We arrive this week at the last 'regular' class of the year, although this has hardly been the most regular year!  I was reminded that we began our Religious Education time in September sheltering in a basement against a storm outside. We conclude our classes by sheltering in place, hoping to protect ourselves and others.

I have thanked the catechists profusely over these last weeks, and I don't want to stop now.  Yet, I also certainly want to thank the families.  You have shouldered the burden of helping students complete their lessons at home. There are a lot of jokes and memes about parents with renewed appreciation for teachers. That is only matched by our admiration for families, trying to do it all in unexpected circumstances.

Today is the feast day of St. Anselm, a doctor of the Church.  He was a monk who lived in the twelfth century.  One of his famous works was the Proslogion.

Teach me to seek thee, and reveal thyself to me, when I seek thee, for I cannot seek thee, except thou teach me, nor find thee, except thou reveal thyself. Let me seek thee in longing, let me long for thee in seeking; let me find thee in love, and love thee in finding.

We can spend a lot of time searching for the unknowable or the undiscoverable. In some ways God can also seem elusive.  Ultimately, we discover God all around us and, as Anselm writes, in finding the love in which we dwell. Our families are the first to show us that love. As we spend more time than we were planning with each other, let's remember God's desire to love us through the presence of those we hold most dear.

It is a requirement of the United States Catholic Bishops that students receive training each year in the signs of grooming behaviors that can lead to sexual abuse. I will send home those materials next week for you to use with your child. These are talks that you have already with your child, I am sure. It never hurts to reinforce the message.