Given the uncertainties of the months leading up to the start of classes, it is hard to believe that tomorrow we will close out the first quarter of the historic 2020-2021 school year. We have much to be thankful for, not least the relative health and safety our community has enjoyed over the past nine weeks.
Going forward, we will continue to be vigilant and follow the Safe Return Plan that we published over the summer. We will also move forward with a somewhat larger on-campus student body. We began the year on August 12th with 183 students on campus and 84 working remotely; on Monday, the first day of the new quarter, we anticipate 219 students on campus and 57 working remotely.
As we look forward the start of the second quarter next week, I would also like to highlight an event happening at our parish. This next Tuesday (October 13th) at 7:00 p.m., Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church will be holding a special evening of prayer to honor Our Lady of Fatima on the anniversary of her final apparition. The evening will include a candlelight rosary procession around the campus grounds.
God hears when we knock (Matthew 7:7), and especially when we knock persistently (Luke 11:5-13). For the contemporary American family, dedicating a weekday evening to prayer must certainly qualify as persistence! Therefore, as you contemplate what special intentions to bring before God in this procession, you might consider:
- that our nation would turn to God - an end to COVID-19 - an end to abortion - the upcoming election - for the Academy to grow as an evangelistic presence in the wider culture
I hope to see you there. If your schedule precludes this particular event, I encourage you to find time for a family rosary procession of your own, perhaps as you walk together around your neighborhood.
Let us continue to pray for one another. Our Lady of The Atonement—pray for us!