Archbishop calls students to embrace suffering in following Christ

CatholicAnchor.org
A sea of plaid jumpers, button-down shirts, suit coats and neckties, worn by more than 400 school children filled Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral on Jan. 30. for the annual Catholic Schools Week Mass celebrated by Anchorage Archbishop Paul Etienne.

For the Mass Archbishop Etienne was assisted by seven priests, all wearing red vestments in honor of the event’s designation as a Mass of the Holy Spirit, a celebration reserved for times when the community gathers to thank God for the gifts of creation and salvation, and to seek the guidance and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

Before Mass, Archbishop Etienne posed for a group photo with the students from Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley. An intrepid photographer climbed a ladder to try and fit students from Lumen Christi High School, Holy Rosary Academy, Our Lady of the Valley and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School into the photo. Students from St. Mary’s on Kodiak Island were unable to attend.

Students participated in the liturgy by reading Scripture, singing in the choir, leading the prayers of the faithful and altar serving.

Archbishop Etienne’s homily focused on the Gospel reading from Saint Matthew about the Sermon on the Mount, wherein Jesus tells the crowd that the humble, meek and lowly and poor will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. The reading ended with Jesus telling his followers that they would suffer because of their faith in him.

Archbishop Etienne said the way to heaven and everlasting life is to follow Jesus when it is easy and when it is difficult.

“The primary reason for Catholic education is to give you the gift of believing in Jesus, which is no small gift, no small matter,” Archbishop Etienne said. “We educate you to help you know Jesus Christ, to help you follow Jesus Christ in your own lives, and to learn to hear the call of Jesus.”

He then emphasized the gift of the Beatitudes, which he called a “blueprint of Christian life.” Compassion, generosity, love and forgiveness are just a few of the traits needed to live in a Christ-like way, he said.

“To follow Jesus Christ, we need a mature understanding that to follow him, we will experience trials and hardships,” Archbishop Etienne said. “The cross is going to be a part of our life, and we will be called to suffer for him. The culture today, unfortunately, wants nothing to do with suffering, even though this is not what Jesus said! Jesus asked his disciples, ‘If you are going to follow me, are you willing to suffer?’ And so must we also pick up our cross each day.”

Archbishop Etienne shared that one of the most often-expressed feelings he hears from parents is sadness about their children walking away from the faith.

“I hear it time and time again: ‘I gave them everything I could to support their faith, and now they are not part of the church,’” he said. “Why is this? Well, we must be willing to embrace the hardship of the Gospel, which is a very difficult thing to do. It is easy to walk away from difficulty because we don’t know how to wrestle with our conscience anymore. And yet Jesus Christ does not want us to follow the crowd!”

Archbishop Etienne closed his homily by asking: “Who wants to enter into the Kingdom of heaven?’ Hundreds of arms shot up, including those of teachers and parents. “There is only one way into heaven,” he responded. “Follow Jesus Christ, when it is easy, and when it’s not, always. You will know hardship, but the Kingdom of Heaven will be yours.”

After the homily, representative from each school carried select items to the altar to be blessed. Lumen Christi, whose name literally means “light of Christ,” brought a candle, as well as the school’s book of intentions. Holy Rosary presented a Marian statue and a large wooden rosary. Our Lady of the Valley carried a photo of Pope Francis and an image of the corporal works of mercy. Finally, students from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton brought forward an image of the school’s patron saint and a basket of food signifying those who labor to prepare food and those who do not have enough to eat.

As Mass ended and Archbishop Etienne and the priests processed out of the sanctuary, students joined in a rousing chorus of “We are the Light of the World.”