For many parishes, this past year was a challenging and unnerving one, one that radically shattered our routines, stalled our ministries, and brought a steep decline in Mass attendance and collections. Many pastors, as a result, can’t wait for the “new normal” to look a little more like the old normal.
In elementary school, when I read “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis, its fifth volume, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” quickly became my favorite. I was captivated the moment Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace were whisked into a painting of a ship on vast seas, arriving right on its deck in the middle of the world of Narnia.
As a public elementary school student, I was always fascinated by the Catholic school students who had recess in the streets while our school had recess in an enclosed schoolyard. The Catholic school kids seemed to be freer, and this piqued my interest in Catholicism.
When I was a child, summer seemed to last forever. The summer highlight was a family road trip — a week or two, all together in the family station wagon or on my dad’s beloved long-distance trains.
Cuba’s ongoing political and social upheaval has shocked many observers as a sudden and intense summer storm. Across the island, in small towns and provincial centers, protests erupted like a squall line until reaching the capital Havana. Tropical storm “Liberdad” was lashing the island of Cuba while its winds of freedom were blowing across the Florida Straits, triggering major pro-democracy demonstrations in Miami and elsewhere.
School choice is not just a matter of education policy but is also one of the most significant and far-reaching issues of both civil rights and social justice for our time.
A couple of months ago, on a Wednesday afternoon after attending church, I went to a grocery store around 5th Avenue to buy some groceries. I was with a friend of mine and I had brought my cart with me to carry my groceries.
It struck me as a bit odd that, besides a large wide-brimmed floppy hat, the small child wore a mask that covered so much of his face. I didn’t think that was required for one so young. But of course! All those who enter Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on 74th Street in Manhattan must still don a face mask.
We Christian soldiers must faithfully come out every second Saturday of the month to St. Paul Church and then prayerfully proceed to the abortion facility on Court Street to save lives, to stop the violence, and most importantly, to defend our heritage — which is nothing less than the Truth of Jesus Christ, and the Gospel of Life, in this weary world where so many individuals are confused, broken, and sadly, deceived.
I have always been happy to be a Catholic school teacher, but this year I am bursting with pride. What began as a year of trepidation has ended in triumph!
