Today's responsorial psalm: "The LORD keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
The LORD gives sight to the blind; the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just; the LORD protects strangers.
The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains, but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever; your God, O Zion, through all generations."
Lasallian Reflection 1 (2015-2016): A Gospel Adventure: "In Jesus, God knew what it meant to be a migrant and poor. Jesus gave us a blueprint in the Parable of the Good Samaritan of what our Gospel adventure involves. We should not fear the migrant or the poor. We can learn and be enriched by persons who are different to us. In fidelity to our Lasallian identity and ideals, we can discern what is right and just."
This thought is not the one that I had sketched out in my mind on Friday evening, extolling Catholic Schools Week. Why? Because this is the headline I woke up to on Saturday morning (courtesy NPR): "Arrivals to U.S. Blocked And Detained As Trump's Immigration Freeze Sets In". Events continued from there, as I am sure you are aware.
But my thought is still about Catholic Schools Week. It is good, I think, to have a Catholic Schools Week to allow our students to celebrate what we are. But we are a Catholic school every day of every week, every year. Brother Superior and the General Council reminded us last year that as Christians, Catholics, and Lasallians, we need not be afraid of migrants or those who are different: we are called to accompany the poor, the migrant, the marginalized. At our January retreat, we considered what we are each called to do as a result of our dialogue with the poor, the living out of our Lasallian mission. Perhaps our responses to recent events will allow us to further show this.
The General Council's question: "'The Institute’s primary concern is the educational needs of those whose dignity and basic rights are not recognized. By its mission, it seeks to make it possible for them to live with dignity as sons and daughters of God' (Rule, 13). In my educational . . . community, what do we propose to do as a concrete response to the appeal of Pope Francis for every Catholic community to reach out in support of migrants?"
Live, Jesus, in our hearts!