From Archbishop Donoghue
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50th Anniversary of St. Thomas More
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Dear Friends in Christ, In this evening's Gospel, for the 32nd Sunday of the year, we have heard a beautiful story, about our Lord teaching His disciples the value of true giving. And in order to express the nature of true giving, He contrasts the wealthy and proud Pharisees with a poor widow - He holds up their proud and showy giving of what they can afford to do without, with the humble, almost unnoticed gift of the widow, who gives what she cannot afford, but what she is moved to give, from the generosity of her heart. And it is in this gesture - of the woman who gives, not to show her wealth, but to show her concern, her generosity, and the love in her heart, that we learn from our Lord, how giving is meant to be. Tonight, in that special way by which the Gospel always seems to fit exactly with the occasion - tonight the Gospel reveals to us the real reason we are here, the real reason we are celebrating this 50th anniversary of St. Thomas More School. For even though we might point out the consistent excellence of this school, even though we might make much of the awards that have been received, of the many good and fruitful projects that have been undertaken and completed, even though we might with justifiable pride, catalogue a list of accomplishments of which any school in this area would be grateful to claim even half the length - these are not the true issues behind our celebration - these are not, acceptable as they might be to the Lord, the thing that makes Him most happy, and the thing that distinguishes the event of this anniversary. Rather, this is a celebration of giving - of what has been given, and of what remains to be given. No one, from the beginning of this schools existence, until the present day - no one ever looked to gain wealth, or power, or prestige by giving themselves to the service of St. Thomas More School. For this is not, nor can it ever be, the goal of those who would work in Catholic education. We are here as servants - we are here to be humble, and to put others first, especially the children who are brought into the world by devoted parents, and whom the Lord and His Church wishes us to cherish above all the wealth and good that the world can offer. And this has been the history of St. Thomas More School - the priests who have served here as pastors and assistants - the sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who made it happen, with such dedicated, day-in day-out labor - the teachers who joined them, out of a dedication which raises the word “job” to the level of vocation - the families and devoted parishioners who have always supported the school no matter the nature of the need or the depth of the challenge - all these together have constituted a wealth that cannot be gauged in terms of money or precious possessions – all of these have built a power for good that has never been tainted by greed or tyranny. All of these - all of you - have been the widow - perhaps not knowing where the next dollar for tuition might come from, perhaps not seeing how the energy to survive one more day of teaching could be summoned, perhaps not understanding how far the consequences of your giving might go - but giving nevertheless, giving again and again, and giving, knowing full well, that tomorrow will ask for more, and that more must be found. This is one half – one great half - of what we celebrate on this anniversary - and though we might like to detail further, the individual faces of all the givers, and a year by year description of the events and incidents of generosity that have kept the life-blood of this school pumping so strongly - it is not necessary to do this, neither to satisfy our own sense of accomplishment, nor to demonstrate to the Lord, how well we have done this part of His good work on earth. No, dear friends, to summon up the totality of this giving that has gone on now for 50 years, here in the heart of Decatur, and in the heart of this parish, we have but to think of the faces of the children - the children we remember, the children we were, the children we have borne and who surround us now, and the faces of the children we have not yet seen, but who we know, will be coming here, as in the past, to find the truth, to find goodness, to find the Lord, and all the treasures which flow from His Sacred Heart, all the treasures which make life worth the living, worth the sacrifice, worth all the pain and struggle, and worth all the patience and strength that will be brought to the future, as it has been, to the past. And what is the other great half of our celebration on this anniversary? It is the half of what is to be given, again and again without ceasing, until the day of Judgement arrives – it is what the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews describes – that Christ was offered up once to take away the sins of many; he will appear a second time…to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him. We are half of the celebration, but a half that cannot stand alone - Christ is the half which is life – life which embraces us and makes us live in the whole. Christ is the spirit of the widow’s heart, which gives, not from an excess of wealth, but gives all there is to give. His love is total, and His love totally sustains us. And so, as the final word on our celebration of this 50th anniversary of the school we love, let that word be forever, one of thanksgiving, to the Lord, and to the loving Providence of the Father, which comes to us through Jesus Christ, and which has made us live, and will give us life in the future. For Christ, as Scripture says, “has entered heaven itself, that he might appear before God, on our behalf.” May the Lord be praised forevermore, for what He has done, and for what He will do. + |