Chairman

As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we have much to think and pray about. There has been a lot of talk about the long-term effects of this crisis on our economy, society, and the Church.

As I write this column in early April, the COVID-19 pandemic looms front and center in all of our lives. While I cannot know what the state of affairs will be when this is published, I am compelled to begin here.

It is a longstanding tradition of the Church to dedicate the month of March in honor of St. Joseph. This makes sense since the Solemnity of St. Joseph is celebrated on March 19. As I prepared to write this article for the March issue, it became evident that my topic should be St. Joseph. Let me explain.

Sometimes all we need is the encouragement of just one person … for someone else to believe in us, to give us the confidence and motivation to believe in ourselves.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph are certainly the three people most central to salvation history. Jesus, of course, as the second person of the Trinity is not only man, but is God. Mary, who is the Mother of God, has long been venerated as the Queen of the Angles and Saints; and St. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, among many other titles, is honored as the Patron of the Universal Church.

It is of course the mission of our Catholic schools to provide an environment where the truths of the Church (along with the array of other academic disciplines) are faithfully taught to the next generation. Thus we see a very practical means of our promoting the studying and spreading of our Catholic faith.

Far be it for me to talk about people’s spiritual lives. I am not a theologian and I am much too imperfect myself to be preaching. However, it has always seemed amazing to me that we (or at least I) hear very little about sanctifying grace.

As I have shared in past columns, I enjoy reading books. Every now and then, I come across a special one. Recently, I came across such a book.

It struck me that in a sense Lent is the spiritual equivalent of the State of the Union address for each of us and the state of our soul.

So what is Tres Magna? This is Latin for Big Three. Some of you will remember in March 2017 my column was entitled The Big 3 of the Spiritual Life, and I challenged you at that time to attend daily Mass, pray the rosary every day, and go to Confession monthly

Most Catholics are familiar with Our Lady of Fatima, have seen this image, and know that these apparitions have been approved by the Church. However, somewhat less well known is that when Mary appeared to the children, she asked them (and us) to do several specific things, and she promised if we (Catholics) observed her requests, there would be peace in the world.