Something to celebrate

The Benziger Company’s “Resources for Christian Living” is a valuable resource in Catholic Education. They have a very helpful website that can be accessed at www.faithfirst. com. This coming week we will be holding our annual observance of Catholic Schools Week. The theme for this year’s Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools Celebrate Service.” I am happy to share with you the following reflection on this year’s celebration of our Catholic Schools from the Faith First website.

Catholic Schools Week celebrations have become a tradition since its beginning in 1974. The various themes assigned over the years have pointed to the outstanding characteristics of education in the Catholic School system. However the 2009 theme, Catholic Schools Celebrate Service, is a departure from the usual as it calls for outreach and action in response to needs apparent in the local and global community. Our call comes from Jesus’ life, works and words. Baptized in His name, we are expected to carry on the work of His hands in the world. Catholic Schools Week 2009 offers the opportunity for Catholic students to proclaim their presence in the community through meaningful acts of love serving the stranger, homeless, hungry, naked, sick, and imprisoned.

Jesus’ actions in response to the needy certainly must have made His disciples uncomfortable as well as left them wondering what following Jesus might truly mean. Imagine what they were thinking when they observed Jesus befriending the Samaritan woman at the well or developing a relationship with Mary Magdalene, a known sinner. Jesus was clearly choosing not to follow the common practices valued by the society of His time. Outcasts were to be treated as such. Those considered to be lesser individuals were to be shunned or at least ignored. For ourselves a reflective reading of Jesus’ encounter and healing of the Ten Lepers (Luke 17:11-19) and His unpredictable friendship with the known cheat and liar, Zaccheus (Luke 19:1-10) will lead us to wonder about the depth and width of our service. Who among us invites the known sinner to supper or invites those with contagious disease into our homes and families? The way of Jesus serving others to His death demands courage and fortitude from those who would be His disciples.

A story is told about a German community immediately following the end of World War II. In the middle of the town square stood a statue of Jesus with His hands extended in welcome and friendship. During the destructive bombing, the hands of the statue were broken off and shattered. The town’s people chose to leave the statue in its home place. They also decided not to have the broken hands replaced. Rather they placed a sign by the statue proclaiming: “He has no hands but yours!” What a fabulous embodiment of Matthew 25:31-46 and visual reminder of Jesus’ command to serve!

Today’s world presents people with different needs than those encountered during Jesus’ time. A cure has been found for leprosy and sufferers no longer have to deal with the imprisonment of being outcasts from society. It is time to ask who the outcasts and imprisoned are in 2009. Jesus expects that we will welcome these new strangers and free the currently enslaved. Being stewards of God’s creation has been our responsibility since the Garden of Eden. Decade upon decade, concerns about clean water and air for future generations are in the daily press and voiced in news programs. What might we do to make a difference for the benefit of all the living?

“Catholic Schools Celebrate Service” is a tremendously challenging theme. Faculties and students who take it seriously and consider the deeper meaning of service will become communities where faith is active, positively influencing the lives of many. The first apostles and disciples grasped the deepest meaning of Jesus’ care for others and they affected lives in ways that have not been equaled since. Choose to make a difference as Catholic Schools Celebrate Service!