By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily at the second annual All Schools Mass, part of the celebration of Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2024. The Mass was celebrated Jan. 31 at St. Mary Cathedral with student representatives of all the Catholic schools in the archdiocese in attendance.
Catholic schools are united in faith and community. Welcome to this celebration of Catholic Schools Week in the Archdiocese of Miami. Today happens to be the feast day of a great Catholic educator, St. John Bosco. He said once: I will give you the formula for sanctity, for holiness: first be happy, then study and pray and then do good to everyone. That’s good advice and it sounds a little like what St. Paul said in the first reading: “Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.”
To have faith is to see the world in a particular way. As Catholics we believe we receive the gift of faith in baptism — but it is a gift that must grow and develop. Too many people neglect to do that — they might have faith — but it might be a little blurry. That’s why we study religion in the classroom — for faith must seek understanding if it is to light up our path in life. Faith needs to grow in understanding — but also to have clear–sighted faith we need to grow in our relationship with the Lord.
That’s why — besides religion classes — we have times for prayer, for Mass, for retreats. Also, we make time for service projects. And that’s also why we have a code of conduct that as Catholic students we adhere to — on and off campus. That code of conduct is not just a bunch of silly rules that make life difficult. Rather our code of conduct, the way we interact with one another — your teachers, your fellow students, and those you come in contact with — is based on our faith — which as I said is a way of seeing the world and living in the world in a particular way. It is the way of Jesus who tells us to love God with our whole hearts, minds, and souls — and to love one another as he has loved us.
Loving in this way is like learning to speak a new language well or play a new sport. And so, academics and athletics can teach us something about how we are to live as faithful, and faith filled Catholic Christians. Both athletics and academics are meant to prepare you for life — you learn about commitment (you got to show up), perseverance (you got to keep up), sacrifice (you got to give of yourself), integrity (you got to be true to yourself).
And in both academics and athletics you learn another important lesson for life: “Cheating will get your nowhere good.”
Before you can speak a new language well, you have to learn the grammar. Grammar might seem to be all about rules and regulations. And to love like Jesus means learning the rules and regulations about self-control, purity of heart and mind, it is about learning how to deny oneself, to respect others, to serve instead of being served. And as you learn the grammar, you must practice, practice, practice…
It’s the same way in learning a new sport. For example, to become a good basketball player you cannot ignore the rules and regulations of basketball. In fact, knowing and keeping to the rules makes it easier, not harder, for you to play the game with excellence. In the same way, the Commandments, the rules and regulations of Christian living, give us the freedom to embrace a future of love.
Catholic Schools unite us in faith and community.
The goal of Catholic education —and what makes Catholic education “good news” —is the development of the whole person. And in pursuing this integral formation which aims to prepare our students for life —both this life and the life to come — we are convinced that all human values find their fulfillment and unity in Christ. It is in Christ that the fullness of truth concerning man and God is to be found.
How can anybody say that he or she is educating someone about the truth —and yet not to be able to speak about God? The history of these United States would be incomprehensible without acknowledging the role of Faith, the role of communities of faith, in its foundation as well as in its foundational documents. And yet, how well —and how fairly —is this topic addressed in our secular schools? How can anyone say that he or she is educating someone about the truth, if they cannot teach that we exist not only for this life —but also for the next? Not to know that we were created for eternity is to be as ignorant as not knowing how to multiply fractions. In Catholic schools we can and do teach both well.
