The Decision That Matters the Most

By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Bishop of Arlington
(From the issue of 8/28/03)

Decisions — we make them every day. Most are rather ordinary and simple; some can be extraordinary and far-reaching. In any case, decisions are part and parcel of everyday life.

Decisions — these are clearly evident in the first and third scripture readings just proclaimed in our hearing. "Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Sheclem…[and] addressed [them]: …decide today whom you will serve….As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Centuries later, when "many…of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him, Jesus…said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to leave?’" Decide.

Yes, making decisions is not only a part of human life but also a part of Christian living. In fact, our imitating and following Christ — our discipleship — involves a daily decision to reaffirm, and even more, to live out Peter’s response to Jesus’ request to decide: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

We are gathered this morning for the Opening Mass of this new academic year, seeking God’s blessings on the decision we have individually made or renewed to live this year as a member of the Christendom College community of faith. For each of you who form this community as an administrator, faculty member, staff member or student, I pray with you, that this year will be a year of grace, of deepening growth in the theological virtues of faith, hope and love even as you also grow in the knowledge of the various academic disciplines you are pursuing. Yes, may each of you here at Christendom — may all of us — grow into an more intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus and His Church, particularly as His Church is made tangible and local through this diocesan Church to which each of us now belongs.

Rightly, then, do we begin this new academic year, this year of grace and wisdom and ecclesial communion, with the Mass of the Holy Spirit. After all, the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son precisely to lead all people to Christ, the source of Truth and Life and Love; to make Christ present within us; and to create, deepen and sustain that unity for which Christ prayed at the Last Supper and which, in His divine plan, is a distinctive and integral mark of His Church on earth.

Each day, then, in this new academic year, this year of grace and wisdom and ecclesial communion, the Holy Spirit will enable us, if we let Him, to proclaim Jesus as Lord and to echo St. Peter’s decision: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." As we follow in obedient faith the Holy Spirit’s lead, we will be empowered to draw closer to Christ Jesus, and make our own that beautiful prayer of St. Richard of Chichester: "…Merciful Friend, Brother and Redeemer, may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more nearly, day by day."

As members of the administration, staff and faculty, and as students, you will daily develop the ability to change the prevailing culture by infusing into it, now and in the future, the Spirit of Christ, the One who has the words of eternal life. Of course, this will not be easy. Ours must be a counter-cultural stance. The issues so prevalent within our society surely confirm this: the continuing attacks on life, beginning with the evil of abortion; the mounting efforts to deny marriage as the union of one man with one woman; the ongoing attempts to destroy human life at its very beginning through such things as stem cell research and human cloning; these are but several of the issues, which demand the response of articulate faith-filled Catholics — and Christians — to turn our culture around and make it a culture that is life-giving rather than death-dealing.

Dear students, your presence within this learned community of faith and your commitment to your studies and to the spiritual life offered to you here will prepare and equip you to make real your participation, active and articulate, in the mission of the Church. You are being enabled here to fulfill the mission of the Church in terms of that lay involvement, outlined by Pope Paul VI. "Laypeoples’ field of Christian service is the vast field of politics, society and economics, as well as the world of culture, sciences, arts, international affairs and mass media. It also includes human love, the family, the education of children, professional work, and suffering. The more Gospel-inspired laypeople engage in these areas, the more these areas will be at the service of the Kingdom of God."

Yes, for each of you and for all of us, it is the Lord to whom we go, for He alone has the words of eternal life. More and more, as we journey in faith, we too come to affirm that He alone is the Holy One of God, our Lord and Savior.

Each day brings us many opportunities either to reaffirm our decision to be with Christ or to reverse this decision, sadly and tragically. The contexts within which we daily renew our decision, will differ realistically for each of us: a personal moral fault that must be overcome; an unresolved situation which continually demands patience and perseverance; an unwillingness to put aside our own preferences in favor of what the Holy Roman Catholic Church asks us to accept whether in the arena of doctrine of discipline; an apathy to listen more attentively to one another, whether a person in the dorm or within the family circle; and always — always, the struggle to forgive those who hurt us, especially when these are members of our family or the parish or diocesan family.

Decisions are a part of daily life, and also a part of the disciple’s life. It is the ultimate decision that counts: "Do you also want to leave? Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Rightly, do we prepare here and seek divine assistance daily to make the only decision that matter. So, once again, we pray: "Father, in [the Holy] Spirit, give us right judgment and the joy of his comfort and guidance." Amen.

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