We are honored to partner with a project undertaken by one of our teachers, Mr. Ambrose Bean. Through his inspiration, a new website has been established to "direct man’s gaze, to point the awareness and experience of the whole of humanity toward the mystery of Christ.” (Pope St. John Paul II, Redemptor Missio.) Mr. Bean has been recording classroom content and publishing it, along with student submissions, to the Bethlehem Society's online magazine. We will periodically share this content with our community. We hope you enjoy it!
Student Featured in the “Star of Bethlehem”
God works in mysterious ways! It is striking how often we find ourselves going places we never thought we would go or doing things we never thought we would do. Sometimes a near-certain future fails to materialize, and we struggle to understand why. Other times, God takes control of something we do for one reason, but makes it fruitful for a completely different reason. In all of this, we can always be comforted by the knowledge that he knows more than we do. His ways are not our ways; they are higher than our ways.
About a year ago, I formed a Catholic group called the Bethlehem Society with the goal of helping people dispense with the numberless distractions and noises of the modern world and focus simply on Christ instead. Much has happened during the first year of this project that I did not anticipate, and today the group has dozens of members, a functioning mobile app, a growing social media presence, and a digital magazine/blog called the Star of Bethlehem.
I was very excited about where the project was headed, and then something else happened that surprised me. I shared the website with some of my students at Mount Royal, and to my surprise, they were genuinely curious and enthusiastic. Several of these students started reading the blog, and others asked if they could contribute. I had not seen the potential overlap between my personal project and my work as a teacher until the energy and enthusiasm of these students made it clear. I love teaching and mentoring young people because I believe there is a great deal of strength in the rising generation of Catholics today. They possess the simple, genuine faith that is so much lacking in other places, and I would like nothing more than to provide a space where their voice can be heard. From the beginning, that was really what the Bethlehem Society was all about: making a place for Christ. No degree or professional expertise required—just faith.
In this spirit I would like to share with you all the first article written by a Mount Royal student to be published in the Star of Bethlehem. There are more on the way, and I hope you enjoy their work as much as I have.
The Central Theme in Mark’s Gospel – Bethlehem Society
Mr. Ambrose Bean, Humanities Teacher