Alma Redemptóris Máter,
quæ pérvia caéli porta mánes,
Et stélla máris, succúrre cadénti
súrgere qui cúrat pópulo:
Tu quæ genuísti, natúra miránte,
túum sánctum Genitórem:
Virgo prius ac postérius,
Gabriélis ab óre súmens íllud Ave,
peccatórum miserére.

Mother of Christ! hear thou thy people's cry, Star of the deep, and portal of the sky! Sinking we strive, and call to thee for aid, Mother of Him who thee from nothing made: Oh, by that joy which Gabrial brought to thee, Thou Virgin first and last, let us thy mercy see.

Alma Redemptoris Mater (ascribed to Hermannus Contractus, d.1054)

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EDUCATION LAW SYMPOSIUM – JULY 10-13, 2008

Early Registration Deadline extended to May 15th. Register now before rate increase takes effect.

Sign up now for the Sixth Annual Education Law Symposium to be held at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky from July 10-13, 2008. 

The symposium is co-sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and the Education Law Institute (ELI) at St. Catharine College, St. Catharine, Kentucky. The program will feature Sr. Mary Angela Shaughnessy, SCN, (director) and a roster of outstanding presentations and seminars on the law as it applies to Catholic education and ministry.

All sessions will be held in the Brown Hotel—rated as one of the top 50 hotels in the country.

More information and the application brochure are available

/events/event.asp?event_id=105.

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CATHOLIC SCHOOL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

June 26-29, 2008
Vallombrosa Retreat and Conference Center
Menlo Park, California

The Catholic School Leadership Institute is a summer workshop that will provide ongoing formation and support for new principals and at the same time reinvigorate those experienced principals who have faced the daily challenges of administration. Those teachers who are considering the ministry of administration will also find the program a valuable opportunity to share their ideas and learn from those who are already in administration.

On Thursday evening, June 26th, participants will focus on personality styles and leadership; on Friday, June 27, the focus will be on principal as spiritual leader; on Saturday, June 28, the focus will be on principal as administrator with special emphasis on finance and development issues. Each afternoon session will have outcomes based activities/and or best practices discussions. Sunday, June 29th, the morning session will provide time for some general discussions about instructional leadership. The Institute ends after lunch on Sunday.

There is a parish church immediately next door to the Center for participants to attend Mass either on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
Friday and Saturday evenings will be free to see the local sites.
For further information or to download the application form, please go to: /UserFiles/File/Elem/08_Leadership_Instit.pdf.

Graduate Credit Available

PLEASE NOTE: AFTER MAY 15, 2008, the registration fee goes from $550.00 to $600.00.

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The National Assessment of Educational Programs (NAEP) writing assessment for 2007 has been published. To see the full report, go to: http://nces.ed.gov/naep3/writing.

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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Provisions Related to Children With Disabilities Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools

This has been published and is available at: http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/speced/privateschools/index.html.

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The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has published a new report on Catholic schools, “Who Will Save America's Urban Catholic Schools?” According to this study, over 1,300 Catholic schools have closed since 1990, and most of them have been in urban areas. These closing have affected some 130,000 students and have cost taxpayers $20 billion dollars: “to accommodate the additional students that public schools have had to absorb.” Some dioceses where Catholic schools have expanded are Wichita, Memphis, and Denver.

To read the full report, go to: http://www.edexcellence.net/institute/publication/publication.cfm?id=383.

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The Center for Research in the Apostolate (CARA) has published a report, entitled: Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice among U.S. Catholics.” It has an appendix, which takes issue with the recent PEW Report on losses in the Catholic Church compared to the Protestant denominations that is well worth reading. Go to: http://cara.georgetown.edu/sacraments.html. The Pew Report may be found at: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/743/united-states-religion.

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SALUS POPULI ROMANI

St. Luke is said to have written the famous "Salus Populi Romani" ("Protector of the Roman People") Hodegetria-style icon, shown at right, which was brought from the Holy Land to Rome by Helena, Constantine's mother. It is housed in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, a basilica built in response to a miracle: in A.D. 358., Our Lady appeared to Pope Liberius and a couple and told them to build a church at a place she would mark out with snow on Esquiline Hill. On an August night, she did just that -- a church-sized, church-shaped area of snow fell on the hill. The people staked out the area "Our Lady of the Snows" indicated, the Basilica was built, and Pope Liberius consecrated it. It has been rebuilt over the years, lastly by Pope Paul V (1605-1621). The Feast of the dedication of the (original) Basilica is August 5, and in commemoration of the miraculous snowfall, white rose petals are sprinkled down from the dome during the Mass that day.

During St. Gregory the Great's pontificate (A.D. 590-604), in the year A.D. 597, this icon was carried in procession to Hadrian's tomb during a time of a great plague. Upon arrival at the destination, a choir of angels was heard singing:

Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
(Pray for us to God, alleluia.)

Then St. Michael appeared over the tomb, with sword drawn -- and put his sword back in its sheath as a sign of the end of the pestilence. This appearance of the Archangel is the reason why Hadrian's tomb is now known as Castel Sant'Angelo.

In this icon, Mary, dressed in a red tunic and a dark blue mantle with gold trim, holds Jesus in her left arm. Jesus gazes as His mother as He holds a book and raises His hand in blessing. Unlike most Hodegetria type icons, Mary does not point to Christ.