From Archbishop Donoghue

Dear Friends in Christ, and especially, my dear boys and girls studying here at St. JosephÕs School,

I know everyone is worried about all the trouble that is going on in the world, and especially about the war in Iraq. You may even know some of the soldiers who have gone over there to fight in this war. And probably you have heard your parents and their friends talking about whether what we are doing is right or wrong. Maybe you have even been talking about this among yourselves, because it is always important for us to talk about whether things are right or wrong. It is the way, most of the time, that we figure out what to do and what not to do.

But whether or not we are doing the right or the wrong thing, we must all say prayers for the men and women who have gone over to Iraq, to fight in this war. It takes real courage to do that. It is true, that these soldiers train and prepare for everything they are going to be asked to do, and there is no substitute for being prepared, and for being educated about the job you have to do. But no matter how much you know about the things you have to do, no matter how good you are at the skills you have learned, there is still that simple human emotion that comes into play when you actually face the challenge Ð and that emotion is fear. Everyone becomes afraid when they have to face something that is unknown Ð everyone becomes afraid when they have to face the possibility that they might be hurt, or that they might even die. It is never easy to be brought face to face with these truths. But our soldiers are brave, and they will try to do what they need to do, even if they are afraid. That is what we call courage, and courage comes from believing in what you are doing, in believing that it will accomplish something good.

People who believe in Jesus Christ, like Catholics, have to have courage as well, because it has never been easy to be Christian. Many times, other people will laugh at what you believe because you are a Christian Ð they will not accept the way you believe, or the way you act. And it takes courage to stand up to them, and to say, ÒI donÕt care hoe you act, or how you want me to act Ð I am going to act the way I know that Jesus would want me to act, because I know that is the right way, and that is what I believe in doing.

And sometimes Ð and this is even harder Ð there is a voice inside us that tries to get us to do something that is wrong, something that we know or feel is wrong. It happens to all of us Ð that little voice that says, Oh, go ahead and do what you want to do Ð no one really cares, no one is watching, no one will know what you did Ð donÕt worry, you will get away with it.Ó But you know, and I know that just isnÕt true. It may be that you do something wrong and no ordinary person sees you do it. But God sees you do it Ð Jesus sees you Ð because they see everything. And so when you are thinking about doing something that isnÕt right, and you are thinking that you will get away with it, you have to remember that God is watching, and that you donÕt want to disappoint Him. You have to be courageous with yourself, you have to be brave with yourself ,and say, ÒNo Ð I am not going to do anything wrong, because I am a friend of Jesus, and I want to be the way He was, and I want to be the way He wants me to be.Ó That takes real courage, but in the end, it really pays off.

The Gospel this morning told us about how brave a man Jesus actually was. Everywhere He went, He had enemies Ð and they werenÕt just trying to keep Him quiet Ð they were actually trying to kill Him. Did He go off and hide in a cave Ð did He take His mother and friends, and leave the country Ð did He react in anger, and simply kill off all His enemies? No. Our Lord did the right thing Ð He trusted God, His Father, and went right on doing what He knew was right, and what He knew His Father wanted Him to do. He stood up, right in the middle of the Temple in Jerusalem, before thousands of people, and said for all to hear:

You know who I am Ð you know where I come from Ð I was sent by the One who is true Ð and He sent me to tell you the truth.

It took a lot of courage to do that Ð and it would take lot more courage to face what the Lord had to face next Ð for eventually His enemies did track Him down, they told lies to the authorities about Him, and ultimately, He was tried and condemned, and put to death.

But you know, the courage of God in Jesus Christ never died Ð and it was so strong, the truth in Him was so strong so mighty, that three days after He died, He rose from the dead, and that is what we celebrate on Easter Sunday.

But we celebrate even more that His rising from the dead Ð we celebrate the fact that our Lord has given us a part of His courage too. When we were baptized, when we are confirmed, and especially, every time we go to Mass and receive His Body and Blood at Communion, we also receive a part of His tremendous courage. That doesnÕt necessarily make things easy for us Ð but it does give us the help we need to face down what is wrong, to have the courage to keep being like our Lord Jesus, the courage to keep on being good.

That is the lesson we are supposed to learn from todayÕs Mass, and from the readings we have heard Ð we are to be courageous, to be brave, to be children of the light, children of the Truth, and to remain good. Because God only loves what is good.

Before I stop, I also want to tell you how good I know you are already being Ð and I mean everyone involved with St. JosephÕs Parish and School Ð from your pastor and priests and deacons, right on down to your teachers, your parents, and especially you. Right now, there are big changes going on here Ð and not to far off in the future, you will have new facilities, a new gymnasium, new classrooms, and who knows what else. I hope while you are waiting for this all to come about, you will keep praying, praying that God will continue to bless what is going on here in this parish, that God will bless your teachers and all the people working to make this a great school, and that God will bless your parents, who are doing everything they can for you, because God gave you to them, and they love you.

You keep on praying for all those people, and I will keep on praying for you. And that way, we can be sure that God will spread His blessing among us, so that everybody gets a good share. Thank you for inviting me to be here today, and I will look forward to seeing you all again.

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