Sunday of Forgiveness

http://lent.goarch.org/forgiveness/learn/

Before we enter the Lenten fast, we are reminded that there can be no true fast, no genuine repentance, no reconciliation with God, unless we are at the same time reconciled with one another.... We do not travel the road of Lent as isolated individuals but as members of a family. Our asceticism and fasting should not separate us from others, but should link us to them with ever-stronger bonds.

The Sunday of Forgiveness also directs us to see that Great Lent is a journey of liberation from our enslavement to sin. The Gospel lesson sets the conditions for this liberation. The first one is fasting—the refusal to accept the desires and urges of our fallen nature as normal, the effort to free ourselves from the dictatorship of the flesh and matter over the spirit....

The second condition is forgiveness—“If you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you” (vv. 14-15). The triumph of sin, the main sign of its rule over the world, is division, opposition, separation, hatred. Therefore, the first break through this fortress of sin is forgiveness—the return to unity, solidarity, love. To forgive is to put between me and my “enemy” the radiant forgiveness of God Himself. To forgive is to reject the hopeless “dead-ends” of human relations and to refer them to Christ. Forgiveness is truly a “breakthrough” of the Kingdom into this sinful and fallen world.

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Forgive me, a sinner.

Mara's New School

I can't begin to tell you how much we're all enjoying Mara's new school. As an arts-based school, arts education is seamlessly integrated with core curriculum, offering multiple ways to explore and absorb new concepts. The school suits Mara perfectly, and I haven't seen her this relaxed about school since Kindergarten.

One of the best things about the school is the concept of publishing student work. As a teacher, I know this last step of the writing process is important, and we teachers are expected to post samples of student work regularly. I think most schools do that. However, Mara's new school goes beyond this rudimentary requirement. Each grade level has a big project each year. Maybe more than one, but we haven't been there long enough for me to know that for sure. When completed, all the students in the grade will present their project to the rest of the school during the school day, and then later in the evening, to the parents and community. When Mara came home from watching the 3rd grade presentation, she described to me in detail what she saw and why she was so impressed. "They made these big puppets for the show. It must have taken them years to make the puppets!"

During science fair week, the same reaction happened. Mara didn't enter, as we didn't have time to create a project and put it together after joining the school. After seeing all the other projects, Mara was so disappointed to miss it, but even more profound to me is that she sat down and started mapping out science fair projects she could put together for next year.

So, the concept of publishing the student work for the entire school, in performances and displays that the other students get to see and enjoy, becomes a motivator for the other children. Mara thinks of how she'll be involved next year, envisions herself in her place, proudly demonstrating her project or participating in the class effort. We haven't seen this level of excitement for learning come from a school in so long. What I'm witnessing is what I've wanted to see in Mara's schooling all along. The new school is a place that gives Mara the freedom and the opportunity to pursue her own interests, directing her towards learning objectives that expand her horizons.

I couldn't be happier!