From Archbishop Donoghue

School Mass
April 27, 2001
St. Mary’s School, Rome
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Dear Friends in Christ,

Today is a very important day in the history and the life of St. Mary's Parish here in Rome Georgia, and especially for St. Mary's Catholic School.

It is important in history, because even as we look ahead and start a project which will make the school better than it has ever been, we still think back on the long history of St. Mary's, and all that has been done up to this point top make it a great school, and a place of great meaning for all the families who have ever been involved with it.

Fifty-six years is a long time, as long as many people live, and longer than most people here probably can remember. And 1946, when all this started is a year that most of us mention now, only when we are reading a history book, or celebrating the birthday or anniversary of someone older - our grand-parents, for instance. But for God, fifty-six years is nothing at all - it is for Him, just the twinkling of an eye, for in His eye, He can already see from the very beginning of all time, to the very end. But this doesn't mean that what we do with our time is not important to God - for even as He sees all the minutes and hours and days and weeks and years as one thing, He still looks down from Heaven and notices every act we perform, every word that we say, and every thought that comes into our minds. And if these thoughts and words and deeds are good, then He loves us, for good is what He wants us to do. As we think back today, none of us can completely remember all the good things that have been done by the teachers and parents and children who have ever been involved with St. Mary's School - but God knows every moment of this school's life, and He knows every good thing that has ever been done here. And that is why I believe, and I want you to believe with me, that He is completely in favor of what we are beginning today, our project to make this school bigger and better. If God did not approve, then I think that He would have taken His life out of this school, and it would have fallen by the wayside, and instead of a living memory, it would be just something mentioned in the history books - something that was once upon a time in Floyd County of Georgia, but didn’t last, disappeared, and was seen no more.

Instead, not only do we have the memories of all the good things that have happened before - but now we also have dreams and visions and hopes about what will be coming true - the building of the third St. Mary's School. We won’t forget the first and second schools – we will make their memory a part of this new one, the one we will now build, for the good of even more students, and for the greater glory of God, whose Spirit will make this new school come to be.

For all this to happen - for the money to be collected, for the plans to be drawn up, for all the professional workers and builders to be found, and the student roster to grow, and new teachers to be brought on board - for all this to happen, we must begin first, by putting all our hopes into the hands of God.

Remember in the Gospel this morning - Jesus heard His disciples arguing when they were going back home to his house in Capernaum, after one of their long journeys. He already knew what hey were arguing about, but He also wanted to teach them a lesson about fighting among themselves - and so Jesus asked them - "What were you arguing about." But they were ashamed, because they had been fighting about which one of them was the most important, the most talented, the most likely to succeed. And so, they lowered their eyes, and they would not answer Him.

So He called a youngster to His side, and He put His arms around the child, and He said to them: "If you want to be great, in my eyes, and in the eyes of God, then you must learn to serve one another. And even before you take care of your own needs, you must take care of those who need your care the most, like this young child. And if you do these things - if you take care of those who need you the most, and if you take care of one another, then you will be not only my friend, but you will be the friend of the One who sent me, God, who is our Father in Heaven.

Many times, people have grand ideas about what they want to do for the community, what they want to build, or how they are going to raise a lot of money to do all these good things they have thought up - but what happens is that they end up disagreeing and quarreling and fighting, because one thinks that what he wants is the most important, and another thinks that no, what he wants is better, and what happens so often, is that the good ideas, the good motives collapse, and nothing gets done.

That is why today, before everything else to do with the building of this new school - before the money is gathered, the plans are drawn, and the work is actually started - before all these things which might cause trouble, we have come together at this Mass to do the two most important things we can do before we start all the rest.

First, to trust God - to trust what we already know about how He loves this school, and how He has cared for it over the fifty-six years since it began, and to pray to Him, to help us realize our plans, to help us collect all the money, and to watch over all the people who will be involved in getting the project off the ground. In the first reading, we heard about the great prophet Jeremiah, who was scared when God called him, and told him he was to be a great teacher and prophet. And Jeremiah, just a boy, said, "Lord, how am I going to do all this? I am afraid." But God said, "Do not be afraid, for I will tell you what to say, what to do, and I will keep you safe so that you will make happen, what I want to happen."

Today, all of us, boys and girls, parents and teachers, and all friends of this school, and me, your bishop - all of us dedicate our hopes and dreams to God in Heaven, and we put all our trust in Him. He has shown before how much He loves us by how much He has already given us, and we believe from the bottom of our hearts, that He will do it again, and that this school will be built, and that in all that will happen here, in the hearts of all the students who will go to school here, and the teachers who will teach them, and the parents who will love them, God's glory will be shown at St. Mary's in the future, just as it has been shown in the past.

And the second thing we do today, in order to help God's plans for us to become reality, is to promise, each and every one of us, no matter how important or unimportant we might think we are in the overall plans - to promise to remember what Christ told us about serving one another, and to always remember the good advice of St. Paul, about how to start any project, when he says:

…clothe yourselves with love…and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.

We want our new school to be born, not in disagreement or fighting, but in love and in peace. If we trust God, if we trust the Father in Heaven, and if we remember that we are here to take care of one another, as Jesus taught us, and not to get ahead of one another, then this new school will be born, and a new and greater future for St. Mary's Parish and all its people, and for the whole Church will be born as well.

This is what we pray for today, and since we pray for it in Jesus’ name, we know that it will come true. So now, let us all get to work, and help God make it happen.

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