When I was a student at Central Catholic High School, there was a poster in every classroom. The image was different on each one, but the message was the same. It read, "What you are is God's gift to you. What you make of yourself is your gift to God." I would like to keep that image as a common theme for several unrelated thoughts.
First of all, it was my father who thought that I should go to Central Catholic. I had expressed an interest in the priesthood, and he thought Central would be a better choice for me to explore that possibility than Wilkensburg High School. I always knew that Dad would support whatever choice I made since he himself had spent time in the seminary. So on this Fathers Day, let us thank our fathers for the support and encouragement they gave us Happy Fathers Day.
At Central, of course, I had the privilege of studying with some of the Christian Brothers, the order founded by St. John Baptist de la Salle. I think it was Brother Lawrence Shine who told us that St. John had planned on founding an order of priests, but his first candidate died suddenly, just days before his ordination. St. John interpreted that death as a sign that God did not want his men to be ordained. Since the, the Christian Brothers have done marvelous work in Catholic education., but they have also done missionary work. This weekend we welcome the Christian Brothers to speak at all M asses as part of the annual Missionary Cooperative Appeal. Each year the Diocese of Pittsburgh arranges for a missionary group to speak at each parish. The second collection today is to support the work of the Christian Brothers. I am happy to support that effort, for I owe the brothers more than I could hope to repay. Thank you for your generosity.
Of course, the process by which we make of ourselves a gift to God is a process that goes on all our lives. This week we express that hope to some of our youngest parishioners in our annual Vacation Bible School. This is a time when we gather the young children for fun and games, for crafts and other activities, as well as for stories from Scripture. It is a good way to keep the lessons of our school year going and to give the kids a break of they've been complaining of boredom now that school is out. Special thanks go out to our Catechetical Administrator Steve Swank for organizing the event and to all the volunteers, adults and children, who make the program a success.
Finally, as we believe that "What we make of ourselves is our gift to God," the one part of that equation is to take care of ourselves. I am just coming back from a week of retreat (and am still looking forward to some vacation). Meanwhile, Fr. Russell will be away from us for the next two weeks. He leaves Monday morning for California, where he will spend time with his brother and other members of his family. Bon voyage, Fr. Russell. All of us at St. Malachy hope you have a wonderful trip and return to us refreshed and ready to inspire us.
Father H
