Catholic Education Sunday Homily – Part 3: God With Us
This article is the third part of the homily preached by Fr Adrian Danker SJ at the Mass commemorating Catholic Education Sunday, held on 11 September 2021.
I know of people of other faith traditions in our school, who also come to live their faith with integrity because they have been to a Catholic school.
Today’s world makes it hard for many to live our faith with integrity.
There are too many attractions, distractions, temptations and different ways of living that can take us far away from God and living in God’s ways. It is hard to grow up in our present times, especially in this COVID times.
This is why I believe Jesus would also respond to our question, “Who am I to you, Jesus?” with the assurances we hear in the First Reading: that God is indeed near and God will help us.
The Prophet Isaiah proclaimed this comforting truth about God to the exiled Israelites. His message is also meant for us: God is near and God will help us because we are God’s own, no matter our sinfulness.
Yes, God is one with us. This truth consoles, because believing in God doesn’t make our lives easy. Everyone of us has difficulties and struggles. We have things we worry about and things that make us sad. God is with us always in our struggles and our sadness. He is always present to give us help in all our struggles.
We know that God is with us, because we have experienced the goodness of Jesus. With Jesus, we don’t just carry the Cross; with Jesus, we are lifted up, many times, again and again, because His resurrection gives us life in God. Indeed, with Jesus we are one with God.
This is why Peter’s answer to Jesus, “You are the Christ,” matters, and matters a lot. Though each of our Catholic pre-schools and schools is guided by the different charisms of their founders, they share in the one way Jesus teaches – to reveal the truth and the life of how every person is created to live with dignity and flourish in the common good as God’s beloved.
This is still the noble task of Catholic education. The task of Catholic education where faith and good works come together for God and for every person.
Catholic Education Sunday reminds us that the good work of Jesus to teach and educate continues in our midst today. We give thanks. We also ask for grace. There is no better way to do these than to respond to the question Jesus asked Peter with our own response. And it’s simply this, “Yes, You are the Christ; with You we follow.”
This article is the third part of the homily preached by Fr Adrian Danker SJ at the Mass commemorating Catholic Education Sunday, held on 11 September 2021.
