Dear Folks,

As I type this, we had our first day back at Holy Cross Academy. Wow! I am so glad that I got to spend the day in the school. I said to many of the children that “the building was crying without them all summer.” Ok, that was a little exaggerated, or poetic. But we are truly made for communion with God and one another! A building without life is an empty shell. Thanks for your prayers, that this be a healthy, holy, and happy year for our students.

We are incarnational people. The truth of who we are is known in the light of the incarnation: the great dignity that God became one of us, so that we could become one with Him. It is the great reminder that human nature is a union of the material world (our bodies) and spiritual (our souls). This is why physical presence matters, since it is part of our very nature.

Remember the great theological axiom that grace builds on nature. This is why the sacraments are physical rites where God wishes to give to us the treasures of His love.

I know that many of our parish children are trying to ‘distance learn’ / ‘online study’ / ‘homeschool’ or all the names that we have for the solutions that each family has reached for how to best learn given the state of the world today. I pray for all of our parish students.

Sometimes the Lord pushes us out of our routine to help us focus on the essentials! This can be a time of great learning and personal growth. Remember that the Lord promises to bring good from all things for those who love Him!

I told some folks of one time that I recall my school tried to be creative with new learning methodologies. In 6th grade we were given the math book and told to work through it at our own pace (thank God for the 70’s… and I think the plan was that the teacher provide individual answers to struggling students). However, I worked through the book in a week, excited that I was being unleashed to really learn some math! Opps…. the teacher did not have additional math materials for me so I had to use that class as study hall for the other classes I didn’t love as much! But don’t worry, my worst grade ever in my life was 6th grade spelling….. but that is another story.

Pax et bonum,

Father John Mosimann