Stories for Holy Cross Educators
By Fr. Bruce Cecil, CSC

REFLECTION #1 – August 25, 2020

As chaplain, I preside at Mass, but also teach about church and history to sophomores at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, CA. The start of this school year – and the end of last school year – have been like no other in history, because of Covid-19. The pandemic has forced us to embrace “distance learning,” with teachers and students at home, using computers and the Internet for school. Despite the crisis, we are given important and powerful lessons from our Holy Cross tradition and from our founder, Blessed Fr. Basil Moreau. Fr. Moreau always trusted in God’s providence, no matter how difficult circumstances might seem in the moment. In the 1800s, France faced a pandemic of its own, not unlike what we are facing today. Fr. Moreau wisely urged students and teachers at Holy Cross schools to obey the orders of public health officials, in order to stay safe; but also, to pray and trust in God’s providence (God’s purposes, or plan, and God’s loving care and concern for us). We also are called to bring hope to the world through our trust in God’s providence, even when we feel like we are enmeshed in a dark “cloud of unknowing.” My students struggle with distance-learning – but they also are filled with hope and optimism, trusting that God will see us through. This inspires me greatly. I see their smiling, energetic, sometimes sleepy faces on Zoom each morning – but they are polite and courteous; they share their prayers and hopes for the future; they’ve introduced their pets to one another, and talked about their families and activities during the pandemic; they’ve created personalized Zoom backgrounds that show something about themselves and their aspirations. We are adapting to the new world of at-home learning. For example, their first project will be to bake a pizza for themselves and their families, but with toppings that represent unique aspects of a specific type of Christianity, whether Catholic or Orthodox, Baptist or Pentecostal. They get to choose both the type of Christianity and the toppings for their pizza, but also must do research beforehand! We’ve also mixed in a few short social justice lessons into class, by watching short clips from the ABC comedy, “Black-ish,” about racism, inequality, discrimination, etc. – and then, tying these into our school’s Holy Cross theme for the year, “Building Respect.” As best we can, we are working together as a Holy Cross family to educate our hearts and minds, amid the challenges facing our nation and our world. Please keep us in your prayers, as you also are in ours. I believe that all of us, as Holy Cross educators, can make a real difference in the world!