ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Monsignor Wendrychowicz,
Archdiocesan Scouts Chaplain,
Brother Priests,
Members of the Boy Scouts Leadership Council,
Dear Parents,
Dear Scouts,

Today I wish to welcome all of you to your spiritual home. This Cathedral Church also welcomes you in celebrating the Lord's Supper and His Sacrifice, which is the mystery of His redeeming love. This love sustains us as Christians; it brings us great joy and personal human fulfillment in a world that struggles as it grows in knowing what is good and what is bad, and who we are and where we are going.

This afternoon we have listened in our first two readings to the words of a prophet and an apostle, who have spoken the word uttered by God to His People and is spoken to us today with the same power and grace.

Jeremiah, the great prophet in the first reading encountered opposition to the message given him by God. Sometimes the human heart is afraid to hear these words even today and shuts out those who speak them. This is hard to deal with, and yet over and over again God tells us not to be afraid. "Before I formed you in the womb," God says, "I knew you" (Jer 1:5). And again God says, "....it is I this day who have made you a fortified city, a pillar of iron and a wall of brass" (Jer 1:18). God builds up those who speak for Him. He makes us strong enough to bear pressure from those who are afraid to believe and who reject Him.

Jesus, too, encountered opposition to His words and this made His life difficult, even to death. But Jesus accepted His mission in life and He spoke the truth with compassion and love. A student was once asked why he would not speak about his faith in Jesus. He responded by saying that his friends would laugh at him and he couldn't handle the rejection. He was afraid that his friends would not accept his words or what he felt about Jesus and about doing what is right. How often are we afraid to say or do something good because of what others will say or think? How often are we willing to give up an opportunity to live the life Jesus gave us in Baptism?

The Church knows that all of us try hard to search for a better world and she reminds us that we must do so by searching our hearts as well as our minds. All human beings wrestle with their strengths and their weaknesses. Sometimes we can be very good, but other times we know we can be bad. It is important, however, that we understand that if we are going to win the struggle to be better persons, we need to use all our gifts to become one with Jesus. We should not be afraid of ourselves; for we have in our heart a law written by God. To obey God's law contributes to our dignity.

As Scouts, you have taken steps to organize your lives with honesty, hard work, integrity, and loyalty to God and to country. The Scout Oath will help you set up necessary boundaries to help you forge paths toward developing your character; it will assist you in opening your eyes to a fuller, active life in the Church and as citizens of this great nation. In your work as Scouts you serve men, women and children all over the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, from Riegelsville to Oxford, from Bristol to Pottstown, learning what it means to be a good people, a good Christian, a good Catholic. You sometimes experience, in school or even at home, what it feels like to be a good person, even when your friends don't want to be good. Good people can feel as if they don't belong; as if they don't fit in, or as if they are the ones that are wrong, when all the time they know in their mind and heart that they are right because they are doing what Jesus taught and what Jesus did in His life here on earth.

The twelve points of the Scout Law are guidelines that can lead you toward wise choices. Other people will respect you when your conduct is based on the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes of Jesus. Your family and Religion teachers educate you about God and the ways you can serve Him. You do your duty to God by following those teachings everyday and by respecting every other human being.

We also have before us in the second reading today a blueprint from Saint Paul the Apostle. He tells us what a good Christian does in his life: he learns to be patient and kind; he is not envious of other people's possessions or their personality gifts but is rather thankful for who he is and what he has been given. The Christian is not selfish or self-serving, but always rejoices in the truth because it is in the truth that we always find Jesus. Saint Paul further tells us that a Christian "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things". Why? Because he loves Jesus and finds Jesus in all the difficult circumstances of his life.

And so the Scout helps other people at all times; keeps himself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. My dear friends, there are many people who need you. Your cheerful smile and helping hand can help ease another's burden. By helping out whenever and wherever possible, you are doing your part to make this world a better place in which to live. As Catholics you join me here in the spiritual home of all Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to recommit yourselves to your high ideals as Boy Scouts of America. You are called to help one another, with enthusiasm and determination, and to do good for the love of Jesus. At the same time you must dedicate yourselves as citizens to promote the common good and to stand up for the rights of all human persons "to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And remember always that the right to life belongs to the little child in the womb and to the elderly sick person just as much as it belongs to you and me.

Dear Scouts: keep your hearts and your minds always set on Jesus and His teaching. He will help you master yourselves through His Word and His Sacraments. It will not always be an easy task for you or for anybody else. But it will bring you joy, fulfillment, and true happiness. Try hard to live up to the teaching of Jesus which is given to you through the Church. Live up to the Scout Oath with honesty and integrity. It reflects the values of Christ's Gospel. Measure your achievements against these standards and do not be influenced negatively by peer pressure or by what other people do.

Dear young people, dear Scouts: It is important for you to know that the Church needs you, your country needs you, your family needs you. In God's plan you are important. You can make a big difference in the world if you faithfully follow Jesus - who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life - and if you continue to pray and to accept the challenge of Jesus to love and serve one another in His name. Amen.