"He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” - Micah 6:8
On Chapel Hill, our team has been earnestly living Lent and accompanying our students through this holy season. The quote above from the prophet Micah was the focus of a talk given during our student Lenten retreat by Mr. David Ruiz, our founding dean. Through the efforts of our campus minister, Mr. Charlie, weekly adoration and stations of the cross are offered to our students in addition to service opportunities which reach out to the wider Chapel Hill community. You may notice that all the activities mentioned thus far only cover prayer and almsgiving. What about the third pillar of Lent?
Well, as a school, we cannot mandate fasting for our students but we sure give them a lot of sacrifices to offer up, including homework, midterm exams and midterm papers. It may very well be an act of divine providence that midterm week fell smack-dab in the middle of Lent. By and large, our students managed, and now they are eagerly looking forward to the Easter vacation, the end of the semester and graduation, which are all quickly approaching. As the weeks roll by, we hope to help our students enter into the joy of the Resurrection, just as we’ve accompanied them through the penitential season of Lent. It will soon be time to celebrate.
It’s also application season at JPII. Since our successful Open Day, we have been receiving applications from students outside the Benque Viejo/Cayo area, and we are looking into options to grow our residential program. Prospective students are being interviewed, and we already have students accepted to study with us next year. These signs of growth are encouraging as we look forward to the next academic year and the future to come. We hope you will continue to support us as John Paul II Junior College grows from strength to strength.