Catholic Schools Week Mass
Notre Dame Preparatory
January 29, 2025
Journeying towards the Heavenly City
In one of his sermons, St. Augustine said this: “O the happiness of the heavenly alleluia, sung in security, in fear of no adversary!” “We shall have no enemies in heaven; we shall never lose a friend.” He goes on to say, “God’s praises are sung both there and here, but here they are sung in anxiety . . . there in security . . .; here they are sung in hope, there, in hope’s fulfillment; here they are sung by wayfarers, there, by those living in their own country.” (Sermon 256, Cf. Office of Readings, Vol. IV., Saturday 24th Week)
St. Augustine was speaking to a small Christian community in Northern Africa, a community destined to live its mission in difficult times. The earthly city, the Roman Empire, was teetering. Invaders were at its gates. The future was uncertain. What would happen next was anyone’s guess. In that setting, St. Augustine painted a picture of the heavenly city, where there is peace, security, and unity, where sin does not exist and harmony prevails, where friendship with God repairs and purifies human friendship permanently. Augustine told his people that this is what they were aspiring to; this was the goal of all their hopes and their striving: the unity, peace, security, and friendship of the heavenly city where God, in the splendor of divine love, “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28).
What St. Augustine and his community aspired to comes directly from the prayer Jesus prayed in the Gospel you chose for this Mass. Jesus prayed, not only for his Apostles but for all his followers. He prayed that they would be one, united in faith and community, just as he is one with his heavenly Father. In other words, Jesus wants us his followers to share in the glorious love he shared with his Father from all eternity. This is the goal of our all our hopes; the goal of all our striving. This is the deepest reason why Notre Dame Preparatory exists. So that united in faith and community, we might journey toward that place of light and peace, security and friendship, and bring with us many others we meet along the way. This is what it means “to walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8).
Nothing Automatic
None of this happens automatically. Wishing for it doesn’t make it happen. St. Paul, building on Micah and Jesus’ prayer, urges us “to live in a manner worthy of the call we received with all humility, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace . . . [professing] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God who is over all and through all and in all” (cf. Eph 4:1-6). Fidelity to our call. Humility in our relationship with God and others. Striving to be peacemakers. Working for justice. Serving those in need. Putting up with one another, even when it’s difficult. This is how the spirit of NDP is built up one day at a time. And all this goes to the nitty gritty of life – what happens at home, in class, in sports, in every school activity. Nothing automatic here. Mission has to be accomplished anew, every day.
Counter-cultural
This is also counter-cultural. Put another way, this is not the way the world around us thinks or acts. While there are many wonderful people in the world and while the world itself is a good place, made better by human ingenuity and creativity, it can also be a place that is lonely, cruel, polarized, and ruthless. Thanks to the School Sisters of Notre Dame who founded NDP in 1873, your school robustly engages the world around it while remaining a different kind place . . . a place of formation, learning, service, and friendship that reflects and strives towards Augustine’s vision of the heavenly city; a community of disciples united in faith and mission, for whom Jesus prayed.
Many have contributed mightily to building up of this community. First of all, you, the students, who love your school and embrace its mission. I think of your teachers, staff, benefactors, alumnae, and so many others. But few, if any, have contributed more to building up NDP over these past twenty years than Sister Patricia McCarron! Sister Patricia, no words are adequate to thank for your leadership and service! You have transformed the campus. You have attracted great teachers. You have built up academics, athletics, the fine arts. You have instilled in this community a passion for service to others. Most of all, as a leader and in your consecrated life, you have led by example; you devoted yourself entirely to making NDP a community of disciples, united in faith and mission. And you have done this for countless young women, alumnae who respect you deeply and love you dearly. What you have done here at NDP, Sister Patricia, will not only stand the test of time but indeed the test of eternity!
The Future
So, dear friends, let us look to the future with hearts full of faith and hope. The Spirit of God is pouring forth his gifts upon this community. Your faith is nurtured at the wellspring of the sacraments. In the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord is beckoning each of you as well as those who one day will sit where you are sitting—to follow him and to form anew a community of disciples united in faith, a community on mission.
Be confident. A community like NDP shines like a light in the darkness. Even those who do not share our faith can see its beauty and importance. Stay true to who you are! Walk humbly with your God. And the God of truth and love will bless you, now and always!