MRA to Pray for Future of LaSalette Shrine

October 8th, 2014

And now we're off! October customarily marks the beginning of recurring schedule irregularities. I thank you in advance for all of your sacrifice and patience. There is a lot of action at MRA right now, both within and beyond the classroom. However, I have always found that the opportunities we take to come together as a school community only increase the bonds between us. I just want to highlight a couple of events and reflections.

Last Friday all of the full time faculty members attended the annual diocesan Teacher Formation Day. No faculty member left feeling confused or deflated! Instead, the general consensus was, "We should do this every year!" There was morning prayer, Mass, and then two talks. We learned about the effects of trauma on children and their emotional development, and we also listened to a parent's journey through Catholic education. The parent sadly shared his experience with the closing of Villa Augustina, the second independent school in New Hampshire to be officially recognized by the diocese (MRA was the first). The day was certainly a reminder of how blessed we are to share such a dynamic and thriving school community.

Yesterday we made perhaps our last annual pilgrimage to LaSalette Shrine in Enfield. I want to extend a special thank you to all of the parents who drove or attended. As many of you know, the shrine will be closing within a year. It just happened that on Monday the school received a donated statue of Our Lady of LaSalette. The statue will be touring the classrooms throughout the school year. Each classroom will pray for the future of the shrine.

And finally, I just want to clue all of you in on a very critical event taking place in the universal Church. A synod - which is not as big as an ecumenical council, but still a large scale meeting of Church leaders, both religious and lay - on the family is currently ongoing in Rome. We are certainly suffering from a culture crisis, and since the family is the fundamental cell of society - so too a crisis of the family. I like to think that there are no coincidences, only God-incidences. Last week we learned about the effect of trauma on children. Sr. Mary Agnes talked about the wounds of trauma and what needs to be done in order to bring about true inner healing. Thus, my hope is that MRA can continue to be both an instrument of healing in the lives of children, but more importantly, I pray that together - all of our families can be an authentic witness to the world, exemplifying the beauty of family love. If our families are magnetic, then we can help reverse the tide and bring others into the 'hypnotic' (Bishop Peter's adjective!) love of Jesus' Sacred Heart.

Yours Truly in Christ,
Derek Tremblay