Starting another academic year ushers in a myriad of emotions: sadness in watching summer fade, the excitement of being reunited with friends, the stress of finding all the right school supplies. Each member of our school community prepares for the beginning of school in their own way with a unique perspective on re- turning to the classroom.
It’s been 20 years since the worst attack on our country. I lost many people I knew and loved.
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.
