Advent wreath with four candles, one for each week of Advent
Advent is a four-week season observed in many Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the arrival of the Messiah. This year, 2019, Advent begins on Sunday, December 1st!
As we take the month of December to reflect on the gifts we have and will receive, we remember that the greatest gift God has given us was his son, Jesus Christ. We would like to share with you some thoughtful ways you and your loved ones can celebrate the season with the calendar below.
We wish you a joyous Advent, and holiday season! May God's blessings be bountiful, and may we continue to be thankful and filled with peace during this month and every one after.
This Thanksgiving Week, celebrate our children’s future with your Thanks4Giving donation to our nonprofit children’s education programs at Blessed Sacrament Academy. When you share your Thanksgiving meal, tell family and friends about your spirit of giving benefiting San Antonio families in need. We offer parenting classes and education programs for infants and children ages 6 weeks to 5 years.
To donate online, click the "Donate" button below to be taken to our secure donation payment portal. Write 'Happy Thanksgiving' on the memo line with your online Thanks4Giving gift. Any amount is welcome.
Or, mail a check to Blessed Sacrament Academy at 1135 Mission Rd., San Antonio, TX, 78210. On the memo line, simply write 'Happy Thanksgiving.'
Since 1926, we have built a better future for San Antonio, one precious child at a time. Thank you for your gift. We wish you a blessed holiday!
On Saturday morning, October 12, the breeze was chilly outside of the Morgan's Wonderland Event Center - but inside, the atmosphere was one of loving warmth. The room was filled with friends, family, students, and community members all gathered together for a common purpose: To celebrate three very special women whose contributions to Blessed Sacrament Academy have been changing lives for decades.
The video below, produced by Jose Lozano of Magic Spoon Productions, shows just a glimpse of the history and impact of our honorees throughout the years of dedication to BSA.
https://youtu.be/6pTkdC7SkBc
Funds raised for this celebration exceeded those of any other single event in BSA history. Contributions from our community will help us to serve so many children and families, and we are so very grateful to each of our donors and to the women who have inspired these gifts.
During the celebration, announcements were made regarding two special and generous donations. Gordon and Maggie Hartman of Morgan's Wonderland announced a very generous donation in addition to their gracious hosting of the event, and the Texas Cavaliers donated a gift of $20,000 for a playground renovation at the BSA Child Development Center.
Other donations included:
Diamond Level Sponsors: The Greehey Family Foundation & NuStar Energy The Klesse Foundation
Gold Level Sponsors: The Circle Bar Foundation Diocese of Victoria Mission Escondida Luxury Apartments—MELA Williams-Chadwick Family Charitable Fund John H. White and Associates
Silver Level Sponsors: The NRP Group John and Julia Reinhart
Bronze Level Sponsors: Ben E. Keith Frost Bank Jewish Family Service Mission Up, Inc. Bert Pfiester John and Marie Schmutz Darrell and Wanda Ricketson Silver Eagle Distributors Sisters of the Incarnate Word & Blessed Sacrament in Victoria, TX Domingo Vara Chevrolet Warm Springs Foundation All American Financial & Insurance / First Commercial Bank Graystone Consulting
A heartfelt thanks goes out to these and all guests and sponsors of this event. Because of our generous sponsors, we can continue to serve the children and families within our community.
“There are many reasons why students come to us,” says Isai Melgoza, Counselor/Mentor at Por Vida Academy Charter High School. It doesn’t matter how they get here, whatever their circumstance, how complex their story, we open our doors and invite them in. We offer them support and guidance in a variety of ways--all to make sure these young people earn a high school diploma and plan for a successful future.”
Lead teacher Mrs. Ramones and Raven
Raven was 14 when her son Isaiah Jr. was born. She struggled with missingschool--taking days off to accompany Isaiah to doctors’ appointments and otherchild related responsibilities. “As a result, I ended up getting kicked out ofthe school district, not just the high school I was attending, but the wholedistrict,” Raven Ortegon-Hernandez states. “Thehigh school I was attending at the time didn't bother listening to mysituation, but Por Vida Academy did. So I enrolled at PVA and they understandwhat it is like to have certain situations going on at home. In additionthey helped me to be able to graduate early at the age of 16 years old. Theyare the only school that has ever listened to my situation and they worked withme the whole way through. Por Vida Academy will not only change your attitudebut it will also change your life.”
Isaiah Jr.
"At Por Vida Academy I can go at my own pace,”say Isaiah Ramirez, Isaiah Jr.’s father, also a PVA student. “The student toteacher ratio is smaller so it’s easier to get help and understand thesubjects. I have struggled in school ever since I was little and here I ammoving up from freshman to sophomore and I’m only halfway through the schoolyear. Por Vida Academy is the best school I have ever gone to."
In addition to working on their academics, Raven and Isaiah participate in youth character development programs Xinachtli (for girls) and El Joven Nobles (for boy) and together in Raising Children with P.R.I.D.E. (Purpose, Responsibility, Interdependence, Development, Enthusiasm a program supporting teen parents.
For more than 23years, Por Vida Academy Charter High School (PVA) has helped thousands of young women andmen earn high school diplomas and prepare for college. This unique San Antoniocharter school continues to specifically and intentionally meet the varyingeducational and emotional needs of teens on the verge of permanently droppingout of school. Powerful, life-changing education is happening here.
I like to call beneficiaries to our Blessed Sacrament Academy ministry by another name as well. Whether they contribute time, networking, finances or advice they further our Mission and have become Missionaries in our part of God’s Vineyard.
A generous time donator left me with a delightful story concerning one of her challenges which seems to me to relate to our challenge. “I can learn dance steps half body at a time. I learn the feet and leg movements, then the arm and torso movements and I’m ready to dance. Problem is that I can’t put them together to make my whole-body dance at the same time.” I laugh each time I think of how adept she has been at organizing my office and how puzzled and jerky is her dance.
Our Mission calls us to a ministry which requires us to learn how to reach out in compassion to children vulnerable to the poverty into which they were born. BSA personnel have the head and heart functioning to the Gospel directive of helping those in need. The feet and legs in this dancing comparison need assistance. To provide the education, training, mentoring and networking our children and their families need to move beyond the handicap of believing there is no way out, we ask our BSA Missionaries to assist us with the funding we need, in addition to volunteer time and in-kind resources.
To that effect March 28, 2019, the Big Give SA 24 hours of online giving is on the horizon. We need all of our BSA Missionaries to gather around us and make this one-day event successful in bringing hope to our children through funding needed to extend the hand of care, training, and education. This is an online event. However, our Big Give crew will facilitate other ways of giving. Call 210-532-4731 before or during the Big Give to find out how.
Together we can dance with joy and delight in God’s growing Vineyard. When God is the conductor amazing things happen for us, for you. Please join us in this dance and be amazed at the life of a BSA Missionary. Thank you.
