Perspectives from the “Classroom”
As we begin the 2020-2021 academic year under our theme of “#bethelight,” I echo the words of St. Peter at the experience of Christ’s Transfiguration:
“Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Mt. 17:4). At the Transfiguration (recounted in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark and now also the rosary’s Fourth Luminous Mystery, or Mystery of Light) Peter, James and John saw Christ in glory: “his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light” (Mt. 17:2). In addition to his verbal acknowledgment of the gift and goodness of this moment, Peter seems to want to extend the experience by pitching tents.
Although we find ourselves in very different circumstances, with masked faces and uncertainty about how long our pandemic protocols and current learning situations will last, we can say with gratitude, heightened precisely by these circumstances, yes, it is very good for us to be here.
Even as our global, national, and local challenges seem to cast a shadow of darkness on our daily efforts to learn and grow, we find within each day so many rays of light. I am privileged to work most closely with our seniors, the Class of 2021. In their responses to our daily Gospel reflections, in the insights they share in conversation and in writing, in their kindness to one another and those entrusted with their education, in the efforts of both in-person and remote learners to find new ways to work together, our students bring light to my day and to our learning community.
In the dedication of administrators, faculty and staff striving to do our best for our students, light shines forth. As I get to know our newest faculty and staff members, I see the unique beams of light they bring to our physical campus and virtual learning. In communication with our graduates, I rejoice to hear how they bring light into the world beyond the Falcons’ nest. In the Presence of Christ, in the Eucharist, in our Reverend Edmund O’Brien Chapel and at St. Gregory the Great Parish, and in the priestly ministries of our chaplain Father Glen Dymytryszn and School Board President Monsignor Gary Simeone, we receive the light of Christ.
As I reflect on the commitment and sacrifices our St. Paul families make to be part of our St. Paul Family, I thank you for sharing your light with us. May we continue to journey together in Christ’s Light, for “in your light we see light” (Ps. 36:9).
