As the new year of 2007 begins our thoughts turn to our hopes and dreams for the future. What will this new year bring to our families and our school comunity? My prayer for all the Saint Francis Academy is a strengthening of faith, for this we can face the hardships, and disappointments that are an integral part of daily living. Resolve, in this year of 2007, to think of the good that is already part of your family and to increase that goodness. God's grace flourishes in your homes and our school when kindness, patience, generosity, and compassion with one another is the living of our faith every day. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds us how we are to approach each day of this new year with these wise words: "We are called to be people of conviction, not conformity; of moral nobility not social respectability. We are commanded to live differently and according to a higher loyalty." Your loyalty to your God, your family, and to Saint Francis Academy is made visible in the beauty of your children and in your commitment to Catholic education. The sacrifice you make each day for your children to attend Saint Francis Academy is a visible sign of love. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of the Archdiocese of San Antonio supports your decision in his statement, "Education is the best gift anyone can receive. It's a treasure that never loses its value, and it's the richest inheritance parents can leave to their children -- even more so if it forms not only the mind but the spirit and moral character."

I would like to extend my most sincere gratitude for your generosity during Christmas Season and throughout the year. May God bless you and may this new year be a time of deep spiritual growth.