Message From the President

The Visible Evidence

Adapted from a reflection at the Holy Week Liturgy, March 27, 2024.

I’m going to ask you a favor. But I need you to do this in silence: First, give a little fist bump to the person to your right and left. Remember, in silence. Then give a high five. That’s a bit harder to do in silence. And now shake their hand.

Our hands can send different messages without saying any words. You know this. The fist bump is like the quick hello, maybe while you’re passing somebody in the hallway. The high five, obviously you’re a little pumped up. And the handshake is a little more serious, and a little more respectful. Without even thinking, you just kind of know which one is right in the moment. You just feel the vibe. Like when Richie Rosa hit his game winning shot…I mean hit both game winning shots…You weren’t shaking hands with the person next to you. You were high-fiving. High fives and pats on the backs (or even rushing the court when you aren’t supposed to but it did look pretty cool on ESPN.)

Hands sending messages…

The hands of Jesus Christ. The hands of Jesus Christ. Think of the way he used his hands on holy Thursday and Good Friday. He washes the feet of his best friends, he gathers them together for one last dinner and he literally breaks bread with them and shares food. He goes off to a garden and prays and cries a lot by himself. I can picture him, kneeling before this huge rock, thinking in fear about the agony that awaits him. I picture him with his hands holding his face, holding his face because he’s crying so hard that it seemed impossible for those hands to wipe away his tears. And then his hands, still covered in tears, heal the soldier’s ear that our guy Peter cut off when he couldn’t control his rage. His hands, the hands of God, accept the cross, and carry it up the hill. Along the way Jesus meets his mother, and my Jesuit-educated imagination pictures him reaching out one last time to grab his mother’s hand, and squeezing it, never wanting to let it go.

And then of course those hands are nailed to the cross.

I know we see these days of holy Thursday and Good Friday as the kickoff to our well deserved spring break. I know we see them as a time to relax and enjoy. But I ask you, I challenge you as students in our Jesuit high school to find some time, even if it’s just a couple minutes, to reflect on the hands of Jesus. To me it’s a simple, yet powerful, way to remember the story of Holy Week. But there’s another reason. Whether you know it or not, whether you believe it or not, my heart tells me, my faith tells me, that you are the visible evidence of God’s invisible hand. Your hands and your heart and your mind and your character—your whole being—are called to serve, called to heal, called to bring people together. You are called to forgive, called to pray, called to face your fears—sometimes through tears that feel impossible to wipe away. You are called to love.

Or said another way…and seniors, I was thinking of you when I wrote this last part, because you will be leaving us sooner than you realize. These next few weeks will fly by. It’s for all of you, but especially for the seniors: I want you to be so strong and steadfast that you can be patient and forgiving. I want you to be so confident and intelligent, that you can recognize and acknowledge your limitations. And I want you to be so resilient and passionate that you realize that those limitations only have as much power as you give them. Remember: you are a Marauder.

And from the great movie The Equalizer, this all doesn’t happen at once. Progress not perfection. Progress not perfection. You got this. We got this. I love you.

Let’s go Prep!