1. December 18, 2015, San Marcos, CA — Merry Christmas!
This is a beautiful time of year where we reflect on God’s tremendous love for
us and the fact that the Infinite was willing to become so small for us. It is mind-
shattering, the thought of God becoming one of us, and in the most humble way
possible: as a baby, from a poor family, in the cold, in a tiny town, at an obscure time
in history, in a lowly shelter where animals are kept with all its sounds, sights and
smells, and placed in a wooden open box used to feed those animals. His humble,
gentle love desires to draw us close to Him, for us to love Him in return, without fear
and whole-heartedly.
As we enjoy and rejoice in this Christmas season, I am especially grateful for all
the benefactors of St. Joseph Academy. Thank you for your generosity and know that
every day during our morning prayers we pray for you.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as you
discern supporting good organizations making a positive
difference in the world. We are forming the leaders of
the Church and society for the next generation. We
are only able to do what we do with the support and
benevolence of good people like you.
May you and yours be bountifully blessed this Christmas
season!
Felix Dies Natalis,
Tony Biese,
Principal
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM OUR PRINCIPAL
SAINT JOSEPHSAINT JOSEPHSAINT JOSEPH
ACADEMYACADEMYACADEMY
Fall/Winter 2015Volume IV, Issue I
The CrusaderThe CrusaderThe Crusader
Board of Directors
Deacon Frank J. Mercardante
(Chairman)
Barbara De LaTorre
Ned Heiskell
Jerry Hill
Jennifer Roback Morse, PhD
Jon Wester
Advisory Board
Dale Ahlquist
President of the American Chesterton Society
Co-Founder, Chesterton Academy
Terri Barber
Founder
St Joseph Communications
Christopher Check
President, Catholic Answers
George Delgado, MD, FAAFP
Medical Director
Culture of Life Family Services (COLFS)
Grace Dulaney
Founder of Agnus Dei Foundation &
Lamb of God Ranch
Rev. Joseph Fessio, SJ
Founder & Editor of Ignatius Press
Dr. John W. Galten
Chairman, Catholics for the
Common Good Institute
Dr. Scott Hahn
Catholic Author and Professor of
Theology and Scripture, FUS
Rev. T. Henry, TOR
Chancellor
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Karl Keating
Catholic Apologist and Author, Founder
and Senior Fellow at Catholic Answers
Charles S. LiMandri
Founder of the Law Offices of
Charles S. LiMandri and the
Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund
Rev. C. John McCloskey, III, STD
Faith and Reason Institute
Barbara McGuiggen
Founder of “Voices of Virtue”
Host of “The Good Fight” on EWTN
Dr. Michael F. McLean
President, Thomas Aquinas College
Thomas J. McKenna
Founder & President
Catholic Action for Faith and Family
St. Gianna Physicians’ Guild
Doug Sherman
Founder & President
Immaculate Heart Radio
Tim Staples
Director of Apologetics and
Evangelization at Catholic Answers
Right Rev. Charles Wright, OSB
Prince of Peace Abbey
Celebrating over 20 years of faithful Catholic Education!!Celebrating over 20 years of faithful Catholic Education!!Celebrating over 20 years of faithful Catholic Education!!
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE . . . CATHOLIC VALUES
Thank you for your generous and faithful support!
San Diego County’s only K-12 Catholic School!
Below: Staff and Faculty take the Oath of Fidelity to
the Magisterium at the beginning of the academic year.
500 Las Flores Drive
San Marcos, CA 92078
(760) 305-8505
Fax: (760) 305-8466
www.saintjosephacademy.org

2. MAJOR GENERAL DANIEL O’DONOHUE SPEAKS TO SJA STUDENTS ON VETERANS DAY
Page 2 The Crusaderwww.saintjosephacademy.org
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER, DALE AHLQUIST, SPEAKS TO MS/HSABOUT GOOD OL’ G.K.
May God bless you for your continued support! Thank you!
SJA SUPPORTS THE CULTURE OF LIFE THROUGH “CRUSADERS FOR LIFE” CLUB
Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - Major General
O’Donohue (father of 3 SJA high-school students) honored
us with his presence and inspired us with his words and
reflections on the true meaning of love as sacrifice of oneself
and spoke on the virtue of patriotism. He recounted specific
stories of men and women serving in the military who
exemplified heroic sacrificial love on the battlefield. He
likewise exhorted us to greater generosity and heroism in
living out our Catholic Faith! Thank you Major General
O’Donohue for your words and life of service to our
country. God bless you and all those serving our country in
the military!
Friday, May 22, 2015 - Mr. Dale Ahlquist, internationally renowned speaker, author and one
of the most respected G.K. Chesterton scholars in the world, spoke to the middle and high
school students about the life, conversion to Catholicism, wit, wisdom and writing of that
most beloved author. Mr. Ahlquist elucidated two main and recurring ideas in Chesterton’s
writing. The first is paradox (an apparent contradiction). Chesterton often employs it to
highlight the human experience of reality not always being what it at first seems. For
example, man is both tragic and funny, humbled and yet exalted as we go through life and
strive for holiness. The second idea, wonder, as that, “...fierce pleasure in things being
themselves,” continually resurfaces in his writing and points to Chesterton’s deep
appreciation of life. For Chesterton, according to Mr. Ahlquist, the supreme adventure is to
be born and we ought to marvel at the ordinary! Thank you, Mr. Ahlquist, for your
testimony and words! Be assured of our prayers!
For more information about the American Chesterton Society, visit their website at:
www.chesterton.org.
Left: The 110' helium rosary balloon
(made of balloons with “life” printed
on them) that the SJA high school
students made early in the morning
could be seen from miles away.
Below: The High School prays the rosary
in front of a Planned Parenthood Clinic as
part of a peaceful protest—August 22,
2015, Vista.

3. SJA CHRISTMAS PAGEANT 2015SAVE THE DATE!
Page 3Volume IV, Issue I www.saintjosephacademy.org
Support us online at: www.saintjosephacademy.org
SJA GALA:
FEBRUARY 27, 2015
KEY NOTE SPEAKER:
PATRICK MADRID
APOLOGETICS SPEAKER,
AUTHOR AND
HOST OF THE
PATRICK MADRID SHOW
ON
IMMACULATE HEART RADIO
I am delighted to be the new Director of Sacred Choral Music here at St. Joseph
Academy. I teach Choir, Latin, and Religion, with a special responsibility for the musical
education of the entire school.
I take the duty of sacred music education very seriously because I am convinced of
the importance of giving our young Catholics a real musical formation, taking full advantage
of the richness and artistic excellence of our ecclesial heritage. Gregorian chant is a beautiful
treasury of Psalms and antiphons wedded to haunting melodies, and sacred polyphony is
complex, cooperative, and intentionally focused on the sacred text. Our classic sacred
music, reflecting the life of the Church and sung in the Liturgy, is ideal for the formation of
young Catholics.
The core of our music program in the elementary grades is Gregorian chant, which
the Second Vatican Council praises as "specially suited to the Roman Liturgy." Its single-note
structure is easy for young singers, who do not ordinarily have the capacity to harmonize.
Meanwhile, they are storing in their memories these splendid treasures of sacred music, our
shared musical heritage with Catholics of every time and place.
For our middle schoolers, in addition to the chants, we are focusing on music
theory and vocal production. The music theory studies are useful for those students who
are not yet confident singers, particularly boys whose voices are changing. While they
develop or re-learn their singing skills, they can also study music in a social way, because in each grade there are
accomplished musicians who can help their fellow students in small-group projects.
In the high school years, the students are intellectually ready to learn full, four-part polyphony by outstanding
Catholic composers such as Byrd, Lassus, and Palestrina. In our high school choir elective we have developed a fantastic,
balanced polyphonic schola that has mastered several classical SATB works this fall. Now that we have the techniques
and a strong combined sound, we will begin building a solid core repertoire that will become our school's trademark of
musical excellence.
The Catholic Church has the greatest treasury of choral music in the history of the world, and it is part of our
children's patrimony as Catholics. It is a great privilege for me to share these riches
with the students of our wonderful St. Joseph Academy. SJA HIGH SHOOL C.I.F. SPORTS
Kathleen Pluth, MA, STL, is a
doctoral candidate in Sacred
Theology (Dogma) at the Pontifical
University of St. Thomas Aquinas
(Angelicum) in Rome. She is a
published hymn writer and has
served the Church in various ways
throughout her career, including five
years as a parish Music Director,
where she developed a method of
teaching Gregorian chant to
children.

4. Saint Joseph Academy...Where Catholic Tradition Lives On!
Coach Vincent Delgado, Class of ‘11
Prayer to Our Patron,
St. Joseph
O Saint Joseph,
Whose protection is
so great, so strong, so
prompt before the
Throne of God, I
place in you all my
interests and desires.
O Saint Joseph, do
assist me by your
powerful intercession
and obtain for me
from your Divine Son
all spiritual blessings
through Jesus Christ,
Our Lord; so that having engaged
here below your heavenly power,
I may offer my thanksgiving and
homage to the most loving of
Fathers. O Saint Joseph, I never
weary contemplating you and
Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare
not approach while He reposes
near your heart. Press Him in my
name and kiss His fine Head for
me, and ask Him to return the
Kiss when I draw my dying
breath. Saint Joseph, Patron of
departing souls, pray for me.
Amen.
The Crusader FALL/WINTER 2015
500LasFloresDrive
SanMarcos,California92078
Phone:(760)-305-8505
Fax:(760)-305-8466
www.saintjosephacademy.org
SAINTJOSEPH
ACADEMY
Visitusontheweb!! Visitusontheweb!! Visitusontheweb!!
www.saintjosephacademy.org
SaintJosephAcademy...WhereCatholicTraditionLivesOn!
SJA”...helpedmestaytruetomyfaiththroughoutmycollegecareer.”
Thinking back to my time at St. Joseph Academy, I
will always remember the many opportunities I had at this
school. Not only was I able to grow in and learn about my
faith, but I was also able to participate in multiple sports and
build lasting friendships. Academically, I was challenged in my
classes and my love for science grew. This strengthened my
interest in science, particularly in biology, and continued into
college. In May of 2015, I graduated from UC Berkeley with
a degree in Integrative Biology.
While at Cal, I performed research in a toxicology
lab on campus, worked at the local hospital, and played on
the club ultimate frisbee team. The education I received at
St. Joseph built upon the values instilled in me by my parents
and helped me stay true to my faith throughout my college career. Looking back at my
time at St. Joseph Academy, I have had great teachers and many great coaches. Some of
my coaches have been my biggest role models. For this reason, I am so thankful and glad
that I have been able to give back to the school as the head basketball coach for the high
school boys team. It has been an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Former SJA
alumnus,
Coach Delgado,
recently
graduated from
UC Berkeley
with a degree
in Integrative
Biology. He is
Head Coach of
the SJA High
School Varsity
Basketball
team.