JPG Families and the Gift of Communion

December 17, 2021

Blog Post written by Dcn. Adam Conque, Director of Apostolate & Chaplaincy

As part of the Universal Year of the Family we are reflecting this year as a community on the
important role of families in the Church and in our school community using Familiaris Consortio
from St. John Paul the Great as our guide. This school is made up of so many beautiful families
that have chosen to be a part of our community, offering their own gifts and talents as we
encourage each other to grow in our Christian journey.

This first semester, we have reflected in particular on the first two tasks of the Christian family discussed by St. John Paul the Great. The Christian family should become a communion of persons at the service of life.  As he wrote, “The family, which is founded and given life by love, is a community of persons: of husband and wife, of parents and children, of relatives. Its first task is to live with fidelity the reality of communion in a constant effort to develop an authentic community of persons.”

Our reflections included discussion amongst the Board, administration, faculty, and staff about
how we are working to support our families in forming this community of persons at the service of life in their home and at school. At our Parents in Communione events in September and November, we had wonderful discussions between parents, faculty, staff, administration, and alumni about the important role our community plays in all of our lives and how we can grow more in our service of the life of our families and those most in need.  We
welcomed Fr. Kevin Barret from the Apostolate of Family Consecration to lead our families in a
consecration to the Holy Family on the Feast of our Patron on October 22. That beautiful
evening and the 7-Day preparation for the consecration strengthened our families and our
community with each other.

This work of reflecting on our community and discussing how to strengthen it has borne so
much fruit. The first impact has been our gratitude for our community. So many families are
experiencing great joy this year in our community expressing gratitude for the hard work and
commitment of everyone on the board, administration, staff, faculty, volunteers, and parents.
We have such a special community filled with good and hard working people dedicated to the
Christian life.  Everyone is grateful for the effective leadership of Mr. Ryan Verret and Mrs. Angela Odinet in guiding us into a time of success and strength as a community.

We have also been blessed with a renewed sense of connectedness to each other. After the
trials and tribulations related to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we ended the year last year with a great
desire to reconnect with each other and remind ourselves of the importance of our mission here.  The work of building a communion of persons has given us a sense of closeness with each other and an experience of our vibrant community.  At our November Parents in Communione, parents expressed a desire to build a future together to continue to meet the needs of all families, including those with special needs.  There was an obvious spirit of hope and excitement about the future of JPG and what we could accomplish together for our families.  If you weren't there, I highly encourage you to listen to the conversation here.

As we continue our year we thank God for the gift of our community and hard work done by so
many to serve the lives of our students and their families. We are blessed to have each other and journey with one another on the path of holiness. 

May God continue to bless our year and our families through the intercession of Pope St. John Paul the Great.