This week at Mass, I served. While serving, I listened to the homily and conversion of St. Paul. The gospel was an incredible story about how St. Paul had been persecuting Christians, but on the road he saw a light and Jesus talked to him. This encounter completely converted Paul, and he spread the word of God. The homily also inspired me to be more like paul, and to try and bring others to Christ. The music also touched me at Mass, and I listened intently to the Mass parts, which helped me more fully understand the Mass.
The weather this week was a cold, wintery mix of snow and rain, however, the snow only stayed around for a few hours at most. Other than the precipitation, it has been mostly cloudy, with a few welcome spots of sunshine every now and then. I am personally looking forward to when the weather gets warmer, so that I can spend more time outside, but it is also nice to finally have a little bit of snow in Champaign.
This week at STM, Brody is going to the state meet at the State Farm Center at the Univestiy of Illinois for wrestling. Various clubs have been meeting every day, and film club has started writing a script for their new film. Practice for the upcoming performance, Into the Woods Jr. have been going on from 6:00-9:00 every night. The last boys' basketball home game in the regular season was on Tuesday. The JV boys' basketball team won their game by 1 point, but varsity took a sad loss.
The weather has warmed up over the past few days, and some of the snow has melted away. However, different opinions about Thursday's weather abound. The two main options are either a lot of snow, or some ice. Either way, it doesn't look like the roads are going to be in good driving condition, and some people think that we may have another snow day tomorrow.
This week, due to weather issues all of STM switched to virtual learning for Thursday, Febuary 17. The morning started out looking pretty clear, but the water is supposed to freeze, and there is a high chance of snow, which could be dangerous for drivers. All extracurriculars are also canceled, including the virtual scholastic bowl meet and practice for the musical. All assignments from teachers are either being assigned through Google Classroom or email, rather than having Zoom classes.
This Week:
After waiting at the borders of Ukraine, Russia has entered and started to forcefully take cities. They already hold Chernoble and are starting to surround Kyiv. There sadly has already been several deaths, and even more injuries as the Ukrainians try to protect their land. There have been bombings and the destruction of many military bases. However, Russia still has over half of their troops on the border of Russia and Ukraine. There has been talk of Russia moving onto Poland after gaining Ukrane. The US is sending troops to strengthen other nations and is not currently going to engage in fighting with Russia. They are also placing sanctions on Russia, along with other NATO nations. Hopefully, Russia will pull out of Ukraine and just keep living life normally, while leaving others alone, if not helping them. (However unlikely this may be.)
The boys' basketball team is in the Regional Championship and play again on Friday, 2/24.
Today is Tuesday, March 4 and there are a few things happening this month. The first thing that I am excited for is to take a break from school during spring break. I am staying home, but it should be a relaxing and fun time. The next thing that I am excited for is tennis, which also starts this month, along with several other spring sports. The spring musical, Into the Woods Jr., is also coming up later this March. Everyone involved has been working hard to prepare for the performance.
The weather is finally starting to warm up again this week in time for spring sports to start. I am excited for a change in the temperature, as Spring is warmer, but not too hot. However, I think we will get a little bit colder again before the warmth stays. The snow is starting to finish its melting process, so the ground is still damp, but a nice breeze blows through the air. I am ready to be able to spend more time outside without having to wear a coat, or having to look out for ice.
Lent starts tomorrow, March 2, 2022, with Ash Wednesday. Lent is the liturgical season before the Easter season that calls us to prepare for Jesus to rise from the dead on Easter. The three main ways that it calls us are:
and
During Lent, we are called to pray more. This can be achieved by going to Daily Mass a few times a week, praying the rosary more often, or just by offering up your sufferings throughout the day.
Another thing that we are supposed to do in Lent is fasting. This can be fasting through food, or by giving up on something that you like or are too attached to. An example of this is giving up some screen time, or chocolate.
The last of the three main things recomended by the church to get ready for lent is to give alms. We can do this by donating money to the church and those in need, or you can give up some of your time as alms. You could volunteer at a charity, or just find other ways to give up some of your time.
When doing any of the above things, keep in mind the main point of Lent, preparing for Jesus to die for us, then to rise up from the dead.
My spring break was a nice time away from school. On Saturday, I went to a set build for the musical. On Sunday, I served at Mass, then went to Emmaus Knights in Peoria. After returning home, I spent the night at my grandparents' house. After spending the day there, I went to Allerton Park on Tuesday and saw my cousins. The next day, I went to Chicago to see my new cousin, Pheobe. We also went to the zoo in Chicago. The rest of the week I spent mostly around the house, but had a good time with my family.
Plenty of things are happening this week at STM. The Spring musical, Into the Woods Jr. premires on Thursday at 7. The other showings are at 7 on Friday, 2 on Saturday, and 7 on Saturday. The first tennis meet was also on Monday, which we unfortunately lost. Baseball and Softball are also having games and practices, but the rain has limited their ability to play.
Holy Week is the week before Easter and contains the Easter Triduum, which is the shortest Liturgical Season. The main days of Holy Week are:
To prepare for Holy Week, I am going to go to confession and try to keep my soul clean for Easter. The beginning of the week, at least for me, is pretty normal. However, starting on Thursday I go to the church at least once a day. On this Holy Thursday, I am serving at Mass at St. Matthew's. Then, after Mass, I go around to Champaign-Urbana Churches and spend some time in Eucharistic adoration. On Good Friday this year, I will fast and abstain from meat. Then, at 3 o'clock, I will go to St. Matthew's and serve at the Good Friday Service. I will then go serve at the Easter Vigil at St. Matt's. I am excited to celebrate Holy Week and Easter this year.
Recently, the discussion on how to pronounce the word "Milk" was brought up. Some people pronounce it as "Milk" (M - E - LK), but this is incorrect. The correct pronunciation is "Milk" (M - I - LK). People in Canada pronounce it "Milk" (M - E - LK), which is OK for the area, but for Champaign Illinois, it is "Milk" (M - I - LK).
Recently, we have learned about inserting images. We can achieve this by using the <img> tag. Another thing we learned is using the <href> element to link images, text, and buttons. When putting an image in a website, it is a courtesy to use the <alt> tag. The <alt> element makes the image readable for either braille readers or a text to speech program. Also when inserting an image, you have to put in the width and height of the image. When doing this, you have to make the aspect ratio correct, or else the image will warp.
There are several sporting events that are occuring over the span of the next few days. Some of these are Tennis, Girls Soccer, Softball, and Baseball. This Thursday is Senior Night for Tennis. As we get down to the last few weeks of school, the students and teachers start to prepare for finals coming up. The Freshmen class was just assigned the last project of the year, designing and making an instrument to play in front of the class.
As spring rolls into Illinois, the weather is starting to go back and forth. Last week, the weather was in the beatiful area of 70 degrees. However, the storm last night brought a cold front, bringing the temperature back to the 50's. I am looking forward to warmer weather, but enjoy the nice coolness of the spring.