Sacred Heart Academy

Principal’s Letter Faith Reflection

Pope Leo released his first encyclical on humanity and artificial intelligence. It has many good things to think about regarding AI but for here I will turn to what he said Pentecost Sunday. He begins by saying the Spirit opens doors, and that first door is of God himself, “for the Spirit gives us access to the mystery of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ. Through the gift of the Spirit, God grants us true faith, helps us understand the meaning of Scripture, reveals himself as our neighbor and allows us to share in his very life. The Holy Spirit helps us to have a personal experience of God, to encounter God in Jesus and not merely in the observance of a law, to recognize God within us, and to discover...God’s presence in daily life.” Then there appeared to them tongues as of fier, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. John 2:3-4

Showcasing SHA talent: Don’t know if this is lightening or the Holy Spirit descending but either way this picture by John in 4th is cool.

God bless,

Mrs. Alhadef
4th grade Aide
Campus Minister

Principal’s Letter Faith Reflection

“The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, God’s boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: Everything is a caress of God.” Laudato Si, 84

The wildflowers at this time of year can be so beautiful. I remember one year taking the back roads through Sand Canyon to my mum’s house. The flowers were so beautiful that when I got to my mum’s I popped her in the car and headed back to a spot close to the college so she could enjoy them also. This observation from the Bishops of Japan is thought-provoking: “To sense each creature singing the hymn of its existence is to live joyfully in God’s love and hope.” This contemplation of creation allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us, since, “for the believer, to contemplate creation is to hear a message, to listen to a paradoxical and silent voice.” Laudato Si 56-57

Showcasing SHA talent: Speaking of Japan this computer drawing by Finn in 8th sings of God’s love for the world.

God bless,

Mrs. Alhadef
4th grade Aide
Campus Minister

Principal’s Letter Faith Reflection

As the Father loves me, so I also love you. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete—John 15: 9, 11. The greatest adventure we can take is knowing and having a relationship with God. This prayer, “Fall in Love” by Joseph, Whelan, SJ (often attributed to Pedro Arrupe, SJ), shows us what will be when we go on this adventure:

Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.
Showcasing SHA talent: The adventure Clara in 1st is going on involves both God and cats.

God bless,

Mrs. Alhadef
4th grade Aide
Campus Minister

Principal’s Letter Faith Reflection

Last week a 4th grader was talking with me and asked me to Google “six seven.” As I was typing in 6 and 7 another 4th grader, who had joined us, asked me to Google “Stranger Things.” I won’t give it away what happens—Google these when you can—but it made me smile. And there you have it in a nutshell, these two girls brought joy and made my afternoon—the Easter story of community and sharing brought to my desk.

After they left the song “Joy” started playing in my head. This is the song we sing at the very end of our Christmas program (after “Breath of Heaven”). Hopefully it’s playing in your head also, but if not, here’s the chorus (and if you want to start clapping, well, even better): Joy, joy, God’s great,/Joy, joy, down in my soul:/sweet, beautiful, soul saving joy,/ohhhh, joy, joy in my soul.

Showcasing SHA talent: Kara in 5th is bringing joy to the giraffe by sharing her pizza.

God bless,

Mrs. Alhadef
4th grade Aide
Campus Minister

Sunday Afternoon Blessings from Sacred Heart Academy!
🎉Congratulations to our 2026 First Communicants!🎉
May they forever walk in the path of The Way, The Truth, and The Light - following Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!🙏

Principal’s Letter Faith Reflection

“To bless means to make holy, but in reality, a blessing honors the holiness already present,” Christine Valters Paintner wrote in a U.S. Catholic article. “Blessings affirm the love and beauty of the Holy One in our lives. Blessings remind us that prayer is transformative rather than transactional. We pray not just to ask for things. Blessings offer hope and encouragement, steep us in gratitude, and mature our courage. They make us present to the grace of each moment. They act as maps to navigate our human experience, orienting us to gratefulness and praise.”

Van Gogh knew how to be steeped in gratitude. “The best way to know God,” he wrote in a July, 1880 letter to his brother, “is to love many things. That’s why we have to fill life with the best: the best of music, he best of friends, the best of the spiritual life. This will lead to God, that will lead to an unshakeable faith.”

Showcasing SHA talent: This cow by Sophia in 6th is so grateful she broke out into dance.

God bless,

Mrs. Alhadef
4th grade Aide
Campus Minister

Sunday Afternoon Blessings from Sacred Heart Academy! Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd. Open our ears so that we may hear your voice today and everyday.

Principal’s Letter Faith Reflection

The Easter story is about community—friends and family coming together; that Jesus is with us when we come together to eat, celebrate, to share joy with each other. I came across an article by Redemptorist priest, Huy Vu, bringing the Easter story alive when he recently visited family he hadn’t seen in many years.

When he arrived, “Happiness rose like a high tide...there was joy in the smallest things. Each moment felt sacred...actually sacred, the way ordinary things become when love is present.” The simplest of moments were grace-filled. He discovered that “heaven isn’t somewhere else. It’s wherever love is given freely, wherever ordinary life opens to reveal the divine presence that sustains it.” We, too, can give thanks as we choose “to love, to hope, and to believe in the beauty God places before us” every day. In the words of Psalm 136, Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.

Showcasing SHA talent: Camila in 4th is helping Father Huy Vu get home to Vietnam.

God bless,

Ms. Alhadef
4th grade Aide
Campus Minister