The fall of man in the Garden of Eden was orchestrated by the sin of pride. Man wanted to be like God, in fact, to be God unto himself and this led humanity to disobedience. It was only through the humility of Christ, who though was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, was all humanity gifted redemption.

Construction continues at a good rate, since the delays encountered from the previous rain storms.

The underground utilities continue. The underground plumbing for the new restrooms on the northside of the building is complete. Reconnecting the underground plumbing to the existing restrooms is scheduled to be completed next week. The underground electrical work is scheduled to start next week.

The Readings this weekend emphasize the universality of God’s reign, the Divine intent to replace the inadequate worship of God by ethnic Israel with perfect worship by all humanity in the future, and the absolute necessity of suffering of some kind as a means of self-training for acceptance into heaven.

The accomplishments last week: the completion of the masonry stem walls, extended existing electrical stubs at the northeast corner beyond the north building expansion area, and began the underground plumbing at the north building expansion for restrooms.

Work scheduled for this week: additional demolition of the masonry below grade at the existing removed west wall, complete the installation of the interior footings, complete the installation of the underground plumbing and electrical within the building. (The work, mentioned above, is in anticipation of pouring the floor slabs the first week of September.) Meeting with steel and metal stud framing subcontractors to coordinate deferred roof truss structural design with embeds.

Most times, truth is not popular and those who stand for and live by the truth experience unpleasant encounters with those who choose to resist or reject it. In the First Reading, the Prophet Jeremiah is labeled unpatriotic and considered a traitor for advising Israel to surrender to the Babylonians who had surrounded and technically conquered Jerusalem but were yet to destroy it.

The rain impacted the installation of the stem walls. We anticipate the stem walls to be completed by Tuesday. The underground plumbing should be installed next week, depending on the weather. The underground electrical is scheduled for the following week, also depending on the weather.

The storm drainage solution going under the driveway between the main building and the Annex buildings did not hit the targeted plan of being completed prior to the start of school. This was due to supply chain delays. The material is now in. As not to impact the school's car pool lanes, this work will be done during the Christmas break, starting Dec 19.

The theme of “waiting” runs across the three readings this weekend. We are accustomed to listening to readings themed with this concept at the beginning of Advent each year when the Church invites us to watch and pray as we wait for the coming of Christ. However, the sudden appearance of the Savior’s directive to wait underscores the essential nature of spiritual vigilance in the life of every Christian.

After the rain storm of July 28, there was up to 3 feet of water and mud in many of the footings. The water was pumped out of the footings and the mud was hand shoveled in preparation for the concrete to be poured. The masons were able to begin the installation of the foundation layer of the block before the second rain storm hit. The masons will continue laying block after the footings are pumped out again. The good news: most of the footings had concrete poured into them prior to the second storm hitting.

The Readings this weekend emphasize the universality of God’s reign, the Divine intent to replace the inadequate worship of God by ethnic Israel with perfect worship by all humanity in the future, and the absolute necessity of suffering of some kind as a means of self-training for acceptance into heaven.