Dear Friends,
School bells are ringing again. Children in some parts of the country have already spent their first week in the classroom (yikes!). The principals of our Catholic schools in the Diocese of Belleville met last week. It all points to this new beginning of another school year. New second-graders will look forward to and learn about First Holy Communion. Seventh- and eighth-graders will be finding out all about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in preparation for Confirmation. And all our students have the benefit of a new beginning, a potential reset, to grow in grace and in learning, while becoming more solid on the path of being disciples of Jesus.
While many have children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren or nieces and nephews who are going to school, the time of the harvest is worthy of reflection for all of us. Starting kindergarten or turning 90 — every moment presents the possibility of new life, new grace.
So what new life do we need? As you know, the new life of disciples is a four-lane highway. The disciple’s response to the gifts God lavishes upon us is rightly hospitality, prayer, formation and service. All these lanes of living faithful discipleship are a type of welcoming the other, the Word of God, the Tradition of the Church and the one in need. Surely, no matter our age or station in life, we can all recognize that selfishness is never congruent with the gospel and that denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following the Lord is the way of the faithful.
As students learn their lessons each day, we are all called to learn the lessons of Jesus, to be open, to welcome the wisdom of the Most High.
When we gain wealth, sometimes we can forget that every good gift comes from the Father. When we attain independence, we might neglect the fact that our faculties for independent living came from Almighty God. When we find ourselves less needy, we too easily ignore the truth that no matter how satisfied we are in life, there is still and always will be a dependence on God’s mercy.
And so, along with a welcoming heart and mind, necessary for all Christian discipleship, is the foundation of our Catholic faith: thanksgiving for and with Christ. The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows (Sacrosanctum Concilium 10). The fountainhead of the Church’s liturgy is the Eucharist, the central act of thanksgiving.
So whether we’re in school or not, our task at this important time of year is clear: We are to be grateful disciples, welcoming disciples, joyful disciples of the One who took up His cross for our salvation. If we see any selfishness in our lives, let’s cast it aside. If we see any hatred or bigotry towards another, let’s have that removed. If we won’t welcome, let’s learn the way.
In Christ,
Bishop Godfrey Mullen, OSB