Christ Our Protector

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6 

For most adults, September 11, 2001, will forever be etched in our memory. For my husband and I, it began like any other Tuesday. We were getting ready to bring our preschool daughters to Little Saints. I was in the shower when my husband came in screaming that a commercial plane had hit one of the towers.  A few minutes later, we both watched in horror as the second plane hit. Our minds raced. Should we take the kids to school? Should we keep them at home? We both agreed normalcy would be better. After dropping the girls off at Little Saints, we headed into the sanctuary. So many people were inside praying. As soon as we emerged, we heard about the crash of United 93 in Shanksville, PA. Our anxiety level was high. We grabbed the girls, headed home, and started calling family members on the east coast to make sure they were OK. I recall the first Sunday following 9/11.  In 41 years as a parishioner at my former church, I have never seen the pews so crowded, not even at Christmas or Easter. It was clear that we were hungry for Christ. We needed Him to guide us through this tragedy. We had so many questions. We needed answers. 

Fast forward nineteen years to March 2020. No visible enemy. No flames and destruction. A tiny microscopic virus had brought the entire world to its knees. I will never forget the image of the Holy Father holding the monstrance in a dark, empty, rainy St. Peter’s Square. He was blessing a suffering world with the light of Christ. Christ, the Alpha, the Omega, the one who is and who is to come is our beacon in the darkness of the pandemic. Christ is the answer.   

Parents have asked me as we tour our beautiful campus about our safety infrastructure and protocols.  Safety is my top priority. We cannot engage in effective teaching and learning unless students, teachers, and parents feel safe. Please be assured that we have built in the latest infrastructure, technology, configurations, and protocols to ensure a safe learning environment for our students, faculty, and staff. We will have a security resource officer on campus and, most importantly, we will train our faculty and staff on a regular basis. Marking the 22nd anniversary of 9/11 this week, let us remember that Christ is our best protection against all evil. He is the only answer.  

May the Lord richly bless you in the week ahead. 

 Yours in Christ, 

Shana Druffner