul II, Homily, 25 <strong>Feb</strong>ruary 1981.<br />

[14] Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 11.<br />

Page 7


Eucharistic Procession 2012<br />

FORMATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR FATHERS AT SOUTHRIDGE<br />

HOLY MASS<br />

Daily 12 noon Mass at the Chapel of the Holy Family.<br />

RECOLLECTIONS<br />

1 st and 4 th Sunday Recollection (9:15 am – 12:00 noon with Holy Mass for the<br />

Families at 11:00 am)<br />

3 rd Thursday Recollection (with Benediction) at Molave Study Center<br />

BASIC CATHOLIC DOCTRINE CLASSES<br />

Every Saturday, 10:15 – 11:15 am at the Academic Office Conference Room,<br />

2nd floor of the <strong>Southridge</strong> Main Building (for fathers)<br />

Every 4th Sunday, 9:15 - 10:30 am (for Afternoon <strong>School</strong> mothers)<br />

CONFESSION/SPIRITUAL DIRECTION WITH CHAPLAIN<br />

On weekdays, by appointment anytime, i.e., even before or after office hours.<br />

9 am and 12 nn on Saturdays.<br />

RETREAT SCHEDULES FOR FATHERS FROM<br />

FEBRUARY TO APRIL 2013<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 7 - 10 (Thurs-Sun) Makiling Conference Center (West Wing)<br />

<strong>Feb</strong>. 22-25 (Fri-Mon) Latag (for young professionals)<br />

March 7-10 (Thurs-Sun) Tagaytay Conference Center<br />

March 11-13 (Mon-Wed) Makiling Conference Center (West Wing)<br />

March 21-24 (Thurs-Sun) Tagaytay Conference Center<br />

March 21-24 (Thurs-Sun) Makiling Conference Center (West Wing)<br />

March 28-30 (Thurs-Sat) Makiling Conference Center (Main House)<br />

March 28-30 (Thurs-Sat) Makiling Conference Center (West Wing)<br />

March 28-30 (Thurs-Sat) Open Retreat at University of Asia & Pacific<br />

March 28-30 (Thurs-Sat) Open Retreat at Sangandaan Center<br />

March 28-30 (Thurs-Sat) Open Retreat at <strong>PAREF</strong> <strong>Southridge</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />

April 25-28 (Thurs-Sun) Samar Study Center<br />

May 16-19 (Thurs-Sun) Tagaytay Conference Center<br />

May 30-June 2 (Thurs-Sun) Tagaytay Conference Center<br />

For inquiries of the retreat fees and reservations, please contact<br />

Ms. Leila Lerios of the Philippine Foundation at 817-2318 local 201<br />

or 0928-5063688 or email philfoundation@pldtdsl.net.<br />

FORMATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR MOTHERS AT WOODROSE<br />

DOCTRINE CLASS - every 1st and 2nd Thursday, 9 to 10 am, Function<br />

Room<br />

RECOLLECTION - every 3rd Thursday, 9:15 - 11:00 a.m. & every 4th<br />

Thursday, 4:30 - 6:30 pm<br />

CONFESSION - Monday to Friday except Wednesday, 9 am - 12nn<br />

For inquiries, you can contact <strong>PAREF</strong> Woodrose <strong>School</strong> at 850-<br />

6380 to 83; 809-5508 or 807-6735 (local 123 for the Chaplain’s Office<br />

or 118 for the Family Orientation Office or locals 120,151,152<br />

for the Central Communications Office)

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