Dear Ursuline Family,

Ursuline Academy will close for the Christmas holidays today, and I didn't want the opportunity to go by to wish you a most blessed and merry Christmas. Know that you are all held in our hearts and kept in our prayers this Christmas season.

As we approach Christmas day, it is good to remember that Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year, a time of newness, a fresh start. But more importantly, Advent is a time of preparation as we anticipate the coming of Christ once again into our hearts, minds, families, and lives. The most important preparation happens within each of us.

Advent literally means "the coming" or "the arrival." It is a time when all of us should examine our lives and ask ourselves, is there room in our hearts for God's gift of love, His Son, Jesus? Are we so busy, so preoccupied, and so involved that we miss the meaning of Jesus' birth? What Christmas is really about is that God loves us so much that He wants to reveal himself to us in a tangible way. He chooses to become one of us, and to live among us. He sends, not a prophet or messenger, but His very own Son, His own mind and spirit.

Through the giving of God's Son, God opens the door to salvation and eternal life for all of us. He not only loves us, but He gives us the greatest gift humans could ever want: the hope of one day spending eternity with Him. Jesus reveals to us that we each are a part in God's great plan for humanity. God has a plan and purpose for each of us.

On behalf of the Academy, please accept my warmest wishes for a joyous and blessed Christmas and a truly wonderful new year.

Yours in Christ,

Gretchen Z. Kane
President