ILAGAN DIOCESAN SCHOOLS SYSTEM

SCHOOL OF ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER, INCORPORATED

formerly Lyceum of Echague
Cabugao, Echague, Isabela
400431- SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

St. Augustine’s
Feast Day
Narrative Report

SY2019-2020
St. Augustine’s Brief Background

Born:
November 13, 354
Souk-Ahras, Africa

Died:
August 28, 430 (aged 75)
Annaba, Algeria

Notable Works:
“The City of Gold”
“The Confessions”

The observable facts about Augustine’s religious history are that he was born to a mother, Monnica,
who was a baptized Christian, and a father, Patricius, who would take baptism on his deathbed when
Augustine was in his teens. Neither was particularly devout, but Monnica became more
demonstratively religious in her widowhood and is venerated as St. Monica. Augustine was enrolled
as a pre-baptismal candidate in the Christian church as a young child, and at various points in his life
he considered baptism but deferred out of prudence. (In that age, before the prevalence of infant
baptism, it was common for baptism to be delayed until the hour of death and then used to wash
away a lifetime of sins.)

His classical education was supplemented by a curious but dismissive reading of the Christian
Scriptures, but he then fell in with the Manichaeans, enjoying their company and their polemics, in
which he took eager part, for most of a decade. He sheltered himself with them and used them for
political influence even after he claimed to have dissociated himself from their beliefs. He
abandoned them when he found himself in Milan. It was there, where St. Ambrose was making a
name for himself as a champion of orthodoxy, that Augustine found orthodoxy—or at least found
orthodoxy satisfactory as something a gentleman could practice.
Narrative

Celebrating a saint’s feast day is one way of remembering the significant things a saint did
that we may be able to adapt in directing our spiritual growth. Saints inspire us to lead joyful lives.
They serve as role models. They teach us that holiness means being who you are; and—as an added
benefit—they pray for us from their posts in heaven. As part of the catholic institution, It is a
practice of the school to celebrate feast day in accordance with the saints’ names. This is one good
way in building and honing the spirit and belief of every individual specially the students as part of
the catholic community. Being Catholic offers us opportunities for penance and reflection, for
certain, but it also gives us lots of reasons to party and that’s where solemnity and feast day
celebrations come in.

Last September 6, 2019, our section celebrated its feast day. It was named after St.
Augustine. Supposedly, Augustine’s feast day is at every 28th day of August but due to some
adjustments we celebrated it at the 6th day of September. A simple program was prepared which
was spearheaded by the class adviser. The program will not be successful without the enthusiasm
and the joint efforts of the class. As we waited for the other students to arrive, we took time to
prepare our classroom as our venue for the program. We formally started it with a prayer and bible
enthronement as its important parts. We also viewed a short clip about the life of St. Augustine and
a little sharing on the students’ life experiences. This lets my students allow each of us to become a
part of their life. Different games were also played that was indeed enjoying. Innocent and joyful
faces occur as I was observing the class. After our indoor games we went outside to play ball games
while the assigned students stayed at the classroom to prepare for the foods because it was about
lunch. The class enjoyed the game even though the weather is sunny. Of course a game will not be
called a game if there is no winner and a loser and the students who lose wholeheartedly accepted
their defeat. This only shows that they possess the spirit of sportsmanship. It was about lunch so we
went back to the classroom to eat. The foods were pledged by every student. We also invited the
Senior High School faculty to celebrate with us. In the afternoon, we watched movies as we took our
rest. This is one way of spending quality time with my class as a family. As we end the program, the
class helped each other to restore the things that we used and cleaned the room before leaving.

It was indeed a great and another memorable day to remember. Students are able to have
quality time with their classmates, get to know each one better. Celebrating feast days is not only
significant for our spiritual being but also a great springboard in developing camaraderie, love, care,
and sportsmanship that brings together diverse students in harmony as they celebrate it as one
family.
Documentation