From President Msgr. Kelly '57

List of 2 items.

• Tuesday, March 24, 2020

  March 24, 2020
  
  To The Community of Seton Hall Prep:
  
  I am hopeful that you remain safe and well. I’m happy to report that I write to you from my desk here at school this morning. Yesterday I offered a prayer from the lectern in the Fitzmaurice Chapel at The Prep, and it was shared on SHP’s social media for all in our community to view. Today I would like to follow up with some additional thoughts as I write out some Easter Cards. I find that this practice of sending cards each year affords me the opportunity to be mindful of a friend or a family member, even for a brief moment. I feel very blessed to have encountered so many good people in my life, and so I pause to think of them, and pray for them and their families as I sign their Easter blessings. 
  
  I just cannot properly express the depth of my gratitude for all of your responses to my St. Patrick’s Day letter last Tuesday, and I genuinely look forward to hearing from more of you this week. Your messages help me to stay connected and to remain informed about how your families are doing during this time. It feels more like a month has passed since I last wrote to everyone, but perhaps that is because this experience has given us pause to slow down and focus on what is most important and truly essential. I was most encouraged hearing from families about how many of them are now together under one roof, maybe for the first time in months or even years, gathered at the dinner table each night, and working alongside one another to make the best of the situation – a silver lining for sure.
  
  As you are indeed part of my family, it is my intention to connect in some way with each and every one of you. I hope that you can also take this moment to connect with one another as well. Your outreach will likely require additional effort and the use of technology, but this is a unique opportunity to extend yourself to someone who you have been meaning to call, or possibly to another who you have lost touch with over time. Please join me in reaching out to others in our community, even by simply checking in with them. Your thoughtfulness and care will always be remembered by those who receive your messages of kindness and concern. I offer a fitting quote by our patroness, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: “My own troubles will teach me I hope, how to comfort others.” 
  
  I’ve never been more convinced than I am today of the importance that Seton Hall Prep plays in the lives of our young men, our parents and our alumni. As the things that are most important to us now become ever more clear, I ask you to reflect upon the four pillars of our beloved school: our Family, our Faith, our Compassion and our Courage.
  
  

  Thank you for all that you continue to do for us and for your families. I invite you to call upon me by e-mail or by phone if I can be of any assistance to you. I can be reached at mkelly@shp.org and at 973-325-6624.
  
  

  Please be assured of my prayers, and please pray for us. I look forward to hearing from you, and I will be in touch again soon.
  
  

  Hazard Zet Forward,

  Father Mike ‘57
  
  

  ---

• Tuesday, March 17, 2020

  To The Community of Seton Hall Prep:
  
  

  Most importantly, I hope this finds you safe and well. Let this be the first in a series of periodic notes I will send to check in on you as well as update you on how things are going here at The Prep. This morning I happened to come across Proverbs 27:23, “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds…” and so I sat down here at my desk to write to you and remind you that while we may be miles apart, I send you peace, prayers and blessings from our beloved school.
  
  

  As I write this to you now, The Prep is open but the building is noticeably quiet. Our students and faculty have begun their good work in a remote learning environment from their homes. In my 67 years of being affiliated with Seton Hall Prep, beginning with my time as a young freshman, I really cannot think of anything else to compare these times with, so this is indeed unchartered territory for me and for all of us, I suspect. I must admit that I already miss the sights and sounds of our bustling hallways, as well as being able to greet our young men when they arrive, and wishing them well for their journeys home each afternoon. One might feel quite isolated here, but I most certainly do not, mainly because while we are “socially distancing” from each other, our connectivity remains very much intact with the wonders of technology as well as the power of prayer. I want you to know that I will pray for you and for all of us in our school chapel at 8:00am each and every morning, and while there will likely not be many or even anyone else there with me, I will continue this practice until everyone is able to return to join me here again. I very much look forward to that day.
  
  

  Until that time, I will be comforted knowing that we can remain well connected as a community, even from afar. It will be heartening to see that even in times like these, our faithful alumni, parents, students, faculty and staff can continue to be bound together as members of The Seton Hall Prep Family, so I invite you to write to us and send us correspondence as well. The Prep has a wonderful presence, and even a global audience on social media, and we would really enjoy hearing from all of you during this time. I will be sure to read all of your messages as well.
  
  

  What I feel more than anything else this morning though, is gratitude. I am grateful to our administration and staff for their wisdom, and for working around the clock in an effort to keep us all safe during this unprecedented health crisis; grateful to our teachers for their ingenuity, now finding new ways to challenge and inspire our students; grateful to our parents for their understanding and patience as we begin to navigate distance learning for the very first time in our 164 year history; grateful to our amazing young men for accepting this challenge at hand and for being resilient in the face of adversity and disappointment; and I am grateful to our alumni and even many of their parents who have already reached out in scores to check on us.
  
  

  Naturally, I often think of our motto Hazard Zet Forward, a maxim which has steadfastly carried us forth for more than 160 years here. It is a timely reminder that we will indeed meet this formidable challenge before us and move forward together.
  
  

  Since today is St. Patrick’s Day, I leave you with a lesser known piece of Irish history that was recently sent to me by an alumnus: “Saint Patrick's color was blue, not green. The hue — St. Patrick's blue, a lighter shade — can still be seen on ancient Irish flags and was used on armbands and flags by members of the Irish Citizen Army, whose 1916 Easter Rising attempted to end British rule.”
  
  

  Please be assured of my prayers, and please pray for us. I look forward to hearing from you, and I will be in touch again soon.
  
  

  Hazard Zet Forward,

  Father Mike ‘57