ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Bishop McFadden, my brother Priests and Deacon, Religious, Lay Faithful,
our dear Jubilarians, your families and friends.

The custom of celebrating jubilees can be traced to the Old Testament. A jubilee was a joyful event, an occasion to honor God, to offer praise and thanks. On this joyous occasion I congratulate you who celebrate a Jubilee as an educator in our Catholic schools. I speak for all in the Archdiocese in expressing deep gratitude for your part in providing Catholic education to another generation. Together with you, I give praise and honor to God for having sustained you in this wonderful vocation.

In the context of our gathering, it is appropriate to have a Gospel text in which Jesus is identified as "Teacher." In fact, Jesus is identified several times in each of the Gospels as teacher. The lessons He taught were many and varied. He taught about justice, love and peace. He taught about faith and hope. He taught about the Kingdom of God. He taught about "life," and even more about "eternal life." He used the occasion of the woman caught in adultery to teach about judging and forgiving, about mercy.

In your years in the education apostolate, you too have been called "Teacher." Young people, in search of truth, turn to you. Teaching science, history, mathematics, the arts and so forth, nurtures and responds to their intellectual curiosity. You hold them to the highest standards of academic excellence.

However, you have done more than that. As a teacher in a "Catholic" school you relate these subjects to Jesus, and show how Jesus illumines all of life. In so doing, you respond to the deepest longing of your students. You have been instrumental in assisting them in, what Saint Paul calls, "the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus the Lord" (Philippians 3:8). You have had the privilege of teaching values for life and eternal life.

Students in our Catholic schools are fortunate that their quest for truth takes place within a religious atmosphere. The National Directory for Catechesis teaches that "The Catholic school...is not simply an institution which offers an academic instruction of high quality, but even more important is an effective vehicle of total Christian formation" (NO. 230). Catholic schools provide a favorable setting where, daily, they are afforded the opportunity to hear and live the Gospel; to learn and appreciate the teachings of the Church; to acquire a deep understanding, reverence and love for the Liturgy; to build community, to pray and properly form their consciences, to develop virtue and participate in Christian service. They are provided "an education by virtue of which their whole lives may be inspired by the spirit of Christ" (Gravissimum Educationis, 8).

It is somewhat ironic, that while Jesus is greeted as teacher, we are informed in today’s Gospel that "He" is the one being tested. The scribes and pharisees ask His opinion of what to do with a woman caught in adultery. They do so, we learn, in an effort "to test" Him so that they might bring a charge against Him.

In reality, it is teachers, far more than students, who are tested. In class, your knowledge of the subject matter is tested. Frequently, your patience is tested. Always and everywhere, your values and convictions are tested. The scriptures reveal that Jesus differed from other teachers because He taught with authority. Listeners to His words heard the conviction of His heart. Even more, they recognized that He lived what He taught. Your most challenging test will be that of witnessing to your Catholic faith. Students hear what you say, but the believe what you do.

Today’s jubilee celebration is evidence of how well you have achieved in the many tests that you have faced. The prophet Isaiah, reflecting upon the great event of the Exodus speaks of how God overcame barriers and transformed deserts. Through your teaching, rivers of knowledge now flow where there might otherwise have been deserts of ignorance. Through your witness to Christ, barriers to love have been overcome. Hearts open to a deeper love of God and a more generous love of neighbor. Through you, God is doing something new in the lives of students. A generation is being formed that they might announce His praise (cf. Isaiah 43:19, 21).

This season of Lent draws us closer to the Cross of Christ. Saint Paul recognized that knowing and following Jesus would involve sacrifice. However, he endured suffering with an abundant hope (cf. Philippians 3:10-11). Providing Catholic education has never been an easy task. There are many challenges in the mission of offering quality Catholic education to our young people. Like Paul, we strain forward with hope to what lies ahead. Remember, after the cross, comes resurrection. Death gives way to life. We pursue the cause of Catholic education with the confident assurance of God’s grace, for nothing is impossible with God.

A jubilee is a time of joy. Your jubilee is an occasion of special grace, a day blessed by the Lord. It is an opportunity to reflect on the past, to offer praise and thanksgiving for all that God has done and accomplished in and through you.

There is so much for which to be grateful today. I express my deep gratitude, first of all, to the parents who have entrusted the education and formation of their children to our Catholic schools. In so doing, they have given us the privilege of sharing a role in which parents have the primary and irreplaceable responsibility.

I am grateful for the Priests, Religious Sisters and Brothers, and Laity who serve in the educational apostolate. Our schools provide a context in which young people discern God’s call and develop skills that are associated with the fulfillment of that call. Among the many career and vocational opportunities, we pray that those whom God is calling to the priesthood and religious life will respond generously.

I am grateful for the support of the entire Catholic community who by their prayers and financial support enable our schools to accomplish their mission. With this support, many are able to receive a Catholic education who might otherwise be deprived.

In a special way, I express my gratitude to you, our jubilarians, for your many years of service to this Archdiocese and to our Catholic schools. We depend upon you to set high academic standards and instill a spirit of faith and values rooted in Christ. You have given generously of your time, talent and treasure to advance the teaching mission of the Church. You assist parents by providing their children with a solid moral foundation. Those who teach in our schools understand that their work is not just a career opportunity, it is a vocation, a response to God’s call to teach and evangelize our youth.

A jubilee is also an opportunity to look forward to a future that offers new possibilities. The future of the world and the Church belongs to the younger generation. We are proud of our students. They are young men and women who contribute to our country, our community, our Church. Christ expects great things from young people, so did Pope John Paul II. He challenged them to put their talents at the service of the proclamation of the Good News. He encouraged them to be friends of Jesus and offer witness so that others might see Him (cf. 2004 World Youth Day Message.)

In a short time, Christianity will celebrate the great Feast of Easter. "Go and teach all nations," was the first directive that Jesus gave His apostles after His resurrection. It is also his last command recorded in Matthew’s Gospel (cf. Matthew 28: 19-20). I congratulate and thank our jubilarians for their fidelity to the Lord’s command. We entrust you, the students you teach and our Catholic schools to the patronage of our Blessed Mother Mary, the Seat of Wisdom. Through her maternal intercession, may she aid all who seek to find Jesus.