St. Pope John XXIII, pray for us.

October 11, 2019

A.M.D.G. Feast of Pope Saint John XXIII October 11, 2019

A Catholic Perspective on Halloween

Halloween, as most of us know, is a contraction of “All Hallows Eve” and it designates the day before All Hallows (Saints) Day. Pope Gregory IV officially declared that the Feast of All Hallows Day was to be celebrated by the whole Church on November 1st in 837 AD, though it was celebrated by Christians even

prior to becoming a feast day.

So, just as the Sunday Liturgy can be celebrated on prior evening, (Easter Vigil and Christmas Eve Mass being particularly popular family traditions), Christians have long begun the celebration of All Hallows Day on All Hallows Eve, the night before.

Every year, a debate rages among Catholics as to the meaning and messages of Halloween. Is Halloween a satanic holiday? Should Catholics dress up in costumes and yell “Trick or Treat?” The views of Catholic families are as wide-ranging as parenting itself. Since All Hallows Eve is really the beginning of the All Saints Day celebration, the tradition should be explained to the children. It all leads up to a Holy Day of

obligation when the whole Church celebrates the saints.

Halloween was once a time for Christians to mock the devil by reveling in the triumph of Jesus Christ over evil and death. This part of the tradition has been lost, like so many other things. And in today’s post-Christian culture, the meaning of the day has effectively been reversed. With proper education, however, we can reclaim the true meaning and festivity of the day. There is spiritual value in such a mockery of evil, only if we teach it as mockery and not participation.

Where do Catholics go from here? The only truth that can apply comes from Christ Himself – “Be not afraid.” With proper formation and preparation, we can reclaim the festivity of All Hallows Eve, without buying into all of its modern distortions. The saint that we celebrate today, Pope Saint John XXIII, said it best in Ad Petri Cathedram (To the Chair of Peter), when he said, “In essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.”

The key to all of this is education! Let’s teach our children that the primary focus at this time of the year is the saints—the heroes of Christian Faith who strove for virtue, overcame vice, and triumphed in Christ for the greater glory of God. Just keep in mind that we celebrate all of the saints—those canonized and uncanonized.

If we can take back our Catholic holidays, we may win more souls for Christ.

All Holy Saints – Pray for us!

Daniel Ethridge, Headmaster, Ville de Marie Academy

Please Remember in Prayer…...

• For the Faculty, Board of Trustees, Families, Students, and Benefactors of Ville de Marie, we pray to the Lord.

• For all those who are sick and suffering, especially: Lilia Underwood (Mrs. Barriga’s sister), Bernadette Rosado (Daigles’ grandmother), Reid Gleeson (Mrs. Hudson’s cousin), Judy McDonough, Shirley Davis (Bouchard’s grandmother) and Geraldine Renner (Ushers’ grandmother) we pray to the Lord.

• For the Holy Intention of Pope Francis: “That the breath of the Holy Spirit engender a new missionary “spring” in the church.”

Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

CHARITY VIRTUE FOR YEAR

“True charity requires courage; let us overcome the fear of getting our hands dirty so as to help those in need.”

- - Pope Francis

PE began Monday September 30, 2019

All grades are required to participate and Friday, October 18, 2019 dress out for Physical Education. School picture day... Please refer to the Parent Handbook Full dress uniform and your bright smiles! p. 19-20 and p. 33.

Calendars of VdM Events

First Saturday Schoolwide Mass and Prayers to end abortion Please join us the first Saturday of each month for 8am Mass at

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel 2121 S. Rural Road Tempe, AZ 85282 and on to Pray the Rosary at Planned Parenthood 1837 E. Baseline Road Tempe, AZ

Dates: 12/7, 2/1, 3/7, 4/4, and 5/2

October Frassati Club Events

Friday, October 18th:

Visit to McDowell Village Assisted Living! McDowell Village is one mile from VDM and a great opportunity to make some new friends and visit with the residents there! We will meet in Ms. Arend’s classroom at 3:30pm and caravan over! Parents are asked to join in order to provide transportation. Please contact Ms. Arend if your child would like to attend and needs a ride! We will return to VDM by 4:30pm. All grades and ages are welcome!

Saturday, October 26th:

Our 4th annual “A” Mountain Hike! We will meet outside the front of ASU’s Newman Center at 9am, and walk to “A” Mountain as a group. At the top, we will pray a Rosary and eat breakfast (please bring your own!). After, we will reward ourselves with a treat from Slickables Ice Cream Sandwiches (5 minute drive from the hike!) For your planning purposes, We should be all finished with the fun festivities by 11:30am!

Chapel Flower Schedule

Bring (2) fresh flower bundles to the office or in the morning car line. Thank you. Wednesday, October 16 In N Out Month of: Oct Clara Wilk Wednesday, October 23 Costco Food Court First Monday: 04 Nov Amy Baska 12 Nov Sharon Rayner Wednesday, October 30 18 Nov Amy Baska Panda Express VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS

We appreciate the help of all our parents in fulfilling the service hour requirement. We ask that all volun- teers be certified through the Diocese of Phoenix Safe Environment Program. Effective July 1, 2019, a new database for training and background check was rolled out. Volunteers that have already received this training are also required to renew it annually through this new website:

http://www.phoenix.cmgconnect.org

For those volunteers who have not taken this training and want to volunteer, please go through this training in your own (Diocese of Phoenix) parishes.

Calling on all teachers and parents that take any pictures, especially at sporting events or field trips, to send them to me. Even pictures taken on phones are great! You can email them or even just text them to Emily. [email protected] or (602) 595-7998. Thanks!

OCTOBER

14 Columbus Day - NO SCHOOL 18 End of First Quarter 23 Report Cards go home 24 Early Release - Noon Dismissal 24/25 Parent Teacher Conferences 25 NO SCHOOL 29 All Saints Day Presentations 9:30-11:30 a.m. Church Hall

NOVEMBER

1 All Saints’ Day - NO SCHOOL 11 Veteran’s Day - NO SCHOOL 14 Parent Meeting 6:30 p.m. Church Hall 15 Progress Reports go home 21 Hope Breakfast 27 Early Release - Noon Dismissal 28/29 THANKSGIVING BREAK - NO SCHOOL

DECEMBER

6 First Friday - Noon Dismissal 9 The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary - NO SCHOOL 16-18 Semester Exams - Noon Release 19 Christmas Pageant 6:30—TBD 20 NO SCHOOL

**December 23– January 3 Christmas Break**

Please consider volunteering as a Table Captain for our “15th Annual Hope Today Breakfast”

In order for this to be successful, we need everyone’s participation.

**contact Jolie Hudson at [email protected] to volunteer **

WAYS TO EARN $$$ FOR VDM

VDM NOW RECEIVING DONATIONS FROM AMAZON SMILE Ville de Marie will receive .5% of all eligible purchases automatically!

Benefit Mobile App! Benefit is a FREE iPhone and Android app that allows you to shop at places like Target, Starbucks, Amazon, Walmart and many more, Don’t Forget to Buy while giving up to 20% of every transaction back to Ville de Marie. Benefit Mobile allows you to Scrip! purchase electronic SCRIP cards instantly from Please submit your special orders with your phone. It’s racing funds without Fundrais- ing! Download the app(Benefit Mobile) and se- payment by Monday to the school lect Ville de Marie Academy (our zip is 85257) office to receive your SCRIP order on as your chosen beneficiary to start giving today. Friday. Link your checking or debit/credit card (checking Order forms available on our accounts earn 1-3% more!) Linking your website or in the school office. checking account may take 1-2 days, so plan ahead! For more information go to www.benefit-mobile.com.

Earn $$ for Ville de Marie

By shopping at Fry’s and linking your Fry’s card to the Ville de Marie account, we can earn up to $2000. In the market for a new Mattress, If you have never Registered your Fry’s card, you may do so at: use Tuft and Needle! ww.fryscommunityrewards.com. Tuft and Needle will give 25% Follow the prompts under “Create an Account” and select Ville to Ville de Marie from all sales. de Marie (#AJ255) under “Community Rewards”. If you already have a Fry’s account set Tell your family and friends. up, log in and under “Account Settings” select Ville de Marie under “Community Rewards”. Use this link https://www.tuftandneedle.com Any questions contact Mrs. Washburn in the Office. to order your mattress and VdM will receive 25% back NEW FAMILIES PLEASE REGISTER YOUR FRY’S from all sales generated through this link. CARD TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FRY’S COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM