Reflection Reflexión - Incarnate Word Academy

A Catholic Tradition of Academic Excellence Since 1853
Volume 6, Issue 6
February 2015
Reflection
February Gospel
Value: Faith
The history of Jesus is the
complete manifestation of
God’s reliability. If Israel continued to recall God’s great acts of
love, which formed the core of
its confession of faith and
broadened its gaze in faith, the
life of Jesus now appears as
the locus of God’s definitive
intervention, the supreme manifestation of his love for us.
Christian faith is thus faith in a
perfect love, in its decisive
power, in its ability to transform
the world and to unfold its history. "We know and believe the
love that God has for us" (1
Jn 4:16). In the love of God
revealed in Jesus, faith perceives the foundation on which
all reality and its final destiny
rest.
The clearest proof of the
reliability of Christ’s love is to
be found in his dying for our
sake. If laying down one’s life
for one’s friends is the greatest
proof of love (cf. Jn 15:13),
Jesus offered his own life for
all, even for his enemies, to
transform their hearts. This
explains why the evangelists
could see the hour of Christ’s
crucifixion as the culmination of
the gaze of faith; in that hour
the depth and breadth of God’s
love shone forth.
This fullness which Jesus
brings to faith has another
decisive aspect. In faith, Christ
is not simply the one in whom
we believe, the supreme
Taken from: www.vatican.va
manifestation of God’s love; he
is also the one with whom we
are united precisely in order to
believe. Faith does not merely
gaze at Jesus, but sees things
as Jesus himself sees them,
with his own eyes: it is a participation in his way of seeing.
Jesus, the Son of God, is the
one who makes God known to
us (cf. Jn 1:18). Christ’s life, his
way of knowing the Father and
living in complete and constant
relationship with him, opens up
new and inviting
vistas for human
experience. Saint
John brings out the
importance of a
personal relationship
with Jesus for our
faith by using various forms of
the verb "to believe". In addition
to "believing that" what Jesus
tells us is true, John also
speaks of "believing" Jesus and
"believing in" Jesus. We
"believe" Jesus when we accept his word, his testimony,
because he is truthful. We
"believe in" Jesus when we
personally welcome him into
our lives and journey towards
him, clinging to him in love and
following in his footsteps along
the way.
To enable us to know, accept
and follow him, the Son of God
took on our flesh. In this way he
also saw the Father humanly,
within the setting of a journey
unfolding in time. Christian faith
is faith in the incarnation of the
Word and his bodily resurrection; it is faith in a God who is
so close to us that he entered
our human history.
Reflexión
Valor Evangélico de
Febrero:
Fé
La historia de Jesús es la
manifestación plena de la fiabilidad de Dios. Si Israel recordaba
las grandes muestras de amor
de Dios, que constituían el centro de su confesión y abrían la
mirada de su fe, ahora la vida de
Jesús se presenta como la intervención definitiva de Dios, la
manifestación suprema
de su amor por nosotros.
La fe cristiana es, por
tanto, fe en el Amor
pleno, en su poder eficaz, en su capacidad de
transformar el mundo e
iluminar el tiempo. « Hemos
conocido el amor que Dios nos
tiene y hemos creído en él
» (1 Jn 4,16). La fe reconoce el
amor de Dios manifestado en
Jesús como el fundamento sobre
el que se asienta la realidad y su
destino último.
La mayor prueba de la fiabilidad del amor de Cristo se encuentra en su muerte por los
hombres. Si dar la vida por los
amigos es la demostración más
grande de amor (cf. Jn 15,13),
Jesús ha ofrecido la suya por
todos, también por los que eran
sus enemigos, para transformar
los corazones. Por eso, los evangelistas han situado en la hora
de la cruz el momento culminante de la mirada de fe, porque en
esa hora resplandece el amor
divino en toda su altura y amplitud.
La plenitud a la que Jesús lleva a
la fe tiene otro aspecto decisivo.
Tomado de: www.vatican.va
Para la fe, Cristo no es sólo
aquel en quien creemos, la manifestación máxima del amor de
Dios, sino también aquel con
quien nos unimos para poder
creer. La fe no sólo mira a Jesús,
sino que mira desde el punto de
vista de Jesús, con sus ojos: es
una participación en su modo de
ver. Jesús, su Hijo, se presenta
como aquel que nos explica a
Dios (cf. Jn 1,18). La vida de
Cristo —su modo de conocer al
Padre, de vivir totalmente en
relación con él— abre un espacio
nuevo a la experiencia humana,
en el que podemos entrar. La
importancia de la relación personal con Jesús mediante la fe
queda reflejada en los diversos
usos que hace san Juan del
verbo credere. Junto a « creer
que » es verdad lo que Jesús nos
dice (cf. Jn 14,10; 20,31), san
Juan usa también las locuciones
« creer a » Jesús y « creer en »
Jesús. « Creemos a » Jesús
cuando aceptamos su Palabra,
su testimonio, porque él es veraz
(cf. Jn 6,30). « Creemos en »
Jesús cuando lo acogemos personalmente en nuestra vida y nos
confiamos a él, uniéndonos a él
mediante el amor y siguiéndolo a
lo largo del camino (cf. Jn 2,11;
6,47; 12,44).
Para que pudiésemos conocerlo, acogerlo y seguirlo, el Hijo
de Dios ha asumido nuestra
carne, y así su visión del Padre
se ha realizado también al modo
humano, mediante un camino y
un recorrido temporal. La fe
cristiana es fe en la encarnación
del Verbo y en su resurrección en
la carne; es fe en un Dios que se
ha hecho tan cercano, que ha
entrado en nuestra historia.
Praised be the Incarnate Word. Now and forevermore, Amen.
Baby Items Drive
Catholic Schools Week
A Little Bit of Mexico
IWA’s National
Elementary and
National Junior
Honor Societies
spearheaded a
baby items drive to benefit Catholic
Charities. Students donated diapers,
baby bottles, food, clothes and other
items. Thank you for your generosity!
IWA held several activities in conjunction with
Catholic Schools Week .
Students shared their
love for IWA by writing
essays and heart notes
expressing their love for IWA. Other
activities included Teacher Appreciation Day, Student Appreciation Day,
and a Family Picnic Day.
The 62nd A Little Bit of
Mexico is right around the
corner. The theme is
“Folklore de México: Un
Tributo a Tamaulipas.”
Ads and sponsorship opportunities
are still available. Please contact Miss
Garza. Tickets for the program and
the pre-program reception may be
purchased at the Accounting Office.
Art Show
IWA hosted the first ever
BANSA Art Show and
Competition under the
direction of Mrs.
Rookstool. Students from
several of the private
schools participated in this event.
Ten of our students placed in several
categories: mixed media, painting
and sculpture. Congratulations to all!
Basketball
Registration
The IWA Boys’ Varsity Basketball
Team placed third in the VISA Tournament. Congratulations Spartans!
Pre-registration information is available on the
school website. The preregistration fee is $200.
Registration is now open for current and
prospective families. For more information, visit the school website or stop
by the school office. Don’t forget to
recommend IWA to family and friends!
February 2015
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
2
3
4
5 IWA Spelling
6 PTO Breakfast
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
“A Little Bit of
Mexico”
7:30 p.m.
Valley Christian
8th graders
2 p.m.
No Classes
BANSA Spelling
Bee
First Baptist
Entre Amigos
Kenmont
5:30 p.m
Bee
2 p.m.
Principal’s
Meeting
Charro Days
Early Dismissal
Noon
Early Dismissal
1 p.m.
Faculty Meeting
1:30 p.m.
Med Tech
8th graders
9:30 a.m.
Principal’s
Retreat
Charro Days
No Classes
Region Ten Administrator’s Meeting