If you have not already done so, please register for 2021-2022 Religious Education. Students in grades K – 12 are asked to register.
www.holysaintsmn.org
The first class will be held at the Holy Cross school on Wednesday, October 6th. It will be “Week 1” on the schedule. The schedule can also be found on the website holysaintsmn.org.
Tom Coughlin’s new playbook
Tom Coughlin is the two-time Super Bowl-winning head coach with the New York Giants. He also coached the Jacksonville Jaguars, as well as the Boston College Eagles.
But Coughlin is not on the sidelines this fall. He’s at the bedside of his beloved wife, Judy. A year ago, Judy was diagnosed with a progressive brain disorder that has left her unable to walk, speak, think and control her body. Judy’s condition is incurable; it has taken her memory and her ability to express emotions.
In a heart-breaking essay in The New York Times [August 24, 2021], Coughlin writes candidly about taking on the role of caregiver:
“The first year I was home was frustrating. Judy had always taken care of everything at the house, and I had always thrived on the structure of football. That was gone, and I was lousy at my new job. I would constantly tell myself, I shouldn’t be here. But now, even though I am still lousy at being at home, I know there is no other place I could ever be . . .
“When Judy is having a good day, then my day is good. But then there are dark days — those days that are so full of frustration and anger, they have me feeling like a failure and pondering the unfairness of the disease. I’ve spent my entire life preparing for some of the biggest games a person could play, but nothing can prepare you to be a caregiver who has to watch a loved one slip away.
“I am not seeking sympathy. It’s the last thing I want. It’s the last thing that most caregivers want. Taking care of Judy is a promise I made 54 years ago when she was crazy enough to say I do. I do want the players I coached in college and in the N.F.L. who thought all my crazy ideas about discipline, commitment and accountability ended when they left the field to know that is not the case. The truth is that this is when those qualities matter most. A friend said we don’t get to choose our sunset, and that’s true, but I am so blessed to get to hold Judy’s hand through hers . . . ”
Tom and Judy Coughlin’s experience resonates with every married couple who has journeyed together through the unexpected and the challenging, who have seen some of their dreams realized and some expectations dashed. The only constant is the faithfulness of two hearts that have been joined by God into a single heart that loves, that lifts up, that mends and heals. That’s the mystery and wonder of the marriage covenant. Marriage demands not perfection but commitment; it requires the hard work of patience, understanding and humility. In every stage of a couple’s life, a marriage centered in the love of God always moves beyond “hardness of heart” to embracing God’s spirit of generosity and selflessness. In such a marriage, Christ is the ever-present Wedding Guest who makes a couple’s simple, everyday life together a miraculous sacrament in which the love of God is revealed to all.
Dave & Brook made a video of them praying the Stations of the Cross. Please click on the link to pray along with them!