Since March 17th, we have been receiving notes and messages from our students, parents, and friends. Here are selections from them that we are glad to share with you.

“A “Hail Mary” every night for the sickness outside and the Mothers who have moved away.”
From a 4 -year -old child

“Dear Mother,
School at home is very long. I am a little sad. (the original text of the child with many mistakes).”
From a 2nd-3rd grader

“Thank you so muchas well, for the youtube livestream (of the Office of Tenebrae). It is a great grace for us to be able to assist at Mass and the Offices in this way.”
(Offices of Tenebrae: over 5,000 views!)
Parents, students and alumnae

“Do you think that even with this coronavirus we will be able to make our Solemn Communion?”
From a 6th grader

“It will be the first year without having Mass at Easter, it will be strange. But we will be united in prayer to all the Masses around the world even though there will be fewer of them.”
An eighth grader

“I never thought working alone at home would be so hard. Finally I’m starting to see my work a little more clearly. Now I understand how useful school is!”
An eighth grade student

“While waiting to see you again, I wish you, Mother, a good continuation of…the corona- vacation…”
From a 9th grader

“I miss school very much, but above all, I have the impression that the weeks are meaningless without Mass.”
From a 10th grader

“Don’t worry, in spite of the confinement,. I’m working to the maximum and trying to catch up. Mom has made me a strict schedule so I don’t lose a minute! I thank you for correcting the few exercises that I am transmitting to you, hoping that you are doing well and that you will not be affected by the virus!”
A student in 10th grade

“I think it is the worst thing in the life of a Catholic to be deprived of Holy Mass. And I am immensely grateful for how lucky I am to be able to go to Mass at school every day.”
A student in 11th grade

“I believe that the Good Lord unites us more than ever to His Cross in these difficult times.”
A student in 11th grade

“It’s not easy to have class without a teacher!”
A student in 12th grade

“I confess that I miss Mass as much as I imagine everyone else does. But for those of us who have been used to attending it every morning, there is a great emptiness not to have it anymore. But Godis watching over us and will not leave us in this situation forever!”
A student in 12th grade

“It’s already been two weeks since we haven’t been able to have the sacraments. In these exceptional circumstances, we realize even more how lucky we are to be with you throughout the year and especially to have access to the sacraments every day. We are looking forward to living our normal lives again because staying in the house is not so pleasant… We are lucky to have the sun that accompanies us every day and ,of course, prayer as well , which allows us to continue despite being prevented from being with you. It is the only way we can keep up our courage. We thank you for your continuous support, for your well-prepared work, and for your daily prayers. ”
A 12th grade student and her little sister from 7th grade

“This graceful chickadee reminded me of your tireless energy to nourish the souls and minds of our children. The extreme rigour of this Lent, which deprives us of the sacraments, makes us measure even more the spiritual radiance of your schools. ”
A mother of students

“Mother,
I’m writing you this little note in the hope that you’re doing well during these Easter celebrations. It was the first time that we were not on retreat at school this year… For ten years we have shared in the silence of prayer and of interior enlightening during these Holy Week services. Nourished by the many beauties which refreshed us in your houses, we were able, in all modesty, to continue this transmission. Thus, we chanted Tenebrae, each of the fifteen candles going out one after the other at the end of each psalm. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” having resounded so much in your chapel, it sounded almost nostalgic to us in our home…But for all these ceremonies, we had to prepare a small oratory with dignity so that Our Lady could be beautiful and all adorned with flowers of the field…autumn crocus, daisies and small dandelions gave her the most charming adornment, while around the cross were intermingled branches of cherry trees and hazel buds. At last we could honour Our Lord in these three days at the foot of our oratory-chapel-altar of repose! And what a joy to feel in X. and X. all these Christian splendours which are molded in them when they are with you.
I’ll never stop thanking you for that. ”
A mother of students

“We would like to thank you all for having put in place everything necessary to ensure that the training of our daughters continues without interruption.
Thank you also for your prayers which support us well in this arid period without sacraments: we now measure even more their value and necessity. Even if the two kilometers that separate us are now an almost impassable Everest, we remain united with you in prayer and gratitude.
We wish you a very happy Easter.”
Parents of students

“The stay-at-home order persists and you are still irreplaceable! In addition to your talents as teachers (which I really don’t have!), it is now, in this strange Holy Week, your spiritual benevolence that we lack.
Our young ladies are sad to live these holy days without the prayerful atmosphere of the school.
They realize how much you guide them on the way to Calvary and how much their souls are enlightened by your care.
In spite of everything, we try to live this week as piously as possible. Our open church allows us times of Adoration or veneration of relics. We are fortunate to have seven thorns from the crown of Christ which in this forced time of “Eucharistic fast” seems to us a real treasure to venerate.
Certainly it is possible to experience a multitude of services by video but I find it difficult to get used to it. We have rightly kept screens away from our children and strangely enough they become useful for their devotions !! How contradictory. But this outbreak is worrisome in every way. The panic fear of contagion makes us fear our fellow man and the shopping cart becomes our only goal.
However, there is an advantage to this very painful “confinement”: our house is materially perfectly maintained!! To occupy the boys, the work of gardening and painting the shutters is perfect, while our young ladies take care of the housework. Thus our house is gleaming and our garden a model of horticultural perfection. My fear is to run out of “construction sites” if this confinement lasts!
Dear Mothers, receive all our sympathy. Be assured of our prayers and rest assured that you are in our hearts. We are all eager to get back to school!
So “see you soon”!”
A mother of students and former students

“Dearest mother,
I still have one stamp left, it’s for you and J’s work. All of us here hope that the Community and Father are doing well.
Here we start the day as a family with the rosary at 8:30 a.m., then class for the youngest ones and private lessons for J. in her room. It’s a bit like a “little house on the prairie” without the pastor…
In the visible realm, God helps us greatly with good weather… This “Lent” for everyone is astonishing, isn’t it? An evil for a greater good! Is France on her way to Damascus, as in the prayer of Saint Pius X? To what Easter beauty is God inviting us?
Holy Lent with the daisies and the birds ”
A mother of students, March 2020

“Dearest Mother,
What a strange Easter Sunday! Here, no bells peeling, no Easter vigil nor Easter fire, no Mass nor family gathering…. Instead of a celebration, a meditation in front of a screen which serves as a place of worship. A small makeshift oratory, a few candles, some dusted statues for the occasion and our prayer book which more than ever has united us to the prayer of the Church.
And yet, intimate happiness ignores all circumstances. A glorious” Alleluia” rises from our hearts to celebrate the Risen One. And we are inundated with this profound joy, a little secret, and all spiritual!
This feast of Easter, dearest Mother, it is with you that we, your former pupils, have prepared it. And the reactions of one and all, on discovering your email, were so touching and spontaneous. One soul, one heart in the Holy Name of Jesus! Thank you, dear Mother, thank you for allowing us to follow Tenebrae with you. This decision has transfigured the Holy Week of many, I can tell you! Thank you!”
A former student, April 12, 2020