Sunsets to Sunrise

By Anthony Maranise, Obl.S.B.

Endings are so difficult for me. I simply do not do well with endings. I never have. Yet, as we all know, endings are inevitable. Too, so many of us often must face endings far more momentous than those of a meal, a song, or a book. Perhaps the ending we face is that of the life of a loved-one, or the dissolution of a relationship, or the stoppage of meaningful work or employment. These sorts of ‘ends’ can be and often are somewhat ‘soul-crushing.’ To be sure, I have faced all these endings in one form or another and am still here writing. Words poured onto a page are often hollow solace for the soul that must mourn the loss that comes with each ending.

What can, what does help in the healing process, then? I might contend that it is certainly not my words, but rather, the Word; that is, the verbum Dei – the very Word of God.

If I were a betting man (and let us be honest, I am), I would bet that Jesus – like most persons – was also not too keen on endings either. Granted, I could certainly be wrong in my conjecture, but Sacred Scripture certainly paints the picture of the God-Man as One who relished in and enjoyed perseverance, overcoming, and fresh starts as opposed to One who passively accepted the inevitability of loss or endings.

 I would like to highlight for you, now, but two examples from God’s Word wherein we see Jesus speaking about, if not promising, that finality may not be as final as we suspect… at least on this side of eternity. To be sure, the point of this brief exercise is not to shift focus away from the very real – and palpable – pain of having to face endings in this life. Rather, it is to demonstrate that just when it seems as if though we have reached an end of our own, there, in our brokenness, lostness, and uncertainty, we can encounter the God of Newness and Unlimited Beginnings.

The First Example

Our first example comes from within the context of what theologians and biblical scholars refer to as ‘The Last Supper Discourses’, or the intimate conversations Jesus had with the Twelve Apostles during The Last Supper before his ultimate arrest and Passion. It is in the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel wherein Jesus makes a beautiful promise to His Twelve, and by ‘spiritual succession’, to us also.

Jesus says, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you” (John 14:18-20).

Jesus’ promise not to leave His Twelve (and all of us) as orphans illustrates, clearly, His refusal to abandon those He loves and has taught in the ways of love. Moreover, the reference wherein He says, “I will come to you”, is an allusion to the sending forth of the Holy Spirit. In the ‘eternal silences’ of the Trinity, God dwells forever as an inexhaustible fount of newness which overflows from the continual exchange of love between the three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Apart from His promise to come to us Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit, Jesus also directly promises us life, but there is even more still.

The promise of life Jesus gives is qualified by what He says after this, namely, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” This deep interconnectedness between the Father and the Son is also held out to us as possibility should we choose to accept it. Think about what Jesus says: “…I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” Thus, if Jesus is in His Father (God, the Creator) and we are in Jesus, then through, with, and in Jesus, we have our access to the Father and all that the Father is, namely, a Trinity of inexhaustible love, mercy, newness, forgiveness, hope, tenderness, and compassion.

The Second Example

Our second example also comes from John’s Gospel and is only about two chapters later than the first. In John’s sixteenth chapter, we see Jesus again speaking to His Apostles. But, this time, something is different about Jesus’ words. There is an unexpected, if not startling, tone to them… at least on the face of things. But it is never ‘the surface’ of the matter with Jesus. The content of His words are always meant for spiritual, emotional, and mental ‘digestion’. That is, we must really ponder what He means. Some context, here, would prove helpful so let us look at the entirety of the passage which serves as this second example.

“A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ [of which he speaks]? We do not know what he means.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. (John 16:16-22)

Here is, before our very eyes, an instance wherein Jesus foretells of His own impending death. But we mustn’t stop there. What does the Lord say? “A little while and you will no longer see me…” Certainly, here, He is talking about His betrayal, arrest, passion, crucifixion, and death. There was, after all, some time (though briefly) that Jesus had to spend in the tomb. However, read on. What does the Lord say? “…And again a little while later and you will see me.” Here, He is talking about His having conquered over the gates of hell, sin, and death as well as His own resurrection!

This is, for us believers (or it should be, anyway), an absolute earthquake! We should be shaken and moved, but not with sadness, fear, or trepidation, but instead with joy unspeakable. Very God of Very God knows He must suffer and die, but He has no plans of remaining in the realm of death. He has plans to conquer, to overcome, to emerge victorious from the grave!

Personally, I love the last verse of this particular section and example. In the twenty-second verse, Jesus says, “So also now you are in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” While these words may have been veiled in mystery for the Apostles, we all have the advantage of hindsight. The Apostles also later would come to understand these words spoken by their Master and Our Lord.

Moreover, His words, here, have a triple meaning. On the one hand, certainly, Jesus is referring to His need to die (“You will no longer see me”) and to His resurrection (“A little while later and you will see me”), but He is also referring to His ascension (“You will no longer see me”) and the descent of the Holy Spirit (“A little while later and you will see me”) as well as His own coming again in glory at the end of time (or what theologians refer to as ‘the parousia’).

In all the cases cited above, Jesus expresses intentions to return to us, His beloved children!   

So, what, then are we to make of all of this? My own words could not summarize the impact of what these scriptural examples mean to those of us who are persons of faith. I will, for my part, say merely this: Jesus is not one for endings. He is the God of beginnings.

Saint Clement of Rome perhaps said it best when he penned these now infamous words, namely, that “The Lord has turned all of our sunsets into sunrise.”

To the God of Beginnings, then, let us pray:

Last Supper by Nando Martins

 Lord, You have promised to “make all things new” (Revelation 21:4-5). I believe that You have already begun Your new creation on earth as it is in Heaven. Renew the strength within me and enable me to recognize that, when it seems as if though I am entering into a sunset, You promise me the renewed hope of a sunrise to follow. You have never left me alone, Lord. Do not now forsake me so that my faith, confidence, and hope in You may abound without disappointment. As the God of Beginnings, I ask You, Most Gracious King of my heart, make a new way forward where even now there seems not to be one. In you I have placed my trust. Let me never be put to shame. My God, My Hope, My New Beginning, all my love is Yours. Amen.

We Did It!

Class of 2021

Only a few days left of the 2020-21 school year, and then we can say, "We did it!" We made it through the year of the Coronavirus when schools all over the world shutdown to in-person learning. We didn't shut down. We stayed true to our families; touching the hearts and teaching the minds of our students. We followed the advice of the medical experts, planned fiendishly for the unknown, took precaution after precaution, all while demonstrating fortitude. 

No one could have predicted what would happen, but we didn't back down in fear. We did what was best and the results speak for themselves in high test scores, back-to-basics education, with advanced learning, all while participating in Mass and other religious activities, and providing our community with service. To me, the most wonderful part was St. Ann witnessing a substantial number of students (and several with their families) in all grades coming into the Catholic faith through Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation. This has been an incredibly beautiful and challenging school year. Faith, science, planning, precaution, and courage prevailed.

Dr. Colleen Butterick is the head of counseling for the Catholic Schools of our diocese. This weekend, she shared a letter with the Catholic School principals. With her permission, I am sharing this letter with you, our Catholic School families, because Dr. Butterick hit the nail on the head with this letter.

Dear All,

When we began this journey together in March, 2020 we collectively decided that our main goal was to educate the children in our Catholic Schools.  We set forth a plan and steadfastly followed that plan, resulting in providing a full and solid academic year for our students.  While we have always been supportive of one another, this year has stood out as one where we were true colleagues in every sense of the word.  We supported one another, helped one another with decision making, and approached our decisions with every school's best interest in mind.  I have always been proud to be a part of this leadership team, but never as proud as I have been this year. You have been true educators and leaders.

There has been some discussion nationally that students have suffered due to this pandemic.  But, quite frankly, I think they have gained enormous emotional strength and emotional intelligence throughout this year.  Our students witnessed a devastating experience but they also witnessed all of us banding together and overcoming fears and conflicts to survive and carry-on.  Our children learned that when difficulties happen the answer is to have faith, tenacity, optimism and cooperation, and situations will improve.  They observed their parents, teachers, administrators and their friends collectively working together towards the common goal of keeping our schools open.  I believe that these students will be able, throughout their lives, to draw upon this experience and put in place what they have learned as they are faced with other life crises.  

Thank you for your leadership, dedication and selflessness throughout this year.  We did it!!

Thank you Dr. Butterick. We came together and prevailed! We (students, parents, volunteers, teachers, staff, and administrators) did it!

Have a great summer, and let's get ready for the 2021-22 school year!

God bless you and with much love,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

I Chose You!

As the final week of this very unique (don't ever want to use the word unprecedented again) school year quickly approaches, I want to share with you an email I sent to the wonderful people who make up our St. Ann staff. Let's finish the 2020-21 school year strong! 

Dear St. Ann Educators,

As Jesus prayed for the disciples in today’s Gospel reading (John 17), I am reminded of our role as His disciples. As the disciples were sent out into the world, we have also been sent out into the world as Catholic School educators. “As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.” In John 15:16, Jesus said, “You did not choose me but I chose you.” We were chosen to do His work. So, the question for us today is: Jesus, what do you want me to do with my life today?

With the school year quickly ending, there appears to be a lot of tension and pressure mounting as we wrap up this most trying of school years. This is causing anxiety and uncertainty with students, parents, and educators alike. Let us remember that He chose us as Catholic School educators for a purpose. Let us deal with the anxieties and uncertainties by putting our faith and trust in Jesus and by moving forward as His disciples.

We have made it this far into this COVID-19 school year. We are tired! We are nearing our boiling point (if we haven’t reached it already)! We need for summer to hurry up and get here! We need for parents and students to calm down a bit (and for us to remember they too are tired and nearing their boiling point)!

Let us continue to focus on our work. The finish line is near, and you are all doing some amazing work. Be happy, loving, thankful, understanding, merciful, and be the disciples we have been chosen to be. Jesus loves you.

Jesus, what do you want me to do with my life today? Amen!

God bless you and love,

Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

Mentorship and the 8th Graders

I have the privilege of greeting our 8th graders as they arrive to school each morning. I give them a few expectation reminders in our less than 5-second interaction. The expectation reminders consist of: "Be a positive leader, work hard, finish strong, and continue to be wonderful/awesome." Sometimes, I'll ask them about their grades, a recent athletic event, upcoming confirmation, or pending assignments and tests. With some of the students, I can hear their eyes roll when I greet them. Cannot say that I blame them. The good thing is that they all acknowledge my morning greeting. I expect nothing less because they are extremely polite and well-mannered.

Why do I do this? Because I genuinely care about my students and want them to all be positive leaders, work hard, finish strong, and continue to be wonderful/awesome. Also, the 8th graders don't realize they are setting an example for all the younger students. The younger students notice the 8th graders through their words and actions. I want them to set positive examples for the rest of the student body to emulate. If the 8th graders do set positive examples, they become mentors to the younger students.

We all need mentors, many mentors. Hate to think where I'd be without my mentors. Most of the time, our mentors have no idea they play this role in our lives. They just do the right things in their everyday lives and we learn from their expertise and examples. "The man of noble mind forms designs and stands firm in his nobility." Isaiah 32:8 That's how I view a mentor; standing firm in his or her nobility.

Our mentors change throughout our lives as we develop. Growing up, my mentors were mainly my parents, teachers, and coaches. Even though they helped shape my life and will forever be considered mentors, they are not necessarily my main mentors today. Our mentors change as we proceed in life and business. Tomorrow's mentors might be different than today's. But then again, some of my mentors have been the same for some time now.

I have many mentors and I'm thankful for the part they play in my life. Through their actions, time, guidance, and patience, these folks have helped me become the educational leader, more importantly, the person I have become. They each unknowingly mentor me in different areas of life. 

We have to keep in mind that we too are mentors to others. Just as my mentors really don't know they play this role in my life, we don't necessarily know who we mentor. This makes it even more important that we are positive leaders in our everyday lives. Our examples tell and show our story to those around us. We learn how to be from positive examples set by those who mentor us.

For our students their parents, teachers, and coaches are their main mentors. One day this will change, but for now we are their mentors and we need to be mindful of our role in their lives. It is up to us to show constant and positive leadership; to stand firm in our nobility. And, it is up to us to not make their lives easier, but to challenge them to work hard and be positive leaders themselves. When we are not setting high goals and expectations of our children/students, we are not being the mentors they need.

Our 8th graders will be leaving St. Ann on a high note. They are performing exceptionally well academically, near completion with confirmation preparation, have their high school plans set, and have helped to make St. Ann a better Catholic school. Even though we are excited that they are moving on to the next phase of their lives, they will be truly missed. For the final 7-weeks at St. Ann, we hope they continue to mentor our younger students and stand firm in their nobility.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

Previous Blog: https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2021/03/be-prepared.html

Be Prepared

On Tuesday of Spring Break, I biked the Delta Heritage Trail for the first time. Started the ride in Lexa, Arkansas, located near Helena, not far from the Mississippi River. The plan was to ride to Elaine, AR and back to Lexa for a total riding distance of 41 miles. This was supposed to be another of my many fun and carefree rides. I actually came up with the idea of making this ride the night before, and wanted it to be a great day of riding. How quickly I discovered that I was not prepared at all for this ride.

Unlike the trails I have been riding such as the Greenline and Gulf State Park, this was a gravel trail with lots of rocks and sand. There is a paved section of this trail, but that section is a short one. The trail blew out both my tires, but not until I was 18 miles into the ride. That's when the rear tire started leaking. Somehow, my patch kit wasn’t in my bike pouch. I have no idea where I had placed the kit. I decided to continue the ride to Elaine to see if maybe there was a store there where I could get some help to repair the tire. No such luck.

I had to pump up the rear tire every 2 miles. At the 28-mile mark, had to now pump up the rear tire every mile. Extremely difficult to pedal through gravel, sand, and rocks on deflated tires. At about the 39-mile mark of my ride, the rear tire finally gave out completely and the front tire started leaking air. Had to walk the bike the last mile and a half. There was no more riding and my ride became a walk.

I have a hybrid bike. It is a cross between a road and touring bike with thinner, smoother tires. The tires are not meant for rough trails. I needed better trail tires to make this ride. It is also a lighter bike than a trail bike. So, the bike gets beat up riding a rocky trail as does the rider.

Because this went from a 3-hour bike ride to an over 5-hour bike ride, I didn’t have enough water to make it to the end. The temperature was 85 degrees, which required even more water. I rode 41 miles, saw no one on the trail, and there was nowhere to stop for help. My one choice was to suck it up and ride. That's what I did.

What did I learn from this ride? Be prepared! I need to be better prepared especially in dealing with the unknown.

I should have learned from our planning for the reopening of the school during this pandemic. We were so ready and so prepared for the unknown that nothing was going to go wrong. Nothing! And, nothing did go wrong. Everything went better than expected. 

I am so proud of everyone who helped plan for the 2020-21 school year. They were all a Godsend with positive, problem-solving attitudes. No one sat back and waited for others to plan. Everyone stepping up and joined-in to make this school year happen. Because of these forward thinking and acting folks, we were ready and prepared. This has turned out to be a fantastic school year. When you think of all that has taken place, I think this has been the best school year of my 31-years as an educator.

In the words of Paul Harvey: "Now for the rest of the story." If you are too young to know Paul Harvey, look him up. He was one of the greatest news personalities this country has ever seen.

At the 12-mile mark is the city of Lake View. There is a nice trail rest stop in Lake View. That's where I was when I received a text from Andrew Post, Layla Post's husband, notifying me of the birth of their son, Andrew Cyrus Post. I took a short break from riding to forward his text to the St. Ann staff members because we had all been awaiting the news. The birth announcement was one of the highlights of the ride.

The other highlight happened just before the 18-mile mark. That's when I started my prayers. I like to pray when I ride. I apologized to God for not praying as often as I should. That's when I felt the rear tire starting to go flat. If you pray, this next part makes sense. In feeling the rear tire going flat, I didn't question, I didn't complain. I just said, "I get it." For the rest of the long and painful bike ride, I thanked God for giving us this opportunity and extra time to spend together in prayer. So, instead of being upset about not preparing properly for this ride, I recognized my need to spend more time in prayer. So, I used this time to pray. What turned out to be one of the most physically demanding and painful things I have ever done also turned out to be a blessing in allowing me time to pray.

My lack of preparation turned into something good and great. On that ride, I learned about the arrival of the newest member to our St. Ann family, and I spent several hours of uninterrupted prayer time. Even though it took me several days to recover physically, I'm glad my Delta Heritage Trail ride took place. On the ride, God used that time to remind me the importance of and the need to appreciate both life and prayer.

Congratulations to Andrew and Layla Post on the arrival of their son. And, thank you God for your many blessings.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Previous Blog: https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2021/03/is-that-light-we-are-seeing.html

Is That a Light We Are Seeing?

Is that a light we are seeing at the end of the narrow COVID-19 tunnel; the light we have been anticipating since last March? I do believe it is! The end of the tunnel is getting closer. The problem is the end is still far away. Yet, the tunnel is no longer quite narrow. Due to the work of our incredible scientists, researchers, chemists, medical professionals, volunteers..., the tunnel is growing wider, allowing more light to shine through giving us a much needed sense of hope that we are getting closer to the end of the tunnel. If we do not continue to do the things we need to do to keep us safe, the tunnel will continue to widen, but the end will be no nearer.

The wider tunnel is an optical illusion giving us a somewhat mythical sense of security. I do not desire to use the term "false sense of security" because we are moving in the right direction safely in opening up society to what we consider normal. The issue is that we can very quickly and easily fall back to the high pandemic transmission levels especially with the new variants of Coronavirus if we let our guard down.

The big step taking place for all schools is with teachers and staff having received the 1st dose (and for some the 2nd dose) of the vaccine. Most everyone at St. Ann will receive the 2nd dose during the Spring Break.

The CDC just announced this morning that fully vaccinated adults can now gather without masks, but asks that we continue to follow COVID-19 protocol in social distancing, hand-washing, and wearing masks. To me, this is good news giving us another opportunity of hope that the light we are seeing at the end of the tunnel is real.

As for children under 12 years of age, there is no timeline for their vaccination. I just read an article in the NY Times about vaccinating children. The part that stood out with me is that "moving below 12 years of age will require a new study and potentially a modified formulation or dose schedule." A vaccine for children under 12 isn't going to happen for awhile. The current vaccines are considered safe for 16 and above. Trials are now taking place for children 12-15 years of age.

The next step for us is to see how well we can control the spread of COVID-19 during Spring Break. Even though our numbers have been declining, will we see another spike with people gathering as they did during Thanksgiving and Christmas? Will we let down our guard and push COVID-19 protocol aside? The answers totally depend on us and our behavior during Spring Break. It is in our hands.

I am fully confident we at St. Ann will remain a safe haven for students, see the vaccination process through for our staff, follow all protocol set by the CDC and our own COVID-19 task force, and continue to see our virtual students return. With only 5% of our students on virtual learning, this is a great sign we are doing the right thing.

As we move forward, the parents of our virtual students are feeling better about their child(ren) returning to school in-person. Last week, we had two students return with two more returning after Spring Break. There are several others weighing the return to the in-person school option. And, I'm looking forward to the day virtual learning comes to an end and we have all our students attending school in-person.

Children aren't meant to sit at home learning in front of a computer. They need the interaction that comes from being with their classmates all day long. Educationally, they might do okay through virtual learning, but virtual learning doesn't help the social, emotional, or physical development of a child. Unfortunately, virtual learning is the only option many children have been afforded. Now that the tunnel is wider with more light shining through, attending school in-person is an option and a very good option at that.

As we head into Spring Break, let's enjoy the family time together and the warming weather while being mindful that we are still in the tunnel.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Only 4-Months Left

There are only 4-months left of this epic school year; the year of the Coronavirus. In a month and a half, we will reach the one-year anniversary of the March 16th switch to virtual learning for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. On this year's first anniversary, I hope to be enjoying Spring Break 2021 since Spring Break 2020 was pretty much non-existent. That break was spent preparing for virtual learning. For me, March 16th is a day to be remembered like 9/11. Unlike 9/11, March 16th has many positives to go along with it like our staff successfully implementing virtual learning; something we had no idea how to do five days before then.

Since the start of the pandemic, the world has experienced 2.23 million COVID-19 deaths. The United States has had 439K deaths. I, like everyone else, have lost friends and loved ones during this pandemic. Many families that have lost a loved one recently are having to wait up to a week or so to even meet with funeral home directors to plan a funeral.

I heard this simile today. "Life is like a fog, it appears, quickly dissipates and goes away." What a terrible, yet so accurate way of describing our lives on earth. I want to be more than a fog, at least to myself and my family anyway. That's why I love to wake early and get to work each day because even though my life, like the fog, will quickly dissipate and go away, I want to make a positive difference (too much negative out there already) while I'm still here. If I can first make a positive difference in my own life, maybe that will rub off on others, and help make the lives of those around me just a little bit better. As St. Teresa of Calcutta once said, "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

During this pandemic, depression and anxiety have run rampant throughout the world. We have seen it at St. Ann with the students, but mainly when the school year started back in August. With the staff, the anxiety was present just before March 16th during the conversion from live to virtual learning. Since then, things have gotten better and the school year has been running smoothly with a few speed bumps along the way to slow things down. Anxiety still exists, but at a much lower level. I feel this is the case because our students and staff are present and our education has been live. For the few who are online, their education has been extremely individualized because of the work of our three online teachers. This has greatly reduced anxiety and increased learning levels.

We have learned many lessons along the way. A number of the changes we have made will be permanent changes simply because they are better. During this time, I have learned more than ever before about education, and it appears our teachers have learned how to educate our students in better ways. With the implementation of a new Math and Language Arts curriculum and the great work of our teachers with the students, we have seen tremendous results in the winter easyCBM scores. The improvements we have seen especially in math are incredible. There was an increase, with some very substantial increases, in both math assessments for all grades Kinder-8th! Just a reminder that math was the hardest hit subject during virtual learning.

With the new strain of COVID-19 approaching and expected to hit us in March (I'm starting to dislike March), and the lack of vaccines available, we will continue with all the current precautions in place.  This isn't the time to let up, but instead to reinforce procedures to keep everyone safe.

There are a lot of things happening in our world. It is up to us to decide if those happenings are negative or positive. I think you know me well enough by now to know that I'm going to put on my rose-colored glasses and look for all the good that I can. Bad things happen and tragedies occur. That's part of life. They aren't fun, but we have to deal with them. Longfellow once wrote, "Into each life some rain must fall." I'm glad I like the rain.

Let us find the positives in our lives and enjoy the fog while it is here.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School