As we approach Thanksgiving, there is much for which we are thankful, but our ultimate appreciation should be for Christ’s saving grace. 

This year, a year in which the unexpected has become expected, quarantine has locked up everyone for months upon end and horrible things worldwide seem to be happening left and right, has become somewhat of an icon in and of itself. 

While Covid-19 likely will still through most if not all of 2021 and the inevitable bad will happen, 2020 has become a year in a league of its own. And yet as Thanksgiving nears, there is still much to be thankful for as a Cathedral family. The opportunity to come back to school is a large part of a lot of what has been good about the past year when one is looking on the positive side.

The first part of the year took away the latter half of many seniors’ final school experiences, namely athletics. Whole seasons didn’t even start, and those who were fortunate got a few games and practices in. And so while teams have still had struggles here and there, State championships are being played, proving many wrong that we did get sports at Cathedral and in Indiana so far.

A significant part of the Cathedral experience is athletics, as more than 80% of students are involved in a sport. The ability to play and compete at high levels has been a blessing many schools have not been able to do, some in Indiana, and many in other states.

Even with quarantine taking out stretches of teams’ competitive seasons, the Fighting Irish are still standing and competing every weekend, with football still playing and winter sports getting ready to begin. With a blessing in the form of opportunity, as always, the Irish have been taking the advantage.

Masses and gatherings have long been a critical part of the Cathedral family coming together. Seniors last year missed many closing experiences in the form of Masses and school assemblies, so being able to start the year with different gatherings to welcome freshmen, promote school spirit with the school’s first female leprechaun and participate in Mass has been more than expected.

Despite needing to be outside, the amazing Cathedral staff, faculty and student planning groups have and continue to do a phenomenal job with turf field assemblies. The coordination that the school has had this year as a body, evidenced by Homecoming week, would make one think that nothing has changed. The hard working leadership of many has enabled the year to be as exciting as possible, an aspect of the year that all can be thankful for.

Inclusivity has been a huge part of the Cathedral scope, and with a pandemic taking away many people’s comfort to feel safe putting themselves or their family at risk, the age we live in is enough to be thankful for.

Years ago, a pandemic of this level would have shut down schools as nobody would be able to participate from home. Thanks to increased coordination and technological advantages, our school has been able to include not only in person but at-home students who have chosen to do so for a variety of reasons, with many staying home for classes so they have a better chance to practice and play sports. 

A year in which some students have to stay home, reasonably so, and therefore could not learn with their peers who have the ability to attend school, would be an education developmental mess. Thirty years before, everyone likely would have halted the thought of school due to the differences it would cause it leaning among peers. Cathedral hasn’t only been blessed to continue educating its students, but it has been able to do so providing the same top of the line teaching that it has become known for.

As we near Thanksgiving, we can also remember the parts of life unaffected by Covid-19 that still are blessings, and that we might take for granted. In a world where sin inflicts poverty, deceit and more, the opportunity, or gift, Christ calls us to accept is the ultimate thing we should be thankful for. 

The gift of salvation is something that can impact a life unlike any education, vehicle, device, or anything tangible in this world that can be received. To go through the day thanking God for passing one’s math test is the right attitude, but there is the idea of never forgetting the offer Christ gave to us when he died on the cross that is magnitudes more important.

The chance to come together as a Cathedral family, whether in person or at home, and share in the joy and thankfulness of Christ’s saving grace every day, whether through Mass or through honoring His word, is what makes it all the more sweeter.