To the Band of Brothers: February 2, 2022
Happy New Year! I know you probably think I’ve already had a couple of Tombola mojitos wishing you a happy new year, but I assure you it isn’t the case. Yesterday, most Asian countries celebrated the New Year. While the Western world celebrates it on January 1st because of our Gregorian calendar, the Eastern world follows a slightly different one.
Because it is based on the 12 lunar phases, the actual Chinese New Year is not set on a particular date, but varies each year. In addition, this lunar calendar is represented by a cycle of 12 zodiac animals. The year 2022 is the Year of the Tiger and, like any new year, is a time for thanksgiving of the year that has passed and hope for the new one.
Now, it may seem completely out of the ordinary for us, but there are actually many interesting similarities with our practices. For one, the moon plays an important role in so much of our lives. The simple fact that this celestial body has an impact on the planet, motivates some of our religious practices.
Did you know that our Jewish roots had two major feast days associated with the moon? In the Jewish tradition, Passover is the celebration of Israel’s liberation from slavery in Egypt and takes place in the Spring on the first full moon. Also, Sukkot is the harvest festival that begins exactly six months later, also during a full moon.
Not too bad considering for us Catholics, Passover in the Spring is our celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. The Jewish tradition, as explained in the Book of Exodus, remembers when Moses ordered the blood of the lamb to be put on the wooden doorposts of the house to keep the angel of death from entering the house. This is a precursor to the blood of Jesus on the wood of the cross that keeps sin from entering our hearts.
It’s an amazing God-incidence that yesterday at Mass the gospel reading (Mark 5:21-43) mentioned the number 12 twice! Jesus cures a woman who had been very sick for 12 years and then goes on to raise from the dead a young girl who was 12 years old. Not bad for making a cool connection with everything we mentioned above.
I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to conclude there are some really interesting similarities. Yesterday, you guys celebrated the Chinese New Year in the Garrido Family Plaza with various games and foods typically enjoyed during these festivities and our dining staff served traditional Chinese food. While we celebrate the unique customs of such a beautiful Eastern tradition, we also realize we share many things in common. And why not, at the end of the day, aren’t we all God’s children?
Auspice Maria.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.