It is an understatement to say that this year is different than most. Not only is this the last year for all your children but it also is a year when they are supposed to be prepared for high school, and the year when they complete their initiation into our faith by receiving Confirmation. However, this year has become an even more exceptional one for everyone because of the pandemic. So extraordinary is our situation that sometimes we as parents are at a loss when we attempt to make the best decisions for our children. In his Easter homily this year, Pope Francis said: “Dear sister, dear brother, even if in your heart you have buried HOPE, do not give up: God is greater. Darkness and death do not have the last word. Be strong, for with God nothing is lost!”* Indeed, this challenge is echoed for us in this year’s school theme of “Walking with Jesus, Our living Hope”. But let us be clear: Christian hope is, as Pope Francis puts it, not “mere optimism...it is not a pat on the back or an empty word of encouragement, uttered with an empty smile.”* The object of our hope as Christians hinges on our relationship with Jesus because “he plants in our hearts the conviction that God can make everything work unto well, because even from the grave he brings life.”* How then, can we walk with Jesus? This past summer, I was able to go on a multi-day hiking with one of my best friends to Berg Lake and explore the beauty of that part of the Rockies. In our many hikes, we talked, shared meals, laughed together and had some very serious conversations. Our hike together was a catalyst that deepened our friendship. Jesus desires to have an intimate friendship with us, too. To walk with him, then, is to answer his invitation to have a relationship with him. He wants to hear our troubles, joys and our deepest desires. He wants to be a part of our personal lives not just when things are uncertain or troublesome or seemingly hopeless. Indeed, he desires to be a part of every aspect of our lives. This year will definitely be a challenging one to navigate for all of us, including your children. It will demand each of us to cope with the changes creatively and, most of the time without the benefit of previous experiences or even foresight to guide us. However, if we walk with Him, with our “intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed”** on our Living Hope, then we can be sure that “God will make everything work unto well”* * from the HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS, Easter Vigil, St Peter's Basilica Holy Saturday, 11 April 2020 **St. Francis de Sales
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About MeIn the thirteen years of my teaching career, I have come believe that children need to be taught holistically where there is a balance between the spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual development of the student. Archives
September 2023
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