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Dear Friends in Christ,

In April of last year, and then again in October, I was a guest here in Rome - first, to begin the campaign to plan and finance the expansion of the school, then in October, to break ground for the new school. And today, after what must be for you a short, but amazing year, I am here again, to assist Father Miceli, and to join with you, the Faithful, as we bless and dedicate the new addition to St. Mary's Catholic School.

But my visits here have been solely as a witness - as one, who on the part of the rest of the Church - for we are one, and we are one Church - as one who has come to see the great things that have been brought about, by the people - the families, the parents and professionals of the school, the children - and all under the watchful eye of Father Miceli. I am one called to witness, what you have done for the Lord, and what the Lord has done for you. And I have no doubt, as His bishop and servant, that you have done a great thing, and that the Lord will now return to you, a hundred times over, every ounce of sacrifice, every ounce of dedication, that you have spent, to make this day happen.

Today, we will try to put it all in context - we are like a family, gathered around the table - we take out the photo albums, and by looking, by thinking about the past, by seeing where our family began, how it grew and prospered, how it faced challenges and overcame them - by considering together, the context of our family, our church, our school, we remember that we always work in cooperation with God - for nothing we have remains, nothing we do endures, unless the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are at the center of our lives - for in them, we have not many, but one life, lived for the sake of all. St. Paul spells it out, saying:

Like a wise master builder, I have laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.

These words, many centuries old, still sound clearly, and explain the photo album in our hearts - the recollections of how this all began. For the work we bless today, has its foundation in 1945, fifty-seven years ago. And over the years, God has provided many master-builders - their names are enshrined in the history of St. Mary's Parish, and in the history of Rome: - Grady, McCarthy, Connell, McDonough, Mulhern and Danneker, and yes, Miceli - all have contributed to St. Mary's School - to what she has been, to what she has become.

The journey was not without difficulty - the ebb and flow of human affairs reaches into the heart of its institutions, and this school, like this society, has known better and worse times. But again, those who have cared for the school, and embraced it within the family of St. Mary's Church, believed and acted upon those words of St. Paul - "there is no foundation but the Lord Jesus Christ." That belief, and the actions of those who care, have kept the school alive and open - and no matter what the storm or the darkness outside, hundreds upon hundreds of students have found the grace of education within her walls, and sallied forth from her portals to bring into our city and our society, the kind of character that can only be formed in a Catholic School, a school founded upon the love, and the fairness, and the ideals of Jesus Christ.

Protecting this legacy, and always there to help the pastors of our Church, have been the many teachers and school administrators - too many to name in a list, but still enshrined in the memories and hearts of those who have attended this school. And although pictures or plaques on the wall, are nice artifacts of our debt, any teacher will tell you, that it is how they are remembered - sometimes decades after their careers - how they are remembered by their pupils, which makes the sacrifice sweet, and which fills the later years, the years of looking back, with fulfillment and peace. This school is so blessed to have at its center, such memories, such devotion, between those who have come seeking knowledge, and those who have imparted it, freely and generously, building another part of that strong foundation which holds up this school - the anchor-stone of its blessed memories.

The priests and the teachers of St. Mary's have done what God called them to do, and it will be there, in the balance, when the time of their judgement comes. But there remains yet, one segment of this family to remember and to recognize, and it is not one that can be named with one name or classification - it cannot be described by tracing a single generation - and no individual stands out in relief more than any other. It is a part of this family which cannot be captured within the confines of any earthly image, any photograph, any artifact of remembrance.

It is, as closely as we can describe it, the presence of the Holy Spirit in and among those who love this school. It is found in the over 500 donors - parents and grandparents, alumni, friends of the school and local business people, who have reached in to do their part. It is seen in the evidence of small, yet integral things - the physical tasks undertaken to make the school so beautiful - the breezeway, the lawn and gardens, the stone benches and the school's marker, the renovated chapel, the lovely religious paintings, the stain glass - and even the stripping and staining of doors, so the final color would be, not just good enough, but exactly right. It is - as your Development Director says - "St. Mary's Catholic School…expressed through a tapestry of people's lives brought together to create a vision…and though changed on the outside, on the inside, where it counts, we are what we always have been…"

You are what you have been, that is true, and when you look out, you see always with the eyes of faith - a hundred years of living Catholicism in Rome, Georgia, proves it to be so. But how wonderful it is, how pleasing to see, with those eyes of faith, the beautiful changes you have brought about in this school - and how beautiful to see, the light in the eyes of your children, as they now will fill this school, with their laughter, with their learning, and with the faith you are giving them.

And there is our real treasure - there is the gift, above all gifts that God gives, that make our lives rich and full - the children - just as His greatest gift was also a child - His child - who grew up and took His place as our Savior, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We think sometimes, that from His beginnings, Jesus was set apart, shielded, and completely different from all other children. And certainly, in some ways this is true. And yet, we read in the Gospel, that when His mother and His foster-father discovered He was missing on the way home from the journey to Jerusalem, they were distraught with worry. And Mary asks Jesus, "Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." That one incident that we have from the youth of our Lord teaches us many things, but above all, it teaches us that mothers and fathers must have great anxiety for their children, for the world is a dangerous place, and easy place to become lost, and many children indeed, are lost.

But I am a witness, that here in Rome, in St. Mary's Parish, and in St. Mary's Catholic School, anxiety for children is not dismissed, but turned into something vigilant and protective - something that surrounds the children with a mantle of care and concern - something to sustain them - now, in their tenderness, and always, as they seek a way into the future - for that anxiety has been transformed into your love - and your love, united with God's, cannot fail them.

That, dear friends, is the context of what we bless and dedicate today - our love, united to God's. We are many generations, many individuals, many pages and photographs in that album of our lives - but the album is one - it holds us, it binds us all - it is the embrace of the Father that we feel in the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Mary's School is God's will. We have done it - we have made His will happen - and He is happy.

Now, we turn the page, for there are many pages left to fill, and we are not afraid to go forward. We know, as the prophet says, "The joy of the Lord is our strength."

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