Cardinal to teachers: Congratulations on vital
role
Homily of Cardinal Justin Rigali
Mass for Catholic Educator Jubiliarians
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
February 24, 2008
Brother Priests,
Dear Religious and Lay Faithful,
Members of the Secretariat for Catholic Education,
Honored Jubilarians, Families and Friends,
It is a joy, and indeed a privilege, to join with you in celebrating your
jubilee in Catholic education. Your jubilee is a special occasion in its
own right. It acquires added significance since it occurs during our Bicentennial
Year. During this period we observe the founding, two hundred years ago,
of our Diocese of Philadelphia. We commemorate countless people, including
Saints John Neumann and Katharine Drexel, who have ministered to thousands
of students in Catholic schools. At this time the Church gratefully acknowledges
your place in the long history of Catholic education. As collaborators
in the Church’s mission, you have greatly contributed to perpetuate
a rich legacy of faith.
The custom of celebrating jubilees can be traced to the Old Testament.
A jubilee was a joyful event, an occasion to honor God, to offer Him praise
and thanks. On behalf of all in the Archdiocese, I congratulate you for
the vital role you have in providing Catholic education across generations.
Our celebration of the Eucharist is the supreme expression of gratitude
for the many contributions and sacrifices you have made to advance Catholic
education. Together in Jesus Christ, we give praise and honor to God the
Father for having sustained you in your noble calling for these many years.
Today’s Gospel recounts an encounter that Jesus had with a Samaritan
woman.
Tired from His journey, He meets her at a well and asks for a drink of
water. When the woman hesitates, Jesus takes the opportunity to offer
her living water and insists that whoever drinks this living water will
never thirst again. Though she considers Him to be a prophet, she is not
yet aware of who Jesus is and what He is offering. Jesus is Himself the
living water. To drink the living water that He offers is to enter into
a relationship with Him. The water He gives is a spring of water that
wells up to eternal life.
The students you teach are thirsting. So much of what our culture offers
them fails to satisfy their thirst for truth and lasting happiness. Young
people in search of truth turn to you. Your teaching science, history,
mathematics, the arts and other subjects nurtures and responds to their
intellectual curiosity. In all this you hold them to the highest standards
of academic excellence.
However, you do more than that. As teachers in a Catholic school you relate
all subjects to Jesus Christ. He is truly the living water for whom the
students thirst. You are God’s instruments, offering them this living
water. In so doing, you respond to their deepest longing. In different
ways you show how Jesus illumines all of life, as you teach values for
this life and for eternal life.
Students in our Catholic schools are fortunate that their quest for truth
takes place within a religious atmosphere. Catholic schools are not merely
institutions which offer an academic instruction of high quality. They
are an effective vehicle of total Christian formation. As teachers in
Catholic schools, you help provide a favorable setting where, daily, students
are afforded the opportunity to hear and live the Gospel; to learn and
appreciate the teachings of the Church; to acquire a deep understanding,
reverence and love for the Liturgy; to build community; to pray and properly
form their consciences; to develop virtue and participate in Christian
service. They are provided “an education by virtue of which their
whole lives may be inspired by the spirit of Christ” (Gravissimum
Educationis, 8).
Teaching at any level is not easy. Today’s readings remind us that
fidelity to God’s call involves sacrifice. In our first reading,
the Book of Exodus reveals that the people grumbled against Moses, the
very individual who led them forth from slavery. Fearing for his life,
Moses cried out to God, “What shall I do with these people?”
In his letter to the Romans, Paul testifies to the challenge associated
with discipleship. He writes of the experience of being helpless and the
difficulty involved in sacrificing for another.
As teachers, you have made many sacrifices. Your work is time-consuming
and demanding. It is easy to become discouraged when students seem indifferent
to the subject matter and when the fruits of your labor are not immediately
visible. The sacrifices you make for your students provide inspiration
for them. They need witnesses who have given totally of themselves to
show them the way. By your teaching and sacrifice, you demonstrate your
hope for them and, in so doing, you give them hope for themselves and
their future.
To persevere as a witness for Christ in the face of so many challenges
requires faith. It was his faith that sustained Saint Paul. In the Letter
to the Romans, he boasts of a hope that is rooted in faith. He writes
of the peace that flows from being justified by faith. He encourages us
to face life with confidence. “Hope,” he says, “will
not disappoint because the love of God has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit.”
Faith is strengthened in a close personal relationship with Jesus, and
this relationship is only possible through prayer and the sacraments.
There is no more effective prayer than the Eucharist. It is the most powerful
means for achieving union with Jesus. The Eucharist must be at the heart
of who we are as teachers. It is the source from which the teaching ministry
draws its life. It is the goal of all Catholic education.
The weeks of Lent are an especially grace-filled time. They are an opportunity
for us to draw closer to the Cross of Christ. We are reminded by Saint
Paul “that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
In so doing, “God proves his love for us.” The Eucharist empowers
us to a love of others and commits us to bear witness to God’s love
through our words and actions. The Eucharist transforms us. We become
what we have received, Christ Himself. Through the Eucharist, you become
then, dear friends, the means by which God’s love and compassion
reach students. This should indeed give you a great sense of fulfillment.
A jubilee is a time of joy. Your jubilee is an occasion of special grace,
a day blessed by the Lord. It is an opportunity to reflect on the past,
to offer praise and thanksgiving. We are grateful for so much today. I
express thanks, first of all, to the parents who have entrusted the education
and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. I am grateful
for the support of the entire Catholic community who by their prayers
and financial support help our schools to accomplish their mission. In
particular, I congratulate you, the Religious Sisters and Lay faithful
who celebrate your jubilee together this afternoon. I express deep appreciation
for your many years of faith-filled service to this Archdiocese and to
our Catholic schools. You have given generously of yourselves to advance
the teaching mission of Jesus Christ and His Church. Much has been accomplished
by God working in and through you. We all thank God for you.
A jubilee is also a blessed opportunity to look forward to the future.
Young people of the third millennium must furnish energy and leadership
in our Church and our society. We depend upon you to set high academic
standards for them and to instill in them a spirit of faith and Christian
values. By equipping our young people with an education rooted in the
person of Jesus Christ, you are helping them to live moral and upright
Christian lives in our complex modern world.
Today’s Gospel reveals that as a result of her encounter with Jesus,
the Samaritan woman told others about Him and led them to Him. By your
sacrifices and your love, you help your students to encounter Jesus. Through
you, they experience His love for them. In turn they learn to love the
Lord and to lead others to encounter Jesus in His Church. What a great
role you fulfill as you encourage young people to be witnesses for Christ!
In affirming you today in the joy of your jubilee, I thank you all for
your long and tested commitment to Catholic education and for the many
sacrifices you make on behalf of the children whom God places before you.
Your dedicated work is a mighty contribution to the cause of the Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the building up of His Church in faith
and love.
And so, dear friends, as you recommit yourselves to your work of faith
and labor of love, may Mary, the Mother of Jesus, be for all of you, today
and always, the Cause of your Joy. Amen.