21st Week in Ordinary Time 2025 - Tuesday - Seeking Holiness - (Opening School Mass)

 

Welcome, everyone to our first school mass of the new school year. 

One of the most important things that we can do together as a Catholic school is to gather for Mass.

At Mass, we listen to the sacred scripture—readings from the bible—the Word of God—in which God speaks to us. And we celebrate the Eucharist—the sacrament of the altar—in which bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. 

In the first Scripture reading today, St. Paul talks about the great effort he has undergone to bring the Gospel to a place called Thessalonica. St. Paul had undergone a journey of thousands of miles to travel to Thessalonica. Remember, St. Paul began his journey in Jerusalem, where Jesus died and rose again. And he desired with all his heart to bring the good news of Jesus’ saving death and resurrection to people all over the world. So he journeyed on foot and by sea, through mountains, through country filled with bandits and murders, areas plagued with disease, to places that he had never been before, to share the Christian faith with the world. He nearly died, many times on this journey. He was arrested. He was beaten. He angered people who did not want to believe in Jesus. But he did so because he believed the spreading the Gospel was the most important thing he could do with his life.

And why did he believe that? Because he had met Jesus. And he understood that believing in Jesus, and following Jesus, and learning from Jesus, and changing our lives to become like Jesus by becoming holy like Jesus, was the most important thing any of us can do. 

This is why we have a Catholic school. This is why we have a beautiful catholic church. Because believing in Jesus and following Jesus and changing our lives to become like Jesus by becoming holy like Jesus is the most important thing any of us can do. 

In the Gospel passage today, Jesus himself talks about becoming holy. Jesus was talking to a group of Pharisees—a group of people who thought they knew all about becoming holy. They thought that you become holy if you dress like a holy person dresses. And Jesus says, no, being holy isn’t just a game of dress-up. Holiness is not play acting. You don’t becoming holy by what you wear on the outside, but by what you change on the inside.

Jesus said, if you only wash the outside of the cup, but ignore the inside, you still have a dirty cup. It’s the same thing with people. Catholics believe that we must allow Jesus every day to clean our minds, and clean our hearts, and clean our choices—to change our selfishness into generosity, our pride into humility, our fear into courage, our hate into love.

Throughout the school year you will be coming to mass every week, you will be learning about the message of Jesus during your school days. Really listen to Jesus’ message and consider each day how that message is meant to change your minds and your hearts and your attitudes and the way that you treat people. And as you take Jesus’ message to heart, you will find him dwelling there---for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Please respond to each of these petitions, “Lord hear our prayer”

As we begin a new school year, we pray that God may bestow gifts of wisdom and understanding upon our students, and that teachers may share their knowledge with gentleness, diligence, and patience.

May the message of Jesus be taken to heart, may it transform us, and guide us in the ways of true peace.

We pray for our families, that the peace of God may dwell in them—for parents who struggle with many challenges—that God may give them strength.

We pray for our nation—that God’s word may guide our government leaders—and help them to work for true and lasting justice and peace.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or disease: may they know God’s strength and peace and the assistance of the Christian people. 

For the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, and all of the souls in purgatory: may they share in the joy of life-everlasting with the Risen Lord. 

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ Our Lord.

22nd Week in OT 2019 - Friday - First School Mass - Purpose of Catholic Schools

Why are you here today? Why are you here in Church on a Friday morning?

One answer, at least for our students, is because, well our teachers told us we were going over to church, and so we here we are.

But why, have they brought you here? Why are you not in your classroom, or playing basketball in the gym, or learning your morning lessons?

Why do students at Catholic schools go to Church, why do you trek across the parking lot, for the celebration of what Catholics call Holy Mass?

That’s an important question, as you will be going to Holy Mass at least once a month this school year. Why are you here? Why disrupt the academic day to come to Church, why do you put down your pencils and crayons and basketballs, in order to come to Church to kneel down and pray? And for those who are Catholic to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion?

What if I told you, that what we do here, is more important, than what goes on over there? That what we do here, makes what we do over there, possible? Do you believe that? Students? Teachers? Staff?
Just about 50 years ago, the Second Vatican council talked about the purpose of Catholic schools. It said that Catholic schools are, like most schools, zealous about forming young people, teaching young people, reading, writing, arithmetic, academics, and all that. But what makes Catholic schools special is that they, and I quote, to enable young people “to grow in the new life which has been given them in baptism.” New life. We are here at Church, at Holy Mass, to grow in New Life.

This new life is what Jesus is talking about in the Gospel today. If you put new wine into old, dried-up wineskins, they will burst. Similarly, Catholics schools don’t just focus on the mind, on academic learning, but the soul, making sure that our souls don’t become long those old, dried-up wineskins in the Gospel, but that our souls are pliant, open to the new life of God.

Catholic schools recognize that for humans to truly flourish, to really become the people God made them to be, we do not ignore the need of the human soul for God, for worship, for prayer, but we realize its priority, the priority of faith.

Why are we here? To allow God to do the work that teachers cannot do, that none of us can do on our own: to nourish our souls, to transform our souls, to give new life to our souls. For the glory of God and salvation of souls.