A new academic year has begun and, while it would be a stretch to make a comparison to Lazarus, the school has sprung to life again. Student excitement at our Catholic school is genuine. They've made friends over the years in a close-knit, faith-filled environment where values and positive relationships are a daily priority. That creates an emotional safety zone that nurtures students and helps them build a lifetime of memories about their achievements, friendships and faith. Saint Joseph's School actually constitutes a positive subculture within our larger American culture. We think that speaks well for what American culture can become when our students mature.
As principal, I frequently meet people who are excited to tell me they attended our school. Their memories cover a time period from the last decade to over forty years ago. The stories are a consistent account of learning to practice the Faith and apply it across all academic subject areas. Their faces light up when they speak of friendships, sports, liturgical events and all the conventional Catholic practices they took part in. They internalized their faith as they approached higher education, marriage, family and career. Our Faith and our school gave them a reference point as they faced all the growth and change that accompany adulthood. Their stories are a powerful testament to the lasting effects of a Catholic education.
As we build tomorrow's leaders today, let us always remember that we are creating stories that will still be told fifty years from now. That is a solemn responsibility. I hope our graduates can use our Catholic school and the education it provides as a launching pad for a future where life is respected and nurtured, where peace and safety are realized, and where prosperity and justice are available to all. May they grow in the knowledge and faith it will take to make us truly "One Nation Under God."
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