In the Image of God

(Prayer offered on the Public Address system for the entire La Salle Academy educational community on Tuesday, 27 October 2015)

Let us remember that we are in the Holy Presence of a Loving God.
I personally am not looking forward to this weekend. Halloween has never been one of my favorite holidays. I am easy to scare, I usually end up eating too much candy and get a stomach ache, and I’ve never really been fond of the color orange. The only redeeming aspect of Halloween is that it can be fun to dress up in a costume. But as I’ve gotten older, my desire to put the time and effort into finding or making a costume has been diminishing.

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Even though Halloween is not a holiday that I enjoy, I can understand why other people like it. Maybe they get a thrill out of spooky decorations, or they have more self-control around candy and can enjoy it without over-indulging, and maybe they have more creativity than I do and they can come up with a creative costume. So if you fall into this category, I will try not to rain on your parade and allow you to enjoy the upcoming holiday.

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But regardless of your own personal feelings toward Halloween, I would caution that you do not allow the traditions of Halloween to creep into your daily life. What I mean by that is to make sure that wearing a mask or costume is not something you do on a normal basis. I do not mean this in a literal way but rather figuratively. Do we pretend to be someone that we are not so that we fit in better with our peers? Do you feel like you are wearing a mask that covers your true personality so that others will like you better?

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These are all easy habits to fall into because of the societal pressures that surround us on a daily basis. God gave all of us unique physical features and personalities and we need to learn to embrace them rather than mask them. Wearing a costume for a festive holiday occasion can be fun, but our everyday costume should the one given to us by God.

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Let us pray,
Loving God, please keep us safe this weekend as we enjoy various Halloween festivities. And please help us to remember that dressing up for the Halloween holiday can be fun and exciting… but wearing a costume or mask is not something we should do on daily basis. We should not feel the need to be someone else since we were all created in Your image and likeness. Amen.
Saint John Baptist de La Salle…pray for us.
Live Jesus in our hearts…forever.

Megan Maloney–Mathematics Teacher