it could be God trying to get through to you. Lots of lessons can be learned if you just listen! Xavier is a special school and I hope everyone realizes this at some point or another. After all, this is one of the only high schools in Cedar Rapids where I could write this article in the first place. So students of Xavier, I will leave you not only with GO TO MASS, but also, PARTICIPATE IN MASS! There are always those certain people that talk about not focusing on Christmas a r o u n d Thanksgiving. Although this is difficult for a lot of Christmas enthusiasts, especially me, I agree. But now that Thanksgiving is over, we can talk, think, and dream about Christmas as much as we want! If you think Christmas is a one day holiday, you are sadly mistaken. Christmas is an entire season and celebrating it this month can be oodles of fun! How, you ask? I suggest you keep reading! The number one thing that gets you in the holiday spirit is baking cookies. Decorating cookies in the shape of Christmas symbols will surely warm your heart- and the extra cookie weight you gain will help keep you warm for our next activity: sledding! December 6, 2012 Opinion 5 Make your voice heard at Mass Before you started high school, your parents probably sat down and discussed diligently the pros and cons of sending you to this school and the sacrifices it implied. However, I presume that the majority of families send their children to this school because of the Catholic environment. Xavier is a Catholic school where we have Catholic-based classes and follow Catholic rules and guidelines daily. Whoa, I may see a pattern emerging. Sure, Xavier has high academic, athletic, and art standards that take public schools by storm, but the bottom line is Catholicism is what this school is all about. So the question is, why aren’t we showing it in the most important part of our faith, Mass? I was unaware that at school Mass I actually have a solo for the whole song, every song. Though I am flattered, I do not think Mrs. May intended it to be that way. Sing, people! “But Morgan, I have a terrible voice and I am embarrassed to sing with all my peers around me!” Here’s the thing, if we are all singing, no one is even going to be paying attention to your voice that might be slightly off key. A wise person once told me, “there are no bad voices in church.” Singing in church is a prayer for God and he does not care about your vibrato. Another wise person told me, “GO TO MASS!” The best way to represent our wonderful school is by attending Mass at our parish every Sunday. Every year, our parishes give over $1 million to Catholic schools to support our education. I think we can take an hour a week to show our face and prove that their money is going to a good cause. This means every week, not just Easter and Christmas. We are Catholics! We have been taught throughout our lives what it means to be Catholic and attending Mass is an indicator of a healthy spiritual relationship with God and our Catholic community. People already know the faith you practice and all of your friends from school are going to Mass as well, so going every week should just be part of your schedule. I think it is time we realize that going to Mass is the “cool thing” to do and more importantly, the right thing. Is it so hard to give God back one hour of your time each week? It might be the only peaceful part of your weekend and maybe that’s all you need. Continue participating at Mass and really be there, listen to what the priest has to say because Don’t be a Grinch this season! Choir students make their voices heard at the Thanksgiving Mass. Megan Lynch photo Sledding may be considered an all around winter sport, but let’s be honest- it’s more fun around the holidays. Building ramps and zooming down the frosty mountain will surely bring you back to your childhood when Christmas was all you could think about. Want to pack even more fun into your sledding days? Build a snowman! Not only is it good exercise, but it’s fun! If you’re still not in the holiday spirit, then play Secret Santa with your friends or family. What better way to get in the holiday spirit than to act like Santa himself! Don’t want to break the bank? Set a limit in your group of friends so no one will spend too much on a gift. One last thing to do this holiday season is to give. Most of us at Xavier are so fortunate to walk downstairs on Christmas morning and see presents under the tree, but a lot of kids aren’t as lucky. So go grab a ticket off the Angel Tree at your parish and make one kid’s Christmas the best ever! You’ll be surprised how good it makes you feel! Although these are all good ways to prepare yourself physically for Christmas, as Catholics, we believe we should be preparing ourselves spiritually as well. Advent is the perfect opportunity to do so. Make an Advent wreath and light a candle every Sunday with your family, or make an Advent calendar that has good deeds to complete each week of Advent. Celebrate not only the holiday of Christmas, but the Catholic meaning behind Christmas: the birth of Jesus. So, don’t be a Grinch this holiday season. Let your heart grow three sizes as you embrace one of the best holidays of all time! Merry Christmas! CJ Lampe Opinion Writer “He’s not from Amsterdam, he’s from the Netherlands.” “It’s a St. Bernard because a saint rescued people stuck in the snow with dogs.” (Elementary school hall talk) “He only speaks in rhymes.” Hall Talk Morgan Noonan Opinion Writer “I’d like to pray for the bean crop.”
Opinion 2
Mar 22, 2016
Opinions about singing at mass and being a grinch
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Transcript
it could be God trying to get through to you. Lots of lessons can be learned if you just listen!
Xavier is a special school and I hope everyone realizes this at some point or another. After all, this is one of the only high schools in Cedar Rapids where I could write this article in the first place. So students of Xavier, I will leave you not only with GO TO MASS, but also, PARTICIPATE IN MASS!
There are always those certain people that talk about not focusing on Christmas a r o u n d Thanksgiving.
Although this is difficult for a lot of Christmas enthusiasts, especially me, I agree. But now that Thanksgiving is over, we can talk, think, and dream about Christmas as much as we want! If you think Christmas is a one day holiday, you are sadly mistaken. Christmas is an entire season and celebrating it this month can be oodles of fun! How, you ask? I suggest you keep reading!
The number one thing that gets you in the holiday spirit is baking cookies. Decorating cookies in the shape of Christmas symbols will surely warm your heart- and the extra cookie weight you gain will help keep you warm for our next activity: sledding!
December 6, 2012 Opinion 5
Make your voice heard at Mass Before you
started high school, your parents probably sat down and d i s c u s s e d diligently the pros and cons of
sending you to this school and the sacrifices it implied. However, I presume that the majority of families send their children to this school because of the Catholic environment. Xavier is a Catholic school where we have Catholic-based classes and follow Catholic rules and guidelines daily. Whoa, I may see a pattern emerging. Sure, Xavier has high academic, athletic, and art standards that take public schools by storm, but the bottom line is Catholicism is what this school is all about. So the question is, why aren’t we showing it in the most important part of our faith, Mass?
I was unaware that at school Mass I actually have a solo for the whole song, every song. Though I am flattered, I do not think Mrs. May intended it to be that way. Sing, people! “But Morgan, I have a terrible voice and I am embarrassed to sing with all my peers around me!” Here’s the thing, if we are all singing, no one is even going to be paying attention to your voice that might be slightly off key. A wise person once told me, “there are no bad voices in church.” Singing in church is a prayer for God and he
does not care about your vibrato.Another wise person told
me, “GO TO MASS!” The best way to represent our wonderful school is by attending Mass at our parish every Sunday. Every year, our parishes give over $1 million to Catholic schools to support our education. I think we can take an hour a week to show our face and prove that their money is going to a good cause. This means every week, not just Easter and Christmas.
We are Catholics! We have been taught throughout our lives what it means to be Catholic and attending Mass is an indicator of
a healthy spiritual relationship with God and our Catholic community. People already know the faith you practice and all of your friends from school are going to Mass as well, so going every week should just be part of your schedule. I think it is time we realize that going to Mass is the “cool thing” to do and more importantly, the right thing. Is it so hard to give God back one hour of your time each week? It might be the only peaceful part of your weekend and maybe that’s all you need. Continue participating at Mass and really be there, listen to what the priest has to say because
Don’t be a Grinch this season!
Choir students make their voices heard at the Thanksgiving Mass. Megan Lynch photo
Sledding may be considered an all around winter sport, but let’s be honest- it’s more fun around the holidays. Building ramps and zooming down the frosty mountain will surely bring you back to your childhood when Christmas was all you could think about. Want to pack even more fun into your sledding days? Build a snowman! Not only is it good exercise, but it’s fun!
If you’re still not in the holiday spirit, then play Secret Santa with your friends or family. What better way to get in the holiday spirit than to act like Santa himself! Don’t want to break the bank? Set a limit in your group of friends so no one will spend too much on a gift.
One last thing to do this holiday season is to give. Most of us at Xavier are so fortunate to walk downstairs on Christmas morning and see presents under the tree, but a lot of kids aren’t as lucky. So go grab a ticket off
the Angel Tree at your parish and make one kid’s Christmas the best ever! You’ll be surprised how good it makes you feel!
Although these are all good ways to prepare yourself physically for Christmas, as Catholics, we believe we should be preparing ourselves spiritually as well. Advent is the perfect opportunity to do so. Make an Advent wreath and light a candle every Sunday with your family, or make an Advent calendar that has good deeds to complete each week of Advent. Celebrate not only the holiday of Christmas, but the Catholic meaning behind Christmas: the birth of Jesus.
So, don’t be a Grinch this holiday season. Let your heart grow three sizes as you embrace one of the best holidays of all time! Merry Christmas!
CJ LampeOpinion Writer
“He’s not from A m s t e r d a m , he’s from the Netherlands.”
“It’s a St. Bernard
because a saint rescued
people stuck in the snow with
dogs.”(Elementary school
hall talk)
“He only
speaks in
rhymes.”
Hall Talk
Morgan NoonanOpinion Writer
“I’d like to pray for the bean crop.”
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