News of JHS Jesuits
Transitioning to a Promising, Thriving Future A MESSAGE FROM FR. PATRICK COUTURE, S.J., SUPERIOR OF CANISIUS JESUIT COMMUNITY, JESUIT HIGH SCHOOL
Dear Friends,
As for me, I have gone from figuring out how to teach a course I have never taught remotely before, to navigating in-person hybrid learning. There have been dropped Zoom meetings, faulty WiFi, an ice storm, and a few stern words I have threatened my computer with when it was not cooperating. And yet there were moments of laughter, virtual hangouts with friends and family, a lot of golf, and eventually socially-distanced gatherings outside on the residence patio. These moments have encouraged within me the persistent desire to remain hopeful that one day we’ll be together again and able to shake hands or hug, God willing, without a mask.
It has been an extraordinarily busy second semester, but right now I am enjoying the warm weather with my Mom and Dad who are fully vaccinated and whom I have not seen for many months. I am feeling an increasingly growing sense of gratitude for our Jesuit community and the ways in which we have safely returned to the classrooms, courts, fields, and stage. I always love the spring and summer seasons at Jesuit because the campus comes alive with warmer weather, longer days, and the promise of sunshine. I truly missed this during our remote learning last year. I watched the clouds of COVID and quarantine begin to part as students, teachers, and staff came back to campus this past semester. A growing sense of gratitude and hope has certainly blossomed.
Finally, we welcomed back the recently ordained Fr. Billy Biegler, S.J. In April of 2021, Fr. Biegler was temporarily missioned to Jesuit to help out two days a week. I think it is safe to say that the Jesuit High community is grateful for Fr. Biegler’s return to campus before he leaves Portland later this summer for his next mission at Loyola High School in Los Angeles.
As for the Canisius community at Jesuit High School, we remain small yet thriving. Fr. Bill and I have found ways to weather quarantine, especially since it has had a profound impact on our ministries. In March 2020, Fr. Bill’s work in parishes came to a halt. He quickly began to find ways in which to continue his ministry remotely with the Latino and Spanish-speaking Catholics who were engaged with the missionary catechism. Fr. Bill started having meetings via Zoom, socially distanced sacraments such as reconciliation, and taught himself how to make tutorial videos for the missionary catechists. It became rather common to see a sign on Fr. Bill’s door that simply read “Recording. Do not knock.” Now, in these latter months of the pandemic when people have been able to return to Mass, Fr. Bill has begun to help out parishes in Washington County once again, celebrating Masses and the sacraments with people and loving every minute of it.
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My friends, let us continue to pray for one another and for our community with hearts that remain hopeful for a future that begins to resemble our past. Let us also remain grateful and appreciative of the things, big and small, we have longed for in these many months and will never take for granted again. Peace,
Fr. Patrick Couture, S.J.
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