From “What If” to “Even If”

This is an introduction to the Mass of the Holy Spirit.

September 12, 2025

Question: Fear or faith?

Fear or faith?

I want you to think about the phrase “what if” and the phrase “even if.” On one side you have what if. On the other side, even if. What if I fail? What if I’m not good enough? What if people notice my weaknesses?

What if…there’s a sense of anxiety about that, and doubt, and it’s about something that has not happened yet. It holds us back. It paralyzes us. It is the language of fear.

Now let’s think about it the other way. Even if I mess up, even if I come up short, even if I’m not perfect. Even if I mess up, my parents still love me; my teachers and coaches still believe in me. Even if I come up short, I still have the chance to try it again tomorrow. Even if I’m not perfect, I still have a hell of a lot to offer this world. “Even if” frees us to go all in, to give our best effort, to trust, and to love. “Even if” is the language of faith.

“Even if” challenges us to live with fierce love and radical humility…and that’s our theme for the year.

At first, fierce and humble might sound like two things pulling in opposite directions…Fierce sounds loud, bold, maybe even defiant. Humble might sound quiet, maybe even retreating…But in the faith that defines our mission as a Jesuit high school, and in the life of Christ, they are never separate. They are two halves of one whole. Jesus loved fiercely. He flipped tables in the temple. He defended the outcast. He healed without permission. He refused to look away from suffering. His love was not always mild or polite. It was courageous and world-changing.

He also lived with radical humility. He washed the feet of his best friends. He withdrew to pray. He listened. He forgave. He carried the cross.

For us fierce love demands that we show up for each other every day, even when it takes time out of our day. That we love people who don’t make it easy for us to love them. That we fight for the dignity of others, even when no one is watching. To be honest, fierce love is not new. This is the heart of our mission. It’s the true essence of Prep Magic. Always has been.

Humility doesn’t mean playing small, or thinking small, or acting small. It means doing things with a purpose greater than ourselves, knowing that our talents are gifts and the way we use them can give glory to God. And that’s why you walk into school every day and see, above the entrance, AMDG…all for the greater glory. It’s a reminder. It’s not an accident. It’s not a just a piece of art. It’s telling you to be humble, that what we do is all for the greater glory.

It also means being open to growth, no matter if I am a 14 year old freshman, a teacher who has been here 20-plus years, or a president who has been here for 7 years. The idea is, I am not afraid to seek opportunities to stretch my mind, my imagination, my feelings…and my faith. It’s also about living authentically without letting power, praise, or prestige distort your sense of self.

Now you might be thinking, “This is a great way to start the year…it’s lofty, some 30,000-feet ideas.” And I get that. But you have experienced this here at Prep. One hundred percent. And I’ll give you an example. Let’s talk about athletics at Prep.

An athlete might ask, “How can you be fierce and humble at the same time?” But the truth is if you don’t have both, you’re not playing the game the right way. Fierce love means you show up for your team with everything you’ve got. It means you run hard, practice hard, hit hard — not for stats or ego, but because you love the guys next to you. Because you believe in the mission. Because you know that your effort matters.

Fierce love doesn’t quit in the seventh inning or on the last lap. It doesn’t walk through drills. It doesn’t talk trash behind a teammate’s back. Fierce love plays with heart, with fire, with discipline, and with joy. And not’s about winning, because you know that if you do it the right way, winning is going to take care of itself.

But fierce love, on its own, can turn into arrogance. That’s where the radical humility comes in.

Radical humility means you take coaching — even when it’s hard to hear. It means you celebrate your teammate’s success as if it were your own. It means no matter how far you get, you know you did not get there alone. Someone drove you to practice. Someone taught you how to shoot. Someone believed in you when no one else believed in you.

And when things don’t go your way — when you get benched, when you lose, when you make the mistake that costs the game — humility keeps you grounded. And then fierce love gets you right back up. Obviously, a lot of this is nothing to do with athletics. It’s always about building you as men. The winning takes care of itself.

So what do we pray for today? Let’s pray to be men and women for and with others this year. I promise you, you can be a man or woman for and with others without love and humility.

There will be a time this year when you will be called to be fiercely loving and radically humble. Let’s pray that we can respond with courage and faith.

Let’s pray that we are not paralyzed by the question “what if.” But be brave enough to say, boldly, “even if.”

Let’s pray that we recognize we belong to something bigger than ourselves: a mission of fierce love carried forward with radical humility, all for the greater glory of God, that has been going on for 153 years.

Sub Umbra Petri,