‘Don’t ever lose sight of God’s love,’ archbishop tells students at Catholic Schools Week Mass

Top: Archbishop Charles C. Thompson poses for a photo with a group from St. Ambrose School in Seymour after the Catholic Schools Week Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis on Feb. 1. (Submitted photo) Bottom: A group from St. Christopher School in Indianapolis poses for a photo with Archbishop Charles C. Thompson following the Catholic Schools Week Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis on Feb. 1. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)

By John Shaughnessy

Celine Manley beamed as she described the experience as “wonderful.”

Mason Beriault used the word, “awesome.”

Both high school students shared those succinct rave reviews about the Catholic Schools Week Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis on Feb. 1—a liturgy that was celebrated by Archbishop Charles C. Thompson and attended by several hundred students from about 40 Catholic schools across central and southern Indiana.

“I thought it was awesome to be here in the cathedral, and it was really cool to be here with other schools,” said Mason, a senior at Father Thomas Scecina Memorial High School in Indianapolis who has received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. “We don’t get a lot of opportunity, other than sports, to come together, so that was nice.”

“I thought it was a wonderful experience,” said Celine, a sophomore at Cardinal Ritter Jr./Sr. High School in Indianapolis. “And I loved Archbishop Thompson’s message. I like how he said we will all come and go, but Jesus will always be in our hearts—and how we’re supposed to remember, at the end of the day, that everything is for Jesus.”

The archbishop shared those themes during his homily, a homily he began with a history lesson about the origins—and the importance—of Catholic education in the United States.

“No country has had greater success with Catholic schools than the United States,” Archbishop Thompson said. “It’s a long history. And it was to help us maintain excellence of education. Because when the immigrants first came over here, a lot of them were struggling, they were very poor and there was a lot of persecution. Catholic schools were a place to get that education, to get that bonding identity and unity in Christ in the Catholic faith. To have that solidarity. To work our way out of that poverty, that struggle.”

Ever since that significant growth of Catholic schools in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they have continued as a “source of hope” for families, a source of hope that has always been rooted in one constant, the archbishop noted.

“The primary focus for us must be on Jesus Christ,” he said.

To stress that point, the archbishop posed a question to the students at the Mass, “What do you find on the walls of our schools that you won’t find in any other schools?”

When a student answered, “a crucifix,” Archbishop Thompson nodded and said, “It reminds us of what it’s all about. If you ask parents, ‘Why do you send your kids to Catholic schools?’ they’ll say excellent academics, excellent sports, discipline. They’re all great, but it all hinges on the crucifix. When we lose sight of that focus, we lose sight of what we’re about.”

Continuing that emphasis, the archbishop noted, “At the heart of our Catholic schools’ existence is an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ.

“As we gather here today, give thanks for the opportunity to encounter Jesus—in the classroom, or in the gym, or on the ball field, or in the cafeteria, or on the computer or wherever you are at. It’s all an opportunity to encounter God’s grace, God’s goodness, God’s love and God’s mercy, to be reminded of God’s awesome love that he gave his Son for our salvation, that we may know the joy and peace of being God’s children.”

Embracing an encounter with Christ will not only transform you, it will help you transform the world “through God’s goodness, peace, unity, healing and reconciliation,” the archbishop told the students.

Closing his homily, he encouraged the students to remember the main lessons and foundations of their Catholic education.

“Don’t ever lose sight of God’s love, of God’s power to transform any situation in our lives,” he said. “So always have faith. Don’t lose sight of our dignity, created in the image of God. The love of Jesus Christ in an encounter with him transforms us. It makes an incredible difference. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we exist.”

After the Mass, Archbishop Thompson returned to the steps leading up to the altar of the cathedral, welcoming each school group that wanted to meet him and have their photo taken with him. School after school took advantage of the opportunity, including students from

St. Patrick School in Terre Haute, St. Rose of Lima School in Franklin and St. Ambrose School in Seymour.

The Mass and the photo with Archbishop Thompson were part of a whirlwind day for the eighth-grade students of

St. Ambrose, who came to the cathedral with their teacher, Julie Lemming, and their principal, Michelle Neibert-Levine.

After leaving the cathedral, the St. Ambrose group visited the Ronald McDonald House in Indianapolis, a home-away-from-home for families of sick and injured children being treated in Indianapolis hospitals. The students at

St. Ambrose School do fundraising efforts for the Ronald McDonald House. Later, the group also toured the Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis.

All in all, the trip touched upon the essence of what a Catholic education offers children—“faith, learning, leadership and service”—their principal said.

“It was a great day,” Neibert-Levine said. “Only a couple of our students had been in the cathedral, as we’re about an hour away. They thought it was beautiful. And five of our students were involved in the liturgy—one as a server, one [proclaimed] the first reading, and three of our students read petitions. So that made it a special experience for them as well.

“It was a wonderful, spiritual day.” †