Feb - PAREF Southridge School
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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)