The Seton Difference
Give thanks to the Lord for He is good
His mercy endures forever.
I give thanks for Seton and all the wonderful families that have come together to make her what she is.
In thanksgiving for the good students who continue making Seton great, I am going to give headline like summaries of some of the articles/editorials/columns that appeared in the first two issues of the school newspaper.
Beauty and the Beast announced as spring musical.
KC Dufrain returns to Seton to teach.
God is calling us to endure the heavy cross of suffering.
Seton students serve during the summer in the Dominican Republic, at a Diocesan Work Camp and in Africa with the House of Mercy.
Mrs. Wittman teaches a girls life skill class including First Aid, nutrition, etiquette and cooking.
Advanced Biology worth the extra work.
Maureen Terza becomes Mrs. Campbell.
Embarrassing 7th grade remembrances.
Advice from Seniors and Mr. Heisler to 7th graders.
New Sound System donated by PRO. (Parents Resource Organization).
“Be wary that you do not allow the consumerism of our culture to fool you into replacing God with an [electronic device]”
Haiti Run includes assistance from Seton’s Big Sister and Little Sister group.
Ending of an advice column in answer to a question about how to fit all that Seton offers into a schedule: “Pray…a LOT. It is by the grace of God alone that I find that extra 25th hour in very day to finish whatever project I had already written off as a lost cause. I suggest praying to your guardian angel to help you manage your time more efficiently.’
Debate Corner: Texting vs. Calling – which is better to improve our communication skills.
G.I.R.L. Time founded by Lisa Hill ’09 spreads throughout Northern Virginia helping teenage girls gain more self-respect and develop holy relationships. GIRL = Girls Interested in Real Love
You might also want to check out www.seton-school.org and read about Therese Dodge ’02 making her profession as a sister of Religiose del Sacro Cuore di Firenze. How wonderful.
And here is a partial falls sports summary: girls volleyball reached a #3 ranking in state on way to DAC title; boys soccer upset a higher seed team in the first round of the state tournament; boys and girls cross country placed 4th and 11th at State Meet; boys played on a home school/private school football team; Jameson Hill swims with the elite in Stockholm and Berlin and signs letter of intent to swim at Georgia. If you want to get inundated with info (all of it interesting), check out Mr. Koehr’s swimming site. Looks as if Seton may well repeat as both girls and boys state champions.
And Christ the King was once again given glory in the beautiful Mass and Eucharistic Procession last Friday. The Christ the King statue still greets all who enter the main doors of the school. The main doors have changed but not the statue. Things are alive and well at Seton.
I am also reminded of a newspaper article written by Laura Elliot ‘93 which she entitled “What Makes Seton Different”. It was an article about Andrew Mary. I don’t have her article, so I will retell the story.
Just before Thanksgiving vacation, Seton was invited to an out-of-state high school to look through their school which was shutting down to see if there was anything we could use. Many other schools had already gone through the items, but Mr. Scheetz and I decided it was worth the trip to see if there might be something we could use. Some of the things that we claimed for Seton that day were the big wood and glass cabinets that have been in Mr. Scheetz’s room ever since; the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes which I think is now by the cedar cross in the courtyard and the big crucifix that hangs in the new Corpus Christi building. As I was going through the biology room, I opened a cabinet and discovered what appeared to be a human fetus in a bottle in some liquid. I called Mr. Scheetz over to see if he thought it was real. “No doubt,” was his response. We were shocked and dumbfounded and completely unsure what to do. We were to return over the coming weekend to pick up our claimed items, so we decided we would return to Manassas and consult others about what should be done.
Several mothers we talked to said that we should have brought the baby back with us. Mrs. Carroll took immediate action by calling the Pro-life office of the other diocese to see what could be done. It seemed that all was to be taken care of, so Pete and I returned over the weekend for pick up. I went back to the cabinet expecting that the baby would not be there, but he was. We decided then to take the advice to bring the baby back to Manassas. The drive back gave us a strange feeling. I took the baby to the Carroll’s where I was also living. I brought him up to my room and everything still seemed so strange. Mrs. Carroll began making many calls to get advice. The basic consensus was the obvious advice that we needed to bury the baby, but no one had a clear suggestion how we should go about that.
During the time that Mrs. Carroll was making many calls, I began thinking we might not find a place or a priest. It was the Feast of St. Andrew, November 30th, and I decided to name the baby after him and ask for his intercession. (I actually was not certain if the baby was a boy or a girl.) I asked St. Andrew that we would be able to bury the baby by the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Mrs. Carroll was making no headway until she called Mr. and Mrs. Vander Woude and the newly ordained Father Vander Woude. The VW’s volunteered a plot on their farm, and Father immediately volunteered to perform the burial rites for an unbaptized baby, and he suggested the Immaculate Conception as an appropriate day.
In the time that I didn’t know whether the baby was a boy or a girl, I decided to also give him the middle name of Mary. So Andrew Mary was Seton’s tiny baby and we entrusted him to Blessed Mother for burial on her feast day. Mr. Scheetz made a little wooden coffin for him, and Mrs. Carroll got some of the used linen finger cloths used at Mass with which Mrs. Scheetz lined the coffin.
The Vander Woudes welcomed little Andrew Mary into their home for a viewing. It was a beautiful gathering on a chilly December day. Chris Vander Woude ‘98 carried the coffin from the house to the newly dug grave, and Father VW offered the prayers for the little fellow. Andrew Mary’s body was laid to rest, but one could not help but believe that his soul was already safely in the hands of his Heavenly Mother.
Andrew Mary’s grave can be visited at the Vander Woude farm. He is one person who makes the Seton difference, and I give thanks for his sacred life.
A blessed Thanksgiving to one and all.
The postings are going to be different now that we are entering Advent. I will make a post for each Sunday of Advent: Nov 29; Dec 6, 13 and 20th.
Viva Cristo Rey! Christus Regnat! Jezu, ufam Tobie.