Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Installation of Brian J. Kohler as President of Archbishop Spalding High School
September 8, 2022
Severn, MD
Introduction
It is a real pleasure to be with you here at Archbishop Spalding High School and to install your new president, Brian Kohler. On this happy day, I greet you most warmly, Brian, together with your wife and family, and ask God to bless your leadership and service to this great high school for many, many years to come.
And you couldn’t have chosen a better day for your installation than the Birthday of Mary, the Mother of God. All of us like to be remembered on our birthdays, so let us remember the Mary on her birthday … Reigning in heaven, of course, the Blessed Mother does want flowers, or a cake, or a Corvette. She would like us to remember her birthday in another way. She’d like us to think about her unique role in God’s plan of salvation and then to ask her prayers that we might discover the role God has in mind for us. On the day we were born, what did God have in mind for us?
Quo Vadis?
Well, you may remember that Lewis Carroll penned this exchange in his famous book, Alice in Wonderland: Alice asked the Cat, “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t care much where,” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat … In other words, “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”
When we talk about “getting somewhere” we are not just talking about short term goals, like acing a test or winning a championship, important as those things are. We talking about a direction, a purpose, a mission for our lives. We’re talking about what or whom we will love and devote our lives to, what gets us up in the morning, what we have a passion for. Everyone needs a sense of direction, a sense of mission.
That is true of us as individuals and it is true of our institutions, like our schools. Archbishop Spalding is clear and passionate about its mission. Your President, together with the entire leadership are committed to this mission. The plans which are made and the untold effort that is expended are all directed to the fulfillment of its vision and its mission. Founded on the rock that is Jesus Christ – we are One Body in Christ – this school aims to help you, its students to grow in every way: physically, socially, academically, and above all, spiritually. I listed “spiritual growth” last because I want to say how important it is. “Spiritual growth” certainly includes knowing and understanding the Church’s teachings, not merely as information to be memorized and tested on. Spiritual growth has to do with developing our souls, our heart of hearts, our inmost self. It is there that we come to sense what direction our lives should take. It is there, in our heart of hearts, that we discern what is valuable and what is not. It is there, in the depth of our souls that we discover what road we will take and where it will lead us.
Ultimately, for us as for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the direction for our lives can be found only by encounter the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is for us “the way, the truth, and the life.” When beginning his papacy back in 1979, St. John Paul II wrote these words: “How, and in what manner shall we continue?” In other words, what is the direction the Church will take into the future? He answered: “Our spirit is set in one direction, the only direction for our intellect, will and heart is towards Christ our Redeemer, towards Christ the Redeemer of Man” (RH 7). That has to be our direction too, a direction we can find only when we open our hearts to Christ who knows us and loves us far better than we could ever know or love ourselves.
Archbishop Spalding and the Church which sponsors it, earnestly hope that you will not find yourselves wandering aimlessly, like Alice in Wonderland. That is why it aims to help you see your life and the mission of your life in the overall framework of God’s set plan and purpose for the salvation of the world, that is to say, according to the direction that Christ reveals for your lives. It works to ensure that there will be faith in your future! This is what was so beautiful about the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From the very start, Mary sensed a closeness, an intimacy with God. She couldn’t have imagined at first that God would call her to become the mother of Jesus, the Mother of the world’s Savior, but she did learn to attune her mind and heart to God’s plan and purpose. Growing up, Mary prepared her heart to say “yes” to the Lord in whatever he may ask of her. When the moment came and the angel announced her total unique mission, she said: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” It was Jesus who gave Mary the direction of her life.
Staying the Course
Now, it’s not always smooth sailing. There are bumps in the road and detours. How often what seems like happenstance or even misfortune turs out to provide occasions for God’s providence to work in our lives. How often it is has happened that one’s life turns out differently than first imagined, once the call of God is heard and received in a faithful heart. That is why St. Paul says in today’s reading from his letter to the Romans that “all things work together for the good of those who believe.” That is an important principle to be engraved on your hearts. It keeps us from losing our way. Taking any road and going nowhere.
And that was certainly true in Mary’s life. We can see from the Gospel how perplexed Joseph was when he learned that Mary was with child of the Holy Spirit. Joseph who was a good man, accepted the mission God had in mind for him, to love and cherish Mary and to love Jesus with a father’s love. Time and time again, Mary and Joseph would be perplexed and would suffer, but they faithfully walked the path God had marked out for them, and how grateful we should be today as we celebrate Mary’s birthday.
The Definition of Success
There are many ways to define success. By every measure, Archbishop Spalding is wonderfully successful and I expect to see that success enhanced in the years to come. But its great success is helping you, its students, to prepare to take whatever path the Lord has in mind for you.
May God bless you and keep you always in his love.