To the Band of Brothers: January 21, 2021

Good morning!

If you drove on to campus today through the Villa Javier entrance (6th street), you may have noticed the stainless steel grills tethered to propane tanks just outside the V-section of the building. If you saw them, then you know by now what great news they bring. If not, then in just a few minutes from when this email goes out, you will have no need for sight because it will be your nose that will give it away. Yes sir, at around 8:30 in the morning, the hallways of Belen Jesuit will be filled with the wonderful smell of churrasco.

As you hopefully know by now, lunch is taken to a whole new level whenever we, as a community, celebrate a Marian feast. Whether it is the Immaculate Conception or the birth of the Blessed Mother, we pull out all the stops to make sure we revel spiritually and gastronomically. Today, in particular, is a special day because it is the feast of Our Lady of Belen, our patroness. 

If you look at the history of our school, you will notice that for all intents and purposes, we shouldn’t even exist. For 167 years, Belen Jesuit has weathered revolutions, political upheavals, financial crisis, pandemics, and several location moves. At one point or another, there were four different national flags that have flown on our flagpoles. And yet, through all the turmoil and unrest, we have persevered. I continue to insist that the reason we have done so is because we have always been under the protection of Our Lady of Belen. 

How else do you explain the simple fact that after one of our very own alumni marched his troops through the front gate, mandated its closure, confiscated its property, marched its Jesuits off-campus shipping them into exile, and, just a few months later, reopened its doors in Miami? It must be because the same woman who so valiantly agreed to become the mother of God, raised, and protected him, is also protecting us. With the loving care of a mother, she wrapped our school in her mantle and has watched over us. Please note, it is not that she has kept us from suffering, every mother knows that she cannot keep that from happening to her children, but she has kept us from faltering in the midst of it.

Our Lady of Belen wants us here because God wants us here. She continues her mission to serve the people of God, her own children. We, the members of the Belen Jesuit community, are her children and so have experienced the loving protection of the greatest mother to ever grace the planet Earth. This is the reason why it is so important to honor her with this feast day. It is the reason why her Son’s house, the new chapel, that is currently under construction is being dedicated specifically to her. That chapel is a love letter to the Blessed Mother for all her years of faithful service and protection to the community of Belen Jesuit.

I encourage you this day to take a moment and give thanks. Thank the Lord for the gift of Belen. Thank the Lord for the gift of your parents who have made your education at Belen possible. But especially give thanks today to Mary, Our Lady of Belen, for her love and protection. And, since you are in a spirit of gratitude, give thanks for the churrasco.

Auspice Maria