Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose,
At the time of this writing, Mary Immaculate School is beginning its second full week of being in session. It has not been an easy decision to begin in-person classes.  We are asking for all sorts of precautions to help us to ensure the safety of our teachers, staff, and students.
Among other things, we have different lunch procedures. There is more hand sanitizing, mask wearing, distancing in the hallways and classrooms. We are making every effort to have a little bit of normal and yet trying to be cautious at the same time.
I have a great feeling of hope as I see our students arriving at school every morning. We have had two of our Thursday morning Masses with the students.  The preschool is not attending at this time, which causes the Masses to be a little more subdued for now. I do miss the occasional dance out in the aisle and the swarm of activity in the front row.
The students are wearing masks during Mass, so during the homily time I am not always able to recognize who is raising their hand or even hear what they are saying when they answer my question. Still, it is a great comfort to have them at the Mass.
Hope is the virtue that we Christians often gloss over when we think of the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. Hope is living in the expectation that Jesus has won for us everlasting life. It is what helps is to go on in spite of the difficulties that we encounter in our daily life.
Last night I went to the theater to see Fatima. I was so excited to be able to see a movie after all these months. When I walked into the theater, it brought tears to my eyes: it was just such a normal thing to do, to go and watch a movie. The film was very good. It was a reminder of hope in a difficult time in history. World War I was raging when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children with a message of hope and peace. The message was not at all well-received and yet the children persevered in their declaration that they had indeed seen the Blessed Virgin.  The Blessed Mother asked them to call for conversion; to pray, especially the holy rosary; and to do penance in restitution for sins.
It was a powerful reminder that God loves us. That even in difficult times, God is with us. That we must not despair but we must put our hope in God.
Romans 5:3-5
. . .we know that affliction makes for endurance, and endurance for tested virtue, and tested virtue for hope. And this hope will not leave us disappointed. . .
Msgr. Cox